Page 25 of Scrimmage

She panics. “What? Why would you say that?”

He tilts his head in confusion and points. “Your hands?”

“Oh, I fell.”

“You’re gonna end up busting your head open someday,” he sighs, holding up a cup and a sandwich.

She wiggles her fingers. “Thank you,” she croons. “You’re my hero.”

“Mhm, remember that the next time you give some Chance my phone number.” He shoots her a glance.

This is the guy who text Alexi back last night. I noticed him at Late Night, but I didn’t put the pieces together. He was dressed more casually. He’s so put together and nice, whereas she is like a walking train wreck of anger. He has brown hair that’s swept across his brow and a university ball cap with sunglasses. She plucks them off of his face and puts them on. The guy doesn’t even protest. He just lets her do it. I’ve seen this type of shit before, and this guy definitely likes her.

She waves her hand dismissively. “He took the phone out of my hands and text himself. What was I supposed to do?”

“Let me guess. You just slipped and sent Ava a text, too?”

“Remember how endearing I am." She smiles sweetly.

“I don’t know if I would call it endearing." He sticks his tongue in his cheek trying to suppress a smile.

She gulps down the coffee. “So what happened with Stacy?”

“Ava?” he asks, shifting uncomfortably.

“Yeah, I mean you hardly text her back.” She takes a massive bite out of the sandwich.

He looks off to the side. “She’s just not my type.”

Yeah, cause his type is alternative girls with pink hair who talk shit.

“She has a great rack. She’s nice. She giggles when you do those stupid impressions. She’s perfect for you, Cole. She literally tells you good afternoon.”

“I don’t like Stacy, Ash,” he huffs.

Silence settles between them. The air is charged. With the way Ashland picks at the sandwich she knows this guy likes her.

She immediately changes the subject. “What time is it?”

He closes his eyes for a second, collecting himself, and then he pulls his phone out of his pocket and glances at it. “Ten. Come on. You have your class in fifteen minutes. I’ll walk you.”

This guy even knows her schedule? Jesus.

He helps her up, taking her bag. She steps onto the board and grabs onto his backpack. “Onward!”

He shakes his head but pulls her behind him while she laughs. This Cole guy is whipped. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything this severe. Like Alexi said, Ashland is hot, but her attitude drops her down a few notches. It doesn’t even seem like she cares. Probably because Cole is always hanging around. I take another drink of water and stand up. With my earbuds in, I turn on my workout playlist and continue my run in the opposite direction.

It doesn’t take more then ten minutes to get to the locker room. Alexi is already sitting at a table with his books spread around him. I take a seat across. “You’ll never guess who I saw on the quad.”

He doesn’t look up. “Who?”

“Your pink haired vixen." I lean back in my chair.

He squints at me. “No shit.”

“You’ve got competition. The guy who you text? Same guy from brunch. Cole is his name.”

He strokes his chin in thought. “I barely remember that guy.”

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