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Ryder gave me a look that said he thought I was an idiot. “Number one, have you seen the tits and ass on that girl? Of course I noticed her. Plus, she always sits in the front row and off to the left, so I have a direct line-of-sight view of her from my seat in the auditorium.”
I sent Ryder a dirty look. “Tits and ass? Seriously? Dude, don’t be such a dick. This is me you’re talking to. You might say that kind of misogynistic shit in front of your frat boys, but I know you better than that. Stop trying to be someone you’re not, Ryder.”
He ducked his head in shame and his face flushed. “Sorry, that was an asshole thing to say.”
“Yeah, it was,” I bit out, still annoyed.
He held his hands up in surrender and sent me a sheepish look. “Okay, okay. I get it. That came out totally douche-y. I’m sorry.”
It irritated the shit out of me that my best friend felt the need to act like a chauvinistic pig to impress his other friends.
“Anyway, I don’t think she ignored you specifically. I think she’s just shy.”
“Nah, man. She definitely had eyes for you. I saw the note you left her. Do you think she’ll call?”
I turned the corner, and the sun shone right into my face. I squinted and pulled down the visor. Chapel Hill was almost always sunny this time of year, which was better than the constant dreary rain of the Pacific Northwest where Ryder and I grew up.
“She’ll call.”
“So, you coming to the AEPi party next weekend?”
I shuddered. “You know frat parties aren’t my scene. Not anymore.”
Ryder shrugged. “I know, but this will probably be the last one I ever go to. Graduation is coming up, and then I’m heading to that internship up in New York.”
I’d been friends with Ryder for eleven years, and I’d been shocked as hell when he turned down the minor leagues. I’d asked him once why, and he’d told me that baseball wouldn’t pay the bills forever.
“Besides, when your girl calls, you can invite her along. That is, if she actually calls.” He didn’t sound convinced she would.
“Oh, she’ll call. I have no doubt.”
I smiled with satisfaction. Underneath that shy exterior she presented, I’d seen a glimpse of bold determination mixed with strength. Olivia was a woman I was definitely interested in figuring out. I wanted to peel back all her layers.
“I hope she does. Does that mean you’ll come to the party?” Ryder sounded hopeful.
“Maybe I will.”
I pulled up in front of a powder-blue, two-story house that needed more than just a fresh coat of paint to look like it didn’t need to be part of some home makeover show. Ryder turned toward me with a fist bump.
“Thanks for lunch, man. I’ll give you a call later in the week, and we can set up a day to hit some balls at the batting cage.”
He exited the car, and I had to lean over into the passenger seat so I could still see him.
“You got it. I’m feeling a little rusty.”
“That’s because you’re getting old,” he deadpanned.
I flipped him the bird. “Fuck off.”
He closed the door on a laugh and waved goodbye over his shoulder.
“Fucker.” I grinned and shook my head. Shifting into drive, I pulled away and headed to my condo. I wanted to be home when Olivia called, so I could sit and relax while we talked. It seemed like the drive took forever, but finally I made it. I tried passing the time by playingCall of Duty 3for a while. Hours passed and my gaze continually darted to the clock as each minute ticked by. Three o’clock came and went. Four. Five. I even ended up cleaning my entire condo while I impatiently waited. By the time six rolled around I started getting hungry again, so I made dinner. Seven came and went while I played moreCall of Duty. Still, I waited. Fuck. I’d been so sure she’d call.
Finally giving up, I shut off the video game and went into the kitchen to make some popcorn. I grabbed a random movie, whose title I didn’t even look at, from my DVD collection and popped it in the player. Then I collapsed onto the couch with my snack and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. I wasn’t fifteen minutes into it, when my cell phone rang. I grabbed the remote and paused Bruce Willis’ face on the screen
“Hello?”
“Um, hi, is this Gareth?”
