Page 49 of The Surprise Play
Oh shit, maybe she doesn’t want me going to her room. Will we have to leave the door open again?
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I swivel to check on her. She’s so short, her head barely reaches my shoulder as she fidgets beside me. “You’re cool with this, right? Studying in your room?”
“Uh…” She glances up, notices that I’m looking down at her, and quickly darts her eyes back to the floor. “Yeah, of course.”
And she’s lying. Just like she lied about not feeling well because she didn’t want to get in the way of me talking to that chick.
I shake my head but offer up a simple solution. “We can go to the library instead, if you want.”
“No, it’s fine, really. We’ll get fewer interruptions here.”
“You won’t have your dorm buddies popping in?” My lips twitch as I wait for her to look up at me again.
But she doesn’t play fair, her eyes staying glued to the floor. I join her, noticing the marked difference between her tiny black shoes and my big sneakers. Shit. It’s like I’ve got clown feet compared to hers.
Her head shakes as she mumbles a soft “No.”
And there goes that surge of concern again.
“You do… have friends, right?”
“Uh-huh.” She answers too fast, nodding as she focuses her gaze on the elevator doors.
I shift, trying to get into her line of sight. “Satch, are you?—”
“Here we are.” The doors pop open, and she flashes me a quick smile before darting past me and into the hallway.
I follow after her, wondering what the story is with this girl.
She’s sweet. A great tutor. Kind of shy and unsure of herself, but why would that make her friendless?
Everybody needs somebody, right?
I hate the idea of her wandering campus with absolutely no one to hang out with.
I couldn’t cope with that kind of shit. People make life worth living. I have to be around them. If anything, being by myself drives me insane. I get antsy when I’m alone. Which is why I make sure I can be friends with everybody.
Satch seems the exact opposite, and I don’t get how she could possibly be happy living this solo life. It must be so quiet and boring.
“This is my room,” she murmurs, unlocking the door and glancing at me with an edgy, closed-mouth smile.
Why is she so nervous?
I’m not about to jump her.
Seriously. What kind of man does she think I am?
The kind that mentally undresses women.
Shit, why the fuck did I admit that to her?
“Um… come in.” Satch beckons me with her hand, and I step into her room, eyeing it up with a quickly growing smile.
Wow.
It’s so neat.
Grady would love it.
