Page 3 of Drew
Knowing I have work later, I eagerly agree but keep our extraneous conversation to a minimum. “Sounds great.”
We work diligently until a steady stream of people flock over to converse again about the latest game. Mr. Socialite is all smiles as he greets them. I try not to let it bother me, but after the fourth interruption, I finally lose it and feel the need to remind him of the commitment he’s made.
In an attempt to regain control of my emotions and not sound like a complete bitch, I take a deep breath, but it comes out as a huff instead. This immediately gets the attention of Mr. Blue Eyes, who’s now staring in my direction. I almost lose my nerve when I see the smile form on his perfectly shaped lips.Who the hell is this guy?
“Okay,partner,” I spit out. “Are we doing this, or what?” I look pointedly at the lab in front of us. “You said we needed to get done early because you had places to be. You’re too busy being Mr. Socialite to get anything done.”
Instead of his smile fading, it grows into a smirk. “I knew you’d keep me on track.” I glance around, and everyone has dispersed. “I just might keep you around.”
“Keep me around?” There’s no way I heard him correctly. “What do you mean by that?”
“I made the right choice by sitting here. You won’t let distractions stop us, and you can pull your weight on the labs.” He shrugs his shoulders, as if that should explain everything.
How should I respond to that?
Thankfully, my irritated vibe must project throughout the room because we’re no longer bothered by any unwelcome guests. A sense of satisfaction spreads over me as we finally delve back into our project.
When our work is finished, we make use of the remaining time going over required assignments. Blue Eyes (yes, that’s what I’m calling him since I still don’t know his name) and I decide we’ll need to meet outside of class to get a few things done.
When I suggest meeting at the library or local coffee shop, he hesitates and looks around.
“What?” I ask, not understanding his reaction.
“Well…” His chagrin look surprises me. He glances around the room once again.What is it that makes him think everyone is watching?“Can you think of anywhere less… public?”
How big of him to not want to be seen with the likes of me.What a cocky-ass!“If you’d rather do this on your own, go ahead. We’ll just split up the work.” After spending time working with him today, I’m confident he’d do the quality of work I expect from myself.
“Um…” His expression is unreadable for a split second before he continues, “I want to complete it together.”
“So, you want to collaborate but not be seen with me in public? Exactly how am I supposed to take that?” My defenses are up. If this douche canoe wants my help but doesn’t want to be seen with me, he’s got another thing coming.
“Ohmigod, no,” he quickly replies. He suddenly looks apologetic, which catches me off guard. “This has nothing to do with being seen with you. It’s just… me…”
“Oh, so the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech.” I shake my head in disgust. I thought we’d gotten along fine for our lab, but this takes the cake. “Wow. That’s rich.” I pack up my things. I’m not putting up with his crap. I have better things to do this afternoon.
I stand to leave, but he captures my wrist as I do. There’s a spark of electricity pulsing between us, holding me in place.
“Abby, let me explain,” he pleads. His blue eyes pierce through me as if he’s searching for the words, as I remain frozen in place.
“Go for it, Blue Eyes,” I say without any thought.
“It’s Drew.” His lashes lower as he looks somewhat humble—sort of. The jury’s still out until I hear what he has to say. I shake my head at his statement, wondering what the hell he’s talking about.
“My name. It’s Drew. There’s no problem being seen with you. Before you jumped to conclusions, I’m trying to explain how public places tend to get hectic. You’ve only seen a glimpse of what it’s like.” He looks around the room as if that’s an explanation. “I think it would be best to meet somewhere out of the public eye, for your sake… So we won’t have as many distractions.”
“Oh.” What can I say to that?
“Come to my place. We can avoid groupies,” he suggests with a shrug.
“You want me… to come to your place?” I stare at him, surprised. Then another thought hits me. “You have… groupies?”
Drew looks as if he’s unsure of himself. As I look into his eyes, trying to read his expression, I suddenly realize how tall he is. My neck hurts to look up at him. How tall is he? I’m five-eight, and I’m a dwarf to him in comparison.
He shakes his head, breaking my internal inquiry about the giant before me. “Christ, this is more difficult than it has to be.” He looks around before whispering, “I promise nothing will happen to you at my house. I’m on a tight schedule with practice, and I don’t have time to traipse all over campus trying to find a private place to work.”
“Well, this is unexpected,” I mumble. A thousand questions come to mind, but not knowing where to start, I just stare.
He takes my silence as needing further explanation. He spends the next few minutes quickly explaining how his popularity has risen since their championship game last season. He tells me it’s hard for him to blend in as a typical guy on campus. I have no doubts of that because come on… look at him. He may be arrogant as hell, but he’s ultimately a beautiful giant. Though I’d never admit that part to him aloud.
