Page 6 of What Are The Odds?
“Right.”
Pressing onto her toes, she leant in to kiss him goodbye. But the vibes were totally one sided. At the last second, he turned his head, the kiss landing on his cheek. It was bloody awkward to witness. I ought to look away, but it was like a trainwreck. I’d definitely be giving Stella a play by play of this moment. Hopefully it would be enough for her to knock Levi Holloway off the pedestal she had him on.
5. Always up for the challenge
Levi
Grace was grimacing as she watched Eliza, or maybe it was just Liza, walk away. Unlike Liza, Grace didn’t have an inch of skin showing. Even her blonde hair was falling from beneath a black beanie. It wasn’t warm, but it certainly wasn’t that cold either.
“Where did you come from?” I asked.
“My dorm.”
“Is it snowing there?”
Grace’s eyebrows furrowed. “No.”
“Then what’s with the ski gear?”
“I haven’t acclimatised yet.”
“Australian, right?”
She nodded before gesturing to the door. “Should we do this?”
I really didn’t want to. Almost as much as I hadn’t wanted that girl to hang around all morning. I was a one-night guy. Not a one-night-and-part-of-the-next-morning guy. Luckily we’d set the time for this group catch-up for nine-am. It’d given me a well needed excuse to get the girl moving. I reached the door first and held it open for Grace. Her body temporarily brushed mine as she dodged a group leaving. Ryker was already inside. He was leaning against the counter, coffee in hand, while he talked to the barista. Despite the line of people waiting, she was giving Ryker her full attention. Her lips curved up as she twirled a piece of hair around her finger.
“You want anything?” I asked Grace.
“I don’t drink coffee.”
“Tea? A milkshake? Water?”
She shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll find us a table.”
After waiting in line, I placed my order then made my way to the table Grace and Ryker had found. Grace was balancing her water bottle on her lap while she listened to whatever bullshit Ryker was droning on about. The sight alone of him was enough for an ache to appear in my neck.
“Settled on a topic yet?” I asked as I sat down.
“The demographics of Phil-U students,” Ryker suggested.
“Boring. What about NHL stats?”
Ryker rolled his eyes. “A hockey player suggesting hockey stats. How groundbreaking.”
“Actually,” Grace chimed in. “I don’t mind that.”
I smiled smugly at Ryker. Take that asshole.
“Not hockey exactly,” she went on. “But sporting stats aren’t a bad idea.” Grace danced her eyes between us, testing the waters. “I mean, we all watch it and play it, right? If we pick numbers that are interesting to us, it’ll make it a lot easier analysing them.”
The barista appeared at my side, startling us all. You were meant to wait at the counter for your drink, but she’d been adamant about bringing it out to me. My takeaway cup was grasped in her shaking hand. Thank fuck there was a lid, otherwise I’d be wearing it. I took it from her.
“Thanks.”
She hovered a moment too long. Enough to make it awkward.
“You need anything else?” Ryker politely checked.
