I leaned down so I could meet Troy’s blue-eyed gaze. “Nothing.”
“Then get your ass inside, we have places to be!”
I complied, sliding into the passenger seat. I tugged on my skirt lest I flash anyone unnecessarily too and finally settled as comfortably as possible in the giant orange monster.
I avoided looking at Troy completely until he said in a low voice, “Seatbelt.”
I turned my head and took him in for the first time. His light brown hair was pushed back, away from his face and he was sporting a fresh shave. He looked so different than how he showed up to class in dark jeans, a white V-neck t-shirt and a brown leather jacket.
My mouth went dry and I licked my lips, trying to find moisture and sanity. My brain also decided to go blank and I blinked at him cluelessly. “Huh?”
He tugged on his own safety belt. “Your seatbelt. Can you buckle it please?”
“Uh, sure.” I reached back and pulled the seatbelt around my waist, clicking it into place. When I turned back to him, his gaze was floating over my body taking in my short skirt and the small holes of my shirt. I cleared my throat and his eyes snapped to mine. “Good?”
He cleared his throat, his voice dipping lower than usual when he said, “Yeah, we’re good.”
His long fingers turned the keys in the ignition and I had to smile at the rabbit’s foot dangling from the chain. He didn’t strike me as the superstitious type. But really, what did I know about Troy Cameron? He might be terrified of black cats for all I knew.
He drove deftly through the student parking lot and beyond campus. He seemed to know the area well and I almost asked him if he was from here, but I held my tongue. I wasn’t here to be friends with Troy. We just had a project.
And Gina and I needed a ride.
No big deal.
“Oh, shit,” I groaned. “I forgot my English notebook.”
Gina and Mikey had fallen into easy conversation in the back seat and since Mikey had rolled his window down a crack, we couldn’t hear them very well.
But when Troy glanced over at me, registering the small size of my purse, his eyebrows shot up and he exclaimed, “Did you forget the sandwiches too?”
Mikey heard that. He slid forward and threw his gigantic arms over the long bench seat. “You forgot the sandwiches? I was promised sandwiches!”
I glanced back at Gina, who was trying not to laugh. “Where were we going to get sandwiches?” I demanded of them. “It’s not like I have ham and cheese just sitting around in my dorm room.”
Troy cocked his head back. “Why not?”
“Because I have a dining room punch card. I eat my meals in the cafeteria.”
He still looked confused. “But what about when it’s not meal time. What do you do for snacks?”
“How many snacks do you eat a day?”
Mikey and Troy shared a look, grinning at each other. “Enough that we keep ham and cheese in our dorm rooms,” Mikey laughed. But then he sat back and rubbed his belly, pulling his shirt up to reveal a tanned stomach and lots of muscles—too many muscles.
I caught Gina staring.
“I’m not going to make it through the night,” Mikey declared. “I need food.”
Troy glanced at his watch. “We have time to stop. There’s a diner on the way.”
“We don’t have time to stop,” I argued. “We’re already cutting it close.”
“We have time.” Troy’s hand shot out and grabbed my knee, squeezing it in his giant palm. “Chill, Carmichael. The opening bands will suck anyway. You’ll get to see your boyfriend play. Promise.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Troy looked over and caught my gaze for a brief moment before turning back to the road. There was something in those blue eyes I couldn’t read, something surprisingly deep and heated. I held my breath until he looked away.
