“Ladies.” I cleared my throat. “I don’t want to be rude, but could you back off, please? I’m waiting for someone.”
Hair twirler stuffed her hands on her hips. “Who are you waiting for?” The edge in her tone was at odds with the conversation.
“Look, Sally.”
“Sadie.”
“Right. Right. Sadie, could you give me some space?”
“I hope you aren’t here for that witch, Chessly Clarke. Someone said they saw you with her in the Union last week,” Mia, the clinger beside me said.
Seeing no way around it, I stood, forcing both girls to give me the room I’d asked for. “Nice seeing you. Have a good day.”
I strolled over to the desk, leaned against it, and pulled out my phone. Right then, Chess rounded the corner into the lobby, and my heart did a little happy dance.
I couldn’t help the smile stretching my lips. “Hey, you. Ready to go?”
Her answering smile stopped halfway as she glanced past me. “Um—”
“Seriously, Finn? You’ve been ditching us for her?” Mia sneered.
Hurt flickered over Chessly’s features before she composed her face into something bland. The first expression gave me a pang. The second one terrified me.
Taking a step toward her and lowering my voice, I said, “Chess. Do not let these girls wreck our afternoon before it even starts.”
Her eyes found mine, and whatever she saw there must have reassured her I meant it because she squared her shoulders and said, “I hope you have snacks ’cause I missed lunch.”
Slipping her hand in mine, I turned and walked right between the two jersey chasers who seemed to want to block our exit but stepped aside once they figured out I wasn’t going to stop moving.
“She can’t possibly be any fun, Finn,” Sadie said as I passed by her.
My mama raised me to be polite, especially to girls, but I guess some of them didn’t appreciate it enough to return the favor. Still, rather than engage, I kept walking. It wasn’t until we were outside the building and halfway to my truck that I caught on that Chessly was having to double-time to keep up with my stride.
“Sorry,” I said as I slowed down. “Those two ambushed me the second I hung up the phone with you. I had to work to remember their names even, so don’t go thinking I have something going on with them.”
I shot her a you-have-to-believe-me look as I opened the passenger door to my truck for her.
She remained quiet as she climbed in, and I worried about that too.
It had taken way too much time and the hell my best friend had gone through last semester for me to catch a clue about Tory Miller and her bunch of jersey chasers. The little scene in the dorm lobby only confirmed my roommates’ wisdom in staying far away from those girls. That politeness my mom had drilled into me when I was growing up had its place, and for the most part it had served me well. But maybe I needed to put it aside in certain circumstances. The idea didn’t sit well, but given a choice between sneering freshmen whose only interest in me came from the fact I played football and the hot woman currently seated in my ride, there was no contest. Now I needed to convince her of that.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chessly
“What’s your preferencefor lunch? We can call it in and pick it up on the way to my place,” Finn said as he swung up into the driver’s seat of his truck.
“I don’t know. Have you eaten?” I stared at his big hands as he buckled himself in. Those hands fascinated me, especially when they touched me.
“I ate half a pizza about an hour ago for a snack, so I could do with lunch.”
That grin should probably be added to an infectious disease list. As much as I wanted to ignore it, to my disgust the corner of my mouth twitched. “You ate half a pizza as asnack? Wow.”
He patted his fit abs. “It takes calories to keep this motor running.”
Though I shook my head, I couldn’t help but smile at his ridiculousness. “I could go for a Pickle Barrel.”
His grin ratcheted up several watts. “Excellent plan. Their subs are my favorite.” Putting the truck in gear, he added, “And their monster cookies—mmm, mmm, mmm. I might have to order a couple of those.”
