“You’re right. Last night left me feeling a little raw, bro; I gotta take it easy for a while.” He didn’t need to know that that shit was going to be permanent. He’d figure it out soon enough after I pass up a few more outings. I figured it’d take that long for him to get the picture, but I wasn’t worried. There was still the game and practice.
He shrugged with a somewhat worried look on his face before turning back to the others. I tuned out the conversation as I leaned back and looked across the room at her, still under cover of the peak of my ball cap.
As much as I was tempted to, I didn’t approach her. I told myself I had to stick to my guns, to buckle down and get my shit together. It was very telling that I didn’t much like the idea of not getting to know her, though, a first for me in a very long time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Susie enter the room. My whole body got tense, and I fought not to walk across the floor and throttle her. Chad noticed her at about the same time I saw the sickly sweet look cross her face and went on the attack.
Usually, I wouldn’t agree with any guy talking at a female, calling her out her name, or in any way being a douche nozzle, but when he lit into her before she reached us, I didn’t say shit. I guess she didn’t expect anyone to call her on her shit, and when he asked her what she dosed me with, she lost all color from her face.
“Cody, you’re going to let him talk to me like that?”
“What does it have to do with me?” The good thing is that no one else seemed aware of what was going on except for the guys at the table, who happened to be the same crew from the night before and who were pretty much up to speed with what had gone on right under their noses.
To say they were pissed is an understatement, and that’s why none of them were coming to her rescue. “Yo, that’s some foul shit you pulled. My dad’s a lawyer; when I called him earlier and told him what you did, he said you can be brought up on charges for that shit you pulled.”
My running back Case, who I wasn’t sure because of his personality, was telling the truth or making up shit as he goes looked like he wanted to slap her when he made that threat. “That’s right; how would you feel if he did that shit to you? That’s some twisted shit; get the fuck outta here.”
My lineman Dakota who was all of two hundred and eighty pounds of muscle and steel, stood to his feet like he was going to rush her. I’d forbidden them to even mention that shit to me, but it seems like they’d had their own little powwow about the whole situation.
I honestly wasn’t even thinking about her at this point. I’d already made up my mind to take the blame on myself. It was my own carelessness that had brought that shit to pass. If I hadn’t been acting like an ass, she never would’ve got the drop on me. It was the first and last time, so I was pretty much over it. As long as she stayed the hell away from me, I’m good.
The guys finally ran her off with their talk of retribution, and I didn’t even have to say shit to her. The whole time she was standing there lying out of her ass and trying to make her case, I was busy checking out the new girl. At least the idiot hadn’t stood in my line of vision.
My interest was well and truly peaked if I could overlook her and just brush off her shit so I could keep looking at shorty across the way. I was dying to see her up close. To see if her eyes were really that blue and her skin as perfect as it looked from where I sat.
Was she really as shy as she appeared? And that gracefulness, was it natural or an affectation to gain the attention of anyone who was looking? No way am I going to approach her in this room, though, there were too many eyes, and I’d long come to realize that college was a lot worse than high school when it came to gossip and childish behavior.
When she looked back in my direction, I knew I had her, though, even though her face gave nothing away. It was the way she hurriedly looked away and pretended interest in her food. Liar. She’d hardly eaten anything since taking her seat.