揘o thanks.?I sip on my water as he chews happily.
I抳e never had a serious boyfriend. I抳e dated a couple of guys, but one was in high school and the other was last year and only lasted for a few months before he transferred to another school. Both of those relationships started as a friendship and slowly grew into more, so sitting and talking with Liam is as close as I抳e been on a date with someone I have a real crush on.
And I抦 not nailing it.
He has no problem with the silence between us. He comments on the game in front of us, and he smiles at me a lot, but there抯 no conversation about school or life or really anything except bowling.
I can抰 help but compare it to hanging out with Jordan. Silence with him feels different, and even though I know Liam is objectively more my type, I kind of wish it was Jordan sitting here. Which, of course, makes me feel ridiculous. This is everything I抳e wanted.
揥here are you from??I ask as he pops a pretzel bite into his mouth.
He chews and washes it down with soda before answering. 揥ashington. You??
揌ere. Well, not Valley, but Arizona. Near Flagstaff.?
揟hat抯 cool. Do you go home a lot on the weekends and stuff??
揘o. Not really.?
His stare isn抰 menacing, but the way he looks at me tells me he抯 surprised by my answer.
揥ell, I have Violet, so I have family here. And our families visit us.?
It isn抰 a lie, they do visit us, but it抯 a sunny spin on it. Mine have been twice梠nce to bring me freshman year, and the second to a homecoming game last year that Violet抯 dad, my uncle Mason, organized.
揜ight. Yeah, that makes sense.?He pushes the plate away and leans back in his chair. He calls out to Gavin when he gets a seven-ten split. 揧ou can still do this.?He claps and nods to him.
揑 can see why they made you captain.?
A slow smile lights up his face. 揟hanks.?
I ask him a little about hockey, and we eventually get to talking about physics and school. It抯 weird. We抮e having a nice conversation, but I don抰 feel like I know him any better. Or that he learned anything new about me except where I抦 from.
When the game is over, we all say our goodbyes. Gavin gives us a ride back since he抯 next door. In the back seat, I watch the houses go by and replay the night in my head. What a weird turn of events.
揌ere is fine,?Violet says as he goes past The White House.
揑 can take you all the way. It抯 no problem.?
He pulls up in front of our house. Violet doesn抰 give him so much as a goodbye before exiting his SUV.
揟hank you,?I say for the both of us.
He turns to smile at me as I get out. 揂ny time.?
Violet is already inside, shoes off, raiding our fridge when I walk in the house.
揧ou could have at least said thank you.?
She rolls her shoulders as she scoops leftover pasta into a bowl. 揌e gets under my skin.?
揑 really didn抰 know he was going to be there. Sorry.?
揑t抯 fine. I can be the bigger person.?
揑s this still because he hooked up with your roommate??
She shoots daggers my way.
揑 get it. I do. You liked him. He pretended to like you and then slept with your awful roommate. Just making sure nothing else happened tonight.?
揟hat and because he thinks he抯 all that.?She sits on the counter while her pasta is heating in the microwave. 揧ou and Liam looked cozy.?
揇id we??
揧eah. Did you finally ask him out??
I sit beside her. 揘o.?
揥hy not? I saw the way he was with you. He likes you.?
揑抦 not sure.?
揇o not play the dumb girl on this one. He likes you. Everyone can see it.?
揑抦 not playing dumb. I know he likes me as a friend, but I think that抯 all it is to him. I can抰 explain it. His touches are playful and sweet, and we talked all night, but厰
揃ut??she prompts when I don抰 finish my sentence quickly enough.
揑 was kind of bored.?
揥ow.?
I feel silly admitting it out loud. I抳e been dreaming of hanging out with Liam for months.
揗aybe you just set him up to some impossible fantasy of who you thought he was.?
揗aybe.?I hop down. 揑抦 beat. Thanks for coming tonight, Vi. I don抰 know what I抎 do without you.?
揕ove you,?she says.
I kiss my hand and fling it toward her, then head upstairs.
In bed, I think about what she said. Did I make Liam out to be so amazing that even he couldn抰 compare? He抯 a great guy. No question about it. I抦 almost asleep when my phone pings.
I didn抰 get a chance to talk to Jordan much after the first game. I meant to ask him about tutoring. Looks like he had the same thought.
Get home okay? Tutoring tomorrow?
Turning on my side, I tap out a response with a smile. Made it home just fine. Let抯 try tutoring at your place. Maybe a change of scenery will help.
14
JORDAN
揌ey, come in.?I hold open the door for Daisy, and she enters my dorm. Her backpack weighs her down. She slips the strap off one shoulder and the other dips.
Liam waves from the couch. He and our neighbor across the hall are playing video games, so it抯 the perfect excuse to lead Daisy into my room, where she can抰 spend the evening chatting with Liam.
Watching the two of them at bowling yesterday was killer. I thought for sure he was going to ask her out, but he must not have because neither of them said anything or acted any different in lab today.
Daisy抯 cute and sweet. Funny, too梪sually when she doesn抰 mean to be. She抯 tougher than I thought too. I mean, watching her bowling last night, all that determination and grit when she was clearly out of her element梚t was hot.
The point is, the more I get to know her, the more I抦 convinced that Liam抯 all wrong for her. She needs someone that抣l push her to try new things and break out of her shell. She has fire inside of her.
揑 like your room,?she says as she turns in a circle in front of my bed.
I抦 lost for a second as I picture her on the bed with that dress cinched up around her waist. Damn.
I clear my throat.
揟hanks.?I move to my desk to grab my laptop and books. 揧ou can have the chair.?
揟hat抯 okay.?She sits on my bed, angling her legs, so her feet hang off the side like she抯 trying to keep her shoes off the comforter.
揧ou抮e okay to get your shoes on the bed, sweet Daisy.?
A flare of annoyance sparks in her eyes. 揑 am really not that sweet.?
I sit on the opposite side of the bed from her. The mattress dips with my weight, and her knees hit mine. If I抎 punched her, I doubt she抎 move any faster than she does now as she scrambles to move away from me.
Laughing, I shake my head. 揘ever met a chick quite like you.?
揕ike what??She rearranges herself so that she抯 facing me on the bed but too far away for us to accidentally touch.
Smart, hot, quiet, fiery. All of the words describe her, but they aren抰 enough. Instead of trying to explain that, I ask a question that抯 been floating around since we met. 揇o you date a lot??
Her brows lift, and slowly she smiles, then giggles. 揑抳e spent the past three nights tutoring you. What do you think??
揙ff guys at the moment??I lean on an elbow and kick my legs out toward the end of the bed.
揇o you date a lot??she asks. Her tone is full of accusations like she thinks I抦 some sort of serial dater.
揘ot really.?
揙h, come on. Even I know about your reputation for厰 Sweet Daisy looks a little flustered as she realizes she doesn抰 want to finish the end of that sentence.
揊or??I prompt.
揇ating.?She waves a hand in the air and looks away. 揚artying and sleeping with lots of girls.?