Page 17 of Bad Crush
“Right. Of course.”That includes you, dummy. “I’m just grabbing a pitcher for the table and then I’ll leave you be.”
“Stay. I don’t mind talking to you.” He leans forward to speak to the girls on the other side of me. They’re standing instead of sitting on the stool in front of them. “Can we grab that seat?” he asks. Then, without waiting for their answer, pulls it closer.
The brush of his shoulder against my arm and the scent of his body wash does funny things to my stomach.
“Thank you.” I sit and place my glass on top of the bar. “Is everything okay?”
“Tired, have a lot on my mind. Basically, I’m shit company tonight, but the guys wouldn’t let me stay home.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“You’ve already helped.” He tips his head toward the girls on my other side. They’ve turned their attention to another broody-looking guy at the bar.
“Using me to avoid girls again?”
“Not my intent, but also not a terrible idea.”
“Is it really so awful having so many girls vying for your attention?”
“No, of course not. I love girls and attention. Falling into something new would be as easy as breathing. It’s my cycle. Trying to break it is much harder. Plus, I really do have a lot going on. Seems unfair to bring someone into that. And I suck at hookups.”
“Maybe the next girl you date will be the one.”
“Maybe.” He snorts.
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“I’m not sure of anything anymore.” He takes a long pull from his beer. “Maybethe oneis a myth.”
“I don’t think I ever said it, but I’m sorry about your parents splitting. That’s tough.”
He nods. “Are your parents divorced?”
“Never married, but I’m not close to my parents like you are with yours.”
“I didn’t know.”
“I don’t talk about them much.” I shrug. “Dakota’s more family to me than anyone else.”
He smiles. “I get that. You two are close.”
“So, what else is going on with you? The thing with your parents happened months ago so that can’t be the only reason you’re over here brooding.”
“It’s this scholarship for medical school. They’ve narrowed it down to me and one other person. We have to go to these two events with the committee before they decide.”
“Nerve-wracking.”
“Yeah, no kidding. And if I wasn’t already worried, I told the head of the committee I was bringing a date. And you know how I feel about those right now.”
“Couldn’t Ginny go?”
“No, I already tried that. Heath’s friend Lincoln is coming into town tomorrow night and they made plans. And I got a tip that the committee might be looking for someone who’s settled down.”
“Settled down? You’re in college. Seems a little old-fashioned.”
“Right? I know. It’s probably not a big deal, but—”
“You don’t want to risk losing because of that.”
