“Fuck! Yes, yes, I want her too. I don’t fucking know why but I do.” Tate finally spits out.
A huge grin spreads across my face. I love it when we’re all on the same page. As far as all of us wanting the same girl? Well, sharing is caring in my world.
“Alright, you cuntasauruses, game on! May the best man win.”
SAVY
I’m sitting in my advanced economics class and trying to absorb my professor’s lecture but nothing he says is sticking. All I can hear is the shitty things Tate and the others had said about me. It goes round and round in my brain like a loopy carousel I can’t get off of. I only have myself to blame for this hurt. I knew, I KNEW better! I knew that none of it was real but hearing them say it out loud like that, so dismissively, so carelessly, hurt way more than I thought it would.
It doesn’t matter anyway. Better that it ends now than in another month when I really would have grown attached to all of them. I need to put them out of my mind and just focus on disappearing back into my little life. Try and enjoy the time I have left at school until I take over…
The classroom door slams open, echoing through the lecture hall with a boom that makes me jump in my seat. Every head turns toward it and I stifle a groan as Jude struts in, interrupting the lecture. He stops, sends a jaunty salute to the professor, and then scans the risers until he finds me. The idiot is wearing oversized glasses that look a little bit like mine. He’s carrying a huge stuffed bag on one shoulder and a notebook and pen in the other and a wide grin on his face as he heads for the stairs that will lead him up to where I’m sitting.
“Mr. Dixon! Is there something I can help you with?” The professor barks out, his voice loaded with annoyance.
Jude just waves a hand behind his back and keeps coming my way. “No, thank you, sir! I’m just here to audit your class.”
My professor looks furious and I’m surprised when he doesn’t order Jude to get out but just continues with his lecture. I sink deeper in my seat as all the students keep following his progress until he sinks into the seat next to me, leaving a trail of disaster in his wake. The massive bag on his shoulder knocks laptops and books off at least three desks as he tries to shimmy down the aisle to get to me.
“What are you doing here?” I hiss at him, keeping my eyes focused straight ahead.
“Sorry I’m late. It took forever to find you. Had to pay off a clerk at the registrar’s office to get your schedule. I didn’t know you’re doing a double major. That’s like next level brain power, baby doll.”
I refuse to look at him and try hard to ignore his shuffling around next to me but it’s hard to ignore a fuzzy blanket being draped over you. I bat the fabric down and finally look at him to give him my best glare.
“What is this?” I spit out between clenched teeth.
He strokes the pink blanket thing like a pet. “It’s a Snuggly! It’s half blanket, half hoodie,” he tells me with an excited grin. “I know how much you like to be warm so I ordered you one but baby doll, it’s seriously big enough to share.”
I shove the…snuggly…down by my feet. “You need to leave, Jude. You’re disrupting the class and going to get me kicked out.”
“Hmm, can’t do it, doll. I have major groveling to do. Anyway, you’re always bringing me snacks so I wanted to return the favor.”
I try not to look at him again but then I’m juggling my laptop as he tries to slide it over to make room for…a bucket of fried chicken? And then a pizza box quickly followed by a carton of ice cream which is melting and seeping out under the lid.
“I wasn’t sure what you liked so I just got…”
“Miss St. James!”
I just shove to my feet with a blazing red face and call out, “On it! Sorry, sir!” and start jamming my things in my bag.
Jude jumps up, passes the melted ice cream to another bewildered student, scoops up the blanket, pizza box, and bucket of chicken and trails after me as I practically run up the stairs to the exit.
He calls out a loud “Thanks for the audit!” as the door closes behind us with another boom.
I power walk to the end of the hall and then whirl around to let him have it but choke off my fury when I see the nervous look on his face. I’ve never seen Jude look nervous before and it’s enough to take the wind out of my sails.
“Don’t be mad, Savy, please? I knew you wouldn’t talk to me unless I ambushed you. I wanted to take you to lunch and try and explain but I was afraid you wouldn’t agree to go with me so I brought lunch to you.”
I pull my glasses off and rub at my tired eyes – a victim of not enough sleep and too much crying the night before. When I slide them back on, I roll my lips in and shake my head at him.
“Come on, then. There’s a nook just down here.”
I see his golden eyes light up behind his fake glasses making me frown at him and they dim again when I snatch them from his face but he follows me to the nook with a bench seat under a large stained-glass window. We take a seat but I shake my head when he tries to hand me the bucket of chicken.
“Just tell me what you want to say, Jude. No chicken, no jokes, and no crazy sex offers. I’m tired and I’m hurt. I don’t want another go around with you or the others.”
He nods slowly with his head down as he spins a few of his rings around nervously. This is so weird. Jude doesn’t get nervous and he certainly never looks uncertain like he does right now. It makes me a little worried about what he’s about to say.
