Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Definitely not with Amanda.
I snuck another sideways glance her way. Amanda was pretty and sweet and easy to be around. But I hadn’t burned for her. Not like I did for Gabe. We were together for two years…six months too long. Surely she had to think we’d devolved into a boring habit too. Our conversations were centered around water polo and our schedules and the sex was just okay. I remembered thinking I had to end it after the holidays, but I didn’t know how to do it without hurting her. In the end, breaking up was as awful as I thought it would be. Eventually, she agreed we could just be friends but so far, we hadn’t managed to do that. The fact that I was uneasy sitting a few seats away from her in a crowded lecture hall made me think we might never get there.
I refocused and took copious notes for the remaining hour of class. When it was over, I made my way to the exit and of course, immediately bumped into Amanda. She greeted me with a tight smile that went nowhere near her eyes.
“Hi, Derek. How are you?”
“Uh…I’m good. You? I haven’t seen you in a while. It’s funny to bump into you here. I didn’t know you were in this class,” I babbled. Fuck. Let the nonstop chatter commence. I willed myself to shut up and give her a chance to talk.
She pushed a wayward strand of golden hair behind her ear and nodded. “I transferred in two weeks ago. I waved at you a couple of times, but you didn’t see me.”
“Huh. Sorry. I must have been engrossed in the lecture,” I joked.
“Right. How’s polo? I caught your game last weekend. Good win.”
“Yeah, thanks. It’s going well. Uh…I should go. I’ve got pract—”
“Things seem to be working out with Gabe,” she intercepted.
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, better than expected. He’s awesome.”
“He is. It’s nice that you’ve become such…good friends.” Her extra emphasis on those last two words unnerved me.
I inclined my head and stepped backward. “We are. I’ll see—”
“I’ve heard things about him,” she continued in a rush.
“What kind of things?” I prodded irritably.
Amanda gave me an insipid smile as she hiked her designer bag higher on her shoulder. I noted the way her blue stone earrings matched her cardigan. There was a time I would have admired her attention to detail. She would have blushed prettily and thanked me but oddly enough, I wasn’t so sure it was a compliment anymore. It was simply an observation. I couldn’t say why, but the matching colors struck me as a little too perfect.
My nod of appreciation had more to do with my craving for order. Words and concepts like coordinating, complementing, and harmonious were like crack to me. My desire to color inside the lines and not upset the flow was a big part of why I’d been attracted to Amanda. We were all surface. We never really knew each other, and we never would.
And now her vaguely accusatory tone put me on high alert and made me want to get the fuck away from her, ASAP.
“He’s a little…free and easy. Open to exploration, if you know what I mean. He likes you. Anyone can tell. Even Chelsea noticed it. Who knows? Maybe he’s just real friendly. Either way…be careful, Der.” She waved before turning away, leaving me in a haze of designer perfume and innuendo.
I watched her head in the opposite direction then turned on my cell and dialed Chelsea’s number. There was a good chance she wouldn’t pick up. We never called each other. We’d had numerous conversations about how almost everything could be and should be communicated via text.
“This better be good, Der. I’m mid-pedi and you’re ruining my feng shui moment,” she snarked.
“Did you tell Amanda about me and Gabe?” I blurted.
“Why would I do that? I didn’t know there was a ‘you and Gabe’ and even if I did, I would assume you’d be the one doing the telling. Not your ex-girlfriend. What the fuck’s going on?”
I gave Chels a brief rundown of my chat with Amanda as I made my way across campus. I pushed my hand through my hair and let out a beleaguered sigh. “And why is she suddenly in one of my classes? We’ve never had a class together.”
“Sounds like she’s up to something, Der, but I swear I’ve never talked to her about you or Gabe. I didn’t know there was anything to talk about. You haven’t said a word. Are you guys like boyfriends?” she asked quizzically.
“I don’t know…maybe.”
I held the phone away when she squealed gleefully. “Oh, my God! Cuteness overload. Spill the tea, Der. I want to hear everything!”
“Spill the what?”
“The tea! The gossip! Ugh. You’re going to need some gay coaching. I’ll assign Mitch. He’s your go-to homo. He can give you any cultural reference and—”