Page 59 of Obsessed with the Heartbreaker

It would make me sound like a creep.

“Oh. That sucks. But Keller wasn’t completely wrong, you know? Getting involved with the Heartbreaker is bad news. I know trouble when I see it, and Henry Campbell has it tattooed on his forehead.”

“Nothing’s going on,” I insisted, whether to convince him or me, I didn’t know.

Oliver ignored it, though. “It’s not like I wouldn’t hit it, you know? Guy’s one of the most attractive people in this college.”

Themost attractive, I wanted to correct, but I refrained. “You like Henry?” I asked, knuckles going white.

“Like?” Oliver chuckled lowly and stopped, waiting for the Professor to turn to keep talking. “Strong word. I do, however, find him attractive, like everyone else. Or don’t you find him attractive?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

Oliver’s grin could probably be seen from Mars. “You’re the worst liar I’ve ever seen, Antony Andino.”

I rolled my eyes and hoped that I wouldn’t blush, focusing instead on the class. Like I should have been doing.

Like I should always do, instead of focusing on heartbreakers that I could never keep.

* * *

Later in the day, early in the afternoon, I sat in the grass of one of the college lawns, getting some vitamin D while furiously writing in my notebook.

Flashes of the other night with Henry had kept on coming to me during the day, just like they did yesterday. I couldn’t get over how hot it had been, how good andrightit had felt to do that with him, how comfortable he’d made me feel.

I still didn’t know how I felt about it. It had obviously beengood, but…was it something I wanted to happen again? The answer was obviously yes. But did I dare trudge through these already muddy waters? Because I needed to remember my favor to Connell. There was also the fact that I didn’t need any more distractions from my goals, and Henry Campbell was already threatening to overtake every inch of my mind as it was.

How we’d proceed after the other night was still up in the air. A part of me was dreading seeing him again.

The other was too eager to care about anything else.

“Ant! There you are.” Eliot and Scott plopped down beside me. “Why are you studying again? Or is it homework? You’ve always been very diligent, but this is a bit overkill, don’t you think?”

I’m doing this now so I can go with Henry if he calls me later.

I wasn’t going to tell them that.

It might come off as a little too desperate—both to keep my position as number oneandto see Henry.

My friends had known me forever, and I knew I could tell them anything, but right now, I felt too raw to talk about it.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll achieve work-life balance at some point in the next twenty years. For now, I’ll content myself with getting vitamin D every other week.”

Eliot fake-punched me in the shoulder, and I closed up my notebook, allowing myself at least some time to be with my friends.

It wasn’t like I’d managed to concentrate much, anyway.

“How are your history classes going?” I asked him.

He groaned as Scott grinned. “Badly. They give me so many interesting facts but my hand just hasno timeto get them all written down. I’ll have to start taking notes on my laptop, and you know how much I hate them.”

He hated how tidy note-taking apps were. Eliot liked his notes messy and with lots of scribbles.

“You can always print them out and make them messy later,” Scott said, thinking the same as me. He took out an apple from his backpack and bit into it. Still chewing, he added, “You could also request that your Professors go slower in class, tell them that they’re messing with your messy zen.”

Eliot gave Scott a look. “Youtell them. I’m sure they’d listen.”

Scott shrugged. “Maybe not anymore.”

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