He looked at her. “Do you really need to study?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m betting you’re more prepared for the exam than you’re letting on,” he said. “I bet you’ve been studying for it for weeks.”
She laughed. “Well, I usually review my notes the night before! Honestly, I probably shouldn’t have even come to the ball game. It’s completely unlike me.”
“But did you have fun?”
“I did,” she admitted.
“You should come to the games more often. Maybe I’d play better if I knew you were there.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’d have no idea I was there.”
“I would if you told me.”
“Besides, you already play great. Substandard foul-shooting percentage aside, that is.” She grinned, and Rob knew that her teasing was well-intentioned.
“Maybe we could get together again tomorrow,” he suggested as the waitress came over and set down their plates of waffles.
“Tomorrow? What for?” she asked.
The true answer was that he was reluctant for their time together to end, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell her that. Rob was used to girls who lapped up every bit of his attention. It wasn’t that he felt entitled to that, exactly, but Thea had begun by rejecting his invitation to a party. What if he told her that he wanted to get to know her better and she laughed at the idea? That would be humiliating.
He fumbled for an excuse. “We could go over the exam,” he said. “We could discuss it. See how each of us did.”
She grinned. “I don’t really like to go over exams after they’re finished,” she said. “I like to clear my head as much as I can and get ready for the next thing. By tomorrow afternoon, I’ll need to focus on my paper for American Literature.”
“Well, we could talk about that,” Rob said.
“You don’t take American Literature,” she said. “I know you don’t. It’s only offered second period, and you’re not in my class.”
She was right. He took English Literature. “We could still talk about it,” he said. “I’m still interested.”
She shook her head. “You don’t have to act like you want to hang out with me,” she told him.
That stunned Rob. Why would she assume that it was an act? He did want to hang out with her.
Maybe he had been wrong in his estimation of her confidence. Maybe she did doubt her own appeal.
She was so attractive. He would have been shocked if she didn’t realize that. But then…for a girl that good-looking not to be accepted by the popular crowd, not to be sought after by guys and invited to parties, there had to be something standing in the way.
Maybe it was just her shyness. Maybe her isolation was self-imposed.
Should he tell her that he really wanted to hang out with her?
He decided not to push it tonight. It was enough that she had agreed to come to dinner with him. Now that he was more aware of her presence than he had been before, maybe he would notice her at school. The place wasn’t that big, after all. They were sure to run into each other without him forcibly arranging a meeting when she seemed hesitant.
They ate their waffles. Afterward, Rob offered to walk Thea home, thinking of her safety, but she declined. “I live really close,” she said. “I’ll get there just fine. You should go check out that party. I bet people will be wondering where you are.”
Rob nodded, knowing that he wouldn’t. “It was nice to meet you, Thea,” he said.
She grinned again and gave him a wave, then turned and walked away.