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Within minutes, a pink bag was tossed in the seat next to mine, and my little pixie sat down. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a discreet whiff¸ and smiled. Today she smelled like strawberries.
“Hey, Dean.” She pulled a pen from her bag and bit at the cap.
I stared at her mouth before getting a hold of myself. “Hey. Did you have a good time Friday?”
Melissa narrowed her eyes. “Friday, Friday, what was on Friday?”
My heart sank a little before she laughed.
“Just kidding. It was all right. Typical frat party, you know. Dumb drunk guys. Even dumber drunk girls. And your stupid brother to round it all out.”
I laughed at her assessment, thinking how right she was. “Yeah, pretty much. It was good to see you, though,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound stupid.
“It was good to see you too. I still don’t understand how you’re related to Jack, though. Are you sure they didn’t mix up babies in the hospital?”
She smiled, but it seemed a little forced. Something was different. Her leg didn’t accidentally touch mine, and her body language seemed closed off. I wasn’t sure why she was being this way, but I knew I didn’t like it.
Before I could answer, the professor cleared his throat, signaling the beginning of class.
Melissa nudged me with her shoulder, and when I glanced at her, she offered me a cute smile. God, she was truly adorable. How could I be expected to pay attention to the teacher when this pint-sized goddess was sitting next to me, smelling like summer.
Somehow I managed to get through the class. Not only did I pay attention, but I took notes as well. When the class ended, Melissa hopped out of her seat and told me good-bye before I could stop her.
Disappointed, I gathered my things. As I stepped out of my row and into the aisle, a hand on my shoulder made me pause. I turned around to see an unfamiliar pair of brown eyes looking back at me.
“Can I help you?” I asked, staring at the girl as other students filed out around us.
“You . . . you’re Jack Carter’s brother, right?”
I had to force myself to respond. “The one and only.” I faked a yawn.
“Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, um.” Seeming nervous, she twisted her hands together as she asked, “Do you know if he’s seeing anyone right now? I mean, is he single?”
Confused, I studied her through narrowed eyes. “He’s always single.” If this girl was as big of a groupie as she appeared to be, she should know this already.
The poor girl actually blushed. “Oh, right. Of course he is. Well, I just think he’s really hot and so good at baseball. I mean, he’s so, so good. And it must be so cool being related to him.”
Is this chick for real?
“The coolest,” I said sarcastically, hoping she’d catch on.
Instead, she let loose a thrill-filled mini scream. Horrified, I looked around before realizing thankfully that the class was empty.
Her eyes bright, she said quickly, “Well, can you give him this for me, please? Just tell him it’s from Tarah. We met at the party last weekend.” She thrust out her hand to hand me a folded piece of purple note paper.
I looked at her face, trying to place her as the chick Jack had made out with after Cassie left, but this girl’s hair was light brown, not blond, and she wasn’t nearly as tall or leggy. It wasn’t her. I would have sworn I’d never seen this girl in my life.
Not wanting to be rude, I took the note. “Okay. I’ve gotta go, though.”
“Oh yeah, of course. Thanks. Thanks a lot.” Tarah flashed me a grateful smile as she squeezed her binder against her chest, and then brushed past me and ran up the stairs.
Shaking my head, I trudged up the same stairs, wondering if I should trash the note or actually give it to Jack. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d had to act like his personal assistant.
Curious, I unfolded the paper, which smelled like bubblegum for some reason, and saw a phone number written in black Sharpie. Underneath the number was her name surrounded by a bunch of red hearts and hand-drawn swirly things. I felt like I was looking at a note written by a twelve-year-old.
I belted out a laugh. Oh yeah, I was definitely delivering this to Jack.
I walked into the student union and headed down the stairs to the pizza joint. Once inside, I scanned the room, searching for my brother’s table. It usually wasn’t very hard to find considering he sat surrounded by a bunch of girls acting like fools.
