Page 43 of Cruel Riches

8

Alexis

Ruby leaned forward,eyes glittering with curiosity. “So… how are things going with Harry?”

Laurel raised a brow in my direction, clearly curious as well.

The two of them were sitting across from me in the alfresco area of a popular campus café. It was a quaint little place with tiny espresso cups and tiny tables to match, meaning we were all awkwardly close with our elbows almost touching as we sipped our drinks.

“We’ve been texting nonstop. I know basically everything about him at this point,” I said. “But we still haven’t seen each other yet. Do you think that’s weird?”

Ruby’s brows shot up. “Wait, you still haven’t seen him since the last time I asked?”

“Nope.”

“But it’s been eleven days since you met, right?”

I gave her a rueful smile. “Twelve, actually.”

She frowned. “So it’s been nearly two weeks and he hasn’t asked you out on a single date yet? Not even something basic, like coffee or a walk around the campus?”

“It’s not like that,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “He’s asked me out a ton of times. I’ve asked to see him too. It’s more of a scheduling issue.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, stuff like this keeps happening. I’ll get out of a two-hour lecture and find a missed call from him along with a message asking if I want to grab lunch or a drink somewhere, and the message and call will be from over an hour and a half ago. By the time I reply saying I’m finally free, he’s already busy again in one of his own classes.”

“Oh, damn. That sucks.”

“I know. We’ve gone over our schedules before, and they don’t match up at all.”

“Ugh. He’s an engineering student, right?” Ruby asked.

“Yup.”

“My older sister did engineering when she was here, and her class schedule was insane,” she said. “It’s not easy.”

“Yeah, it sucks.”

“Harry seems to like you, though. Like you said, he texts you nonstop.”

“Yeah. I just hope we can actually see each other soon.”

She smiled, and a devious expression entered her eyes. “Well, if he doesn’t get his act together and make time for you in the next few days, you can always find someone else to hook up with. Like Nate Lockwood, maybe.”

A shiver went over my skin. “What?”

“Haven’t you noticed that guy?” she asked, tipping her head toward her right. “I think he has a major thing for you. Everywhere we go, he’s there. He’s always looking at you, too.”

I turned my head to follow her gaze over to Blackthorne’s main quad. It lay just beyond the café, with trees, stone benches, gardens, cobblestone paths, and even a koi pond for students to enjoy. Rust-colored leaves were piled and strewn everywhere around the deciduous trees, and the few leaves that were still attached were hanging on by a thread, just waiting to be liberated by the next burst of cold fall wind.

Nate was sitting on one of the benches near the pond, one foot lazily kicking at some of the crunchy dead leaves on the ground as he read from a thick textbook. As I looked over at him, he lifted his chin and focused on me, brows dipping low.

I swallowed thickly and averted my eyes. “I can’t stand him,” I said, turning back to the girls.

“Seriously?” Ruby’s forehead wrinkled. “Why? He’s so hot!”

“I guess he’s not my type,” I said. I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth, could I?

---