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“I’ll let you get to the library then. Bye, Will.”
I watch him walk away, impressed by his long stride and how it eats up the ground. He’s so fast. And tall. And broad.
The realization hits me so hard it nearly takes my breath away. I’ve got it so bad for him.
With a wistful sigh I turn and collide with someone, a loud oof coming from the both of us when our bodies make contact. I take a hurried step back, the apologies already falling from my lips only for me to cut them off when I realize who I’ve run into and see the glare on her face.
Alana. It’s like I can’t shake her.
“Watch where you’re going,” she says, her tone haughty. Like I ran into her on purpose.
“I suppose I could say the same to you,” I return, my voice just as snotty. I’m tired of dealing with her rude looks and obvious laughter at my expense. Or maybe that’s just my insecurities shining through but I don’t know. I’m pretty certain she enjoys rubbing her relationship with Silas in my face.
“Look, I can’t help it if he liked me better,” she says, lifting her chin. “You were gone. What was I supposed to do? Tell Silas no, that he should wait for you to come back? You two danced around each other for months during sophomore year and nothing happened.”
I flinch, hating how she says that, even though it’s the truth. But I’m not about to let her continue talking down to me. I’m over it.
Over her.
“You can do whatever you want. It’s a free country,” I say, my voice remarkably calm.
“You’re right. It is. And we can do whatever we want.” Alana is about to walk away when I speak again, making her pause.
“I don’t care what you two are doing. It’s like you’re sitting close to me and putting on a show so I can’t help but notice. Let me reassure you that it’s completely unnecessary. There’s someone else I’m interested in now.” When she turns to face me, I continue. “And he’s a thousand times better than Silas.”
Okay, that was mean, but I can’t help myself. I got a teeny bit of satisfaction of seeing the irritation cross her face too. That’s what she gets for always trying to put me down. I can do it too, even though I feel like a mean girl.
“God, you’re so annoying. Thinking you’re something special just because you’re a Lancaster,” Alana mutters as she practically runs away.
I watch her go, her words on replay in my head. That’s always been her problem. She’s jealous of me. Did she get with Silas because it makes her feel like she stole him from me? If that’s the case …
That’s really messed up.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Rhett
The day is a grind, but that’s expected for a Monday. Weight training at six in the morning, followed by a short but intense practice isn’t the easiest way to start the week, but according to Coach, it’s necessary. Can’t lie, it felt pretty good pushing my body to the limit with training. Having the guys surround me, yelling their encouragement as I increased my bench press weight. They cheered me on when I lifted the heaviest weight yet for me, and I enjoyed every moment of it.
Not as much as I enjoyed spending my Friday night with Will, though.
Catching her in front of the library had been a pleasant surprise. Swear to God she gets prettier every time I see her. What’s even better? She doesn’t seem to realize what her body or her sway has over me.
Girl has a lot of sway. Might even go as far as to call it power. She could snap her fingers and I’d come running, willing to do whatever she needed from me. Does that make me whipped when we’re not even in a real relationship yet? Is that wrong? If so, then I don’t want to be right.
I’ve never felt this way about a girl before. Like I can’t stop thinking about her. Like I’m obsessed with her. Because I am—obsessed with Willow Lancaster. I want to know every little thing about her. What she likes, what she doesn’t like, what makes her laugh, what makes her cry. Once I find that out, I will do my damnedest to never risk seeing her tears. They’d probably destroy me.
Man, I’m overdramatic on this fine Monday morning.
By the time I’m strolling into English class, I spot my pretty girl sitting in her usual desk, a faint smile on her face as she stares at her phone screen. I just stand in the open doorway, people pushing past me to enter class, waiting for her to notice me. As if she can sense me staring, she lifts her head, her gaze finding mine, and the secret smile that curls her scarlet lips has my heart picking up speed.
Willow ducks her head like she’s shy, her hair falling over her face, shielding her. Damn, that’s cute.
I enter the classroom, catching that one chick Alana watching me, her upper lip curled in disgust. I send her a dismissive glance, not in the mood to deal with unwarranted bitchiness on a Monday morning, and I settle into the desk right behind Willow’s, tugging on a strand of silky dark hair to get her attention.
“Hey.” I drop my backpack at my feet, leaning forward so I can catch a whiff of her sweet scent. Whatever perfume she wears or lotion or whatever it is, reminds me of candy. As in, the girl smells good enough to eat.
“Hi.” She turns to the side, almost facing me but not quite, her lips curled into a closed-mouth smile. “How are you?”
