“Because I’m busy.”
“No one is that busy,” she argued, stealing one of my crackers. “Alex is like a frigging unicorn. You don’t tell a unicorn you’re too busy—you just bask in its magnificence for as long as it allows.”
“I think you’re giving him too much credit,” I said, laughing a little. “He’s just a guy.”
“Unicorn,” she replied stubbornly.
“Handsome, yes.”
“Hotter than the sun, you mean?”
“And charming.”
“He could talk a nun into stripping out of her habit. To music. On a pole.”
I burst out laughing, choking on the apple. “Stop it,” I said, wheezing.
“You know it’s true,” she said, pointing a cracker at me.
“Well, he hasn’t convinced me to strip out of anything,” I said with a shrug.
“No,” she whispered, her mouth hanging open. “You haven’t hit that yet?”
“Ew, don’t say hit that.” I wrinkled my nose.
“He’s telling people that you’re together, and you haven’t even had sex yet?” she asked in a whisper, completely ignoring the way I’d tried to change the direction of our conversation. “Whoa.”
“We’re getting to know each other,” I replied with a shrug.
Alex and I hadn’t had a chance to meet up over the weekend. I’d been completely bogged down with schoolwork and forced myself to stay home and get it done. It was getting harder to focus on my classes and work when my mind seemed to be stuck on Alex all the time. It turned out that he’d sprained his ACL during practice. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but I knew it was serious enough that he had to do physical therapy to get it back to normal. I wanted to take care of him while it healed and spend more time relaxing on the couch while we learned more about each other. And frankly, I wanted sex. I could admit it. I wanted to see him naked and do all sorts of dirty things to him.
It just wasn’t the right time yet. Soon, though, I hoped.
“You guys should come over for dinner this week,” Hailey said, as if it were the best idea she’d ever had. “Shit, I have to pee. Be right back.”
She took off in a hurry, and I knew she’d never get back before class started again. Thankfully, Professor Morrow treated Hailey like a featherbrained granddaughter and never chastised her when she was late.
I put away my snack as students started filtering back into the room. Damn, I really didn’t want to have dinner with Hailey and Sean, but I had no idea how to get out of it. I knew Hailey wouldn’t let it go, though. If I didn’t tell her no, she’d remind me over and over until we made set plans.
The thought of eating a meal with Sean made me want to cry. Okay, maybe not cry, but it was pretty low on my list of things I’d enjoy. He was a jackass, and I wished he’d never even met my friend. Hailey had stopped talking about him as much lately, and I was pretty sure it was because there was nothing good to say. She knew that I wasn’t his biggest fan, and I think she might have been afraid to say anything against him and make my opinion of him even worse.
Thankfully, Hailey didn’t make it back before Professor Morrow started speaking, and by the time she slid back into her seat, the entire class was silent. She didn’t have any opportunity to bring the dinner up again.
* * *
“He’s such an asshole,” I muttered two days later as Alex and I drove toward Sean and Hailey’s little house.
I’d been correct when I’d assumed that Hailey wouldn’t let the invitation to dinner go unanswered. I hadn’t expected her to have Sean ask Alex about it, though.
“He’ll probably be on his best behavior since he’s not drinking tonight.” Alex reached over and laced his fingers through mine so he could hold my hand.
“How do you know he’s not drinking?” I asked, watching Alex’s thumb smooth over the back of my hand.
“We’ve got a fitness test tomorrow,” he said. “And I’m sure he doesn’t want to fail it.”
“How’s that going to go for you?” I asked, glancing at his knee. It was wrapped in a brace, and it still looked painful even though Alex was barely limping anymore.
“No test for me,” Alex replied. “Just physical therapy for a while.”
“I can’t believe you hurt it during a practice,” I teased.
“Yeah, yeah.” He grinned. “At least I got out of that softball commitment, though. Now we have Tuesdays and Fridays.”
“And we’re spending it at Hailey and Sean’s,” I replied with a sigh.
“It won’t be that bad,” he said, laughing a little. “We’ll have dinner and then leave.”
“I don’t understand how you’re still friends with him.” I leaned my head against the headrest. “He’s a terrible person.”
“I’m not,” he said, glancing at me. “But Hailey is your friend, so I thought you’d want to go.”