I sigh and pick up the small bowl and dip into the melting chocolate ice cream. I taste the cold, creamy goodness and say, “Mmmm, it is good, Alex.” When I look at him, his eyes are on my spoon, then my mouth. He has a funny look on his face. Is he breathing hard? “Alex? Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah? Yep, your ice cream, it looks good. It looks really good,” he says, nodding. He squeezes his eyes closed tightly before turning back to his plate to eat his pile of food while I finish my ice cream.
“So, is our football team any good?” I ask the group. That’s when I hear a few laughs and a gasp or two, and see some people giving me blank stares. “What? I don’t know anything about football.”
A rather slim guy, at least compared to everyone else, sitting next to Hank replies, “Uh, yeah! We went to the Sugar Bowl last year. Have you heard of the Sugar Bowl, sweetheart?”
Another guy interjects, “And the year before that, we were the Big 10 Champions. Have you heard of the Big 10?”
I wait to reply because, in fact, I have no clue what a Sugar Bowl is. “Of course!” I sound so sure of myself. “Which one of you is the best player?” I ask to change the subject.
More laughter erupts. I’m so glad I’m the entertainment tonight.
Then Hank says, “It’s all right, Stella. It’s refreshing to meet a girl who isn’t after Alex for his future NFL earnings.”
“I’m not after Alex!” The heat of my blush rushes to my cheeks. Dropping my spoon, I push away from the table.
Now the laughs have turned into cackles and even a couple knee slaps.
“I’m not. He's just a friend.” Tears start to burn right behind my eyes. This is not what I need right now, people thinking I’m after Alex. He must be so embarrassed. When I turn to him, concern lines his face. Oh no! This is too much right now. I whisper, “Alex, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I didn’t mean to make you think I was after you.”
I jumpup from my seat as quickly as possible, grab my tray, then drop it back down. I don’t know what to do with it. I dart out of the cafeteria, not daring to glance back, and head to the elevators, but then I think better of it. If I take the stairs, I canget back to my room much faster. I hope I’ve gotten enough distance between Alex and me. I just want to get to my room, shut my door, and put on some music. Music soothes me, and I’m in desperate need of comfort right now. Gah! This is ridiculous. I’m a frigging happy person normally. Is this what college is going to be like? Maybe I should find Lily. Then I’d have a friend with me at least. Things have got to be better tomorrow. They’ve just got to be. When I reach my floor and turn the corner to my hallway, Alex is leaning against my door. I’m sweating and panting from all the flights of stairs while he looks like it took him three strides to get here. Unfair.
When I reach my door, Alex asks, “What’s going on, Pixie?”
“Nothing.” I stare up at him and release a lungful of air. “I don’t know.” I shake my head, my fingers gripping the doorknob. “Everything has been so overwhelming, and I’ve only been here three days. Plus, I didn’t mean to embarrass you down there, Alex.”
“Why would you think you embarrassed me? The guys should be embarrassed. They made you feel bad. Don’t worry, I’ll kick their asses at practice tomorrow.”
“No, don’t do that! I know you must be embarrassed to have them think that I’m after you. You know, for your money and body and stuff.”
“Why would you think I’d be embarrassed by that, Stella? I rather like the idea that you’d be after me for my body.” He gives me another glimpse of his perfect smile.
“Well, just look at me!” I exclaim.
“Oh, I’ve been looking at you,” Alex says as he looks at my face, then my chest, then back at my face.
“I’m definitely not your type, Alex.”
“And what type is that, Pixie?”
“Stop calling me Pixie. I’m not little!” I say, frustrated.
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m short, but I’m definitely not little.”
“Stella, I could pick you up with one hand.”
“No, you couldn’t. Plus, you’d get hurt if you tried. I weigh a lot.” But he isn’t listening anymore. Nope, he’s wrapping his huge, muscled arm around my waist. He then lifts me off the ground like I’m a small child. He’s lifted me just high enough so we’re face-to-face, inches apart. I’m not sure what to do with my legs because right now they’re just dangling, so I wrap them around his waist.
“See, I told you I could lift you with one hand.”
He moves my body back until it’s up against the wall. “Please put me down, Alex. You’re going to get injured!”
Alex doesn’t listen; instead, he uses his other arm to wrap around me, pulling me even closer.
“What are you doing, Alex?”
