“Fine.” He rocks forward on his feet and then back again. “Yep. Well, I’ll see you then.”
“Good.”
We stare at each other for a moment longer before Magnus interrupts.
“My name’s Magnus, by the way. Not Casper.”
That takes him aback, like maybe he didn’t know that nickname hurt his feelings. “Magnus. Cool, nice to meet you, man.”
Magnus nods, sitting up a little straighter in his chair.
Caleb holds out his hand, and Magnus shakes it reluctantly, but it’s firm nonetheless.
Then Caleb’s eyes swivel to Bev and Kate. They introduce themselves, both sizzling with the opportunity to say something they shouldn’t.
“How do you guys know Whit?” Caleb asks them.
“We’re on the debate team with him.”
“Well, cool. Nice to meet you both. I’m Caleb. Whit’s roommate.”
And this is where it ends. Bev and Kate wiggle in their seats, the sizzling at extreme pressures now.
“Oh. We know. We’ve heardallabout you,” Kate blurts, and I feel my eyes narrow, the apples of my cheeks reddening to molten levels.
I am going to melt.
Caleb obviously isn’t bothered by this. He only seems to puff up in excitement.
And then he does something that makes me nearly expire.
He reaches out and cradles the back of my neck. Like a lover, like more than a friend.
“That so?” he says softly, a soft squeeze of his hand making me nearly explode.
“He won’t shut up about you,” Kate adds, and that’s when I stand up, the movement sending the chair skittering back with a loud clatter.
“I think we should go now,” I blurt, sending my not-friends a scathing look. I will speak to them about this later.
But none of them seem bothered by it. They seem pleased.
Caleb looks even prouder, his eyes twinkling. I won’t stand for this any longer. I reach down and grab his wrist, pulling him forward. Away from that. Away from the hidden truths.
“No shame in being obsessed with me,” he says to my back as I pull him along. I refuse to look at him. I don’t want him to read the emotions on my face.
When we finally make it out of the cafeteria, I let go of him.
And I know he sees the pink on my cheeks, the way it bleeds down my neck and disappears beneath my shirt.
“You’re blushing again,” he says, teasing me, and I grunt as I gesture for him to follow me toward the parking lot.
I won’t do this with an audience. I refuse.
I’ve tried to ignore him, to pretend that none of this happened, but he won’t let me go. He won’t leave me alone.
“You giving me a ride home?” Caleb asks when I reach my Audi, a car—more like a weight—given to me by my father.
I unlock it and slip inside. Caleb follows me in. He’s close here, too close, and the scent of him is making my skin break out in goosebumps, my fingers fidgeting with the steering wheel.
