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direction. “We have to meet Jesse anyway.”
Jesse? My head shot up and tingles shot down my spine.
Cord had been watching me and a knowing look came over him now. A knot shifted in my gut and I fought from glaring at him. I didn’t want anyone to notice and start to wonder, but he seemed smug. Why the hell did he seem smug? My eyes narrowed. He had nothing to be smug about.
“Yes, run along.” Hannah waved her fingers at her sister’s boyfriend. “Go play patsy for the real star in your group. No wonder he’s a recluse around campus. Who’d want to be seen with you? I bet you use him to pick up even more chicks to cheat with on my sister.” Her lips thinned. “Is that what you do when you guys go out?”
Jamie’s scowl darkened and he jerked forward a step. His hand rose in the air, already fisted.
Cord drew him back. “Stop it. Now.” He turned to Hannah, “We didn’t come over for this.”
“Why did you come over?”
“To say hi to you and Alex.” At her disbelieving look, he held both of his hands in the air. “I swear. That’s all. The guy cut us off when he was coming over.”
“My business is none of yours.” She swept them with a cool cold. “None of you.”
Jamie looked ready to argue, but Derek pushed him forward with his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “Yeah, we’re leaving. See you both.”
Cord went after them, lifting a finger in a goodbye salute.
Hannah extended her middle finger. Before they disappeared into the crowd, Cord laughed back as he shook his head.
I had to give it to the guy. Nothing seemed to faze him.
Hannah folded back down on her seat with a huff. Her eyes latched on me with a deep frown. She asked, heatedly, “How do you know those guys?”
I wasn’t completely honest. “I’m in poly sci with Cord and Jamie.”
“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “Never mind then.”
My eyes narrowed. She was offended at first and that kindled some anger in my gut. What’d she think? I was hoping to use her to get to them? My anger was on a simmer as I asked, “Why?”
“Because I thought you screwed my sister’s boyfriend.” She didn’t mince her words. Then she shrugged, turning back to her bag. “That would’ve made sense why my sister hates you.”
I frowned. She seemed so casual about his cheating. A different thought came to mind. “Does he still cheat?”
“Oh yeah. All the time.”
I was blown away. “Serious?”
“Yep.” She pulled out a different book, along with a highlighter. “It’s my sister’s idea of being modern. She’s such an idiot.”
“What do you mean?”
“Technically, he’s not cheating, but I don’t care. Cheating is cheating. Jamie’s allowed to sleep around for another year. Tiffany has it in her head that if she doesn’t let him do his thing now, he’ll do it later. And she won’t let him cheat on her when they’re married.”
“When are they getting married?”
“The summer after his first year at law school.” A yawn stretched over her, as if she were bored with our conversation. “Anyway, Tiffany locked him down when they were freshman. Now that he knows Jesse Hunt, she thinks that Jamie can use his connections and run for the senate or something.”
“Huh?”
I hoped my jaw wasn’t touching the table. It had dropped so low. I was too dumbfounded. I couldn’t be hearing this right.
“Yeah,” she shrugged again. “Jamie’s dad owns a firm so once he’s done with law school he’ll have a job there. She has it all mapped out. After he’s a lawyer for two years, he’ll start hobnobbing with the Hollywood crowd. She thinks that’ll help him get noticed and when he runs for office, he’ll be a shoo-in.”
“You’re kidding me.”
Nope, she wasn’t. I could tell from the irritation in her eyes. They flashed whenever she spoke about her sister. They’d been on full blast with her entire explanation. She pressed a hand to her chest and pretended to double over. “She makes me want to gag. She’s so hypocritical. I can’t sleep around, but she allows her boyfriend to bang anyone he wants. And she thinks he’s going to stop. Jamie’s not going to stop. He’s never going to stop sleeping around. He can’t stand her. He can barely stomach the sight of her.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s told me.” She gestured to her phone. “He’s been trying to do me for three years. He sends me text messages all the time.”
Holy shit. “Does your sister know that?”
Her lips pressed together. “I’m not that stupid. I’m never going to give it to him and I’m not opening that can of worms with my sister.” Another shoulder went up in a shrug before she hunched over her book. “Anyway, I need to study. Can we postpone this chat session till after I fail my cultural psychology quiz?”
I fell silent, still reeling from everything she’d exposed. I wasn’t sure if it was from the relationship Tiffany had with Jamie or because they assumed Jesse would help them out? I figured they were hoping to use his dad’s connections, but did they not know Jesse? Or maybe it was Tiffany that didn’t know him. Jesse hated Malcolm Hunt. I didn’t know what family stuff had been going on, but I knew Jesse hadn’t enjoyed it. Malcolm Hunt could never be considered a candidate for Father of the Year.
It was an hour later when Hannah called it quits. She shut her book and stretched, yawning all the while. If I had cared, I might’ve been insecure next to her. The girl was gorgeous. She must’ve noticed my look because her arms dropped from the air and she grinned. “Wanna go for dinner somewhere?”
My eyes narrowed. “Why are you talking to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Beth isn’t here. You don’t have to talk to me.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. “That’s some chip you have on your shoulder.”
I scowled at her, though I couldn’t argue. “I like my chip. I’ve named it.”
“Oh yeah?” Her grin grew. “What’s the name?”
With a blank face, I said, “Hannah.”
She barked out in laughter. “Beth said you were cool, not that you were funny. Back to my first question, want to go somewhere for dinner?”
“Like the food court?” I glanced around at the fast food shops around us.
“Nah. I mean off-campus. There’s a nice dive bar with $2 burgers. They’re pretty good. Plus, I wouldn’t mind a pitcher of beer.”
“I’m underage.”
She shrugged. “So am I. They’ll let us in. The owner has a boner for Tiffany so all the staff’s been told to be nice to me.” She rolled her eyes. “Little does he know that I hate my sister and he has no shot.”
“If your sister lets Jamie cheat, does she cheat too?”
“No.” She shook her head as her lips tightened against each other. “She should. She thinks she’s practicing for marriage and she doesn’t want any evidence spread around campus. Tiffany believes that if she ever cheats, it’ll get caught on video and there goes her stellar reputation.”
