Page 14 of Kicking It with the Point Guard

Her eyes widen when she realizes what I’ve got.

“Why? Why am I always embarrassing myself in front of you? I’ve never even seen you on campus before. Why, now, are you just showing up everywhere I am?”

I hold back my smile. She’s right. We’ve never run into each other before, but now it’s like we can’t stop being in the same place.

I don’t know what to tell her, so I shrug. I can’t say I’m upset that we keep bumping into each other, but clearly, she feels differently.

A flash of concern crosses her face, and she looks around, shoulders tense.

“Do you want me to walk with you to the girls’ dorm?” I offer, glancing around the green myself. Something is making her feel uncomfortable, and strangely, I feel responsible for keeping her safe.

She gnaws on her lip, looking me up and down.

“Yes… Please?”

That last part comes out sounding more like a question than anything, but I’ll take what I can get.

Sure that she’s ready, I take off in the direction of the girls’ dorm. She hurries to keep up, her short legs needing three steps to each of my strides.

I’m surprised she’s agreed to let me accompany her. So far, she’s done everything in her power to avoid me, and our few short interactions have consisted of her being irritated at something I’ve done.

But instead of the stubbornness and defiance I’ve come to associate with her, the furtive glances, tensed shoulders, and jumping at every little sound indicate she’s more scared than anything.

“Are you okay?” I ask, shoving my hands into the pocket of my gym shorts, feigning nonchalance.

“Yes.” Her clipped tone keeps me from prying. But the way she keeps looking over her shoulder proves otherwise.

“Okay,” I say. We’ve arrived at the dorm. “Will you be okay from here? Or do you want me to walk you to your room?”

She glances at the building and looks around once more, worrying her bottom lip, before her gaze settles on me.

“Um… I think I’ll be okay now. Thank you.” She mumbles the last part, looking everywhere but at me.

“You’re welcome.”

I wait until she’s unlocked the dorm and is safely inside before heading back to my own dorm, the fatigue from my workout forgotten.

Violet

I didn’t lose the goosebumps until I got back to my room. As much as I hate to say it, I was grateful that Library Hottie showed up when he did.

I opt to skip showering tonight. I might be paranoid, but it’s late, and I can’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me all evening. Who’s to say they wouldn’t be so bold to approach me in the bathroom?

Maybe it’s time to cut back on all those crime dramas and true crime shows I’ve been binging with Mia. Come on, Violet. Get it together.

I change into my pj’s and crawl into bed, pulling the covers up around me and snuggling, Hamwise Hamgee, my stuffed pig, before turning on one of my favorite cartoons.

It’s a scientific fact that if you watch cartoons before bed, you won’t have bad dreams.

It’s not long before the stress of the day and the familiarity of the show get to me, and my eyes close of their own accord.

The next morning, I wake up before my alarm, more rested than I have been in weeks. I’m going to attribute that successful sleep to the cartoon and the science and completely skip over the fact that my dreams were filled with chocolatey eyes and curly caramel hair that my fingers could get lost in.

I gather my shower caddy and head to the bathroom to shower, glad that I beat my alarm. It gives me extra time this morning to clean up, since I usually shower at night.

Those few extra minutes of sleep in the morning are precious.

I pause right outside the room, panic briefly rearing its ugly head. I quickly push it all behind me. It’s daytime. There are people here. I’m safe. No one is watching me.

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