I glared at him. “What’s up with you waiting two weeks to tell me?”
“Oh boy, you got it bad for Cute Catie,” Alex said, taunting me. “I’m going to tweet her.”
When he grabbed his phone off his locker shelf and started banging away at the keyboard, I kept quiet. I knew what he would find.
Puzzled, he looked up at me. “She’s not on Twitter?”
“Canceled her account. For the best,” I muttered.
“Now that we got that out of the fucking way, where’s the party?” Alex asked, still scrolling through his phone.
All of a sudden, his head flew up, water spraying from his dreads “Whoa, listen to this. @Hafton101 swears he saw an Ariel Stone lookalike at the game tonight. What the fuck? I have to go home and google her. I heard her titty-fuck shit is hot as hell.”
“I’m heading out,” I called, dressing in jeans and a Henley.
“What the fuck? Where you going?” Ashton called after me, but my Timberlands were already at the threshold.
“Catch you later.”
Snow had covered my pickup during the game. I turned the engine over and got back out, pulling the collar up on my coat before I brushed off the windshield. After jumping back in the driver’s seat, I put the truck into gear and hightailed it to the far end of campus. The Golden Goblet sat at the very end of College Avenue, and from the looks of it, wasn’t a place I’d ever go. But Cate had been there two weeks ago, and maybe it was a regular thing for her.
I left the truck in a spot behind the shopping center and hustled through the cold, shivering because my hair was still wet and it was fucking freezing. I practically ran to the door of the joint. Once I got inside, I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make myself look presentable. I hung my coat on a hook and paced toward the back, surveying all the tables.
Nothing.
As I headed to the bar, I saw her. She was sitting on a stool, her hair tied up on top of her head, her sweatshirt falling off one shoulder.
I walked right over, no warning, no patience. Running my hand over her bare shoulder—her right one, the one without my name—I spoke in her ear.
“Thought you weren’t legal.”
She flinched and jumped in her seat. “Blane?” She gave me an annoyed look and quickly slipped her phone into her purse.
“Hi,” I said sheepishly.
“What are you doing here?”
I leaned against the vacant stool next to her. “Looking for you. Where have you been?”
“Mo said he saw me?”
I nodded. “Where have you been?” I repeated my question, wanting . . . no, needing an answer.
“I got thrown out of my major.”
“I heard. Sonny told me, but that’s all he would say.”
“I moved off campus, and I’ve just been trying to stay under the radar.” She kept twisting her wrist and looking at her watch.
“You meeting someone?”
“Actually, yeah. I have to go; someone’s picking me up.”
“I miss seeing you,” I admitted foolishly.
“Miss you too, but I have to go.”
I curled my fingers and ran the back of my hand along her cheek. She wasn’t wearing much makeup, and she looked beautiful. “Saw you there tonight.”
A smile started to form on her face, but she quickly schooled it. “You know I’m a fan.”
“Let’s have another drink.” I pointed toward her empty glass.
“I can’t.”
“I got you; I’m not who or what you want. I’m just a baller or whatever. A stupid guy who will make a ton of money someday, thanks to my athletic skills.”
“Stop.” She placed her hand on my chest and fire licked through the Henley, her fingers sending a jolt to my pulse. “It’s not you; it’s me. I’m figuring stuff out, and you don’t need that.”
“Let me decide that, not you.”
“Seriously, Blane. I have to go. Great win tonight.”
She planted a small kiss on my cheek, her lips ghosting over my five o’clock shadow before slipping away. I wanted to sink my tongue into her mouth, but she was on the move.
“Wait!” I said. “Can we get a drink tomorrow?”
She swallowed hard, and a strange expression flitted over her face before it was gone.
“Coffee maybe?” I was grasping at anything.
Cate sighed. “Sure. How about Starbucks off campus?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Two o’clock?”
“Good,” I said, taking her elbow. “Let me walk you out.”
“No, you go ahead. I’m going to use the restroom first.”
I wanted to wait and see her out, but she’d looked like seven shades of green when I suggested it. Having been raised by a single mom, I knew not to push it.
So I ran back to my truck, ratcheted up the heat, and headed back to what I was sure would be a rager at my apartment. When I scrolled through Twitter while I waited at a red light, my suspicions were confirmed.
@HaftonBabe:
Where is @BallerSteele? I’m waiting for him at his place. #nolongercelibate #GoHaftonGreen
Catie