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Bryce
Iwatch Rowan turn on her heel and hurry away, head down as she races down the stairway, body tense, face red. The blond kid accompanies her, and I can tell by the way he walks that he’s pleased she’s blown me off for him.
I shove my hands into my pockets and watch her depart, feeling like an idiot.
Well, that didn’t go as planned.
“Hey, man,” Dereck says, coming up to clap me on the shoulder. I flinch, shrugging it away, but he only laughs. “What a fucking wipeout. Dropped for another dude.”
“At least my attempt to make amends was an apology and not a come on,” I say through clenched teeth. “And she’s not wrong, you know, you and Matt should apologize, too.”
“I’ll apologize,” Dereck agrees, a haughty grin forming on his lips. “With my dick.”
“Get a fucking clue, dude,” Matt says, coming out from behind the wall he and Dereck must have been hiding behind the whole time. “Rowan Bates isn’t that kind of girl.”
“What kind of girl?” asks Dereck. “She’s a female. Weren’t you paying attention in class? Males and females have the same animal-driven desires for a good fuck. It’s science.”
“If you listened closely, you would have also heard that attraction differs greatly from person to person,” I tell him with a shrug. “So, if Rowan was physically attracted to say, me, that doesn’t necessarily mean she’d be attracted to you, too.”
“Oh, fuck off, Connor.” Dereck shakes his head and punches me in the arm, harder than necessary, and I resist the urge to flinch. You would think that over the years I’ve built up a tolerance to Dereck’s physical abuse, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I rub the spot on my arm he’d just hit and sit down at one of the study tables, dropping my bag next to my feet. After a moment, Matt joins me, and so does Dereck.
“You’ve both tried and failed,” Matt muses, his eyes locked on the ceiling as he pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and sticks one into his mouth. A student walking by our table shoots him the stink-eye, but I know he won’t actually light it. Matt meets her gaze and waves, winking, and the girl hurries away with a sneer.
“My attempt was half-assed.” Dereck leans back in the chair, balancing on its back legs, tapping his thigh with annoyed fingers. “If I really put effort into it, I’d have Rowan Bates in the bag.”
I shake my head and pretend to focus on a pen mark engraved into the wooden tabletop. Matt is staring at Dereck, cigarette hanging limp from the corner of his mouth. He doesn’t say anything, but he’s smirking, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Well, I don’t know,” Matt says finally after a few moments of silence. “But you both had your chances, yeah? I guess that just leaves one person left.”
“You gotta be kidding me.” Dereck ceases his tapping and looks at Matt, unimpressed. “You were meaner to her than any of us ever were. She actually liked you, God only knows why. She won’t go for us, why in the hell do you think she’ll go for you?”
My eyes travel between Matt and Dereck, chest tightening with apprehension. It’s hard to say who will get to Rowan Bates first, if it’s not going to be me. I don’t know if I want to stick around and find out.
“Because,” Matt says, climbing to his feet. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth and slips it back into his pocket, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. His eyes flick between Dereck and me, lip curling. “I’m better than either one of you, and I’ll prove it.”
