Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 112951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
He sat and gazed at the board. “You have every week planned out?”
“You don’t? It’s called using a syllabus.”
“Pretty sure my syllabus doesn’t look like that.”
He was right. I was three weeks ahead. I kept that to myself. “Excuse me.” I bent close to him, ignoring the proximity of our bodies and how my hip would touch him if I shifted a half-inch to my left.
I typed in my password so he could get to his email.
The room was getting warm again.
Maybe my thermostat was broken?
I finished and stepped back. “There. Pull up the notes, Coleman.”
He chuckled under his breath. “Coleman.” His fingers were fast as he typed. “Your email?”
I gave it to him, and it was forwarded in the next second.
I pressed my lips together. “You could’ve done that anywhere.”
“I know.” He scooted the chair back and looked around the room again. “But like I said, I was in the area and I wanted to see where you lived.” He went over to the television and began looking through the movies. “You have a lot of chick flicks.” He pulled out one of mine, one that wasn’t a chick flick. “This is a good one.”
“It’s my roommate’s.” I folded my arms over my chest. “I only watch romantic sappy movies.”
“I doubt that, for some reason.” He picked up the other one of mine. “We should watch this.”
“Gladiator?”
“Yeah.” He pulled it out and hit the open button on the DVD player.
“What? Now?” Panic was rising again. It had settled, thinking he’d leave as quick as he came. Nope. It was rising to the red needle as he sat on the loveseat.
“Yeah. Why not?” He looked to my clock on the nightstand. “I’ve got a couple of hours to kill. If I head home, the guys will want to head to the bar or something.”
“Don’t you have a game tomorrow?” Shouldn’t he have training to do? Or carb training? Or . . . what did football players do before a big game day? I looked bleakly to the screen. The movie was starting. Did they watch Gladiator? Was that part of their routine? “You can borrow this if you want. You can take it to your house and watch it there.”
He patted the seat next to him. “Come on, Clarke. I’m not going to put the moves on you. We don’t like each other, remember?”
My scowl was back in place. “You’re making fun of me.”
“Because you’re so easy to mess with. Seriously. Come and sit.” He patted the seat once again. “If I put my arm around you, it’s because I have to stretch. Can’t cramp up. I’m the quarterback.” He winked.
“Stop fucking with me.”
Missy could come in. She usually did at least once or twice. They’d gone to eat, but she always came in to leave her things. Holly and the cousin walked with her because they couldn’t walk an entire hallway alone. Then she’d go back to their room before coming back again to change if they decided to go out to a party or somewhere else.
He couldn’t be in my room during that prime time.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re upset, for real?”
“Yes. You don’t know what it’s like.”
They’d see him. They’d look at me differently. They’d want to use me or get angry because he was hanging out with me and not them. Missy thought I was beneath her. So did the others.
He cursed, scooting forward and resting his elbows on his knees. “You want me to leave?”
Yes!
I should’ve said that word, but I didn’t. My mouth didn’t move. Why didn’t it move? I bit my lip, and what I knew would happen, happened.
I heard Missy’s voice in the hallway.
New panic that I’d never felt before stuck in my throat. “Get in the closet. Now!”
“Wha—” He stood, and I shoved him in. “Are you serious?” A hanger poked his cheek. He batted it away, scowling at me now. “You’re insane.”
“Sorry.”
They were at the door.
She used her key to unlock it.
I shut my closet door and stood in front of it, feeling like an idiot. My smile would’ve won the most awkward prize ever. I even twiddled my thumbs together.
Missy came in, saw me, and stopped. Her eyebrows dipped together. “You look weird.”
I stopped twiddling my thumbs. “No, I don’t.”
Holly was right behind her. “What are you doing?”
“Standing.”
“We can see that.”
I raised one of my feet up behind me. “I mean, I’m practicing my balance. You guys should, too.”
Missy snorted, going to her desk. She tossed her keys down and checked her email.
“Your balance?” Holly lifted her left leg up. “An odd way to pass the time, but yeah. I can see the appeal. Do you do yoga, Kennedy?”
I wanted to curse at them. I wanted to rage. I wanted them to go away.
I just smiled. “Maybe I should try.”