Page 5 of Trust Me

When he looked at me, he smiled. Then, he winked. Why?

“What are you doing?” I asked, resisting the urge to tell him to back off. Seriously, he was basically leaning over me.

He was only about an inch shorter than me, and he wasn’t quite as bulked as I was. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have brawn. Oliver was fit in the way of a swimmer, which made sense since he used to be on the team. He was both broad and muscular, but leaner than I was. Overall, I wasn’t threatened by him, but I certainly didn’t appreciate the invasion of my privacy.

Taking a step to the side, he held up a card attached to an anime lanyard. His green-dominant hazel eyes sparkled with mischief. The color was a contrast against his deep bronze skin and wavy black hair, and I remembered what Brooks had said about him after he left the other night: “Dude could say ‘bark’ and I’d take it a step further and bite him.”

What did that even mean? I assumed he thought he was hot. Tilian had followed it up with: “If eyes are the window to the soul, his is fucking gorgeous.”

Looking at Oliver, I didn’t really see what they were talking about. Sure, I could objectively tell he was attractive. He had the look of a jock who could break the girls’ hearts, but that didn’t make someone special. I must’ve been missing the appeal because I wasn’t attracted to men. Although, I was kind of the same about women. Looks just weren’t nearly enough for me to notice someone.

“Twenty percent off,” he said, dropping his voice low. His eyes darted to the left, then the right.

“Uh, I’m not trying to fuck this place over.”

He laughed, then pointed to his nametag. “I can share it with friends and family, no worries.”

“Oh. Then why’d you make it sound like you were doing something illegal?”

“Cause it felt more fun, but you didn’t play along.”

“Sorry,” I muttered as I swiped my card. I was actually grateful for his annoying interruption because it had saved me four dollars. That was a lot of ramen, so I wouldn’t complain.

“Don’t be. I still had fun with it. What are you doing here?”

I picked up my bag, then quirked a brow. “Um, shopping, obviously.”

“Came all the way here for protein powder? Gotta get those gains, I guess.” He jabbed me in the bicep with two fingers.

With an awkward laugh, I stepped back. “Yeah, I guess. Well, I was also seeing if this place is hiring.”

“Are we?”

“Nope.”

“Ah, damn. I would’ve put in a good word. Have you tried anywhere else? Walmart?”

I glanced around, wishing it was busier in here so I had an excuse to get out of the way. Oliver stared at me expectantly, so I cleared my throat. “Yeah, just thought I’d try here too, y’know?”

“I might have a friend.”

“Um . . . Good for you?”

With a chuckle, he crossed his arms. “A friend who might be looking for help is what I mean.”

“Oh. Don’t worry about it, man. There are a ton of places hiring.”

“For sure.”

“Well, I gotta—” I hiked a thumb over my shoulder. “Thanks for the discount.”

He offered me a polite smile. “See you in class, Dean.”

As soon as I made it outside, I started walking toward campus. It wasn’t raining today, so I didn’t mind going by foot. The fresh air could do wonders for the stressed mind.

It was probably a good thing that store wasn’t hiring. Being cornered into awkward conversations by a classmate was not how I wanted to spend my days.