"Oh, great to hear, I'm happy for you. Carry on." Clearly, he's turned back into a tool bag.
"Why do you want to know her?" He studies me, thinking I'm up to no good.
"I didn't say I did. Just wanted to know who she was." I don't mention I know her name. I also ignore the fact that I could easily log into the school registrar’s system and look her up and find out her schedule, but that feels an awful lot like stalking.
He takes another assessing glance my way and puffs his chest. "She's one hundred percent not your type, Ryker."
The dude has a crush. I lean back in my seat and cross my arms, grinning. I can't say I'm happy about this, but I probe. "Ah, so you've got a thing for Blondie?"
"No. She's my friend. That's it." He looks flustered. It's easy to read the embarrassment on his face.
"You mean, she friend-zoned you. Shit, bro. That sucks." This is good news, but bros before hoes and all that, I can't let it on that I'm happy about this information.
"Not at all. Just friends. She's not into dating. Anyway, see ya around." He turns and stalks out.
Right before he closes the door behind him, he looks back at me. "Maybe if you came to class, you could get your questions answered on your own instead of camping out in the library, waiting for a glimpse."
Damn. He's on to me.
A few hours later, I walk into the small, forum-style classroom. It's a large class of about a hundred or so. This size class isn't the standard here at CamU.
I casually walk up the stairs of several rows of seats, pretending to look for an open seat. About mid-way up the room, I see her.
Her hair is in another braid, and she's laughing at the guy sitting next to her. Situated on her other side is Wells. He wears the same smile on his face as the guy making her laugh. Immediately, I get it. If I had her laughing like that, I'd sport that same look.
I notice the empty seats in the row in front of her and take my chance. I side-step down the row, not bothering to apologize to the people I'm bumping into.
Before I have a chance to say something to her, her bright green eyes find mine. Her laughter dies off, but the smile on her face remains. She remembers me.
"Hey there, Blondie. Fancy meeting you here." I drop my bag into the seat and notice Wells out of the corner of my eye, shaking his head.
I should be worried about what he might tell her, but turns out, I don't care.
She smirks. "You don't remember my name, do you?"
I wink at her. "Sup, Wells."
Turning around, I sit down in my seat and hear him grumble behind me.
I feel several pairs of eyes bore into the back of my head. Wells, because he's worried about my intentions with the shortcake, and the other guy next to her is probably pissed I just stole her attention away.
And the third pair of eyes, the only ones I care about, belong to the shortcake herself, Zella Raps. I have not been able to get her out of my head. I need to see this through, just so I can get back to my normal routine.
5
Zella
He's sitting right in front of me. I'm usually a cool cucumber, but this guy in front of me makes me giddy. He's all I've been able to think about, and I have to admit, I've been looking for him everywhere.
I'm surprised he just magically showed up in my class. Is he in this class? Surely, he wouldn't crash just because I'm in here. Suddenly I flush; I can't believe I even thought that. I blink quickly, forcing myself to stop staring at the back of the guy's head.
He has some really nice hair, though. It’s full and such a deep, dark brown that it looks black. My fingers itch to touch it, but I pull them off the desk and fold them into my lap. There, they are less likely to reach out and run through the thick locks of soft hair.
I'm sure he can feel my stare, mostly because I can feel Cam's beside me. I look toward Cam, and yup, he's staring me down. The smirk on his face tells me he’s on to me and knows what I'm thinking. I glare at him. He huffs out a silent snort.
I try to focus on the professor, but my concentration is broken moments later when I remember Ryker and Wells know each other. I straighten with the realization and peek at Wells. He's slumped back in his seat and looks grumpy.
Hmmm. I wonder if he and Ryker don't get along. Would Wells tell me more about Ryker?
I bit the inside of my cheek as I contemplate where this evening has gone.
After my conversation with Cameron about the Glass Ball, I considered asking Wells to be my date. I've only known him for a few weeks, but he's become a good friend. Besides Cam, he's one of the people I hang out with the most here.
He's kind, funny, and good-looking. Plus, he doesn't get distracted by all my hair. Trust me, it's a thing.
Only, I'm not attracted to him. I don't have butterflies when I see him. I don't have thoughts about him that make me blush and hope no one is around to see my reddened face.
Ryker, on the other hand, causes all that and more. The thought of asking Ryker to go to the ball with me makes me nervous. He'd probably turn me down. I'm not really up for my first date request to be rejected.
I'm lost in thought again, staring into Ryker's hair, when I'm elbowed in the side by Wells.
I turn to him and glare. "What?" I whisper.
"You're staring holes into his head. Trust me, he doesn't need anymore," Wells hisses back.
I give him another glare for good measure and lean back in my seat. I look down at my notebook and realize I haven't taken one note. Normally, I'm a very detailed notetaker. Apparently, not tonight.
I don't want to risk drawing attention to myself, so I scribble down a note on my blank paper then turn the sheet toward Wells.
Do you know him well?
Wells looks at my note, reads it, and rolls his eyes. Well, dang! He lazily reaches over and writes his reply.
I do. He's no good for you.
My eyebrows dip in confusion. I ask why.
Trust me.
I bite my lip. I do trust Wells, but there's something about Ryker. I don't believe he's bad. How is he no good for me? Biting my lip, I shake my head at our notes. I make a mental note to have him explain his reasoning later. Right now, I need to focus on class.
A long thirty minutes later, class is dismissed. The butterflies in my belly take flight as I anticipate interacting with Ryker. The students around us are chatting, packing up, and leaving. I slowly close my binder, lean over, and put it away—dragging the whole process out and waiting for Ryker to turn around.
But he doesn't. He doesn't move to stand.
I must look confused because both Wells and Cameron are staring at me. My eyes go wide. "What?" I ask.
Cameron chuckles, and Wells huffs.
"You've got it bad, girlfriend." Cameron laughs.
Wells shakes his head.
I give them both a look to shut up. The last thing I need is Ryker thinking I've got a crush. Well, I do, but he doesn't need to know that yet. I drag my eyes back to where he sits.
Cameron stands, leans over, and pinches his lips together. "He's asleep." He's doing everything he can to not to laugh.
"For Christ’s sake," Wells mutters. "Just leave him. Let's go eat."