I walk off and out of the classroom, irritated as hell. I hear his footsteps behind me.
“I think we should at least try to be friends,” he says when he catches up to me.
I walk out of the building, not bothering to hold the door for him. There’s a muffled “oof” behind me from the door hitting him. A tiny burst of satisfaction swoops through me.
“Well, I don’t want to be friends with my ex-boyfriend, who cheated on me,” I say as I gaze ahead while walking across campus. “And even if we were on good terms, you know I don’t like doing homework together. I always prefer to do it alone.”
“Really? Then how come you’re studying with Nick St. George?”
I stop walking and turn to Brody. “What are you talking about?”
The side of his jaw bulges as he bites down, clearly pissed at the thought of Nick and I doing anything together.
“I heard you’re tutoring him,” Brody mutters.
I straighten up and hold his gaze. “I am.”
“So I guess you have no problem studying with him.”
“He’s my boyfriend. Of course I’d make an exception for him.” Brody is an entitled jerk for being upset about this.
His mouth curves down like he’s disgusted at the thought of Nick and me together. The irritation inside of me turns into anger. He has no right to be mad about what I do or who I spend my time with.
“So I guess you’ll be studying with your new boyfriend all weekend, huh?” Brody says.
“And going to a party together,” I say, wanting to get a rise out of him for acting like such a jerk.
He makes a face like he’s disgusted. “A party? Are you serious?”
That satisfied feeling bubbles up inside of me. “Yup. I’m excited to go out and let loose for a bit.”
He scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Wow. Never thought you were the partying type. You hate parties.”
“Not anymore,” I say. “I love going to parties with Nick. He’s so fun to hang out with.”
Brody’s blue eyes turn hard as he glares at me. “You’re really lowering yourself to be with this guy, aren’t you?”
My smile fades. “Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Have fun at the party,” he mutters as he walks off.
I head to my next class, annoyed and angry at Brody. I’m so sick of dealing with him.
When I head to the Writing Center later that afternoon for my shift, Anna is there.
She smiles up at me. “How’s it going?”
“Good, other than when Brody tried to talk to me after our European Politics class.”
Anna makes a face. “What happened?”
I tell her about how I returned his laptop bag, and he tried to ask me to study with him, which led to us arguing.
“God, he’s the worst.”
I set my backpack on the floor and get settled next to Anna. “It’s whatever. I’m just sick of dealing with him.”
She gently nudges me with her elbow. “So my brother told me that you’re going to that big house party with him on Saturday.”
