AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Whoa, Marcus. What was up with that?
The room was small enough that it was easy to overhear them. Brittany stopped talking when they spoke too.
Brittany huddled closer. “Who’s she?”
“No clue.” He kept his attention on his brother and the waitress.
“Well, it seems like I was having a better time than you were. Say, how’s your foot?”
From how tense his brother was, Jack braced himself for the retort. “Just two espressos and a latte, without the attitude, please.”
Marcus stormed back, dropping hard onto his chair. Watching the waitress start their order, Jack leaned closer. “Okay, bro, who’s that and what’s up with you two?”
“I’ve told you about her before. That’s Vanessa, Satan’s daughter.”
“Right.” Her.
“You into her?” Brit asked.
“Hell no. I just want to shake her until all words have rattled out of that beautiful mouth. I mean, big mouth.”
Brittany looked to Jack, confusion etched in her brow.
“Vanessa is in Marc’s philosophy class,” Jack said. “Every time he comments in class, she pipes up, taking the opposite side. He’s convinced she only does it when he speaks.”
“She does,” Marcus said.
Brit glanced over at Vanessa behind the counter. “She’s sorta edgy. I would have guessed that to be your type.”
He huffed. “She seems off-balance to me. She only paints her fingernails on one hand and always tilts this little cap thing she wears to the same side. It’s like with one flick of the finger, you could topple her over. Which, believe me, I’ve thought about doing. More than once.”
Jack studied his brother. He almost never noticed this much detail, even on girls he liked. Of course, painted nails on one hand was different enough for anyone to remember.
“Are you sure you don’t need better arguments?”
Marcus scowled at Brittany’s question.
“Please. She’s never proved me wrong, just takes the opposite position. Most times, the professor agrees with both of us.” Checking around behind them, Marcus lowered his voice. “Plus she finishes with this stupid bite of her lip, as if she’s suddenly worried she got the answer wrong.”
Jack subtly inclined his head as Vanessa made her way over with their drinks, and Marcus shut up.
She placed the takeaway cups on the table, even gracing Jack and Brit with a smile. If it hadn’t been for Marcus’s accounts, he would have thought she seemed nice enough. Good-looking too. For a girl.
Stepping away from the table, Vanessa twisted her foot around the strap of Marcus’s bag. Caught, she lost her balance, heading for the floor.
Marcus grabbed her wrist and was out of his chair, keeping her on her feet. “You all right?”
“Yeah, um, thanks.”
Their eyes locked and Brit nudged Jack, causing his chair to creak. Marcus’s eyes darted to his friends, and he quickly dropped Vanessa’s hand. “Maybe if you painted your fingernails on both hands, you’d have more balance.”
Vanessa narrowed her eyes. “Maybe if you didn’t leave your bag on the floor all the time, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“All the time? What’re you talking about, lady?”
“Every class. Same thing. The high and mighty Marcus, star of the lacrosse team, saunters into class and dumps his bag wherever he wants. Then everyone has to climb over it to get to their seats. And it’s Nessa, not lady.”
Marcus muttered under his breath, “You mean Ness. Like the freaking Loch Ness.”
With an exasperated grunt, she left.
“Ouch,” Jack said. “That was harsh, bro.”
“Don’t you see why I hate that girl?”
Brit lowered her latte. “I think she likes you.”
Marcus snorted. “Where and who were you looking at the last ten minutes?”
“No, seriously. Maybe her arguments in class are her way of trying to impress you.”
“How do you even come up with that stuff? Jeez, your sex is so confusing. Jack has it easy. He understands guys.”
“Whoa.” Jack nearly knocked his paper cup over. A cup that looked remarkably like the one Marcus had been drinking from the other night…. Interesting. “Easy?” he continued. “Where’ve you been when my dating calendar has been so empty?”
“Well… I meant if… with Ed…. Oh never mind, you know what I meant.”
“We’re not all that difficult to get,” Brittany said through hiccups of laughter, then stopped. “Actually, maybe you have a point. I do have a hard time understanding guys as well. Like, won’t anyone from your fraternity ask me out to this dance? I hang out with you guys often enough.”
Jack’s eyebrows knitted closer, but she refused to look his way.
“The dance is ages away. Give it some time. It’ll happen. Or, hey,” Marcus suggested. “Go with me.”
“Ah, no thanks. I’m looking to get it in.”
Marcus looked at Jack and burst out laughing. “When did you try out to be the new Snooki on the Jersey Shore?”
Knowing who she had her sights set on, Jack didn’t laugh. Instead he kept staring a hole in the side of Brittany’s head.
“You guys aren’t the only horny ones.” She made a point of only engaging Marcus. “And seriously, this semester has been cruel. I can’t even, you know.” She made a motion that broke Jack’s glare and made his retinas itch. “Having a roommate sucks.”
