Page 10 of I Knew You Were Trouble

I said poop to him. I think I prefer hummerflagen.

My head hits the wall, and I stare up at the tiled ceiling. I was tempted to run all the way home, but I axed the idea. I have to see him eventually; he’ll most likely be our model for a while. If I run, I know I’ll ask Dad to put me in a different class—one where I don’t have to paint nudes—and then I’ll hole up in my innocent bubble and never see or do anything.

I know art encompasses so many different places, people, and lifestyles. I just need to… loosen up.

Darn that Pete.

After scrubbing in the bathroom, I talked myself into waiting for Zach after class. I’m still going to go for it—ask him out. Maybe he’ll find my fumbling cute? And my courage to ask him out sexy?

The click of the door jars me from my thoughts, and I push from the wall. My fingers tangle together, and my teeth find that canker sore and start toying. Group by group, my classmates file out, a few giving me grins and a few giving me sympathetic eyes. I hope they’re not upset that I bailed on cleaning. I plan on giving the floor a good scrub after asking Zach out.

My teeth let my inner lip go, and I suck in a deep breath. My heart starts to pound again, but at least I’m done sweating.

His beautifully robed self emerges from the room, next to Ben and Abby. They’re laughing about something, and I don’t want to interrupt, but he’s not looking my way.

“Hey… you!” Oh gosh, I’ve brain-farted his name.

All three of them give me a look, and I quickly shake my brain into working mode.

“Zach. I mean Zach.” I give him a smile that probably looks like I’m constipated, but they all know I’m not. “Um… you got a second?”

The corner of his mouth quirks up, and he nods, waving bye to the other two. Ben snakes his hand down to Abby, and they hold hands as they exit the building. Darn, that’s too bad for Tristan.

“What’s up?”

I take a deep breath and internally scold myself to not botch this for the millionth time. He’s really cute, standing in a fluffy black robe, tightly secure with the tie at the hip. His bare feet poke out from the bottom, and I try not to think about how he should really wear flip flops or something in this high traffic hallway.

“Do you have any plans tonight?”

“Just this,” he answers with a delectable smile.

“Did you want to get a drink or something?”

His eyes narrow, and he gives me a once over. Am I too underdressed to go out? I mean… he’snaked.

“You drink?”

I blink a few times. “Oh! Um, no. I’m underage, so that’s like, a huge no no for me. Not that I judge people who do, it’s just I’m more of a follow the law type of girl.” Yikes, need to fix. “I meant like, coffee or something.”

An amused look crosses his blue eyes, but his smile looks sympathetic rather than happy. “Look… Candace, is it?”

I nod. At least he remembers my name.

“You’re cute. But I honestly don’t think you’re my type.”

Time pauses for just a second, long enough for him to dig his fingers into my chest, pull my heart out, and kick it into the trash can down the hall.

“Uh… what?” I say, my breath catching.

“I don’t want to offend you.” He leans against the wall with his shoulder, looking too darn handsome while he flat out rejects me. “But from what I know about you, I don’t think you’d enjoy what I like to do.”

“Like what?”

He smirks. “Like bending the rules.” He pushes from the wall and lets out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, but I figured I’d nip it in the bud.”

“Yeah. Makes sense.” I force a smile, but deep inside I’m a pitiful human looking in the mirror and criticizing every single part of herself. I lift a shoulder. “It was worth a shot.”

He smiles, satisfied with how I’m taking this. Maybe I should’ve gone into acting.

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