Page 4 of False Assumptions

Chapter Three

The library door banged open from the force of Layla shoving her way through, still angry at Evan. She couldn’t believe his brazen flirting and the way he’d checked her out. Repeatedly. Like he thought she might be interested.

She had no desire to be one of the many brainless females that threw themselves at his feet. Watching the way other girls reacted to him made her want to gag. They fawned all over him, which just fed into his ego, confirming his belief that he was God’s gift to womankind.

Her irritation kept her warm on the twenty minute walk to her apartment. On days like today, she missed her old roommate and the knowledge that she’d have a sympathetic ear to vent to. But Alyssa had gotten married over the summer to her longtime boyfriend. So now Layla lived in a one bedroom with only her books as company.

The exercise of walking home had calmed some of her anger, but she got annoyed all over again when she realized that she’d intended to look for the book she needed in the campus bookstore. She wanted to charge the book to her school account rather than having to pay for it out of her spending money if she could. Or maybe she should see if the public library had it.

Once inside her apartment, she put on the kettle to make some chamomile tea. She needed something soothing.

With a deep breath, she centered herself, thinking back through her interactions with Evan. If she had to work with him, she needed to figure out a way to not let him get to her. Now that she had a chance to think, it seemed like that might’ve been his goal, since every time she got irritated, he did more of whatever made her mad, like he was trying to see how much of a reaction he could get.

If that were the case, then she needed to rein in her temper and treat him politely but without emotion. Hopefully he’d lose interest when he didn’t get a reaction and go back to flirting with other people.

While the tea steeped, she decided to call Alyssa anyway, not sure if she’d answer, but knowing she’d call back when she could.

Alyssa picked up on the second ring. “Hey, girl! What’s up?”

“Not much. Just thought I’d see if you were around.” Layla clamped her phone between her ear and shoulder while she pressed the flowers against the steeper to squeeze the liquid out.

“Liar. You hate talking on the phone. You usually text me to come over or fish for an invite when you want to hang out. What’s wrong?”

Stirring in some honey, Layla let out a sigh. “I have to work with Evan Coopman for a project in World Literature.”

Alyssa didn’t say anything at first, then a muffled snort and a giggle came over the phone.

“Shut up. Why are you laughing at me?”

Her voice still vibrating with laughter, Alyssa finally spoke. “You’re the only person I know who can make that sound like a death sentence.”

“What—I’m supposed to be excited about it? Yippee, I get to work with a dumb football player who flirts with anyone who has a pulse and passes as female. Hooray.”

Alyssa snorted with laughter again. “Did he flirt with you?”

“Yes.” Layla spit the answer through clenched teeth, getting mad all over again.

“Oh, the horrors. A hot guy who obviously works out all the time flirted with you. Hurry, hang up so you can call the police and report him.”

“What’s with the sarcasm? You’re supposed to be on my side.”

Alyssa sighed. “I am on your side. But what’s the big deal? So the guy flirted with you. Flirt back and have some fun. It’s not like your professor assigned you to have his babies. You meet a few times, you turn in your project or whatever, and you go about your life. It’s not quite the crisis situation you seem to think it is.”

“I know his type. He flirts with everyone. It’s not like him flirting with me means anything.”

“Exactly. It doesn’t mean anything, so why get upset about it?” Alyssa paused. “Or wait—would it be better if it did mean something? Do you want him to flirt with you for real?”

“No. What? No. Absolutely not. He’s a womanizing douche. Why would I want him to flirt with me?”

“Because he’s hot.”

“How do you know?”

Alyssa laughed out loud at that, not trying to muffle it. “One, they show pictures of the players on the scoreboard at games when they talk about them, and you know that Darren and I like to go. Two, you told me when he sat next to you in class last time. When you witnessed him flirting with a bunch of other girls right after being super flirty with you.”

Layla chose not to respond, sipping her tea.

“What’s really going on, Layla?”

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