She looked down at her plate, avoiding my eyes.
We were finally getting somewhere.
“Anyway,” she continued. “He came in a while ago about his knee injury. I probably shouldn’t tell you this…”
“Now you have to tell me.”
“I don’t know.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll ask him about it.”
“No! He’ll know I told you something.” That caught her attention.
“You worry a lot about what other people think, don’t you?”
“And you don’t?”
“Well, people usually love me. Why worry if that’s the general opinion?” I grinned.
She looked back down at her nearly empty plate.
“I need to get back. Thanks for dinner.” She placed her napkin on the table and pushed her chair back.
“Me too,” I said, not wanting to let her see how much I was actually enjoying myself for once. “I’ve got this formula figured out, and I think I have a pop-quiz in one of my classes tomorrow.”
She looked up with a smile and made eye contact.
“Sounds like a smart system.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
I left payment on the table and took her back out to my car.
* * *
I pulled into the driveway and put the car in park, I expected her to invite me in, but she didn’t. “I’ll walk you to your door.”
“That’s not necessary, Austin. But you can call me.”
“I will,” I said.
She shut the door. I watched her ass shake back and forth as she walked to her porch.
I was going to tap that before the semester is over. She would be my ultimate end game.
FIVE
Brooke
When I got inside the apartment, I slammed the door and slid back up against it. Jocelyn looked up from the couch.
“What?” she asked.
“He was an asshole, but there’s something about him.”
“You know he’s just trying to bang you, right?”
“Why do you always have to be so crude? You’re ruining my mood.”