A Few Tables Away (Glenhaven #1)

by Deb Rotuno

  She wasn’t loud, but I could hear her laugh, and it made Evan smile. It was a different smile—a warm, giving one—but it fell just as quickly as it came.

  “No, I know, Faith. I’m aware…He called me to tell me he was selling it. What am I supposed to do? The car’s in his name. It’s one less thing he can…No, I know that too.” He sighed so deeply, it almost hurt to hear it. “I honestly don’t care anymore, Faith. I just…can’t. And I have to figure out what I’m telling him about the holidays. I’m not going home.”

  Damn, Evan’s voice was firm and I had to admit a bit sexy, but there was a coldness to it too. It was slightly unnerving.

  When his furrowed brow smoothed out, he laughed again. “Can’t really say, Rylee Faith…No, can’t. Gotta go…Love you.”

  He was laughing when he hung up, but he looked to me with a touch of red to his cheeks. “Sorry.”

  “She sounds fun,” I noted, smiling when he chuckled a bit.

  “She’s…my best friend. That probably sounds strange, since she’s younger than me, but we’ve always been close. My…My mother said we were twins separated by eighteen months.” When I laughed lightly, he smiled and nodded. “She was calling to tell me that Dad sold my car. I guess I forgot to tell her he was planning on it. She was pissed.”

  “You okay?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. At least he can’t use it against me anymore.”

  My brow furrowed at that, and I saw that, while he was very close to his sister, his relationship with his father was rather strained. And something told me deep down that I was probably putting that lightly.

  “Why would your dad invite me to dinner?” he asked suddenly.

  “Oh, probably because of this,” I stated, holding up his story. “He usually finds a student once a year who he chooses to guide, to push in the right direction. You don’t have to come, Evan, but you’re welcome to join us. We’re pretty easygoing, but we’re loud. We tease a lot, which I’m sure you noticed between Wes and me.”

  He grinned. “Okay, but I need—”

  “Right. Library first. Me too, actually. Then I have one more class. You?” When he nodded, I stood and offered him my hand. “Then library it is. And I can meet you after our last classes to take you to my house.”

  He swallowed nervously, eyeing my hand, but he took it after shouldering his bag. He threw away our trash, and again, I noticed that he didn’t pay a bit of attention to his surroundings—or at least to who was around him, who stared at him with lovesick eyes. And now they stared at me, which would make the library an interesting experience.

  “Hey, Evan?” I said, squeezing his hand, and he glanced to them before my face. “Thanks for lunch.”

  He smiled and squeezed back. “You’re welcome.”

  Chapter Five

  Evan

  THE FEEL OF DANI’S HAND in mine was surreal. I wanted it to last longer, but then again, I didn’t because I could feel my nerves kicking into overdrive. My palm started to sweat just about the time we rounded the corner for the front of the library.

  Pulling my hand from hers, I reached for the door to hold it open and then wiped it down my jeans once she was inside. Suddenly I was a bit self-conscious. Where would we sit? And would it be together? Or were we going to take our normal spots?

  Deciding to follow Dani’s lead, I felt my jaw drop in surprise when she set her things down in front of the opposite chair from my usual spot. I slid my backpack onto the table, slowly sinking down into my chair.

  My surprise had to have been written all over my face, because Dani grinned, tapping the table. “You don’t mind, do you?” she asked, and I shook my head.

  “It is your library,” I whispered back, grinning when she broke into a quiet giggle.

  “Hush, you,” she stated teasingly.

  I pulled out my books for the class I needed to work on, but I also pulled out my journal and the book I needed to return. I started to get up to take it to the chute, but Dani wrapped a hand around my wrist.

  “I just finished that one…like a few weeks ago,” she whispered, smiling over at me. “It was so good. Sad but really good.”

  I nodded, smiling a little. “Yeah, I um…I liked it.” I turned the book over in my hands. “I saw you reading this…the first time I saw you. You…” I shrugged a shoulder toward her table. “You were crying. I…I almost…”

  Her brow furrowed a little when I met her gaze.

  “Anyway, my curiosity got the best of me. I wish it had ended differently, but it was good.”

  Smiling, I shrugged again, getting up to walk across the library to the return slot, where I dropped the book in. Then I made my way quickly back to my seat.

  “You prefer happy endings, Evan?” Dani asked softly, due to the quiet of the library.

  “Well…yeah!” I nodded a little and then focused on the books and papers in front of me. “Life is pretty shitty enough, don’t you think? People struggle every damn day. They fight with each other and diseases and their careers, and…I don’t know. When I read, I want away from all that.” I glanced up at her, smiling in embarrassment and adjusting my glasses, but she just smiled back. “I can’t help it. My mother said not all stories can end perfectly, but maybe there’s a perfect ending for the characters in the story itself. That book…it was sad.”

  “It was,” she agreed in a whisper, pulling out a different book. “This one’s not. It’s hot.”

  Laughing, I shook my head. “I think my sister read that one.”

  “Smart girl,” she said, and I raised an eyebrow at the sexy tone of her voice, not to mention made note of the title.

  We fell quiet as I worked on my paper for English Lit and she read. People shifted in and out around us for the next two hours. I glanced up when someone dropped their things heavily at the other end of our table. It made me jump a bit, but I frowned at the sight of Regan’s anger-filled face, which seemed to be aimed Dani’s way.

  Dani, however, barely gave her a second glance as she twirled her hair, her book open in front of her. When whispers met my ears, she shot a look over her shoulder too. Finally she looked back to me.

  Smirking a bit, she whispered, “Seems I’m not liked much…”

  “Huh? What? Why?”

  Dani marked her page and closed her book, leaning closer on her elbows. I couldn’t help but do the same.

  “Why do you come in here, Evan?” she asked, grinning when I raised an eyebrow at her and gestured to all the work in front of me. “And?”

  “I…I don’t know. I like libraries. They’re peaceful. I can lose myself in a book for a little while and block out everything else,” I explained.

  She stared at me for a moment, her smile small but warm. “Yeah…me too.”

  “I know. I could tell,” I said with a soft chuckle, embarrassed a little with that admission, but Dani had a way of making me say stuff I normally wouldn’t.

  “But…” she sang softly, still keeping the tone low for where we were. “The two girls behind me probably haven’t been in a library since their mothers took them to reading circles for daycare. They sat next to you and behind you in my dad’s class.”

  My eyebrows shot up at that, and I gave a quick glance to the girls she was talking about. They were at the farthest table, facing me. One was rather snobby-looking, with red hair and pale skin. She had the same color eyes as Dani, but they weren’t as friendly or happy. The girl next to her was blonde, and her cleavage was practically spilling out onto the table in front of her. While my brother would’ve totally gone after her at one point in time, all I saw was fake, scary red nails and too much makeup. They reminded me so much of the girls in high school who would laugh at me that I frowned back at Dani, shaking my head slowly.

  Dani smirked. “Fair enough, Evan. The other one…” She jerked her chin toward the opposite end of our table.

  “Regan?” I whispered.

  “Yes, her.” She smiled, nodding a little. “She’s
braver than all of us because she actually approached you.”

  “She’s…She’s in my Physics class. She borrowed notes for a day she was out sick.”

  “Was she sick? Or did you not even notice?” Dani laughed softly as she waited for me to think about it, and I shrugged because I didn’t have a clue. “Right. I saw her borrow the notes. I was kinda jealous that she got a smile out of you…until I really saw you smile the other day at work.”

  My face heated, and I shook my head slowly. I took off my glasses and rubbed my face roughly, sliding my hands into my hair. Why would Dani be jealous? My heart sputtered at that thought.

  “What do you mean all of us?” I asked.

  Dani sighed, and I would’ve thought it was in impatience, but her smile was warm and sweet as always. “You honestly don’t see what we see, Evan. Most guys who look like you…What the fuck am I saying? No one looks like you. Most handsome guys don’t always come across as approachable.”

  “Most guys are assholes.”

  Dani giggled, which made me grin when she had to bury the sound in her hands. “Yeah, well…that’s true.” Her humor faded a little. “Evan, you are very handsome, but you give off a don’t touch vibe. It can come across as arrogant or cocky, but since I’ve talked to you, I can see it’s a wall you put up. And I’m sure you have your reasons, but it’s a touch intimidating.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She grinned, covering my hand with her own. “Don’t be sorry.”

  Frowning a little, I gazed down at her hand on mine, I shifted my thumb so I could feel the smooth, soft skin across her knuckles. It had only been a week since I’d written my letter in my journal to her, talking about how I wished my Library Girl would notice me, how I wondered what she was really like. It all felt like a dream that she was sitting at my table and not her usual one. It felt liberating and freeing to know that she was better, kinder, more beautiful than my imagination ever considered.

  Finally, I met her gaze. “The same could be said for you. Apparently I’m not as brave.”

  “You’re plenty brave. You’re just shy, and you keep to yourself. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  I grinned, shrugging a shoulder, but it fell when I heard whispers across the room. “They don’t know me.”

  “They want to,” she countered, squeezing my hand, “which is why I’m not liked very much right now. And I’m perfectly fine with that; I have the best seat in the library today.”

  I huffed a laugh. “I’m…I’m glad you think so.” I gave a quick look to Regan, who still looked upset, and then turned back to Dani. “I’m supposed to work with her on a Physics project.”

  “Lucky girl.”

  Shaking my head fervently, I said, “No, no…Dani…I don’t…” I sighed in frustration. “I need to keep up my grades, but I don’t…I’m not what they think I am, if what you say is true. My grades come first…but I don’t want to hurt someone. She looks…pissed.”

  “I doubt you could hurt someone even if you tried, Evan. And she’s mad at me. Not you. Just stick to the work. It’s okay to be friendly. We’re doing just fine.”

  “You don’t know me either,” I argued, shaking my head and starting to pull my hand from hers. I wanted to tell her I had hurt people, that girls like the ones in the back of the room could be mean and nasty, and I wanted to tell her I wasn’t what people saw, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “But I want to,” she said so firmly, holding on to my fingers and not letting go.

  There was a split second where I wanted to bolt from the library, but I could hear Faith’s voice in my head, telling me to suck it up. Even if I called my sister right then, I knew what she’d say. She’d tell me that it was okay to have friends, to let people in, that I was no longer surrounded by rumors and bullies. She’d also tell me I was worrying for nothing because I was in a place where no one knew my past, my family, my father.

  I took a deep, cleansing breath at that last thought. He couldn’t touch me here. Not really. He could threaten or take away funding for school, but he didn’t have power over me here. As long as my grades stayed okay, he’d keep to the same old shit.

  Dragging my eyes from our hands to Dani’s oh-so-pretty face, I smiled and nodded. “Me too.”

  Her grin was bright and happy and, God, so beautiful. “Good. Give me your phone, then.”

  “O-Okay.” I dragged out the word and reached into my pocket for my phone, which I unlocked before handing it over.

  She smiled, swiping her fingers across the screen and typing quickly. She then called her own phone, only to hang up and hand it back.

  “There! Now I have your number, and you have mine. I saved myself as a contact. Call me, text me…anytime.”

  I scrolled through my phone to see she’d put Dani in there with a smiley face emoticon next to it. It made me chuckle, until a shadow fell over us from the head of the table next to us. I glanced up to see Brad standing there, glaring at me and then Dani.

  “Where the hell have you been?” he whispered in a hissing tone.

  She raised a deadly eyebrow at him, and her humor and patience was completely gone. I didn’t have to know her all that well to see that.

  “Um, and just when do I have to answer to you, Brad?”

  He didn’t answer her, merely waved the question away. “There’s a party tonight over at the south part of the beach. You goin’?”

  “No, I have dinner plans with my family.”

  “Blow them off. You have to—”

  “Okay, first…I don’t have to do any-fucking-thing. Second, I don’t ‘blow off’ my family,” she replied so firmly that Brad flinched, which made me smirk a bit. “And speaking of my family, Wes told me to let you know you aren’t allowed back at Sunset Roast anymore. I’d take heed to that if I were you.”

  Brad’s nostrils flared, and his gaze landed on me. “I told you I was sorry. You get pissed off that you had to clean?”

  I opened my mouth, but Dani beat me to it.

  “Actually, we all cleaned up after your fuckery, so…” She stared him down, narrowing her eyes when he went red in the face with anger. “And aren’t you in my dad’s afternoon class? That’s interesting to know, right?” When he didn’t say anything, she shrugged, jerking a thumb behind her to the two girls at the table in the back. “Ask them. They’ll go with you to the party. I’m almost sure of it.”

  Grinning, I started packing up to go to my last class. However, I couldn’t resist watching him for just a second. Brad eyed the blonde and redhead, a wolfish grin crawling across his face.

  “Your loss, sweetheart,” he drawled, walking away from us.

  Dani locked gazes with me for a moment, raising an eyebrow at me before we both turned to watch him approach the table. It was kind of sickening to see his flirting and them laugh and flirt back. When they all three left together, I grinned at Dani’s happy laugh.

  “I thought you liked him,” I murmured.

  “Oh, hell no!” she hissed back. “He’s a pompous asshole. And after what he did to you the other night…Oh, I don’t think so. Now…” She pointed toward the empty table. “We just killed two—okay three—birds with one very jerk-ish stone.” She threw her books back into her bag, smiling at my laugh. Nodding at my now-packed bag and then up at the clock, she nodded. “Time for class for both of us, hmm?”

  We gathered our things and made our way outside and around the building, where Dani stopped at the split in the sidewalk. “Um, you still want to come to dinner?”

  “Yeah…Yes, definitely,” I told her.

  “Where do you want me to meet you? I live on the outskirts of town, so I can pick you up and take you home.”

  “Right. You sure?”

  She smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

  “Okay, um…the dorms okay? I can change and drop off my stuff.”

  “Perfect. Call or text me when you’re ready.” When I nodded, she smiled and spun around to head to her last class.
<
br />   I watched her walk away a few paces before turning the opposite direction to do the same.

  My Statistics class ran long, which was torture, simply because I didn’t particularly care for math of any kind. I could do the work, but it was tedious and boring to me. As a kid, math classes had been a source of many punishments due to my grades. It took forever for me to finally find a way to push through.

  Frowning at that, I hurried across the courtyard and into my building, dodging people on the stairs coming and going and ducking when a football was tossed overhead. I walked into my dorm room, giving Brett a quick wave as I set my backpack on my bed.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” he said, and I looked out of my closet to see what he wanted. “Listen, I just changed to the same Physics class as you—a scheduling thing. We’ve got that group project coming up. Have you started?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m supposed to, though. But I have a partner already.”

  “We can work with more than one person. I asked Professor Martin today. Can…Can I join you?” he asked, grimacing a little. “I don’t know anyone in that class but you.”

  Glancing his way as I fumbled with a new pair of contacts, I could see we were pretty similar that way, though different in every other way. He was shorter than me, thinner, and he had sandy-colored hair and hazel eyes.

  After ducking back into the bathroom, I pulled off my glasses and put in the contacts, saying, “Yeah, sure. We’ll talk to Regan after the next class and figure out when we can get started.”

  “Awesome! Thanks, Evan. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  I changed shirts, something nicer than the T-shirt I’d been in all day, and I tried to tame my hair but quickly gave up. Then I sent Dani a text to let her know I’d meet her downstairs at the front.

  When I stepped back into the room, Brett looked up at me. “That’s not work clothes, man. Where you off to?”