Gosh, when had I become so dependent on having a boyfriend? I used to be a social butterfly. But after the bonfire fiasco I'd practically ran into Mick's arms, wanting to get lost in the feeling of new couple-hood bliss.
"I'll be there," I told him.
I hurried off to my first class of the day, hoping for the first time that both of my classes would go slowly, putting off the inevitable interview.
* * *
I walked out into the quad and immediately spotted Rush sitting on top of one of the picnic tables on the far east side. The quad was quieter than it had been just a few days ago since the weather had begun to cool down, with people favoring the indoors for studying and hangouts.
Crossing the large grassy area, I made my way toward Rush. His head was bent down looking at his phone, his backpack sitting next to him on the table. He wore a charcoal jacket that fit snugly around his biceps and shoulders, and a pair of nice jeans. With the tall brick building and the leaves changing behind him, he looked like he belonged on the cover of the campus brochure. He'd definitely recruit a lot of people to come to Waterford.
Before I reached him, he looked up and saw me, his eyes lighting up in a way that made my stomach flip. His gaze took me in from head to toe before looking away like he hadn't just been checking me out. A small smile briefly touched my lips, and I hurried to compose myself.
He stood and put his phone away in his pocket. "Hey."
"Hi."
Tension filled the space around us as we continued to stare at each other in awkward silence. So much for me not making this a big deal and treating it like all the other interviews. We hadn't even started, and I was already failing.
The silence grew, and I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, gripping the strap on my bag for some kind of support. This would be so much easier if we didn't have a past, if we didn't know each other.
OMG. That's it! We could just pretend we'd never met, that this was our first time meeting, a reporter and an athlete.
I took a breath, ready to break the silence with my idea. "I know we both aren't excited about having to do this interview, so what if we, just for today, pretend that we have no past and that we don't know each other? I'm here only to interview you for the school paper, and you're here only to fulfill your football duties. We can move through the questions quickly and be on our way." I had to take another big breath after my speech as the words came out faster than I'd planned.
"I think that's a great idea," he said.
Phew. My body relaxed at his words, not knowing that I had been so wound up. This could work.
I set my bag on the picnic table and was about to sit down when his next sentence stopped me.
"On one condition."
Wait, what? My body went tense again. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Things never were with us.
He took a small step toward me. "I get to ask you questions too."
I turned to face him. "Uh, no. You agreed to this interview, and I'm the interviewer, so I ask the questions. End of story."
Rush slowly took another step, closing the remaining distance between us, a wicked grin on his lips. His hands came up to rest on my hips, bringing me even closer to him, my traitorous body melting into him, my hands resting on his shoulders. He was so warm, and he smelled like a mix of cologne and laundry detergent, clean and sexy.
His eyes glided from mine to my lips before making their way back up. "I think we've met before," he said, his voice low with an undercurrent of playfulness. "Actually I'm positive we have. There's no way I'd ever forget lips like yours."
I swallowed and worked hard to school my features. My willpower was no match for him. As much as I didn't want to give into his request, it would make things a lot easier than trying to fight off his over-the-top advances. My brain and body could only handle so much. If I had any hope of making it through this interview without regrets, I needed to agree to his condition. And how hard would it really be to answer a few questions?
I pushed at his chest to get away from him, effectively breaking the spell he had me under. "Okay, okay," I relented. "Fine. You can ask me questions too."
He walked around to the other side of the picnic table and sat down, a look I could only describe as victory now on his face.
I let out a sigh and sat down across from him.
He stretched out his arm across the table, giving me his hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Rush Monroe. It's nice to meet you."
I shook his hand and ignored the tingling sensation that accompanied it. I also ignored the smile he was giving me right now. It was his all-I-have-to-do-is-this-smile-and-you'll-be-putty-in-my-hands smile. I wasn't sure if he had the same name for that smile as I did, but I'd seen him give it to hundreds of women before. Including myself.
"Thank you for meeting with me today, Mr. Monroe," I said, letting go of his hand. "My name is Scarlet, and I'll be interviewing you today for the sports section ofThe Wolf's Print." Yes, I was being extra formal, but it was helping calm my nerves.
"Of course," he said. "I've been looking forward to it. I've heard a lot about it from my teammates, since I'm the last one to be interviewed and all."
