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Once our eyes meet, she holds my gaze for a second, and then looks away, now following behind the group of girls.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell my friends and walk away from the table.
The Kappa girls are almost at the buffet line, and I’m not far behind them. I push through the crowded cafeteria, intent on catching up to her. After I move through the masses, I find her next to the stack of trays alongside the dessert buffet.
She grabs a few plates and a handful of bowls from the end of the counter and sets them on the tray in front of her on the metal rail. With her head turned toward the food, I sneak up on the other side of her.
“Hey.” I tap her on the shoulder with my fingers. She acts as though I haven’t touched her and ignores me. “Hey, Red,” I say from behind her.
She angles her body to me, her teeth gritted in anger. “What did I tell you about calling me Red?”
I’m confused-as-fuck by her comment. Have we already met? I try to recall a time when I spoke to this girl and come up empty-handed. I can count on one hand how many redheads I’ve hooked up with, and I’m pretty sure she’s not one of them. Nope, definitely not. I would remember this girl. She’s gorgeous and feisty, and I like that she’s already putting me in my place.
I hold up my hands in defense. She’s ready to bite my head off over one stupid remark. “Hey, don’t shoot. I come in peace. You didn’t answer me, so I had to get your attention somehow.”
I give her one of my boyish smirks, hoping it does the trick. And it does. Because her angry expression changes, her beautiful features softening.
She slides her empty tray along the metal rail. “My name isn’t Red. I told you to never call me that again.”
Still confused, I ignore her comment and continue walking alongside her.
She sucks in a deep breath and blows it out, looking slightly pissed off. “What do you want?”
I shrug, unaffected by her attitude. She can try to scare me off all she wants. “Nothing. I didn’t realize it was a crime to walk next to a pretty girl in a public place.”
She stills for a second, and when our eyes meet, she smiles. But our brief connection only lasts for a second, before she peels her eyes from mine. “No, I guess not. As long as you stop calling me Red. I don’t like it. It’s rude.”
I shove my hands into my pockets and nod. “Got it. Anything else off-limits?”
She turns her head to the side, as if thinking over my question. “I’ll let you know if your assholery gets on my nerves.”
After getting my ass handed to me by Dean Whittaker and Coach Bryant, I could use a good laugh. Not being able to play when we’re in our last season of hockey makes my blood boil. But being around this girl helps me forget for a few minutes.
“What’s your name, beautiful?”
She smiles so wide it reaches up to her green eyes that have tiny yellow flecks in them. “Jemma with a J, remember?”
Remember what?
“Duly noted. So, Jemma with a J, what’s your deal? Are you a freshman?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. I’m a junior. I transferred from Albright.”
“And now you’re pledging Kappa Delta?”
“Yep.”
“You don’t seem like the type,” I say, hoping she doesn’t get offended because it’s the truth.
She doesn’t seem to mind. “Is it that easy to tell?”
“The other girls look like they’re happy to be with the Kappa’s, whereas you look like you’d rather be doing something else. It’s not that you don’t fit in with them, because you’re gorgeous and look the part of a Kappa girl, but something’s off, something I can’t place about you.”
She smiles, her eyes roaming around the cafeteria as if she’s afraid someone will overhear us.
“Hey, Jemma,” Shannon Brady, Jamie’s girl, says as she approaches us. She rushes over, her eyes fixed on me, and then slaps me on the back. “Hey, what are you doing here? Is Jamie with you?”
I nod. “Yeah. He’s at our usual table.”
Shannon glances over at our table in the back of the room by the window, and then she locks onto Jemma while speaking to me. “I need to talk to my Little Sister for a sec.” She tugs on Jemma’s arm and pulls her away from me, leading her over to the salad bar.
For the most part, Shannon’s pretty cool and not bad to have around our house. Jamie’s been hooking up with her for weeks, which comes with lots of home cooked food. I’ve never cared for the guys bringing their girlfriends over to our house for more than one night. But most of us draw the line with recurring sleepovers. Shannon isn’t so bad.
