“You can’t get out of it?” I asked.Beggedwas more like it.
“Afraid not.” Her mouth turned down. “There’s no one left to cover for me. I’m sorry, Finn.” She glanced up at me with wistful eyes. “I bet it’s going to be a ton of fun.”
“Not as much fun as it would be if you were there.”
We stopped outside the front doors to Hillman Hall. Tilting her head she asked, “You don’t think you’ll take someone else?”
She was fishing in waters that were full of traps—for me.
“Nah. Most of the team goes, and not many of us bring a date.” I peeked at her from beneath my brows. “I heard Jamaica’s going.” Then I frowned. “Guess she’s one of the RAs you’re covering for, huh?”
“Yep.” Tilting her head, she studied me. “You’re really not going to ask anyone else?”
I stared down at where I was scuffing the toe of my boot into the snow on the sidewalk. “You were the only girl I wanted to play with.” Gazing into her eyes, I said, “Guess I’ll have to come up with a different epic idea for our first date.”
For a long moment, we stared into each other’s eyes.
She blinked first. “Give me some advance notice so I can shift my call if it’s my turn.”
Well, if that wasn’t a green light for pursuing this girl, I didn’t know what was. “I’ll need your number for that.”
Somewhere inside the building a bell rang, signaling two minutes until classes started. “I’ve gotta go.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and pulled up a screen. “Digits, Chessly.”
She rattled off her number, flashed me a quick grin, and headed into Hillman Hall. Over her shoulder she called, “I’m looking forward to epic.”
Long after she disappeared inside the building, I stood on the sidewalk with a stupid smile on my face. Chessly Clarke wanted to go out with me. She was looking forward to an epic date. I’d made her a promise, and I had every intention of delivering.
The Monday following Valentine’s Day, my physical chemistry prof decided people weren’t taking the class seriously enough. To drive home his point, he assigned quizzes for every class for the next two weeks. By Thursday I was up to my ears in calculus, physics, and chemistry problems all rolled together, leaving me in serious danger of drowning in a sea of red marks, so I sent up an SOS to the one person I thought wouldn’t mind helping me. I hoped.
Me: Hey, you busy this afternoon?
Chess: I need more advance notice than a couple hours for an epic date.
Me: No doubt. And I promise to give that to you.
Chess: So what’s up?
Me: This is me phoning a friend. ;) Would you mind helping me with some physics problems? I’ll pay you in coffee or ice cream or both. Your choice.
Chess: Both. Coffee before, ice cream after.
Me: Deal. Meet you at the Union in thirty?
Chess: Done.
I’d texted her some videos of a couple of the more spectacular wrecks on the sledding hill on Valentine’s Day with a “wish you were here” note. She’d texted back laughing emojis. Other than that, we hadn’t burned up each other’s phones in the past week. If not for my pouty prof giving me an excuse, I probably would have resorted to barraging her with texts.
“What’s with the cheesy grin, Finn? You got a hot date?” Danny teased as he passed through the living room with a load of laundry in his arms.
I swear, our new roommate practically lived in our laundry room. Of course, since he wasn’t on scholarship—yet—he had a job at a local tire shop. Guess it was dirty work.
“Not yet. But I’m working on it.”
He stopped and leveled me with a glare. “Not with one of those jersey chasers, I hope.”
“No, Dad. I’ve figured out the deal with those girls. Especially since it means less money for my friends for scholarships.” It was my turn to level him with my stare.
