#Nerd (Hashtag #1) (16 page)

Basically, he was saying if I became president of the Omegas, the already popular, exclusive frat would just become more so.

Maybe he could sense my hesitancy. Or maybe he just knew I was really pissed off, because he said, “You know the Omegas have connections with the NFL. A couple of our alumni, retired Omega, are NFL vets.”

I knew that. It’s the main reason I wanted in. The NFL was my end goal, and this was a way in.

“Fine,” I said and opened the door. “I’ll see you at the party tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

I leaned back in before shutting the door. “Thanks for having my back. I won’t forget it.”

“I know,” he replied.

He drove off down the driveway, and I went inside. I walked through the mess they made in my house, kicked off my shoes, and fell into bed.

I had classes in a couple hours and I had to be there. Coach wasn’t too lenient on players who missed them during the season.

But the last thought that passed through my head before I fell asleep was of Rimmel.

Rimmel

By lunch, it wasn’t any warmer than it had been this morning. I was grateful for the boots on my feet because if I was just wearing sneakers, I knew my toes would be frozen.

The sky was dim and gray, the sun only peeking through every so often. The air was blustery; the wind would whip up out of nowhere and brush its cold promise of winter against my cheeks. Brightly colored leaves scattered the ground and somersaulted across campus as everyone moved from class to class.

I skipped breakfast and was starving by the time my lunch break rolled around. Classes had seemed endless today, so I filled some of my time working on assignments while the teachers droned on and on.

The eating hall (or so I called it) sat almost in the center of campus. The building was two massive levels with the campus store filling the lower floor and the eating hall on the top. I guess it was really more of a food court than an eating hall, like the kind you might find at a nice mall.

I walked up the stairs and glanced around, trying to decide what I felt like eating. Around the perimeter of the room were various types of restaurants and eateries. There was a pizza place, a taco place, a deli that made sandwiches and offered a variety of chips. There was a place called The Market that offered salads and fruits, granola bars, and fancy bottled waters. There was also the typical burger joint and a place that had chicken. Over on the far side was a smoothie bar that had a never-ending line. There was even a coffee bar, which was also always packed.

I settled on grabbing a Cobb salad from The Market, a cup of fresh seasonal fruit, and a granola bar (for later). Once I had all that, I got in line at the coffee bar and waited ten minutes to get a pumpkin-flavored latte. They weren’t very popular in Florida, but here in the North, they were practically gold.

The cold I was having a hard time adjusting to, but the pumpkin latte? Yeah, no problem there.

When finally I was handed my coffee, I wrapped my one free hand around it and sighed at the warmth that seeped into my fingers. It was busy in here, like always, and I thought longingly of going back to my room to eat, but I was too hungry to trudge all the way over there first.

I began scanning the room for a somewhat quiet seat, when I saw someone waving in my direction—Ivy. When she saw I noticed, she motioned for me to join her and her friend Missy (who was at the bonfire last weekend).

I couldn’t help but notice the curious stares I got as I walked across the room. It had been happening all day. I knew it was because of the way I looked. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it, but it was better than I usually appeared. In my early class, one girl I’d never talked to before even told me she liked my hair.

As I walked, I glanced down at my messenger bag and the hoodie I tucked over the top, making sure it wasn’t slipping free and Romeo’s name wasn’t suddenly visible.

“Rimmel, hey,” Ivy said, giving me a smile when I approached.

“Hey, Ivy,” I said and then turned to her dark-haired friend. “Hey, Missy.”

I barely knew Missy at all, only from the few times I’d picked Ivy up and she was with her.

“Hi,” she said and gave me a little wave and a curious stare.

“Sit!” Ivy said, gesturing toward an empty seat at their table.

I set down my food and coffee and lifted my bag off my shoulders and draped it over the back of the chair. I saw Ivy glance at the hoodie, and I tucked it into my lap when I sat down. I didn’t want it to get knocked onto the floor if someone passed by. After all, it wasn’t my shirt and I didn’t want it to get damaged.

Yes, and pigs could fly.

Truth was I didn’t want Ivy putting her hands on it. Or waving it around for everyone to see.

“How did your test go?” I asked, remembering she said she had one this morning.

“Crap, I hope I passed,” she said and picked up a giant coffee to sip at it.

Whatever “magic” she worked this morning to make herself look more awake worked. She was dressed in a pair of skintight dark jeans, a white sweater, and an infinity scarf with a red chevron pattern. Before I sat down, I noticed she was wearing her favorite cowboy boots. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that bounced when she talked and her makeup was carefully applied to hide the dark circles under her eyes and give her a dewy, wide-awake look.

Missy was equally as beautiful. Her dark hair was long and sleek, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she got it so perfect. Her wide gray eyes were done with taste, and she was dressed in jeans, a white top, and a leopard print velvet blazer. I wasn’t one for animal print, but that blazer was totally gorgeous.

“I love your top,” I told her.

She beamed. “Thank you.”

“So, Rimmel,” Ivy said as I broke into my salad and started eating, “have you seen him today?”

“Who?” I asked.

“Romeo,” she said, like it was obvious.

“I don’t tutor him on Thursdays,” I said. “Just Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

“Oh, well, that’s still three days a week,” she said. “I wish I was smart so I could tutor him.”

I laughed and so did Missy.

Ivy grinned and took a bite of her sandwich. “You still coming to the game with us?”

“Sure,” I said.

“I like your hair,” Missy told me.

I felt myself blushing. “Thanks, Ivy did it.”

“You totally need to do my hair like that,” Missy told her and launched a Cheeto across the table.

Ivy picked it up and ate it.

A tray with like half a pizza on it and a giant soda plopped down on the table beside Missy, and I glanced up.

“Ladies,” Braeden said, taking the last empty seat at the table. If he was surprised to see me sitting there, he didn’t show it.

“Hi,” Missy said, giving him a smile. He leaned over and kissed her.

“So, like, are you two dating or what?” Ivy said.

Missy gasped. “Ivy!”

Braeden laughed. “We’re having fun.”

Missy nodded, but I had to wonder what she thought of the “having fun” label. Judging from the way she looked at him, she really liked Braeden.

Braeden took a sip of his monster soda and glanced at me. “Tutor girl,” he said.

“Football boy,” I shot back.

He grinned. “I didn’t know you guys knew each other,” he said, gesturing between the three of us.

“We didn’t know you knew Rimmel,” Ivy said.

Braeden shoved a huge bite of pizza in his mouth and said something no one understood.

“Ivy and I are roommates,” I told him as he chomped.

He gave me a thumbs-up and kept eating.

All three of us sat there and watched in awe as he housed his food. When I was sufficiently grossed out, I turned back to my salad.

“You ladies going to the Omega party tomorrow night?” he asked a few minutes later.

“Of course!” Ivy and Missy replied at the same time.

When the conversation didn’t continue, I realized they were waiting for me to reply. “Uhh, I don’t think so.”

No one tried to talk me into it, so I figured they also agreed that me and a frat party didn’t mix. I finished my salad and munched on fruit. Braeden was really entertaining and pretty much kept all of us laughing. I was glad because I wasn’t good at conversation.

We were sitting near a window that seemed pretty drafty and every time the wind blew outside, some of the cold air would seep in and wrap itself around me. I finished eating and reached for my coffee, grateful it was still warm enough to heat my fingers.

Braeden’s phone rang and he grabbed it up and answered. My stomach fluttered a little, wondering if it was Romeo. “Where you at, man?” Braeden said into the phone.

He listened for a few minutes and made a few sounds that I had no clue what they meant. After several minutes, his eyes slid to me. “Funny you should ask,” he said. “She’s actually sitting right here.”

Ivy and Missy both looked at me. I shrugged. Beneath my ribcage, I felt like there was a ball bouncing around inside me, causing everything beneath my skin to vibrate. There was only one person Braeden and I both knew that could be asking about me.

“Uhh.” He looked at me again and then said, “Nope.”

He listened for what seemed like forever, and I knew Ivy and Missy were just as curious as I was about what Romeo was saying on the other end of the line. Braeden leaned up out of his chair and looked down at me. He smiled. “Yep.”

Braeden’s eyes narrowed slightly as he listened some more. “Yeah, I got it. Okay. Later.”

“Rome wants you to turn your phone on,” he said, setting down his cell.

I’d completely forgotten I’d turned it off before classes this morning. I fished it out of my bag and powered it on, setting it on the table beside my cup.

A few minutes later, it beeped with a Buzz notification and a text. I picked it up and looked at the text.

GOING HOME AFTER MORNING CLASS 2 SLEEP. TXT U LATER.

I felt everyone watching me and I knew they saw the small smile on my lips and the redness in my cheeks. I cleared my throat. “I need to get to class.”

I rose out of my seat, and at the same time, so did Braeden. He came around the table and took the hoodie out of my hands.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

He shook it out and stuffed it down over my head. I gasped, but it was muffled by all the fabric going over my head. When my face finally popped out, I gaped at him. “What the hell are you doing?!”

“Romeo said he told you to wear it,” Braeden said with a straight face.

“To the game,” I protested.

Ivy gasped. “You didn’t tell me that!”

I gave Braeden an evil look, promising him payback. He grinned.

I started to take it off, but he shook his head. “He just told me to make sure you put it on.”

“What the hell for?” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips. The sleeves were too long and they covered my hands and the shirt fell way past my butt.

“It’s cold out.”

Was he serious right now?

“I don’t want to wear this,” I growled.

He smiled. “I know.” He hesitated, then went on to say, “Mad respect for that.”

I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but he didn’t elaborate.

“Just wear it.” He sighed.

“You don’t understand,” I said low so only he could hear.

His eyes flashed with understanding and something else I didn’t really know. “I understand more than you think,” he replied equally as low. Then in a louder voice he said, “If Rome wants you to wear it, then you should.”

Ivy leaned around Braeden to say. “If you don’t leave that on, I will beat you.”

I rolled my eyes.

People were staring. A couple girls walked by, and I heard Romeo’s name on their lips. Everyone saw. This place was no better than a high school. It would probably be on the Buzz later.

“Fine,” I muttered. I wasn’t about to draw even more attention to myself by making a scene and refusing to wear it.

Braeden grinned.

I hoisted my bag up and over my shoulder and went to gather my empty lunch containers. Ivy shook her head. “I’ll get it.”

“That’s okay.”

She touched my arm, and I looked up. “That’s what friends do.”

I nodded. “Thanks.”

“See you later,” Missy said. I gave the table a wave and then left the building. People actually stared as I went.

I was grateful for the cold air when I got outside, though it wasn’t nearly as cold now that I was wearing this sweatshirt.

Too bad I was going to have to take it off.

My phone beeped and I pulled it out and looked down.

LEAVE IT ON.

I wanted to laugh. How the hell did he know I was going to take it off as soon as I left Braeden’s sight? I quickly typed my reply and hit SEND:

IT HAS YOUR NAME ON IT.

YEAH, I KNOW.

I pictured his crooked smile when I read what he said.

BUT PEOPLE WILL THINK WE’RE TOGETHER.