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I waited for her to tell me the story. That he called me a jersey chaser and berated me for wearing a short skirt, but as I crossed my legs, my thighs stuck to the seat, so he might have a little point about the length.
Not that I was planning on ever taking on that feedback. I liked my skirts, and no one was going to stop me wearing them.
Hazel squirmed in her seat a little, and I didn’t stop glaring at her until she spoke again. “I guess I just heard that Tanner turned you down.” Her voice rose. “But you know what? I wouldn’t take it personally. He turns down everyone. Not just you.”
“Shit.” It was the only thing I could muster to say because it was worse than I thought. No wonder people were giving me a wide berth walking down the hallway today. I was officially a jersey chaser, but I chased no jersey’s, they came to me, and both burned me like I was covered in gasoline. I knew I should have stuck to my rule.
No athletes.
“On the bright side, I think most people have forgotten about your whole foray with Connor.”
Now, instead of being the quiet girl that no one cared about, people thought of me as the girl who dated a hockey player, got cheated on and then tried her luck with the best quarterback in the country.
Yeah, I found out that little tidbit on Tanner later that night when I googled him. It only proved that he was a bigger star than I initially thought.
Oh, and he had abs that had the potential to cut through hot butter. Why didn’t Ralph warn me he was a phenom and that our chances of ever winning a championship relied solely on him? Probably because he knew I’d say no in a heartbeat.
“That’s not what happened.” Even as I said the words, I knew it would be an uphill battle to change the narrative. No one was going to believe the quiet tutor girl over the obnoxious jock. I’d learned from experience that it wouldn’t work. The guys were always to be believed, no matter how outlandish their stories might be.
“Oh, really?” Hazel’s interest was piqued, and although I knew we should be working, I thought explaining the truth to her might at least create a potentially different story. “Yeah. Not sure why he was so pissed off at me, but he seemed to think I was trying to hit on him. I wasn’t. I was just trying to find him so we could start our tutoring session.”
Her face went a little pink because she was embarrassed for me. She thought I was lying and making up this story to say face. I could tell, yet I had no desire to correct her. She’d known me long enough that I shouldn’t have to explain myself. She should just believe me. “Anyway, I’ve got five minutes left with you, so if you want me to mark your answers, you better be nice to me.” I snatched the paper from her, ticking through the correct ones while she watched.
I could feel her eyes on me, but I refused to acknowledge her. “You know, it’s not all that bad.”
“What’s not all that bad? Your answers? Because if I’m being honest, you could do better.”
“No.” She shook her head in annoyance. “Being rejected by two athletes.” I dropped my pen and glared at her. She didn’t stop talking. “I wouldn’t be upset about it. I mean, at least they noticed you. I can’t even get a guy to give me a second glance, let alone talk to me.” Was Hazel a… Jersey Chaser? She crumpled a piece of paper in her hand. “Unless you count Alex.” A small smile drew on her lips at the mere mention of Alex McDonnell, one of Connor’s better performing teammates, and another of the clients I reluctantly took on when Connor asked me to. Granted, he was the only athlete I liked, but he also didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would fawn over an innocent thing like Hazel. “But he only talks to me because he met me first day of classes.”
Oh, no. Was she going to open up to me? I didn’t need that. Not with only five minutes left. So I pretended to check my phone. “Oh wow. Is that the time? I’m going to be late for class if I don’t go now.” It was a lie because I was never late, but I didn’t want to stay here and have Hazel dissect either of our life choices. I wasn’t good with that stuff.
As I was packing away my things, I noticed Ralph hovering by the exit. Without making eye contact, I knew he was waiting for me, and I was in no doubt it was because he wanted to talk. Obviously, he wasn’t going to apologize, and at this point, I was questioning if he had a deal with Connor to embarrass me, not the other way around.
I slowly put my final textbook in my bag and looked to either side of the library. There were only two other exits, both were emergency ones, and both would sound an alarm if I tried to sneak out through them.
I was going to have to walk past Ralph, and it wasn’t something I wanted to do.
Accepting my fate, I said my goodbyes to Hazel and headed to the door with my head hung low, hoping he wouldn’t notice me.
“Aster, can we talk?”
Dammit.
His feet came into view, but I still wasn’t ready to deal with him.
“You’re going to have to look at me eventually, you know.”
“Am I?”
He bent his knees and looked up at me with a smile. I finally tipped my chin and came face to face with one of the guys I wanted to throw pizza at. “Aster. I’m sorry about the other day.”
He genuinely looked apologetic, but I still felt like I was in fight-or-flight mode, and I wasn’t prepared to stay. So I fled, almost skipping out of the library.
“Really, Aster? You’re going to act like that?” He was walking next to me in a heartbeat because those damn long, spider-like legs caught up to me easily.
“I’m not acting like anything. You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I don’t?”
