Her hand brushes my cheek before she leaves the vehicle. I hate to watch her go, but I have no other choice. When I walk into the living room a few minutes later, the guys are glad to see me and eager to tell me all about the games I missed. Mickey’s yammering on about our next opponent, and Ollie’s chiming in and showing me game tape on his phone. I need to meet with the trainer in a few hours, and I’ve got a paper to finish for my film class. I don’t feel good about the way Liza and I left things, but when I check my phone to see if she texted, all I see is a message from my dad.
When I hear the back door close and watch Liza’s car peel out of her spot in the driveway, I feel like the universe is shouting at me to get on with my regularly scheduled life.
Screw the universe.
Sure, the fantasy was nice while it lasted, and that’s why I’m going to do everything I can to turn it into reality.
24
Liza
“Are you having fun?”
Turning toward Blue’s voice, I can’t help but smile. “It’s the winter carnival, we have the day off from classes, and there’s a stand selling chocolate covered strawberries. How can I not be having a good time?”
“Fair point,” he agrees, reaching into my cup and stealing a chocolatey berry.
“I’m supposed to be meeting Bridgette here, but I guess she got held up at the salon.” I take another glance at my phone, but there’s still no message from her.
Blue coughs, like the stolen berry went down the wrong pipe. “The salon, yeah. I bet she totally got held up with some perm emergency. Or she and Sparky are screwing like bunnies back at the very empty hockey house. But sure, we’ll go with your theory.”
“You’re just jealous that they thought up that plan before we did,” I say with a smirk.
“Accurate. But they’re on the third floor, so if we take the basement, nobody will ever know. What do you say?”
“I say you're delusional. And very bad at keeping secrets. We’re not supposed to be friends, and you definitely shouldn’t be walking around in public with me. The whole freaking campus is here today, and somebody from the hockey team is bound to see us.” Not that I mind walking around with Blue. It’s crazy, but I actually like him as a person. I’m the type of girl who has a few close friends and a million acquaintances. I thought my tiny little circle was full, and I was fine with it because I happen to have an amazing group of friends. But then Blue entered the picture. Sure, it took us a while to warm up to each other, but once we landed on the same page, things have been pretty great.
Are they great enough to level up?
I really don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it ever since he mentioned it last weekend. Truthfully, I’ve been thinking about it longer than that. Can you blame me? The man is gorgeous. And he’s funny. But he’s also surprisingly sweet. When I’m with him, I feel like the only other person in the world. But we don’t live in a bubble, as much as I sometimes wish we could. Would a relationship between the two of us even work? Aren’t we too different? And maybe sex really is the only thing between us. Maybe it’s my imagination or my endorphins that are trying to convince me otherwise. Maybe Blue’s caught up in all of it, too.
“Would it be so bad?” he asks, a frown marring his handsome features.
“Dating you?” I blurt, still lost in my thoughts.
“Uh, I meant would it be so bad if one of the guys saw us walking through the carnival together, but now that you mention it, let’s talk about the rhinoceros in the room.”
“I think you mean elephant,” I correct him.
Blue shakes his head. “Everybody’s got elephants in their rooms. I’m no follower. I’m a trendsetter. So I choose the rhinoceros.”
“Of course you do,” I mutter, flicking his bicep playfully. He probably barely feels it, though. We’re strolling down a path filled with tents run by various student organizations. The odds that someone will spot us are getting higher, but I can’t bring myself to care. And even if they do, it’s not a crime to walk with someone. Besides, I work for the hockey team and he’s on the hockey team. We could totally be having a strategy session right now.
It’s possible.
“My earlier question still applies,” he says, stopping in front of a booth selling cider and hot cocoa.
“What question?” I ask. Being this close to Blue scrambles my brain sometimes.
“Would it be so bad? Dating me, I mean. Surely there are worse guys on this campus to be stuck with, right?” He punctuates his question with one of his trademark grins. He looks like the heroic prince from an old cartoon. All that’s missing is a little twinkle of light right next to his perfectly straight, gleaming teeth.
I shrug, feigning nonchalance when I am, in fact, chalant as hell. “I guess you’re not so bad. Your personality is mid, at best, but you are nice to look at.”
“Stop,” he teases. “You’re making me blush with all the compliments.”
Blue reaches for my hand, and I take it. Part of my brain is ready to go into meltdown mode, but another, larger part of me craves the feel of his hand in mine. We walk for a few more minutes, just enjoying the quiet between us. There’s noise and movement all around us, but we aren’t paying attention to any of it. We’re back in our bubble.
“I’m serious, you know,” he says, seemingly out of nowhere. It takes me a minute to realize he’s still talking about the two of us dating. “We’re pretty good together, if you think about it.”
