“That depends on what you wanted to do.”
“I don’t know.” He put his hands in the pockets of his slacks. “Walk.”
“You want to go for a walk?”
“Are you in?”
“I need to finish my drink.” I held up my nearly untouched glass.
“Take your time.”
I took it. I didn’t want to seem overeager, because I wasn’t. Tanner wasn’t a bad guy, and he was definitely attractive, but I doubted it was going to go anywhere. Still, there was a chance it could work and that was enough to warrant spending more time with him. At least, that’s what I tried to convince myself so I wouldn’t feel like a horrible person for leading him on. I sipped my drink slowly, watching the crowd.
“The pledges left. Aaron sent them out.”
“Oh.” Had he figured out what I was doing? “I wasn’t looking for them.”
“Sure you weren’t.”
“I wasn’t.” I set down my now mostly empty glass. “Still want to take that walk?”
“Definitely.” He set aside his drink and took my hand.
When I didn’t see Cara or Juliet, I sent them a quick text to let them know I was leaving—and going home to our room. Tanner pushed open the door, and we walked out.
“We don’t have to go too far. I know your shoes aren’t the most practical.”
I glanced at my heels. “But they are cute.”
He looked down at them, and then at my legs. “Very cute.”
“And my feet aren’t hurting so bad.”
“Maybe the drinks are helping.”
“I only had two.” I didn’t need him thinking I was a lightweight.
“How many drinks does it usually take for you to feel them?” He put an arm around my shoulders.
“A few.”
“That doesn’t help.”
I laughed. “Is it supposed to be an exact science or something?”
He adjusted his hand on my arm. “I need something more to go on than just a few.”
“Why?” I wondered why he cared so much.
“Because I need to make sure you don’t get sick or anything.”
“First of all, that implies we’ll be going out a lot. Second of all, that’s kind of patronizing.”
“You already agreed to another date, and it’s just called caring.”
“I’m an adult. I can decide how much I drink.” I pulled away from him.
“Ah, there’s that look in your eyes again.”
“Are you trying to make me fight with you?”
“I wasn’t, but hey, it’s kind of fun.”
I walked away, assuming he’d follow. I’m all about girl power, but walking around a city alone at night while wearing a short dress isn’t the smartest thing.
He caught up with me and spun me around into his arms. “I like you, Mallory.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. But I don’t want to play games.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the one riling me up.”
“Are you into Colt or not? I’m not fighting with a freshman for your attention.”
“I’m not into Colt.” I wished my body agreed with the statement.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Positive.” I tried to convince my heart and mind of it too.
“Good.” He brushed his lips against me.
I stepped back, not wanting the light kiss to go further. He didn’t get that. He closed the space between us and really kissed me this time. His lips moved against mine slowly, and then a little faster. I slipped away before he could deepen it.
He didn’t move to stop me, but he left his hands resting on my hips. “You are really good at this whole distraction thing.”
I shrugged. “Glad you think so.” Had he missed the fact that I wasn’t into the kiss?
He laughed. “So when are we going out again?”
“I don’t know. When are we?” I’d already agreed to another date. I wasn’t going to cancel. So I wasn’t into kissing him, maybe that could change.
“I’m going to a house party Saturday that some of my friends from my freshman floor are throwing. You want to come?”
“A house party. Romantic.”
“Oh, now you want romantic?”
“No. Not at all.”
“If you say so.” He moved his hands from around me, but quickly picked up my hand. “Ready to head back?”
“Not to your place.”
“I figured that.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. And you’ll be worth the wait.”
“Think the sex will be meaningful enough for you?” I tried to play along.
He leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Oh, it will be very meaningful.”
I shook my head. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Chapter Eleven
The last thing I wanted to do on Friday morning was go to class. Thursday night parties were fun, but they made getting up the next morning hard. My alarm didn’t go off because I’d been so tired I never set it, and I barely made it to my first class on time. Without time to grab breakfast or even a coffee, I was dreading my morning classes.
“You still like yours with milk and Splenda, right?” Colt held out a large cup of coffee as I slid into my seat in anthro less than two minutes before it started.
“Oh my god, you’re a savior.” I accepted the coffee. Just because I didn’t want to date him, didn’t mean I shouldn’t act appreciative.
He laughed. “I figured you could use one.”
“Weren’t you up late too? I heard Aaron had you guys leave to do something.”
“Yeah to sleep. We’ve got something big going on tonight I guess.”
“Oh. Well, at least he thought ahead.” I opened the little flap on my coffee and took a tentative sip. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“I’m impressed you remembered how I take my coffee.”
“I’m glad you’re impressed, but you shouldn’t be surprised.”
Professor Cains walked in, starting the class before he even reached the front of the room.
Class wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected, mostly thanks to the coffee. The gesture had been really thoughtful and perfectly timed.
Colt and I walked to our next classes together. I didn’t attempt to ditch him. The coffee had definitely put him in my good graces. “Do you want to meet up this weekend to start working on the first project?”