Chapter 5
So, how were classes?” Lizzie laid sprawled across her twin sized mattress in nothing more than skimpy, cotton pajama bottoms and a tank top. Little fluffy poodles danced across the fabric. I shrugged, doodling in the margins of a class syllabus, trying to tie my mind to something—anything but my worry over Erika and my frustration with Marv. “That bad, huh?” She rolled over, propping herself up on herhands.
“It was fine,” I said absently. “It’s just different isall.”
“Or…there could be something else bugging you.” Lizzie watched the movement of my hand as I drew a giant leaf coming out of the corner of the page. “Like…maybe…the guys you were sitting in the cafeteria with, hmmm?” she suggested with a perfectly elegant, archedbrow.
I paused, slowly raising my head to meet her gaze from across the room. “What?” My eyes slid to the side, to where my phone lay on the desk, but the screen remained black. They still hadn’t called or texted with updates on what Grayson and Texas may havefound.
“You know who I’m talking about. I saw you with those two guys during lunch in the cafeteria.” Lizzie kicked her legs up and smiled. “So, tell me, which one are youdating?”
A blush stole across my cheeks and my brain fizzled out. Which one was I dating? Um, both? And a little more? I couldn’t say that. Igrimaced.
“You know the lady who helped you move in—Clarissa, right? Well, she did say something about a bunch of guys. Are you all like friends from the same hometown or something?” Lizzie pushed, curious enough that she was either blatantly ignoring my discomfort or she was taking it as achallenge.
“Or something,” I mumbled, before speaking up. “Yeah, we’re from the same hometown. Some of the guys are going to school heretoo.”
“That’s lucky, isn’t it?” shecommented.
A knock on the door saved me from further answering her. Lizzie eyed me as I scrambled off the side of the bed, opened the door, and nearly shut itagain.
“Oh, who is that?” Lizzie teased from behindme.
Ignoring her, I slid out into the hall and slammed the door closed behind me, pressing my back against it as though I could keep it shut—even though the door swung inward not outward—with just my body. “What are you doing here?” I hissed atGrayson.
He blinked down at me, nonplussed. “I came to pick you up,” he replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to just show up on my doorstep. Which… now that I thought about it, wasn’t exactly abnormal forhim.
I shook my head, dispelling my errant thoughts. “Why?”
“Didn’t you get Texas’message?”
Crap. My phone was back in the room. I thought I’d been checking it regularly, but it never lit up. I must have missed it. I shook myhead.
“Well, we’re meeting back at the house,” he said. “I came to pick youup.”
The door behind me jerked open, and I nearly tripped over Lizzie as she grinned wickedly up at Grayson. “Who’s this?” she said, slanting a teasing glance myway.
A slow smile crawled over Grayson’s mouth as he reached forward, snagging Lizzie’s hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Enchanté,” hesaid.
“Sleaze ball,” I muttered as I moved back into the room, grabbing my phone and keys before scooting back into the hall. “Let’s go, ladykiller.”
Lizzie's mouth curled downward as she took her hand from Grayson's and wiped it down her side. "Sorry, buddy," she said, "you're barking up the wrongtree."
"Ahh, well," Grayson shrugged, "always worth a try on a prettygirl."
"Why don't you focus onyourpretty girl?" Lizzie suggested with a quirked brow. "After all, it seems like you've got somecompetition."
"Oh, my God." I slid past her quickly, both mortified and exasperated. Grabbing Grayson's hand, I started off down the hallway, dragging him with me. "We're not dating," I defended. "We're justfriends."
Lizzie pursed her lips and glanced down at our hands. "Uhhuh."
I sighed, shooting a glare at Grayson. God, sometimes, he just made me want to give him a high five...in that damn smug face of his...with a chair. "Okay, yeah, well, um...don't wait up." I didn't stop to hear a reply, instead continued to drag Grayson away, my faceflaming.
The hot southern twilight air slid over my skin as I pushed through the building's side door. "Can you not?" I snapped, looking over myshoulder.
Grayson's big blue eyes blinked at me, all fake innocence. "What?"
"Oh, never mind." I dropped his hand and strode down the side steps until we reached the small courtyard opening alongside the dorm. "What did you and Texasfind?"