“On campus? Are you a transfer student?” He gives me the side-eye.
“Yes and no,” I answer in succession.
“How’d you get a parking pass?”
“I didn’t, I used the visitor lot today. It’s so far from my classes, I might as well have walked,” I admit while trying to keep up with his pace.
A grin slides over his lips. “I didn’t peg you for a rule breaker.”
“Well, I vastly underestimated the size of this campus.” I don’t tell him I have my car today so I could escape faster if I felt the need to.
TWO FOR ONE
“Here we are.” Oswald hauls open the door of an older truck, which squeals in protest, and then he grabs another handle on the inside of the door. It flaps open in reverse, revealing a tiny backseat, where he sets our bags. I hear another groan of metal as the driver’s door opens, exposing Gravlin.
I lean forward and place my foot on the bar to get in after our bags, but I stop dead when I feel an arm wrap around my waist. “Not back there.” Oswald hauls me back, and my butt bumps into his front. He slams the little door and urges me toward the front seat with his body pressed up against mine.
The calm that usually accompanies his touch is absent. I’m way too aware of his fingers near my hips and the way his arm is lingering on my waist to be relaxed. “Scoot in,” he urges just after my butt lands on the seat. I glance over at Gravlin to see if he’s going to object, but he’s just watching me.
This is how horror movies start, with a girl making a dumb decision just like this, but I still scoot closer to Gravlin, and Oswald climbs in right behind me.
“Seatbelt,” Gravlin instructs, and I look over my shoulder.
“It’s down here.” Oswald reaches into the small space between us, and his knuckle brushes against my side and hip, so I try to sit impossibly still while he fishes around. My dad has a few older cars with lap belts, so I know what he’s doing, but I’m already thinking about when I need to lean over and plug it in between Gravlin and me. Will he think I’m trying to cop a feel again? “I don’t need it,” I blurt out.
“The hell you don’t. Give me that.” Gravlin reaches over me, snatches the silver tab from his brother, and shoves it into the slot without error. In the next second, I suck in a breath as he jerks the extra belt, tightening it over my lower stomach.
“Damn, Memphis, chill. Are you okay?” Oswald asks me.
“I’m fine.” I nod, looking straight ahead, but I won’t be for long if Gravlin keeps running his fingers over my tummy and sides, messing with the belt.
“She said she’s good. Let’s go before it gets too busy,” Oswald tells Memphis.I wonder if their parents just liked their names or if there’s some significance to them. I knew a girl in school named Aspen. She hated her name because her parents told her that was where she was conceived.
The drive to the smallish restaurant is short, and there’s already a line. As soon as Gravlin parks the car, he reaches down and pops my seatbelt, and I let out a thankful breath. I can see him watching the side of my face, and I know he witnesses my relief. “Loosen that again.” He hands the belt over to Oswald, who fiddles with the strap.
I really just want out of the car. Being between them is making my brain go haywire. The doors groan again when they open, but the guys don’t seem to notice. Oswald offers me his hand as if he’s going to help me down, and I take it because I don’t want to be rude. I like the sweet gesture.
I end up between them as we walk to the restaurant. “Have you been here before?” Oswald inquires.
“No, I haven’t been in town long.”
“Sorry about the seatbelt,” Gravlin interjects.
“It’s okay, I promise,” I tell him in earnest.
“They have the best subs,” Oswald continues as if his brother didn’t even speak. “You’re going to want it all the time after this. Good thing you live pretty close.” I look down the street. I’m honestly not even sure where we are. I just know we’re not far from campus, which means we’re not too far from my house.
“Do you live with your family?” Gravlin asks as we step into the line.
“No, it’s just me.”
“You said you’re not in Oxford, so what dorm are you in?” Oswald inches forward.
“I’m not in a dorm. I live just off campus.” I see the girl in front of us half turn around, clearly listening to our conversation, and that makes me more uncomfortable than telling them where I live. I lower my eyes and pretend I didn’t just see her checking out both guys.
Gravlin shifts until his back is to the group in front of us. It can’t really stop them from listening to us, but the gesture is nice. When the line moves again, we hang back just a little so we’re not so close. The ugly feeling of envy I was experiencing fades with the slight space.
“Memphis has his own place too. I stay with him most of the time. I hate the dorms,” Oswald confesses.
