“Oh, is it now? I hadn’t noticed,” she says, but she’s already moving toward the empty table. The one right next to his.
I grit my teeth, knowing arguing with her will just cause a scene, which is the last thing I want, so I don’t. I do what I toldCallum I was good at—I follow, and I feel eyes on me the entire way. They don’t leave me as I set my tray down on the table and slide into a chair, hanging my jacket off the back.
The feeling doesn’t go away, not even as I crack open my water bottle and take a long drink, and it keeps going as the conversation at the table behind us gets louder.
“She just wouldn’t stop, man,” says Lewis Carlo, one of Callum’s teammates, and from his tone and the slick grin on his face, I get a sense I won’t like where this conversation is headed. “I tried to tell her if she didn’t pull off, I would blow my load right down her throat, but no, she was insistent. She just kept sucking me, and fuck, it was incredible. Didn’t even last ten more seconds. Hottest fucking nut of my life, dude.”
A few of the guys laugh, some of them giving him a few pats on the back likehewas the one who did all the work. I barely resist rolling my eyes.
“What about you, Kells? Did you get any pussy this weekend? I bet you’re fucking swimming in it, Mr. Overtime Winner.”
I glance over at Talia, who is already looking my way. She gives me a wobbly smile, and I can tell she feels bad for dragging me over here. We’ve never outright discussed my little crush on Callum, but since Talia and I have been best friends since middle school, it’s safe to say we practically have ESP. I don’t have to say how I feel out loud—she knows.
Stop listening, Chloe, I say to myself.Just tune it out.
“Um, no,” he finally says after a few moments of silence.
I exhale heavily, not even realizing I was holding my breath.
“What?!” Lewis exclaims. “Even after that goal you had on Saturday? I thought for sure the puck bunnies would be all over you after that.”
“They probably would have if he had actually come out with us,” a new voice says, and if I remember correctly, this one belongs to Frank Hamm, another teammate. “The fucker bailedagain, remember? Or you would if you hadn’t been completely wasted that night.”
Lewis snaps his fingers. “That’s right. It’s all coming back to me. What was your reasoning for ditching us this time?”
“It was my little brother’s birthday, and I promised him a virtualShrekmarathon.”
Nobody says anything, almost like they’re waiting for the punchline, and when it doesn’t come, someone finally speaks.
“What are you doing in my swamp?!”
All the guys laugh, and I have no idea who has just poorly imitated the ogre, but it doesn’t matter. I can’t stop thinking about Callum’s answer. He skipped going out with friends to have a movie date with his little brother? That sounds nothing like the cocky jock I know from class. It’s actually…sweet.
They start quoting more of the movie, and while I find it hilarious—how can you not laugh atShrek?—I’m still reeling from learning about this new side of the jock I love to hate. Admittedly, I don’t know much about him other than what I’ve seen in class, around campus, and on the ice. We’ve never truly hung out, but I always got the feeling we would have nothing in common.
I’m rethinking that now.
I’m halfway through my lunch when Talia abruptly shoots to her feet. I look up at her, puzzled as she begins stuffing her untouched Oreos and peanut butter into her pocket.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m finishing this in our room.”
“Wait, what? Why?” I say through a bite of yogurt. “I’m not done.”
“I am.” She darts her eyes behind me, and I turn to find none other than the guy who broke her heart strutting up to the table…with a new girl on his arm.
I twist my lips into a sneer.Fucking Shawn.
“Come on, Tally,” I say, “don’t let him ruin your lunch. He’s not worth it.”
She shakes her head, unshed tears shining in her pretty blue eyes. “I know. I just want to go back to the room, though. Please, Chlo?”
Just as I begged her for a reprieve earlier, she’s now asking me for the same. I give it to her.
“All right,” I tell her, pushing to my feet, “let’s go. We can skip our next class if you want.”
Sure, my parents would kill me if they knew I even suggested it, but I try to push the guilt away.
