Page 25 of Bad Crush
I sit up and grab the eyeliner. “Like that.”
She snatches it and then sits at my vanity to sharpen and use it. Her gaze meets mine in the mirror. “Did something happen? Was he a dick to you because so help me, I’ll—”
“No, nothing like that.”
“Then what happened? Honestly, I expected you to wake me up when you got home last night to spill every detail.”
That’s what I’d expected to happen too, but after I got home from the worst date in the history of mankind, I didn’t want to talk to anyone. Giving a play-by-play will remind me of the horror. Kind of like now as an image of Adam wide-eyed and swaying flashes through my head.
“It was… awkward,” I say finally. “I thought that I could compartmentalize it all, but I like him too much.”
And I may have cost him the scholarship if anyone finds out I lied through my teeth. I consider smothering myself with a pillow, but I deserve far worse—like sucking it up and dealing with the awful situation I got us in.
Dakota stands and checks the time. “I have to go, but I want to hear all about it later. I’m doing a tour at the Hall of Fame this morning. Lunch?”
“I can’t today. I need to finish the reading for my music theater history class this afternoon. Dinner?”
She shakes her head. “I’m pulling a double shift today, but why don’t you come to my game tonight.”
“Game?”
“Spikeball,” she says like I should know. “Our first game is tonight.”
“You were serious about that?”
“Yes.” She picks up a pillow that’s fallen on the floor and tosses it at me. “Will you come?”
“Of course,” I say because that’s what you do when your best friend asks you to go watch her play intramural sports. “It couldn’t have been softball or something that I at least understand?”
“Would that really make it better?” She grins as she leaves my room.
No, today I’m not sure anything would make it better.
I don’t see Dakota, Ginny, or the guys all day once I leave the apartment. I stay on campus between classes, skip lunch, and throw myself into avoidance. I’m getting an A-plus until Ginny tracks me down.
“How’d you find me?” I ask when she gets to the front of the stage. I’m sitting in the center with my textbooks laid out in front of me but I’m not really studying.
“Please. I know your spots. I tried University Hall first to see if you were drowning in coffee.”
“I wish,” I mutter.
“What’s that?” She smiles.
“Nothing.” I sigh. “What did you need?”
“I’ll tell you over dinner. Come on.”
My stomach growls. “I’m not eating today.”
“Umm… why not?”
“Punishment.”
“Rea, you cannot punish yourself for indulging sometimes. That’s twisted.”
“No, it’s not like that.”
Her brows lift in challenge.
