“So you don’t need to study.”
“Maybe not, but that’s because I’m smart, not because I get a pass for being a football player.”
“I thought…” She trails off and looks down at her papers in frustration.
I help her out. “You thought I was a dumb jock and would be grateful for your attention?”
She purses her lips. That’s exactly what she thought. “I can share my sorority sister’s outline with you.” She shoves a set of papers toward me.
“Thanks, but I don’t really need it. All of us dumb jocks get free tutoring.”
Josie picks up her phone and presses something on the screen. She turns it around to face me. With a plastic smile, she says, “How do you like this?”
It’s a Snapchat picture of me looking at Lucy like she’s the tastiest treat in the entire place. The text overlay reads Matty Iverson can win at football, but he loses at life.
“Thanks for taking the picture from the right.” It’s apparent I should be offended, but Josie’s game is too obvious. Anyone will read that and know she’s the one who got turned down. “It’s my best side.”
She releases one of those silent screams, the kind where she swallows most of the sound but you still know she’s screaming at the top of her lungs. Her bag is packed in seconds, and she takes off in such a rush her hair slaps me across the face.
“You forgot your cider,” Lucy calls over. “You look like you could use a beer, though. We sell that, too.”
“We were just studying.”
Lucy turns to look in Josie’s general direction. “That’s an unhappy study partner you have there.”
“We had a misunderstanding. She thought this was a date and I thought it was a study group.”
“So you’re not losing at life?”
Apparently the Snapchat is spreading faster than an STD in a frat house.
“When it comes to you, apparently I am.”
She rubs a knuckle under her chin. “I get off in fifteen minutes and I need to eat something. You can join me if you want.”
I brighten. “Really?”
My obvious enthusiasm earns me a slight frown. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s not an invitation for anything but sitting across the table from me while I eat.”
This is a date even if she won’t admit it. “Do I get to eat, too, or do I just sit and watch?”
Her eyebrows squeeze together in a rather adorable way. “You had coffee cake and apple streusel.”
“I’m a bottomless pit, or so my mom tells me.” My hand falls to my stomach, and her eyes follow in a gratifying manner. Maybe I’m not striking out because the way her gaze is eating me up right now tells me she’d like a side of Matty with her meal.
“Great. Meet me out front in fifteen.” Then she spins around and goes back to bustling behind the counter. As if I’m not even here.
Or hell, maybe she’s inviting me to dinner to tell me exactly how much she doesn’t want to see me again. That would actually be a little on the crazy side, which means I should walk away, but she’s hooked me good. So good that, at this point, I’d pretty much follow her pretty ass anywhere.
5
Lucy
“Okay if we go to Crowerly’s?” I ask when I meet Matt outside the Brew House. To his credit, he doesn’t make a face when I suggest the vegan restaurant. Or he has no clue what they serve.
“Lady’s choice.” He sweeps out a hand, indicating I should lead the way.
“It’s vegan,” I tell him.
“All the better. We both know I’ve had enough sugar and carbs tonight to send a small kid into convulsions. Are you sure you didn’t give me two pieces of the coffee cake?” he accuses.
“We are closing in an hour,” I admit. “It would’ve been tossed out if it didn’t sell. Besides, I didn’t expect you to eat it all.”
“Look at me.” He holds his arms out wide. “Do I look like a guy who turns down cake?”
I can’t stop myself from looking at him. He’s got the classic V-shape with the broad shoulders and trim waist. Nothing about him says “coffee cake eater.” More like bland chicken and a boatload of vegetables. Of course, he works out two hours or more a day, so maybe he can eat all the cake he wants.
And why do I even care? “I guess not.”
Crowerly’s is only two blocks down, and neither of us says another word until we’re seated across from each other in the booth.
“Did you come to the Brew House tonight because of me?” My tone comes out sharper than I intended, but he doesn’t seem insulted. If anything, he looks amused.
“Nope. I told you, I thought I was coming to a study group.”
His expression is a bit too innocent for my liking. And damn it, he’s too gorgeous for my comfort. Somehow in the span of twenty-four hours I managed to forget how frickin’ hot this guy is. I can see now why Charity was all but drooling when she brought up his name.
“Right. Your study group.” I show him with my eyes just how much I believe him. Which is not at all. “And I guess knowing I work there had nothing to do with your thought process.”