Page 87 of Collide
“You’re very quiet,” Jake adds, looking at me.
“Am I?” I reply, raising an eyebrow.
He scoffs.
“Yeah. But you’re a straight-up smoke show, so it’s cool.”
“She is hot, isn’t she?” Riley jumps in, trying to defuse the awkwardness with a bright laugh.
They buy us a round of drinks, and while Jake keeps trying to flirt with me, I barely give him an inch. One-word answers, polite smiles.
I’m not interested in either of these guys. They remind me too much of the douchebags back home and I can’t even pretend otherwise.
Meanwhile, Riley works her magic, flirting easily, first with Connor, then with Jake when he joins in.
By the time the sun dips below the horizon, she’s exchanged numbers with Connor and even arranged to meet up with him on one of the days I’ll be tied up with work.
Jake leans over toward me, a hopeful grin on his face.
“Elena, think I can get your number?”
Before I can respond, Connor chuckles and throws an arm around his friend.
“Dude, she’s not interested. Leave the girl alone.”
“Sorry, Jake,” I say, polite but firm. “Connor’s right.”
Connor whoops, teasing, “Damn, man, she’s cold.”
Cold.
It isn’t the first time I’ve been called that by boys like them.
Frigid. Ice queen.
Words thrown at me by guys who didn’t like being told no, who didn’t like that I wouldn’t put out. But I’m not about to lead Jake on, not when my heart is already tangled up with someone else.
I like Alex. IwantAlex.
And while Jake is pleasant enough to look at, he doesn’t make my pulse race or my chest tighten the way Alex does. Not even close.
Once they leave, Riley turns to me, her eyes wide.
“What was that?”
I shrug, taking a sip of my drink.
“Babe, he was hotandinterested.” Riley nudges me.
“Alex is hotter,” I tease.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Riley quips back.
“Plus, it feels kind ofwrong, like I’m cheating. And you know how I feel about that.”
“I’m sorry, did I miss the part where Alex asked you to be his girlfriend?” she questions, shaking her head in mock disbelief.
“What do you mean?”
