“You’re welcome.” I paid for the tickets, but she paid for the food. “Thanks for the popcorn.”
“You’re welcome.”
More silence.
Eliza clears her throat. “Maybe…um…” Her sentence trails off before she begins again. “You shouldn’t walk me all the way. Maybe I should walk the rest of the way alone. You know—just in case.” Eliza pauses, staring up the street. “Not that I’m trying to hide the fact that we went to a movie, but…”
“To hide the fact that we went to a movie?” And didn’t invite Kaylee.
She laughs nervously. “You said it, not me.”
“You implied it, love.”
Love.
Her eyes go wide and she’s surprised for a few seconds before recovering.
“I should probably take your stuff out of my bag.”
She has stopped walking and is standing in the center of the sidewalk, gazing up at me expectantly. I shoulder off her book bag but don’t set it on the ground—don’t want it to get wet.
We make quick work of removing my books and rezipping her bag, then we’re standing awkwardly staring at each other, not a clue what to say although we just had a really great time together. A weird static lingers in the air between us that I can’t quite put my finger on—one that wasn’t there earlier.
“Well I guess I’ll see you around?”
“Not at one of my matches, though—stay away from those,” I jest, which makes us both laugh.
“Um…why? They’re so entertaining.”
“For you, maybe—not for me.”
“I’m telling you, Jack, you should call it a wash and leave the team. Not worth it. You could be dedicating your time to other things.”
“Like what?” I can’t think of a single thing to dedicate my time to besides the team. “I’m taking suggestions.”
We’re still standing there even though she should be walking toward her house, to the dry comfort of her bedroom.
“I don’t know…don’t you have any hobbies?”
Would it be weird if I told her my hobbies are the same hobbies as hers? Comic books and Marvel movies and memorabilia. I don’t want it to seem like I’m copying her, but I honestly don’t have many other interests.
Maybe day trading, watching the stock market move up and down—but I haven’t taken a vested interest in that since moving here. Seems I’ve had other things to occupy my time, mostly my new mates.
“What about golf?”
Golf? What the fuck…
“Do I look like the type of bloke who golfs?”
“Lots of guys who don’t look like the type who golf, golf.” Eliza giggles. “I’m just throwing out ideas—calm down.”
“I’m good. I’ll be fine.”
She studies me in the dim light, rain streaming down around us. “Famous last words.”
Eight
Eliza
“Where the heck have you been? It’s pouring outside.”
It’s not actually pouring rain outside.
My roommates are both holed up in the kitchen when I walk through the door, soaking wet, having trudged back from the movie theater rather than taking a cab.
“It’s just drizzle.”
“Well—you’re soaking.”
I’m not actually soaking, but I am way too wet to have just come from the library.
“I was at the library.”
Kaylee eyes me up and down, taking in my wet hair, my wet jacket, my wet shoes. “Well we’ve been waiting for you to get home so we could watch a movie together—you haven’t returned any of our messages, and we started to get worried.”
“I was about to call campus security.” Lilly sniffs, bottom lip jutting out stubbornly.
Shoot, they’re right; I haven’t checked my phone since leaving the library with Jack. I’m not even sure where the stupid thing is. Pocket of my backpack? Pocket of my jacket? Who even knows. I haven’t thought to even glance at it he had me so distracted.
“Sorry guys, I lost track of time and didn’t have my phone out.”
“Doodling those silly cartoons?” Kaylee frowns. “Do you actually do any schoolwork? Or do you just fiddle around with daydreams?”
Did she seriously just say that?
She knows this is just a hobby and not something I want to do as a career; I’m not a fool. I know I’m not nearly good enough to do it full time when I graduate, but it’s something that fuels my soul. If I want to doodle my life away in the library, that’s my business, not hers.
“I said I was sorry.” What more does she want? She’s not my mother.
I shiver. Remove my shoes and place them by the door.
“I’m going to get these wet clothes off and take a shower before I catch a chill. If y’all want to watch a movie after I’m done, we can, unless you think it’s too late?” I have a TV in my room, so I can always watch something in there if they’re annoyed with me.
Lilly shrugs. “Kyle might come over tonight—he’s leaving town this weekend and I feel like I barely see him.”
Barely see him?
The girl spends almost every waking minute with him. I’m pretty confident they’re going to end up getting engaged when they graduate; they’ve been inseparable since the moment they met.