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Now that was something that hooked my curiosity, not that it particularly mattered anymore. Whoever started that rumor ended up doing me a huge favor. I wanted to know who it was, if for no other reason than to properly thank them. “Yeah, we definitely need to talk about that.”
* * *
Lenny’s wasn’t nearly asbusy as before, with only a handful of tables being taken. Still, the looks on students’ faces when they saw Blade and I was telling. Especially the girls, who side-eyed me with envy.
The hostess I ran away from earlier was nowhere in sight, but a server showed us to a table in the back. We took our seats and buried our heads behind the brightly colored menus, which we’d both seen dozens of times before. We weren’t so much perusing the selection as we were awkwardly attempting to avoid one another. I suppose it was easier to pretend we could be something together in the safety of the darkness of his car.
He flung his menu on the table and sighed. “Do you know who started the rumor?”
“Jason’s spy, whoever the hell they are.” I shrugged. “That’s my best guess.”
Blade nervously sipped his water. “So, now that we’ve actually done the deed, what do you want to tell them?”
Yeah, things were much different once removed from the heat of the moment. The truth was that if I had the chance to say anything to the supposed spy, I’d want to deny that anything happened. I played it coy, though. “I’m not sure, to be honest.”
“Look, if you want me to tell the truth, then I will. I’ll tell everybody that I fell asleep on Emily’s bed and never put a hand on you.”
I waited for him to say the other option, but it never happened. The one where we admit that yes, Blade and I hooked up. Which would tarnish my reputation and give a massive boost to his.
The hostess from earlier came over before I could accept or deny his offer.
“Hey, you’re back,” she said with a grin, dropping a hand onto her hip. “Are you still interested in a job application?”
“Not right now, but thank you.” I cocked my gaze up to her. “And sorry about rushing out earlier.”
Blade shot a look of confusion towards me as the hostess walked away. He leaned across the table, shuffling the menus to the side. “Why did you apply for a job here?”
As if dealing with a ruined reputation wasn’t bad enough, the hostess had to go and remind me that I was officially broke. That was information that Blade certainly didn’t need either.
I swallowed a sigh. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time.” He pushed himself back in his chair and crossed his arms defiantly.
“I don’t feel like talking about it right now,” I said, pointedly.
“Fine, back to us. Can we keep hanging out?”
I rolled my eyes. “No offense, but between football and sleeping with all of Exley, when do you find the time to hang out?”
He shrugged his shoulders before tearing into a free dinner roll from the basket between us. “I used to make time for it until I started failing this semester.”
I assumed that Blade was a dumb jock, but not to the point of failing.
“What classes are dragging you down?”
“All of them. If I fail anything this semester, I’ll lose my football scholarship and have to pay for my last year out of pocket.”
I knew the fear of that happening all too well. “I’m sort of in the same boat.”
“How so?”
I sighed. I didn’t want to talk about it, but I didn’t have much choice because pretending it didn’t happen didn’t help in finding a solution. “My parents officially cut me off today. Canceled autopay for my tuition and closed my bank account.” I nodded my head towards the hostess. “That’s why I was going to apply for a job here.”
“You’re pretty smart, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
Blade hunched over the table and lowered his voice, even though there was nobody in our immediate vicinity. “Look, what if I pay you to tutor me? That way, you don’t have to waitress, and I won’t lose my football scholarship.”
