9
Ryan
I didn’t bother going to the library over the next two weeks. There was no point.
Dominic would just drag me out here.
On the plus side, Max had landed himself a girlfriend who now joined us. Amy. Her name, and the fact that she was friends with Maya, were literally the only things I knew about her. I doubted Max knew much more than that. He was too busy exploring how far he could get his tongue down her throat to bother talking. Thankfully, that meant he had little time to snark at me.
Max being distracted gave me the confidence to try Dominic’s advice. I didn’t know if I was glad or pissed off that it was working.
He’d told me to fake it until I made it, and that was what I’d been doing. Without Max watching my every move, I’d tentatively joined in on conversations. I’d cracked jokes I hadn’t realised I was capable of, slipping into the patter of banter that had always eluded me.
Now, they seemed happy when I joined them. It wasn’t just at lunch either. Suddenly they were popping up all over college.Craig had started sitting beside me in psychology. Marcus invited me over to play the latest GTA game. Josh and Damien insisted on giving me ‘bro hugs’ whenever I crossed their path. They were less like hugs and more attempts to crush my ribs, but I’d take it.
My phone was full of more numbers than ever. I’d ended up picking up another paper round in the last fortnight just to keep my phone topped up so I could reply to the messages I was now getting.
Then there was Maya.
Maya, with her button nose and cute smile. A smile she kept flashing in my direction.
I might not have had much experience—none, really—but I suspected Maya was flirting with me.
It had started out with small things. Her laughing at everything I said. Making sure to stand right beside me at lunch. Hooking her arm through mine as we walked to class. It had progressed to her touching me as often as she could.
On paper, I should have been thrilled about this development. And maybe I would’ve been, if Dominic weren’t always beside us. Even when we walked to class, he seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was ironic that he called me Shadow, because that was what he’d become. A hulking shadow, throwing shade over my interactions with Maya.
I should have hated it more than I did. But, the truth was, sometimes I didn’t know how to interact with her. I might’ve found it easier with the others, but with Maya? That confidence was missing.
We were at lunch and Maya was once again giving me all her attention.
“You’re so funny,” she trilled, her hand landing on my thigh. “You crack me up.”
I fought the urge to politely nudge her hand away. It felt…wrong. I didn’t want her hand there, but I didn’t know how to move it without offending her.
I was perched on the rail next to Dominic. I hadn’t bothered trying to sit or stand elsewhere. Figured if I just went along with what he seemed to want then maybe he’d go back to ignoring me.
It was working too. He’d barely said two words to me since the last time he’d dragged me out of the library. I should probably thank him. I wasn’t being bullied. Him and Max weren’t bothering me. I even had friends now.
And a hot girl flirting with me. One I couldn’t seem to summon any interest in, but it still counted.
Maybe he’ll make you thank him by getting on your knees again.
I gritted my teeth against that thought. No. It wasn’t happening again, and it certainly wasn’t taking up any more of my brain space.
It had done enough of that already.
“Am I?” Maya’s hand was still on my thigh, but I figured I should at least try to flirt back. If nothing else, it’d be good practice for the future. I shot her a lazy grin I’d seen Max and Dominic use so many times in the past. “Maybe you’re just biased.”
“Maybe I am.” She leaned closer, fluttering her eyelashes. They weren’t nearly as long as Dominic’s.
Why the fuck would you make that comparison?
There was a sudden warmth at my shoulder. “What are you two talking about?”
I huffed, leaning away from Dominic. I hated how I could still feel the heat of where our shoulders had briefly connected. “None of your business.”
Dominic flicked my nose. “Everything you do is my business, Shadow.”
