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When she’s in the house, he walks over to me. “I’d invite you inside, but I need to be with my girl, if you know what I mean.” He smirks. “Maybe you could go somewhere, come back in a half hour.”
“I’m just here to drop off Tara. I’m going to Sean’s house to watch the game.”
He nods. “I wondered why you drove all this way.” He glances back at the house. “For a minute there, I was thinking you had a thing for my girl. Taking her home yesterday, spending today with her, bringing her here.” He grips my shoulder. “But I know you wouldn’t try to steal my girl. You’re smarter than that. I mean, you’re in college. That’s gotta mean you’re smart enough not to mess around with someone else’s girl.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, looking him in the eye. “Why would I have a thing for Tara? I’m still in love with my ex.”
“That’s right.” He lets me go and takes a step back. “I forgot that she dumped you. You think you’ll get back together?”
“Maybe,” I say, but I know it’s not going to happen. I loved Haley, but I’m not sure she loved me back. “I might start dating someone else. I’m going out with a girl from my English class tomorrow.”
“Good for you,” he says, that smirk back on his face. “You should mix it up. Go out with as many girls as you can. We’re too young to settle down.”
“Are you saying you’re seeing other girls? Besides Tara?”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you. How many girls you been with, Sanders?”
“I don’t talk about that shit.”
He laughs. “So only one? Your girlfriend? That’s it?” He shakes his head. “You gotta get out there. See what you’ve been missing.”
“Troy,” Tara says, poking her head out the door. “Are you coming?”
“In a minute!” he yells at her.
She goes back inside.
Troy steps up to me. “It’s good we had this talk. I figured you weren’t into Tara, but I could see how you might be. She’s hot, and she’s easy to be around.” His eyes lock on mine. “But just so we’re clear, she’s mine. And I don’t share.”
12
JAKE
“Who was that girl?”Rob asks when I’m back in my dorm room.
After I dropped off Tara, I went to Sean’s house to watch the game. I wasn’t really watching it. My mind kept going to Tara, thinking about her with Troy. He didn’t admit he was cheating on her, but when I asked Sean about it, he made some comment about their relationship being casual. Maybe it is, but if they agreed to that, then Tara can be with other guys, and yet Troy made it crystal clear that only he can have her.
I left Sean’s place after an hour and drove back to campus. It’s Sunday night and I didn’t do any studying this weekend or any of my homework. And I blew off Dean, who’s been texting me all day and called twice, wanting to know how I’m doing.
“Tara’s just a friend,” I say to Rob. “We knew each other when we were kids.”
“You two do anything after I left?” He smiles a little.
“No. She has a boyfriend.” I grab my math book and take it to my bed, opening it up and pretending like I’m going to study so Rob will shut up.
“It looked like there was something going on with you two,” Rob says, not getting the hint that I don’t want to talk.
“There’s not. She’s just a friend.”
“But you want her to be more.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not going to happen.”
“How serious is she with her boyfriend?”
I look over at Rob, who’s sitting on his bed, leaned against the wall, his laptop next to him.
“They’ve dated for a few months. And I know the guy. We went to school together when we were kids. I went to his house today and dropped her off there.”
