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The librarian shot a glance at Mariska and I on her way to the information desk. “You’re welcome,” she responded acerbically. She and I rose from the table simultaneously. A frown creased her eyebrows. “Did Beth tell you that Jill, my co-worker, wants your number?”
“Beth did tell me.” I studied her and noticed that she avoided my eyes. “I have to think about it.”
She paused a foot away from the entrance of the library and I heard her drop her phone back into her purse, with an incredulous expression. “What’s there to think about, Hunter?” She didn’t give me the chance to reply. “Jill’s pretty, nice, and wants to go out on a date with you. I wouldn’t pass that up.”
Shaking my head, I laughed so hard that the librarian came out of the library and motioned me to be quiet. I bowed my head to her before she went back inside and let out another chuckle. “Oh, I should be lucky,” I quipped, “That I can go out with Jill.” Scowling, she walked faster and I caught up with her in a second. “I should take any offers I can get, huh?”
Mariska shrugged her shoulders and flicked her eyes over to me in answer. She pushed the door to the stairwell without holding it for me. She ran down the steps, her tresses flowing in the air. I was next to her when she reached the lobby of the main floor by the security guard’s post.
“You can go home,” Mariska breathed out as she texted on her phone. “Jake’s going to walk me back to my room.”
“I am fully aware that I can go home, but I’ll walk you first,” I insisted and her fingers stopped moving on her phone’s screen, her gaze fixed on me. “It’s not safe for you to wait outside. You don’t know when the guard will be back to escort you to your residence hall.”
“Why are you doing this for me?” She asked me with suspicion in her voice.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
She turned her chin up. “That won’t make me like you, Hunter.” Her tone was clipped.
I opened the door for her and told her matter-of-factly, “I could give a shit if you like me or not. If you really feel that I am a danger to you, then call Jake. I’ll be here until he gets you off my hands.”
She looked apathetic. “This won’t get you anymore brownie points with Beth. You’ve shown your admiration for her by painting a picture of her on her cake,” she commented after we walked silently for five minutes. It was too good to be true that she’d shut up for the entire walk. The thought that I should’ve let Jake get her ran through my mind. I didn’t believe that she’d give all guys this hard of a time. “She’s your brother’s girl. She’ll never be yours,” she added.
“Stop hating.” I reached for her hand and pulled her twig-like body to mine so that she could see my face—acknowledge me like a human being, who was probably just as flawed as she was, but in different ways. Chase hadn’t acted with nasty toward me after what I’d done to him. I wasn’t going to take Mariska’s pissy attitude lying down.
“When you’re someone’s girl, you won’t have the likes of me making sure you’re safe for one night. Until then, Mariska, I suggest that you put a lid on your snarky comments and not pass up on this opportunity again, because I don’t think Jake is done with the girl I saw him fucking in his car in the parking lot earlier.”
Mariska
HUNTER DROPPED MY HAND and I didn’t remember which one of us moved first. I glanced at him. A chunk of his hair covered most of his face as the wind rushed through it. When we’d faced each other for those minutes, I’d felt my stomach dip. I’d lost my breath. And he’d been so controlled; I hadn’t seen one muscle in his face twitch. I couldn’t deny that I was envious of Beth a little. Chase adored her, and so did Hunter.
“Is that bag heavy for you?” his voice was quiet and calm, not like he’d called me out on my bitchy behavior.
“I am fine,” I replied in a low tone, peering at the three long blocks that led to my residence hall. We ended up walking inches apart. I smelled the wind and his leather coat. My textbook and other crap in my bag did weigh my shoulder down but I’d just have to wear my book bag more often. Trying to look cute wasn’t worth the strain on my muscles.
“The food was slammin’,” Hunter said, his voice gruff.
“I’ll tell Blanca for you if you’re not planning on coming back.”
“You better believe I will be,” he said with a hint of a smile. “What’s your schedule like at La Caridad?”
“What? You’re going to come by during my hours?”
“I could say that I wanna know so that I’ll go there when you’re not working, but that’s not true. You think everything has to be some ulterior motive, don’t you?” He inhaled sharply and directed his gaze ahead of us. “You know I’ve been to your room with Beth and you’ve always been out.”
I froze. “You’ve been in our dorm room?” My voice came out as a ridiculous squeak.
“I think your stuffed animals, and tie dye decorated side of the room…is cute.” he feigned a high-pitched tone. “I just think it’s over the top that all your pajamas have to match your bed set.” My eyes closed and I heard him chuckling. “If you don’t answer my question, I’ll just tell you what else I noticed about your half of the room.”
I didn’t even want to know what else he noticed about my room. “I work Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. If I don’t work Fridays, I work Sundays. My hours vary depending on my co-workers’ schedule, but Blanca lets me work out special arrangements with other co-workers when I’ve needed to change it up, like I’ll be doing for my midterms.”
“Your classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“And I have Stats on Saturday.”
“I might not get to see you in your room then,” he teased.
“I don’t want you to ever see me in my room,” I clarified.
