Page 57 of The Devastation You Reap
"Oh?"
"You're nothing like I was expecting."
"A douchebag?" he laughs. "That's good to know."
"I'm sorry I judged you. I just… I've had bad experiences with football players in the past."
He studies me for a beat.
"You've seen nothing yet, Red."
Reaching out with his free hand, he catches mine and twists our fingers together to finally pull me out of the library.
* * *
Leon follows behind me carrying a huge pizza box as I walk through to the kitchen in our dorm.
Nathan, Jace, and Charlie, along with a couple of Charlie's friends, are all sitting at the table and each of them looks between Leon and me as if we've both sprouted an extra head.
I guess Nate didn't tell anyone about what's been going on then.
"Uh… hey, Lee." Charlie bats her eyelashes at him while the other girls smooth down their hair and smile at him as if he's just hung the moon.
"Hey. You put that in the freezer, I'll meet you in your room," he says, completely dismissing any of the girl's attempts to get his attention.
He takes off and I watch with amusement as all sets of female eyes follow his ass down the hallway.
"What the hell, Macie?" Charlie hisses the second he disappears into my room.
"What?" I ask, as if hanging out with someone like Leon is an everyday occurrence for me. The truth of the matter is that the only males who've been inside my dorm room are Nate and Jace, and that's only because they live here.
"You and Leon Dunn? Are you serious?" I'm not sure from the look on her face if she's horrified or impressed.
"Leave her alone, Char. She's just enjoying herself, ain't that right, Mace?" Jace adds with a wink, making me wonder if Nate had kept my secret after all.
"I'm just surprised. Sunday night when he was in my room, he wasn't exactly friendly."
"Ever think that was more to do with you than it was him?" I ask, mentally patting myself on the back for standing up for myself.
"Oh my God," Jace blurts out, as Nate sprays all three girls with the mouthful of soda he was attempting to drink.
"Ew," they squeal, jumping up from the table.
"I'll leave all of you with that," I say after putting my ice cream in our small freezer and following Leon down to my room.
Jace and Nate's laughter follows me until I close the door and shut them out.
"What the hell was that?" Leon asks, sitting on my bed and surprisingly, waiting for me with a still closed pizza box.
"I think I gave them the shock of their lives turning up with you in tow."
"You were right, you know?" he says, watching my every move as I pull my boots off and place my jacket over the back of my chair before climbing onto my small bed with him.
"Oh yeah, right about what?" I ask, flipping the box open and letting the scent of rich tomato and melted cheese flood the room.
"I'm not like everyone expects me to be."
Reaching out for a slice to silence my growling stomach, I glance up at him and see the honesty in his expression.
