“No,” I draw out on a sigh. “Just enjoying the view.”
This earns me a scoff from Abby. “Okay, whatever you say,” she deadpans and turns her focus back to her book.
Something feels off.
Does she not know how beautiful she is?
My gut clenches, hoping I’m reading more into this than I should.
“Abby?” I say barely above a whisper, getting her attention. When her eyes find mine, we stare for a long moment at one another. “Have I offended you?”
Confusion morphs across her features. “Why would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to make sure you knew back there.” I point to the hallway. “You do know you’re the only one I’m interested in, right?”
Her jaw drops slightly then quickly returns to its normal position. “Uh, since I’m the one in your bed practically every night, I’d better be.”
Damn, I love her sass.
Wait, did I say love?
Instead of making anything of my realization, I play it off. “You can bet your sweet ass you’re the only one I’m interested in. You’re mine… and mine alone.”
“The road goes both ways, Drew. And PS—I wasn’t bothered by it at all. It was obvious you weren’t interested in her by the way you looked at me when I came around the corner. If anything, you looked annoyed that you had to be talking to her in the first place.”
Well, at least that’s settled.
I shake my head at the memory. “I still can’t believe how possessive she was. We literally bumped into one another in the hall after not speaking for years, and she had the audacity to think she could stake a claim to me?”
“That is kinda weird,” Abby admits in a shrug. But then her expression changes to one I recognize well. It’s filled with her heated desire and hope. “What do you say we hurry up and finish here, then go back to my place for some dinner? Chloe’s working, and Sydney has a date tonight. We should have the place to ourselves.” Abby waggles an eyebrow, and I want to say to hell with our studies right now.
“How much more of your assignment do you have to do?” I ask eagerly. I for one could finish this paper tomorrow and still have plenty of time. Knowing I have two out-of-town games later this week, I’d much rather spend some one-on-one time with Abby.
“It won’t take me too long. I’ve worked on it between classes so if I focus, I should be able to knock it out sooner.”
My lips turn up at her blatant hint. “Okay. I’ll be ready when you’re done. My paper isn’t due until next week. Chop, chop,” I tease. “Get to work, lady, so we can grab some dinner.”
It isn’t even an hour later, and we’re walking into Abby’s quiet apartment. I’d managed to get a few pages written, but my concentration was complete shit. Every move Abby made, I was acutely aware.
Once inside, she walks to her bedroom to put her bag away, while I stay out in the living room. It takes me all of thirty seconds to see a big envelope propped up on the kitchen table with Abby’s name written on a blue sticky note. The moment I recognize what it might be, I call out to Abby. “Hey, Abs, there’s something out here you might want to look at.”
God, I hope this is what I think it is. If not, our plans for the evening are about to change.
Within seconds, she’s by my side. “What is it?” Curiosity evident in her voice.
I point to the large white envelope on the table. “It looks like you have some mail.”
It doesn’t look too thin, so this is a good thing, right? Please let it be good for Abby’s sake. She deserves this.
Abby gasps and lunges for the mail. It takes her less than three seconds to carefully open the envelope and reveal its contents. I wait expectantly as she pulls out a couple of sheets of paper and begins to read them.
Suddenly, she looks to me wide-eyed and screams, “Ohmigod! Ohmigod! Ohmigod! I can’t believe it.”
Not being able to contain my excitement for her, I pull her in for a hug. Abby climbs me like a tree and wraps her legs around me in the biggest full-body bear hug I’ve ever received. Then she shouts in my ear, “Ohmigod! Ohmigod!”
“I take it congratulations are in order?” I look expectantly at the letter when she releases the hold around my neck to look me in the eye.
“I got in! I can’t believe it, Drew. I fucking got in!”
I proudly grin as I squeeze her once more. “I knew you could do it.”
After kissing the hell out of Abby, I set her down, and she does the most adorable happy dance I’ve ever seen. It’s a combination between running in place, like she’s on speed, and pumping her fists into the air. Her enthusiasm’s so infectious I break out into a happy dance of my own to celebrate with her. Of course, this makes her burst into a fit of laughter.
After a few moments, she takes a deep calming breath. “Drew, I got into Stanford. I freaking got into Stanford. It’s not my first choice, but I’d be happy as hell to go there for med school.”
“You and me both, Angel. I’m so proud of you. You’ve worked your ass off, and you deserve this.”
“Wait.” She stops abruptly. “Have you heard back from any of the schools you’ve applied to?”
“Nope, not yet.” I shrug dismissively. “But I’m sure I will soon.”
Abby chews on her bottom lip for a moment, and I reach out to free it from her teeth with my thumb. “Why the face?”
“I shouldn’t be celebrating if you haven’t heard yet.”
“Uh, I didn’t apply to Stanford. But we most certainly should be celebrating. I’m sure we’ll hear back from other schools in the coming weeks. Come on,” I say as I pull her into the kitchen. “Let’s make dinner then I can show you how excited I am for you.”
Between the two of us, Abby and I make dinner quickly. Since we have her apartment all to ourselves for a few more hours, we celebrate by watching a movie on the couch. I offer to take her out somewhere, but Abby insists she’d rather stay in and have a brainless night of fun. Just as the opening credits roll, the front door to the apartment flies open, and Sydney comes bursting into the living room and slams the door.
Anger rolls off her in waves. Her breathing’s ragged, and her fists are balled at her sides. When she spots us on the couch, she takes a deep breath to calm herself. “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m so pissed right now, I could scream.”
“What’s wrong?” Abby bolts up from the couch to comfort her friend.
Sydney looks from Abby to me and back again. Shaking her head, she says, “I don’t want to ruin your evening. I’ll just go hang out in my room.”
Clearly something’s happened. Sydney’s usually calm and carefree. Over the past few weeks, I’d like to think we were all friends. Abby had mentioned she’d been on a date earlier… what if something happened to her?
“That’s not necessary,” I point out as I reach for the remote to turn off the TV. “You’re not interrupting anything. What’s going on, Syd? Are you okay?”
Sydney takes in a deep breath and holds it for a while before slowly letting it out. I can see her visibly relax, which makes me less on edge. Though I won’t dismiss this completely until I know some asshole didn’t hurt her.
“Ohmigod! You aren’t going to believe what happened…” Sydney shrugs as she plops down in the oversized chair next to the couch, Abby returns to her place next to me.
“What?” I ask, encouraging her to continue. My nerves are on edge just waiting to react. I take a moment to look her over with care. Nothing seems out of place, but I’ll hold off until she explains what’s wrong.
“I just had the date from hell!” she practically shouts. “Hell, I tell you… I mean I didn’t think it could get any worse, but no… the train wreck kept rolling, and I couldn’t get the fuck off the tracks fast enough.”
This doesn’t sound so bad, so I relax a little into the couch and glance at Abby to take the lead from here. Wait… Is she covering her face to conceal a laugh?
I can’t give it
more thought because Sydney keeps steam rolling the conversation. “First, Brad. Yes, his actual fucking name is Brad… has been asking me out for weeks. I’d kept putting him off because we met when I served him his drink at the bar. You know that’s a hard pass. I never date guys who ask me out there. I never know if it’s the alcohol talking or if they think I’m an easy mark.” She takes a deep breath then continues to ramble. “But fucking Brad was persistent. We ended up seeing one another on campus one day and started talking. We’d bump into each other often, and he kept asking me out. But our schedules never worked. He told me how he wanted to take me to a nice dinner and get to know me better. Finally, we both had tonight free, so I thought, why not take a chance on him…” Sydney stops and stares at the ceiling, taking deep breaths to calm herself.
“Okay…” Abby draws out. “So, what happened?”
“You know those 80s movies I love so much? Well, fucking Brad was like the ultimate douche, times a million, from one of those. He insisted he pick me up, which I thought was a good start. Then he took me to one of the nicest restaurants in town. Once again, I must admit I was impressed. Though I could care less about fancy restaurants, I appreciated his effort. The date starts out typical, and then it takes a freaking nosedive like you wouldn’t believe. Apparently, Brad…”
Yes, she says his name like an expletive, and I find myself mirroring Abby’s expression to keep myself from laughing. The girl’s worked up. I almost feel sorry for Brad. But still… I’d better hold off on judgement.
“Well… how do I put this?” She tilts her head to the ceiling, like it holds all the answers. “Let’s see… he’s not only notoriously cheap, but he’s a deadbeat dad.”
“What?” Abby gasps. “Explain.”
“Brad apparently has a two-year-old who he never sees because the decent guy that he is, doesn’t like to spend the gas money to drive three hours back to his hometown to see said child. He had the audacity to go on for twenty minutes telling me how he thinks the kid is too young to know any better, and all he does is cost money when he gets him anyway. So, why bother to show up at all. Seriously. How can someone say this about their child?”
“Sounds like a winner,” Abby deadpans, but I still can’t see why this date was so horrible.
“Oh, you’re telling me.” Sydney’s sarcasm’s thick by this point. “When we got to the restaurant, he specifically told me to order anything I’d like. I ordered my favorite, chicken marsala and some mixed vegetables, while he ordered some crab puffs as a starter and the shrimp scampi. At first, when he’d mentioned having a kid with his girlfriend from high school, I was okay with it. People don’t always stay together. But then when he went on and on about how much of an inconvenience this poor child was, I was done and couldn’t wait for the check to come fast enough. I purposely told the waiter I was done as soon as Brad took his last bite to hurry things along.”
“God, what a loser,” I mumble under my breath, unable to keep my thoughts in.
“Exactly.” Sydney pins me with wide eyes. “But, I haven’t even gotten to the worst part.”
“Seriously?” Abby interrupts. “How can it get any worse?”
“No. When the check comes, fucking Brad gets out his phone to use his calculator. He divided our check by item. He had the audacity to charge me for my meal, my drink, and forty percent of the crab puffs because I ate four of the ten. He was kind enough to split the tax in half and only calculated for a ten percent for a tip.”
“You’re kidding me,” I say in disbelief after picking my jaw up from the floor.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I wish I were. Seriously, I can’t make this shit up if you paid me.”
“How did you get home?” Leave it to Abby to be practical.
Sydney sits up taller, and she smiles wickedly. “Oh, I got up from the table, walked over to the waiter, and handed him sixty bucks, which was more than my portion of the bill, by the way. I told him my date was a total cheapskate and not to let him know how much I’d paid. Stick him with the entire bill and tell him I’ll find my own way home. I was out the door and in an Uber within minutes. I’d already ordered one when Brad got out his calculator.”
Holy shit. Sydney’s a badass through and through.
Still shaking my head in disbelief I chuckle at my next thought. “I’m sure Brad was sweating bullets when he found out he’d been stuck with the bill.”
“Serves him right,” Abby pipes in. “God, what a dick move! I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
Sydney groans loudly as she flops back in her chair. “Uggh, I am so over guys. I am officially on a dick-diet until further notice. Men suck.”
“Not all of them.” Abby squeezes my hand and smiles apologetically.
Sydney looks over to me. “No offense, Drew, but men are total dicks, and I’m done with them.”
“Hey, I’m not a ‘fucking Brad.’” I use air quotes to tease. “But I totally get why you’d want a break after that.”
“I’m done with trying. Every guy I think I may be interested in is either a liar, cheater, and now a cheapskate. You might be the only decent one left.”
Chuckling, I roll my eyes. “We’re not all douches. But thanks for the vote of confidence.”
Sydney’s quiet for a long moment then suddenly jumps out of her chair, catching me off guard. “I think I’ll go for a run and let you get back to your evening.”
“You sure you don’t want to watch a movie with us to get your mind off things?”
“No, I’m gonna hit the gym. I’d rather run outside, but since it’s dark, I’ll play it safe.”
“You sure? You’re more than welcome to stay. Or if you need to talk more with Abby, I can head back to my place,” I offer, knowing she likely needs Abby more than I do at this point.
Sydney shakes her head. “No, I’m good. I’m just going to run off my frustration, so I can get some sleep tonight. Seriously though, I’m taking a major break from guys.”
Abby laughs. “I don’t blame you.”
As soon as Sydney’s left, Abby snuggles up to me on the couch. Before she presses play on the movie, she looks up to me and says, “Thank you.”
“What for?” I ask, having no idea where she’s going with her train of thought.
“For being you… For your willingness to leave because you thought she might need a friend, and most important for being nothing like ‘fucking Brad.’”
“Angel, that’s one thing you’ll never have to worry about,” I whisper as I close the distance between us and kiss her senseless.
31
Abby
As I rush through my apartment door, I hear Sydney shout, “Where the hell have you been?”
“Uh, I had to work longer to cover a shift for someone. Don’t get your undies in a twist. We still have plenty of time to get there,” I rush out as I slip into my bedroom and change into the CRU jersey Drew picked up for me. Thankfully, this one is in my size and happens to have Drew’s number on the back, so I feel a sense of pride as I wear it for him.
Drew’s been out of town until late last night and has a game that starts in less than an hour. I haven’t seen him since the night of Sydney’s disaster of a date. When he’d texted earlier, he told me not to make any plans afterward. He has something he can’t wait to tell me in person. I’m dying to know what it is.
Sydney storms into my room. “You know this is a playoff game, right? The student section’s gonna be packed. If they win this one and both games next week, they’ll be strong contenders in the championship tournament.”
“I know. I know. Just let me go to the bathroom, and we can get out of here.”
The arena is packed when we arrive. Not only is there a long line for students to enter, we’re packed into the student seating like sardines. Sydney notices a guy from her class that has two seats next to him, and the next thing I know, we’ve found ourselves spots for the game.
My eyes immediately find Drew and follow him as he w
arms up. Even from this distance, his sexy arms get to me. I can see his well-defined muscles and corded veins from here. He’s pumped and ready to win this game, by the sheer look of determination on his face. As if he can sense me staring at him, once he makes a lay-in, his eyes find mine in a crowded room, and his face morphs into the most beautiful smile, nearly taking my breath away.
God, Drew is gorgeous.
My thoughts are interrupted by the snarky voice of the girl in front of me. “Ohmigod! Did you see the way Drew Jacobs just looked at me? I swear he was looking right at me and winked.”
“No way! You’re kidding, right? Wait… Did he just wink at you?”
Sydney must hear her, too. She nudges me with her elbow and rolls her eyes. The way she’s biting down on her lip lets me know she wants to burst out laughing. We both know without a doubt where his focus is.
The first girl sighs heavily. “He’s seriously one of the hottest players on the team, besides, well… DeShawn. God, what would it be like to kiss a sexy beast like Drew?”
Sydney looks to me, waggles her eyebrows, and mouths, “Tell her what it’s really like.”
I emphatically shake my head and whisper shout, “No!”
I’ll keep those thoughts to myself, thank you very much.
The girl in front of Syd interrupts my thoughts. “Oh, don’t even get me started with DeShawn. I had a friend who dated him last year, and she always had something great to say about him.”
Seriously? Is she rating him on his sexpertise? Sure, DeShawn’s a good-looking guy, but this is a bit much.
The next thing I know, the first girl from in front of us screams as loud as can be, “I love you, Drew!”
What. The. Fuck?
Did she just scream that for the entire arena to hear?
One look at Sydney, and I know I wasn’t hearing things. We lose any composure we’d been holding in and burst out laughing so hard, we’re gasping for air before forcing ourselves to stop. I’ve heard Drew tell some crazy stories, but this seriously takes the cake. How complete strangers can have such a reaction to him is beyond me.
Drew: Book One of the Perfectly Independent Series Page 24
