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I smile. “You have a one-track mind.”
“Not true, Jones,” he says in a voice only for me. “I have a few choice tracks in regards to you. But yeah, they eventually lead to the same place.” The wicked look in his eyes tells me exactly where that place is. Not that I have any doubt.
Fighting a grin, I head toward the food court. Only to get inundated by people. That is, people swarm Drew. Honestly, I don’t know how he stands it. Sweat immediately prickles my lower back and my shoulders hunch. I’m jostled about as guys come up to slap Drew on the shoulder or give him a high five.
The brush of Drew’s fingers against mine tells me he’s trying to grab my hand. I evade him and step away. He doesn’t look happy about that, and I point toward the salad bar. “I’ll be there.”
I leave him frowning before he turns and talks to his fans.
At the salad bar, I find a small condiment container and fill it with olive oil.
“What’s with the olive oil?”
I almost drop the container at Drew’s question.
“For someone so big, you can sneak up on a person surprisingly well.” Now that he’s here, I feel the warmth and energy of him at my back. I pop on a lid. “And you’ll have to wait and see.”
He leans his head over my shoulder to peer down at me. “Your protests of innocence are wearing very thin at this point.” He says this lightly, but I hear the strain in his voice. Is he upset that I left him behind?
Those people didn’t come to see me. The back of my neck grows tighter. “All right. I’ve earned your skepticism. But you’ll soon be sorry for it.”
With slow care, he eases a lock of my hair back from where it dangles over my forehead. “I trust you, Jones.”
“Come on,” I say a bit too thickly. “We’re headed to the second floor.”
Drew’s expression goes flat and distant. And my heart skips a pained beat, but then I realize it’s not for me. He’s not even looking my way. He’s putting on a game face to get us out of here quickly. He strides forward, his hand just touching the small of my back, and not a soul comes forward. In truth, they part for him like the Red Sea.
“How do you do that?” I ask out of the side of my mouth. “It’s like a superpower.”
“You learn fairly quickly how to broadcast ‘back off’ when you need to.”
Unfortunately, some people are always going to be oblivious. And to my horror, a familiar face breaks from the crowd. I haven’t seen Whitney Summers since graduating high school. In truth, I didn’t know she went to this university. Not that I’d have cause to keep track of her whereabouts—we hate each other.
Thin, toned, and tan, with long blond hair that hangs in a thick sheet down the middle of her back, she’s always reminded me of Barbie. An unfortunate stereotype, but there you go. She beelines straight for Drew.
Having no option other than walking into her, Drew stops.
Whitney’s big blue eyes blink up at him. “Drew Baylor. I thought it was you.”
“You were correct,” Drew says.
She ignores me completely. Not surprising. She’d been a world-class bitch to me for years. Smiling wide, she offers Drew her hand. “Whitney Summers. I know your friend Thompson.” Her smile grows. “And Rolondo.” A giggle now. “And Simms.”
Jesus. Is she implying what I think she is? Drew and I exchange a look, and it’s clear he’s wondering the same thing. His mouth twitches. “Um. Yeah. Well, nice to meet you.”
He moves his weight onto the balls of his feet, as if he intends to walk around her, when she leans closer to him. “I just thought I’d introduce myself,” she says. “You know. Say hi.”
“Okay. Hi.”
Whitney flips a long length of her hair behind her shoulder and continues to smile at him. “Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee sometime.”
Great. Perfect. I get to witness Drew being propositioned in living color. I don’t dare look up at him. I don’t want to see his expression. I just can’t react. Not when Whitney treats me as though I’m not here.
Looking at her, I feel the same impotent rage as I did in high school. How was it that someone like this, someone petty, shallow, and boring could hold the student body in the palm of her hand? And what was so lacking in me that I had been shunned? I was never unattractive or a jerk.
In truth, I don’t understand how the world works the way it does. Grandpa Joe used to tell me that meanness never pays off. But I’m pretty sure whoever made up that saying never went to high school.
Standing next to Drew, I grit my teeth and fight the urge to run away. Or smash my fist into Whitney’s nose. Maybe he’s aware of my annoyance, because he touches the small of my back. I feel it like a brand of heat along my spine.
