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“Yeah, okay.”
“Well, that is, before you tried to get into Hayden’s pants.” He burst out laughing and jogged to the door before I could argue back. I liked Hayden, and in a way, Aster reminded me of her. What with the red hair and pouty lips, but that was where the resemblance ended. Hayden was loudly unconfident, whereas Aster was the exact opposite. She had bravado that could rival Aiden’s and a sass that made me want to tick her off.
But ticking her off wasn’t on the cards soon. I needed towooher into it, and apparently, forcing her to have dinner with me the other night wasn’t the way to do it.
“You coming?” Matty asked as he popped his head through the front door. “You’re going to be late for Coach yelling at you if you aren’t careful.”
I wanted to laugh, because if it were anyone else but myself, it might be funny. Coach was going to yell so loudly that his forehead vein might burst and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with that.
Fuck this.
Following Matty and the rest of my teammates, I went to the door and accepted my fate.
As I leaned against the building, I stared down at the giant F on my Sports Marketing report because if I didn't get enough of a reaming from Coach about my grades, he threw this one in my face. The only class I was averaging a B in, and it's all been firmly dragged by this. No wonder Coach had no hope for me. I wouldn't either.
I was failing big time, and now it wasn’t awantto get Aster’s help. It was aneed, and I would do anything she wanted just to get her to help me.
When I heard the building doors open, my head whipped up like it had been doing every time that door creaked for the last hour. Each time, it had been someone else. But finally, my patience paid off.
Finally.
Aster didn’t disappoint, either. In a short, yellow and brown skirt, she was almost skipping around campus with glee. She hadn’t noticed me leaning against the building, which was probably a good thing since I’d been called a stalker once already today, and I didn’t want that again.
With her nose tipped in the air, Aster walked ahead of me, holding her laptop in one hand and her bag in the other. For all intents and purposes, she looked carefree, relaxed, and happy as she headed to class. I had no doubts in my mind that she was the kind of girl that got off on going to lectures while the rest of us dreaded it. She had a passion for learning which I wanted to learn from, if only she’d let me.
Scratch that thought. If I wanted her to help me, then I needed tobelieveshe would help me, and I was damn near certain that I was going to do everything possible to get her attention.
“Aster!” I called, and the minute she heard my voice, she stilled. I could tell she was contemplating running, but her heels were too high, and as smart as she was, I was almost certain she lacked the co-ordination to run fast enough in those shoes to get away from a quarterback.
Thankfully, she knew I would win, and turned on her heel slowly before tilting her head and looking at me with the same bored expression she gave me yesterday when I bothered her in the canteen. Okay, I could admit when I was being a little persistent, but I just needed this win.
“Tanner,” She grumbled, looking around the quiet campus. It was still a little dusky since it was only seven thirty, and barely any of our cohorts had made it out of bed yet. But here I was, fully clothed and eager to learn from her. “What are you doing here?” The pointed annoyance in her voice was noticeable, but I was going to pretend that I didn’t hear it.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I took a few steps in her direction, opening my hands out in a friendly gesture. All she did was stare back at me with disdain. “I came to talk to you.”
She huffed out an annoyed laugh before shaking her head. “You came to my dorm and waited outside for me because you wanted to talk to me?”
“Yup.”
She looked at me for a little longer than I thought necessary, but I let her take it in. Maybe once she realized how desperate I was for her help, she’d give me a break.
“Is there something wrong with that?”
Clutching the books close to her chest, she closed her eyes and huffed out another breath. She’d had enough, but little did she know I was only getting started.
When she opened her eyes, she stared at me as though I had just let out some really big secret. I shuffled on my feet because I didn’t have a clue on what she was expecting me to say.
“Tanner,” She started, very slowly enunciating every word. “How did you know that I lived here?”
Well, fuck. I’d inadvertently stepped in it, hadn’t I? Just like Matty said. I shouldn’t stalk her, but I also couldn’t lie, so I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. “I, uh, may have followed you home last night.” I cringed because I could have phrased that a lot better, but when she looked at me, it felt like she was a walking lie detector and I knew if I tried to say anything but the truth, I’d get the same pointed glare as before.
Her eyes widened, but she said nothing for a few seconds, which was surprising. The girl always seemed to have something on her mind. “I appreciate the honesty, Tanner. Therefore, I hope you’ll be just as honest when I ask you the next question.”
Nodding, I waited because she was talking to me, which was more than the other day. “Are you stalking me?” She said it so calmly, and casually, that I thought she must be used to this kind of thing.
“Stalking?” Why did it come out so high-pitched? “No. No.” I shook my head and raised the paper in my hand, shoving it in her face. Then I waved it in the air a few times, just in case she didn’t see the giant ‘F’ scrawled across it. “I’m here because I failed another test. I just followed you across campus yesterday because it was dark, and you were walking home on your own. “I’ve got a sister.” I paused because was I really going to tell her about that? No. I may have wanted Aster’s help, but my sister’s privacy was still important. “I, uh, just don’t like seeing people walking home on their own.”
She raised a brow, her shoulders shaking a little with her haughty attitude. “People as ingirls.”
