Anyone but Him

by Cassie Graham

  But with Jennings, he was always doing something wrong. Always doing something bad. To either himself, or someone else.

  Do I know if those stories are true? No. Will I ask, one day? Maybe. Hopefully I get a chance to get to know him because the man sitting across the table, holding a slumbering infant doesn’t look like the drug and alcohol crazed lunatic who attacked a photog a few months ago.

  “What are you thinkin’ over there, Cab Girl?” Jennings whispers from his side of the table looking way too gorgeous for his own good.

  Bradley and Sophia refused to let us help clean up the dishes, so here we are, sitting in quiet silence at their dinner table while Addie snoozes away.

  I shrug a shoulder, comfortable. “I don’t know. Just random stuff, I guess.”

  Jennings pats Addie’s back as she begins to stir in his arms. “What kind of stuff?”

  “Just, you know,” I hesitate to look over my shoulder toward the kitchen. “It’s really nice to know that there can be a calmness to your insane world.”

  He starts to rock back and forth, helping sooth Addie and a smile appears on his face. “They are pretty great, huh?”

  “That, they are.”

  “They are just good people, you know? It’s not easy finding good-hearted, kind folks in this crazy town.”

  A sputter of laughter leaves my mouth without my permission and I cover it, not wanting to bother Addie. “Folks?”

  Jennings mouth bunches and he looks to the side, holding in his laughter. “I’m from Alabama, okay? Sometimes my native tongue slips out.”

  Native tongue, huh? What I wouldn’t do to that native—tongue.

  Oh, Jesus, stop it, Whit.

  “So,” Bradley says, returning from the kitchen, taking his seat at the table. “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing,” Jennings says, opening his mouth to fake yawn. “I’m about ready to head out. Whit?”

  My eyes snap to his eyes. “What?”

  “Ready to get out of here?” he asks with his signature smirk.

  “Umm.” My brain gets foggy when he breaks that smile out. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

  He kisses the top of Addie’s head and looks to Bradley. “I’m going to put her in bed, cool?” he asks the question like it’s no big deal, but his eyes are giddy. He likes taking care of her.

  Dammit…why does he have to love children?

  “Of course, man. Thanks,” Bradley answers.

  Jennings gets up from his chair never stirring Addie and walks effortlessly up the grand staircase to her room. I watch as his elegant body moves up the stairs and I wonder how it’s possible for someone who is perceived as such a dick in the tabloids to be such a good guy in real life. How much truth is in those stories? Is there any?

  “You’re staring pretty hard there, missy,” Bradley teases.

  I duck my head, to hide my smile, but there’s no denying I was totally in Jennings trance.

  I clear my throat. “Sorry.” I smile. “What’s up? Where’s Sophia?”

  “Getting changed. She’ll see you guys out with me.”

  I nod my head. “It was a great night. Thank you for having me over.” I bring my hands from my lap to the table and knot my fingers together.

  “It was our pleasure, Whit.”

  I smile and a creak from the stairs makes me move my eyes toward Sophia and Jennings walking down together. Jennings, careful not to fall, has his hand on the banister and eyes on his feet, but as Sophia talks, he chuckles and laughs. That easy smile always evident.

  Bradley nudges me under the table with his foot and I look to him. He winks and looks in Jennings direction, teasing me. I roll my eyes and despite the fact that I’m a twenty-four year old woman, I stick my tongue out.

  Bradley snickers and stands from his chair.

  “They’re heading out,” Bradley tells Sophia.

  She floats to Bradley’s side and wraps her toned arm around his torso. “So I’ve heard.”

  Bradley kisses the top of Sophia’s head and she looks up and beams at him. So in love. A flutter of jealousy sparks in my stomach and I don’t know what to do with it. So, instead of dwelling on it, I stand from my chair and put my jacket on.

  Sophia lets go of Bradley and stands next to me, hooking her arm in mine, pulling me toward the door.

  “It was so nice to meet you, Soph,” I say. “Tonight was fun.”

  “It was,” she agrees. “We should do lunch next week. Jennings said you live down the hill. How about Wednesday? We could go to the seafood place down the beach from your house.”

  I pull out my phone and give it to her and she begins to input her number.

  “I’d love that. Bring Addie?” I ask.

  Sophia smiles a warm smile. “Of course.”

  I glow and Jennings stands next to me, placing his hand on the small of my back. “Ready, Cab Girl?”

  “Yep.”

  Sophia quirks an eyebrow. “Cab Girl?”

  Bradley chuckles and pulls her into his side. “I’ll tell you later.”

  Jennings levels his eyes. “Shut up.” He hugs Bradley. “I’ll see you guys when I get back.”

  Back? Guess he’s leaving. Not that it’s any of my business.

  “You better, broski.” Bradley side-glances at me, with a smile playing on his lips. “Come back and visit us, Whit.”

  “I will,” I promise. “I’ll see you on Wednesday, Sophia.”

  Jennings leads us to his car, opens my door and ushers me in. Closing the door, he walks to his side and sits in the driver’s seat.

  The moment the engine hums to life, I close my eyes. In all of the time I’ve been in L.A., I’ve yet to make any friends besides Holli. I’ve always been a one-friend kind of girl. Now, I’m leaving this house with two new friends. That’s kind of cool.

  “You have fun?” Jennings asks as he pulls out of the driveway and onto the road to lead us home.

  “Very much so. Thank you for bringing me here.”

  “We’ll come back.”

  Oh, right. He’s leaving. It’s not really my place to ask him, but the nosey side of me really wants to know where he’s going.

  “So, you’re leaving, huh?”

  A car passes us and the headlights catch Jennings’ beautiful face. “Yeah, for a bit. I have some training to do for the next movie.”

  I’m not going to lie and say that him leaving so quickly after we’ve established a friendship doesn’t hurt a little. It does.

  “When do you leave?”

  “Tomorrow morning.”

  “Is it totally weird if I ask for how long?”

  A smile creeps onto his face. “Why, Whitley? Are you going to miss me?”

  I pull at my seatbelt and look up to the ceiling. “Yeah, Jenns, I’m gonna miss you.”

  “Good. I was hoping so. We’ll talk and text, though, so, don’t worry.”

  I won’t. We’ve only just met and I can’t expect him to call me every day. Even though we’ve only been friends for a few hours, I have a feeling he’ll come back and we’ll be able to fall into this easy relationship again.

  “Okay,” I offer. “So, you’ll be gone a while?”

  He shrugs his shoulder and turns into the driveway of my house. “It’ll be a month. Maybe two. It all depends on how well the training goes.”

  Turning the engine off, Jennings unbuckles and looks at me, the moon providing very little light, now. “Well, Whitley, it’s been a good night. I look forward to having more with you when I come home.”

  I unsnap the restraint. “Me too.”

  “Good.”

  Quickly, he exits the car and jogs to my side, opening my door. Together, we walk to the front door. Digging into my purse for my keys, Jennings puts his hand on my arm. I stop my search and look to him.

  “Don’t forget about me while I’m gone.”

  I snort and roll my eyes. “Not possible, crazy. You’re stuck with my—friendship.”

  Those pearly whites show themsel
ves again and he pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. Swaying just a bit, we dance on my front porch. Kissing the top of my head, he lets me go and walks to his car. Turning on his headlights, I finally find my keys and open the door. With one last wave, I step into the house. Sneakily opening the curtain, I watch Jennings drive away.

  I’m already late to my first day of summer class. I stayed up late talking to Jennings, and now, I’m thinking that wasn’t the best idea. I’m running on three hours of sleep, and a cup of coffee.

  The administrator was able to get me into a class last minute and I’m damn thankful. I don’t want to put graduation on hold any longer than necessary.

  Adjusting the bun of hair on my head, I pull my black-rimmed glasses out of my backpack and head for astronomy.

  Why I need to take this class, I’ll never know, but here I am, standing in front of the classroom door, nervous to turn the handle.

  The click of the door announces my arrival, but lucky for me, the professor is late, too.

  Moving to the back of the hall, I find a seat in the second to last row and dig out my laptop. Powering it on, I open my notes and wait for the professor to get here. Doodling on a piece of paper, I attempt to look busy. The hall echoes with buzzing students and it seems like the right thing to do. I don’t want to draw attention to myself.

  “Well, well, well,” someone says behind me and I freeze.

  Oh God, I know that snark. Please do not tell me he’s in this class. No, no, no. Anyone but him, Jesus, I don’t want to do this right now.

  My shoulders slump and I rub my forehead. Biting my bottom lip, I prepare myself to see him.

  Ever so slowly, I look over my shoulder.

  There he is, sitting in the seat behind me, looking confident and maddening, playing with a pen in his mouth. He wiggles his eyebrows and smiles around the pen.

  “Not in the mood, Oliver,” I sneer and turn back around.

  He chuckles behind me, and the professor walks in the door ending the possibility of Oliver talking any more.

  TWO WEEKS AND THREE DAYS. That’s how long it’s been since Oliver has talked to Whitley.

  Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at nine o’clock, she walks into the classroom, scans the crowd, spots me and heads in the opposite direction.

  I had no idea she’d be in this class with me. It’s a sophomore class, and I thought I was safe picking an off-the-wall science, but oh boy, was I wrong.

  And, like a kick in the nuts, she gets more and more beautiful as the days go on.

  The first day, she dressed in dark jeans and a graphic tee that said, “Nerd is the New Sexy.” And damn if the shirt wasn’t right. Despite the fact that I was behind her making ridiculous comments, she answered question after question and I couldn’t help but be a little proud.

  By the end of the first week, she’d established a group of friends and completely forgotten about me. Well, that’s not true. I’d notice her sneak peeks over her shoulder during class, and she’d catch me looking right back at her, but then she’d refuse to look again the rest of class.

  I sort of liked the cat and mouse game we were playing, but at the end of the day, I just wanted her in my life. Both lives.

  Jennings got her most of the day through texts and at night when we’d talk on the phone. But, Oliver couldn’t break through her icy exterior and it was starting to get to him—me…you know what I mean. Just talking on the phone wasn’t enough.

  Every day that passed made both Jennings and Oliver like her more and I wanted to find a way to get her in my life. And that makes me a stupid, stupid man.

  What am I doing? It’s not smart to do this to her or me. I don’t know what I’m doing, but if there’s anything that I’m sure of, it’s that I feel the need to keep her around.

  Jennings is good to her. He texts her while he’s “away” and tells her about his day. And despite the fact that I stay in the “safe-zone” when I talk to her, she finds ways to push my buttons and raise my hackles. I can’t tell you how many bickering matches we have and end up laughing ourselves to sleep.

  I told her I had to go to Washington to train for my next movie, and that wasn’t the brightest idea I’ve ever had, but I had to take one of me out of the situation. I don’t know how I could be both men at the same time. I was bound to slip up. So, having Jennings travel felt like the best option.

  I have to put off the inevitable until the last minute conceivable.

  But, now, I’m sitting in my house, working on homework, just a mile away from her and I crave her presence. I want to smell her fruity scent and joke with her. I want to take her to Bradley’s and watch her laugh at the funny crap he and I come up with. But, it’s just not possible.

  Right now, though…it’s not an option.

  Maybe I’ll try to talk to her tomorrow…

  “So, Oliver,” Alex says as we walk to the science building. She’s not taking classes, but she hangs out on campus for some reason during the summer. “You partying tonight?”

  Lark is throwing another kegger tonight and everyone is invited. Not that this isn’t par for the course for him, anymore. Since Whit broke up/told him to fuck off, he’s been extra moody and sort of annoying. Most days, if he’s not out doing whatever he does when he’s not at home, he’s brooding in his room. Whitley really did a number on him.

  “Maybe,” I take off my Ray Bans and open the door to the building and let Alex in first. “It depends on how much work the professor gives us this weekend.”

  “Oh, come on, Oliver.” Alex stops me and takes her pointer finger, tracing my chest with it. “Have a little fun.”

  I shake my head and smile. Alex may be the death of me. She might be a quack-job, but she’s—something, let me tell you.

  The door slams and Whitley quickly walks by, fake-gagging as she passes.

  I clear my throat and take a step away from Alex, but she follows me.

  Her brown eyes crinkle and she watches Whitley hustle down the hall. “You got a thing for her, or something?”

  “Uh, no,” I evade. “I gotta get to class.”

  “But—,” Alex starts, but I leave before she can get another word in.

  I walk with haste to class and search for Whitley. The bang of the door on the wall doesn’t faze anyone but Whit. The second my footsteps through the door, I practically feel the fire coming from her stare. I take a deep breath, swallow my courage, and make my way to her.

  Taking the seat behind hers, I cross my right leg over my left and tap the desk with my pen. The chick next to me moves her body a little closer to mine and I instinctively scoot away.

  In the three weeks I’ve been here, I’ve managed to become fairly known among the students. It’s not difficult when I’m the new guy in town. Everyone wants to know about me. It’s kind of a drag. There are days when I just want to eat lunch alone, but I can’t get away from the crowds. Not that the “Oliver attitude” lets anyone know that. He’s more than happy to accept friendship and celebrity.

  But, Whitley…I know she saw me sit behind her, but she’s yet to acknowledge me. Ignored Jennings/Oliver is something I’m not used to. It’s new and I oddly like it. She’s like a creature that I can’t catch. She’s ready to pounce on me any time I try to engage in any sort of communication. I’m scared for my balls if I piss her off again.

  “Whit,” I tap her shoulder.

  The two girls who are occupying her attention turn their curiosity to me, eyes wide. Immediately, my heart stops thinking they’ve recognized me.

  Whitley shakes her head once and the girls go back to their conversation.

  “Whit,” I tap her shoulder, harder this time.

  This time, her friends scurry away and Whitley turns toward me, her eyes full of scorn.

  “What do you want, Oliver?” she asks, sounding tired.

  She should be. We talked on the phone until one a.m.

  I put my pride on the back burner and apologize.

  “Look,” I gulp. �
��I’m sorry.”

  She gives an emotionless laugh. “For what, exactly?”

  “For being an asshole. For all of it. I’m sorry.” There’s a lot more specific ways I could do this, but it’s better for me to just give her a generalization.

  In the back of my mind I’m sorry for playing her the way I am. I’m just too damn selfish to stop.

  Her eyes soften and she takes a breath. “I’m still pissed at you, you know? But, thank you for apologizing.”

  Blowing air out of my mouth, I sit up straighter and nod my head. “I’m a dick, I know. Can you forgive me?”

  She smiles slyly. “Maybe. You still slummin’ it?”

  My head jerks back a bit. “Slummin’ it?”

  She points to the door. “Alex.”

  I slump back into my seat. “Ah, Alex. We’re friends. Nothing more.”

  “Sure.”

  “Sure you’ll forgive me? Or sure, you believe Alex and I are just friends?” I ask for clarification.

  “Both, I guess.” She shrugs.

  “Alright, class,” Professor Dillon says, cutting off our conversation. “Time to pick partners for this weekend’s assignment.”

  Audibly, the class groans.

  He swats at the air, shushing us and levels his eyes. “It’s not a big deal. Go find an observation point somewhere in the city and map a constellation.”

  “Psst,” I whisper.

  “Yes, Oliver?” Whitley fakes annoyance.

  “Wanna be my partner, Cupcake?”

  Her cheeks instantly pink and I have to hide my grin.

  “I guess so,” she huffs.

  “I won’t twist your arm, if you don’t want to.”

  Quickly, she shakes her head. “No. No, it’s fine.”

  I sit back and cross my arms. I’ve won a little victory today. I’m must be a fucking magician. Mind bender.

  I somehow got her to forgive me for being a fuck-face and I convinced her to go star watching with me.