I tried not to look into her baby blue eyes as she spoke. It was nearly impossible not to because she kept touching my arm every few minutes. It didn’t mean anything. She was just one of those touchy-feely type of girls.
I didn’t think Mandi saw it that way, especially since her jaw tightened every time Kristie touched me. It wasn’t like that between Kristie and me. Except for the snorkeling incident, I’ve always felt more like her older brother than a boyfriend. Kristie was sweet and trusted everyone. She’d been like that since we’d dated in junior high. That’s what I liked about her. She didn’t have a manipulative bone in her body. It was that same protectiveness that caused me to reach over to Mandi and place my hand over hers.
Her left eye twitched.
Oh shit!
“So, Kristie,” she snatched her hand from under mine, “Tell me about your engagement with Nic. I mean, that’s a really nice ring you have there.”
Kristie wiggled her fingers, catching the sapphire ring encircled with diamonds in the light. “It looks real, doesn’t it? It’s cubic zirconia. He was so cute when he gave it to me. Remember, Nic? It was the night of our first junior high dance.”
Four pairs of eyes swung to me. I wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor. And if Mandi had her way, I’m sure the way she was staring daggers at me would have me cut to tiny Marcelli shreds in two seconds flat.
“Uh, yeah. We were kids,” I explained to a stone-faced Mandi. “Kristie said she’d always wanted to have a ring like Princess Diana’s. She was really upset about her parents’ separation back then.”
“That’s when Poppy moved back to Texas,” Kristie added.
“I wanted to cheer her up so I bought,” I gulped again as Mandi’s eye twitched faster, “I bought her the ring.”
“He was so sweet.” I groaned when Kristie rested her ring-laden hand on my bicep.
Mandi’s shifted, and her chair squeaked against the floor. I immediately scanned the café for the nearest phone, just in case I had to call 911.
Mother’s lips wore a whisper of a smile. She’d orchestrated all of this. How could she do this to me?
Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Mother loved Kristie like a daughter. And Father thought the world of her too. And of course, it helped that the Stantons were extremely wealthy. Her father owned the largest oil company in Texas. Porsche dealerships were just a hobby for him. Her mother was a New York socialite who traveled in the same social circles as my mother.
“I’m sure he was,” Mandi muttered as she turned her death-ray glare back to me.
“Oh, and tell Mandi what he told you!” Bianca gave me a wicked smile.
I scowled, knowing that she was in on this with Mother. I was sure Bianca didn’t have anything against Mandi, but she was Kristie’s best friend, and she’d always hoped to have her as a sister.
“Yes, Kristie, do tell.” Mandi swirled the straw in her iced tea as she spoke. “What did Nic tell you?”
“It was so romantic. I don’t think anyone else has said anything as romantic as that to me since then. He said that he got me the ring to show me how much he cared. Remember you said that made me your fiancée?
Somebody shoot me now.
“Yeah. You know I was kidding, right?”
“I know,” she sighed. “But you weren’t joking about your promise to always be by my side. No matter what.”
I gulped. “No.”
“Nic makes a lot of promises.” Mandi shoved her glass away. “Well, it was nice meeting you Chrissy.”
“Kristie.”
“Whatever.” She pushed back from the table. “Mrs. Marcelli, Bianca, have a safe trip back to Koppe. And thanks again for the help with finding my father a job.”
“It’s a pleasure,” Mother said, looking a little too smug for my comfort.
“Mandi!” I scrambled after her. “Please. Let me explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain.” Her voice cracked on the last word. She flung the café door open and hurried out.
“Mandi, talk to me.” I dashed after her.
“You don’t have to follow me.” She stared out into the horizon, determined not to look at me. “I can find my own way home, thank you very much.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you so mad?”
Her eyes darted to mine. She missed the end of the sidewalk and stumbled.
“Son of a—” she cursed under her breath, rubbing her toes.
Yeah, I shouldn’t have said that. I knew exactly why she was mad. And she knew that I knew that she knew why.
Good grief! I was starting to sounds like a bad Abbott and Costello act.
“Okay, bad choice of words.”
“Yeah, I’d say that.”
“Uh, where are you going?” For someone who was limping, she sure did move fast.
“Home.”
“Your parents’ house is that way.” I pointed in the opposite direction of where she was heading.
“I’m taking the scenic route,” she grumbled. “And you’re not going to butter me up with that cute grin of yours. Dimples are not buying your way out of this one.”
“I know you’re mad about the ring. It’s no big—”
My breath caught in my throat at the look on her face. She stopped and hurt eyes gazed back at me. It was the same shattered expression she’d had after the brunch incident with my parents. I had vowed to protect her from anything hurting her like that again, and here I was, the one causing the pain.
“You promised to be there for her. Then you promised yourself to me. You basically used the same lines. Why don’t you record it for the next girl? Use Memorex. I hear it’s almost as good as really being there.”
“It’s not the same, Mandi.” My voice was a whisper. I looked into her eyes, wishing I could erase her pain, hoping that she’d believe me. “Kristie’s just a friend. I’ve never thought of her as anything other than a sister.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Stupid Bianca,” I muttered. “The snorkeling incident happened when I was thirteen. I was full of hormones and shit.”
She folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t buying it.
“Look, I even had copies of National Geographic under my pillow.” Her lip twitched. “I was just trying to cheer her up. Kristie’s the type of person who believes in magic and unicorns. She didn’t know Santa Clause wasn’t real until she was twelve. And it really hit her hard when her parents divorced. I was helping a friend. You can understand that, right?”
She let out a breath. “Yeah, I guess so. But how can you basically say the same words to her that you did to me?”
“When I said them to her, I meant that I’d always be her friend. When I said those words to you, they had a different meaning. Because until I met you, I didn’t know what it meant to love someone. I mean, really love and care for someone like I love you. When are you going to believe me that when I say, ‘I love you,’ I mean you and no one else?”
She sucked in a breath and those beautiful dark eyes looked at me softly.
“I believe you.”
I reached out and pulled her into my arms, breathing a sigh of relief that she was allowing the contact. “You’re the most important person in my life. All I care about is you. I don’t care about the stupid car. I don’t care that Kristie is here and that, more than likely, it was Mother’s idea to have her enroll at SWT. I know Mother is still trying to play her games. If I have to, I’ll tell them all to get the hell out of my life. I’ll even give back the car.”
“No, don’t do that. Yeah, your family is totally manipulative, but they’re your family. And your mother did help out my dad, so I’ll give her that. And as for Kristie,” she took a bracing breath, “I can understand that she’s your friend. I would’ve done the same thing for Cody if Cassie hadn’t come back from Houston. And besides, I kind of told Cassie that Cody was hot.”
“What?”
“Well, he is. You’ve seen him. He has this bodac
ious bod and—”
“Stop! That’s more information than I need to know.” She laughed at the freaked out expression on my face. I chuckled with her. “Does that mean we’re okay?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Want to come for a drive with me? I want to take the Porsche for one spin before I send it back.”
“Oh my God, Nic. You should see the look on your face. It’s like you’re giving up a kidney or something.” She laughed.
“It’s a really awesome car.”
“You guys and your cars.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not even asking you to give the car back.”
“Really? I can keep the car?”
“It’s your car.”
“Don’t tease me, woman.”
“Nic!” She hit my chest softly, laughing. I grabbed her hand and held onto it. My face turned serious. “You know that I love you, don’t you?”
Her face softened. “I do. I feel it. I feel it whenever you touch me. I feel it whenever you look at me. I even felt it when you kept eyeballing the payphone on the back wall of the café.”
“You saw that?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Let’s get one thing straight, though. I’m not going to be that girl who tells you who you can and can’t be friends with. But, you have to know, Kristie still has a thing for you.”
Why do all girls think like that? I’d just told Mandi there was nothing going on, no lingering feelings whatsoever. “I don’t think so. According to what Bianca’s told me, Kristie’s gone out with a lot of other guys. It’s not like she’s sitting at home pining over me.”
“What about the ring? Who keeps things like that?”
“Kristie does. She has a sterling silver box with all her baby teeth. She takes that thing with her everywhere.”
“Eww.”
I laughed. “You know that bow on her head?”
“How could I miss it? That thing is bigger than her head.”
“I swear it’s the same one she wore the last time I saw her. The girl doesn’t throw away anything. It probably took her five U-Hauls just to move her into the dorm.”
She chuckled.
“So we really are okay? We’re going to make this work?”
“Yes. And you should be proud. I didn’t take my earrings off once.” She gave me a sexy smile as she slid a hand up my chest. “I guess this was our first fight, huh?”
“Umm, I think we’ve had other fights before.”
“Really? I always thought they were just heated conversations.”
I chuckled, kissing her forehead. “If you want to consider this our first official fight, then I’m fine with that, especially since now comes the fun part.”
“What’s that?”
“The hot make-up sex.” I kissed her deeply.
She moaned against my lips. “You’re going to have to stop that, Mr. Marcelli. There’s nowhere for us to have some privacy and the walls in your dorm room are paper thin.”
“I’ve talked with some of the guys. There are exactly twenty-two places where we can have some privacy. Come on, I’ll show you one.”
I took hold of her hand with every intention that by the end of the semester, we’ll have visited all of them.
chapter 20
Mandi
Maroon-o-rama. Now this was a room!
I scanned the large area of the SWT Tutor Zone. Everything was covered in maroon, the official SWT school color. Every single space on the wall was taken up with Bobcat posters—the official college mascot. I looked over the football banner covered cubicles, wondering which of the dozens of office cubicles would be assigned to me. I was so excited to have a job that didn’t require changing diapers or washing nasty brown stains off of tighty whities that I didn’t even hear my new boss’s, Mrs. Henley’s, question.
“Ms. Ruiz!”
“What! Uh, I mean, yes, ma’am?”
Mrs. Henley glared at me over rectangular shaped glasses sitting on the tip of her nose.
“Are we hard of hearing, Ms. Ruiz? Or do we simply lack the focus needed to do the task at hand?”
Crap! I’m going to get fired and I hadn’t even started yet.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Henley. I’m just so excited.”
“You do realize that this job requires actual work? We are in desperate need of math tutors, and if you didn’t have such high scores in math and a glowing letter of recommendation from your math teacher, I would send you on your way this instant.”
I knew my math grades would land me this job, but Mr. Bonehead writing me that letter…whoa! Though, I had a funny feeling Nic probably had something to do with that.
“I promise I’m not normally like this. I’m a hard worker, really.”
“Um hmm. We’ll see about that.” She eyed me cautiously for a moment before whipping out a pen and clicking it. “Now, when are you available?”
“All my classes are in the morning, so I can work in the afternoons.”
“Hmm, morning classes.” Her perfectly arched eyebrow lifted, appearing impressed. “Most students take classes in the afternoon. They like to sleep in after their nights of drunken debauchery.”
“I’m here to focus on my studies. Besides, I’m up early anyway. I live with my parents, and I have to drop off my brother at school before my eight o’clock.”
“Good. Good. Can you work Fridays?”
I hesitated. I was hoping to visit Cassie on the weekends once in a while. It had been a crazy summer with moving and taking a couple of summer classes with Nic. I hadn’t even had a chance to call her.
“Yeah, no problem.”
“Okay, so I have you down for afternoons Monday through Friday.” She scribbled on her clipboard. “Now, most students you’ll be helping are struggling with pre-algebra and algebra courses. I hate to say it, but most of them are from wealthy families, and they’re used to passing based on that fact alone. Don’t be surprised if you have to basically teach them from scratch.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” I followed as she directed me back to the front of the room. “We have a sign in sheet at the reception desk. Students place their name by a time slot on this list for tutoring help. As you can see here, we’re already filled for the next two days. You’ll be very busy.”
I took in a deep breath. I wasn’t a stranger to long hours of work. I’d been hoping that maybe I’d have some free time to study, but I really needed this job. Despite my full scholarship, college costs like textbooks, equipment, and fees added up fast. I tried to live as frugally as I could, but after paying for summer courses and now fall courses, it wasn’t working. It was barely in the middle of fall semester and I was already broke. And there was no way I was going to ask my parents for money, especially now that they had to pay a neighbor to take care of Miguelito and Selina. Mom had found some housecleaning work, and even though Dad was worried about her working, she had insisted. At one point, Juan had even volunteered to dropout of school so he could get a job. With a swift whack on the head, Mom ended that conversation real quick.
I had tried to convince them that I could take care of the kids in the afternoons and that way they could save money. But they wouldn’t hear of it. They wanted me to focus on my studies and enjoy my time in college. I was so lucky to have parents like them and Nic—that sneaky bastard.
Somehow Nic had managed to pay for a lot of things I couldn’t, like “accidentally” buying the wrong textbooks that just happened to be the books I needed for my classes. And then saying that he couldn’t return them and making up some lame excuse that I just knew was totally bogus.
“I’m ready to take it on, Mrs. Henley. Thanks again for considering my application. I know it’s late in the semester.”
“Yes, yes. Now, I have a favor to ask of you. I know you don’t officially begin work until tomorrow, and I normally don’t allow this, but it’s a special case. I have a student who’s been waiting all day for some help on an assignment. The poor dear is struggling.
”
I was shocked to see Mrs. Henley’s stern face actually soften.
“Sure. I have about an hour.”
“Wonderful.” She handed me a clipboard and a form. “Here’s the student’s form. She’s in the waiting area. I’ve assigned you to cubicle J. It’s located in the back corner of the room.”
After tossing my backpack in the cubicle, I walked to the waiting area to pick up my first tutoring client. I looked over the form, which contained information completed by the student. In perfect looping handwriting, the student indicated she was majoring in elementary education. She described previous math grades and her current academic struggles. The list was endless.
I squinted when I noticed something strange about the handwriting. The “I’s” were dotted with little hearts. I sighed. She was one of those girls. I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache start to bloom behind my right eye. Well, I’d better get used to it. This student was the type of student I was bound to be working with for the next year and hopefully more.
“I’m looking for a . . .” I flipped the form over, looking for a name.
No way!
No freaking way!
“Kristie Stanton.”
My eyes darted up. Sitting in a chair by the entrance door was a beaming Kristie.
What was it with that big ass polka dotted bow on her head? And of course it had to match the red blouse and skirt she was wearing. Just slap a pair of white gloves on her and call her Minnie.
“That’s me. Oh my God! Mandi!” she squealed, running up to me. “Are you my tutor? That would be so cool.”
She hugged me. The girl actually hugged me!
Aww, hell no!
I stiffened in her arms, looking around the room. This was a test. It had to be. Was I on Candid Camera or something?
I had made it through most of the summer and fall semester without having to see the perky redhead. Even though I’d told Nic that I was okay with him seeing any of his friends, including Kristie, he’d kept true to his word. He never mentioned her. Now here she was, bouncing up and down in all her redheaded glory, endless squeaks coming out of her mouth.
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