Young Love (Bloomfield #4)

by Janelle Stalder

  I needed an exit plan stat. Cat could find her way home with someone else.

  Instinctively I took a step away from him, fighting the invisible string that wanted to pull me closer instead. His gaze lifted to meet mine as his hands dropped to his side, and I could see the same resolve I had come to mirrored there.

  “We can’t do this,” he said.

  I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement. Instead of replying, I simply shook my head slowly.

  He took a deep breath, looking away from me.

  “I should head home,” I said, thinking it was too soft for him to hear, but he did. Nodding his head, he reached up to rub a hand over his mouth before looking back at me, as if reluctant to do so.

  We stared at each other again, a wordless exchange passing between us. Whatever was between us, neither seemed to want to accept or acknowledge it.

  Straightening myself, I gave Grey a tight smile.

  “Thanks for the offer,” I said. He nodded again, his jaw ticking.

  Turning, I headed back through the crowd. A hand clasped onto my arm as I reached the edge.

  Cat’s flushed face appeared beside me as she pulled me to a stop.

  “Where are you sneaking off to?” She asked.

  “I’m super beat,” I told her. “I’m just going to head home.”

  “Then I’ll go with you,” she said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  She waved me off. “I’m tired too anyway. Come on, let’s blow this joint.”

  A sense of relief washed over me. We headed out and thankfully grabbed a cab that was already sitting out there. There was a comfortable silence between us as we maneuvered through the streets, the college nightlife at its peak outside my window. I wished I could be more like the boys and girls I watched pass by, but I couldn’t be.

  My mom had always called me an old soul. She said I was too serious for someone my age – and that was at five. It wasn’t that I didn’t like to have fun. I just knew that the fun times were only short, passing blips in the otherwise long, complicated avenues of life. And if I wanted to get out, and stay out, of the social housing I’d grown up in, then I was going to do everything in my power to do just that. Which meant keeping my head on my shoulders, and my brain clear and focused.

  “So,” Cat said into the silence. I looked over at her as she lay her head against the cool glass of the window.

  “So,” I repeated when she didn’t continue.

  Her eyes slid over to me, and I noticed then she looked a little green. I prayed she didn’t puke in the cab. Not only would I feel bad for the driver, because no one liked cleaning up other people’s vomit, but I also couldn’t stand the smell, and really didn’t want to end up puking myself. It was an instinctive reaction, unfortunately.

  “You and Grey, huh?” she said, her lips tilting up in a small smirk.

  “What about us?”

  She snorted, rolling her eyes. “What about us? She says. Why does everyone always have to deny the obvious truth?”

  I got the impression she was no longer actually speaking to me as she stared back out the window, shaking her head against it.

  “And what would that be?” I asked, afraid for her answer.

  “That you two totally have the hots for each other.”

  There it was. The exact answer I was trying to avoid.

  Now it was my turn to snort.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I barely know him.”

  “You don’t have to know Grey Anderson to have the hots for him.”

  True.

  “Regardless, I don’t have the hots for him. He’s dating Kelly,” I pointed out.

  “He sure is,” she said lightly. “But he also couldn’t take his eyes off of you.”

  I scoffed, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as I avoided her gaze when it returned to me. Man there were a lot of stars out tonight.

  “You’re so transparent,” she said with a laugh. “It’s okay to be attracted to someone, Honor.”

  “I’m not attracted to him,” I said, staring up as if a life line would suddenly drop from the heavens and save me from this conversation.

  “Sure. Whatever makes you sleep better at night.”

  I didn’t reply. Mostly because we pulled up to our building right then, but also because I knew how perceptive Cat could be, and I wasn’t going to fall into her trap. I paid the driver and thanked him as Cat teetered toward the front door. Helping her up the stairs to our floor was no easy matter. Especially when she puked halfway up.

  ***

  “How was the bar Friday?” Chloe asked as she plopped down into the seat beside me.

  I pulled out my notebook and pen, looking over at her with a sigh. “It was your typical Friday night bar scene,” I replied.

  She chuckled. “That good, huh?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m glad I missed it then. Thanks for going with Cat though. I know you work Fridays, so I’m sure that was the last thing you wanted to do.”

  Finally! Someone understood. Of course, Chloe was so sweet natured, it didn’t surprise me. Sometimes I wondered how Kyle of all people landed a girl like her. He was always so surly and miserable. Or maybe that was just how he wanted people to see him. I’d seen him be pretty goofy when we were younger, but that was a long time ago.

  Someone sat down on my other side, causing us both to turn and stare. Chloe and I were the only ones who sat in the front row of child psychology. The teacher was practically catatonic when he spoke, a skill I was sure. How someone could be so boring and monotone when they spoke was mindboggling. The rest of the class went into some kind of coma induced slumber, and tended to sit far enough back that he wouldn’t notice.

  Chloe and I were the only ones who seemed to actually care about what he was saying. Of course, we genuinely loved children and wanted to work with them when we were older, so this class was important to us.

  We both fell into a surprised silence as the boy beside me smiled at us as though we were all friends.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” we replied together.

  I didn’t know who he was, but I’d noticed him on campus before. Mostly because he was always surrounded by a gaggle of geese. Okay, they weren’t really geese, they were girls. From the way they all giggled and waddled after him though, it was a fairly reasonable comparison.

  Now that I saw him up close, I could see why he attracted such ardent followers. His skin was a shade of bronze that made me think he didn’t need the sun to achieve it. High cheek bones and smooth skin were decorated by a nice, wide mouth and eyes the colour of emeralds. Against his dark hair, they could do nothing else but draw you in.

  “I thought I’d come introduce myself,” he said, reaching out a hand.

  I looked at it as though I’d never seen anything like it. The question “why” was on the tip of my tongue. Thankfully Chloe had enough sense to stretch across me and take his hand.

  “Chloe Morgan,” she said as I continued to blink at him in confusion. His gaze went to her briefly before returning to me. Those lips were tilted up in a smile that had me just as entranced as his eyes.

  “Adrien,” he said.

  I felt Chloe nudge me discreetly. Snapping out of it, I took his hand, swallowing as he enclosed mine tightly in his. “Honor,” I said, quickly letting go.

  “Nice to meet you,” he said. He settled back in his seat, stretching out his long legs as he crossed them at the ankles. “So this is what the front of the class looks like.”

  I looked around, peering up at the other students way above us, wondering again why he was sitting here with us. I turned back to him.

  “I’m amazed that you two can manage to stay awake up here,” he said.

  “Well we like to actually learn,” I replied. “Since we’re paying for this education and all.”

  He chuckled. “We’re all paying for this education.”

  “I guess that just makes u
s smarter then.”

  He nodded. “Probably. I’d say seventy percent of first years are going to waste their money.”

  “And what percentage would you fall into?” I asked.

  He smirked. “I guess we’ll see when midterms come.”

  He didn’t look as though he were ready to leave, not even when our professor walked in. I looked over at Chloe who simply shrugged as she got her pen out. Adrien was doing the same when I turned back to him. He caught me watching him, his brows rising in question.

  “Is it okay if I sit here?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I guess so.”

  He laughed. “Well don’t sound so sure of yourself now.”

  “I’m just trying to figure out why you’re sitting here,” I replied honestly. “Most of the students stay back there,” I said, hitching my thumb over my shoulder.

  “Yeah, but I figured you two are more interesting than any of them.” He got out his notebook, writing the date on the top as if that statement was a perfectly reasonable explanation.

  I didn’t understand this man at all.

  And I would still wonder about him for the rest of the week as he sat with us every day. He greeted us each morning as though we’d all known each other for years. Throughout class, he’d listen and take notes just as studiously as we would, but would also whisper jokes that had both of us laughing. Honestly? Adrien made the class fun. He had this whole carefree, happy-go-lucky kind of vibe to him, and I found myself looking forward to seeing him in class by the time Thursday came around.

  On Friday he even brought us coffees, which put him way up in both our books. The strangest thing of all, was he didn’t really flirt with us either. Of course, that was what I had assumed were his initial intentions. Yet, he surprised me by keeping everything light and friendly.

  “So, what kind of dance do you do?” he asked as we walked out of class on Friday. Chloe had run out ahead of us to meet Kyle in the parking lot. They were going away on some romantic trip that weekend, so I knew she wouldn’t be around the apartment building. I just prayed Cat didn’t get the urge to go out again. I didn’t think I could handle it two weekends in a row.

  I looked over at Adrien in surprise. “What makes you think I’m a dancer?”

  He laughed, rolling his eyes as we walked side by side. “It’s obvious, Honor.”

  He laughed harder at the confused look on my face.

  “First of all, you sit and walk like a dancer. Most girls have horrible posture, but yours is nice and straight. If I took a guess, I’d bet my money on ballet.”

  I pursed my lips.

  “It’s ballet, isn’t it?” he said with a wide grin. I shrugged. “Ha! I knew it.”

  “What’s the other reason?” I asked, curious.

  “My sister did dance all her life,” he said. “I’ve always been around it, so I can recognize someone who dances pretty easily.” His eyes dropped down the front of me. “You have the body of one.”

  I smacked his chest, pointing a warning finger at him. “Watch it.”

  He raised both hands. “I’m just stating a fact, girl. I’m not trying to pull any moves.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Adrien!” a girl’s voice shouted.

  We looked over as a group of five of them all waved.

  “Looks like I’m needed,” he said with a grin that was surprisingly not cocky at all.

  “Ah yes,” I said, glancing around him at the girls who stood waiting anxiously. “Your harem awaits.”

  He laughed. “You can’t be the only girl in my life, ballerina.”

  “You wish,” I replied.

  He winked. “I’ll give you a shout later this weekend. Maybe we can get together Sunday to go over that paper.”

  I nodded at him as he walked away from me backwards.

  “Stay out of trouble,” he called out before turning around.

  “I think I’m the one that should be saying that to you,” I shouted at him.

  He spun around again as he moved. “Girl, I’m nothing but trouble.”

  Good lord. Some guys had more ego than was safe. I watched as he was practically swallowed up by the girls. The group walked off, Adrien in the middle as if he were some sort of celebrity.

  Why did a guy like that, who was obviously the kind who entertained girls frequently, decide one day to become my friend? And only a friend? I never got the sense that he was seriously flirting with me at all. Chloe had made the same remark on Wednesday before he got to class.

  I mean, I appreciated that about him. It was one of the reasons I was really starting to the like the guy. I didn’t feel awkward or constantly on edge around him, because I knew he wasn’t trying to get into my pants. There was some part of me though – a very small part – that couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t flirt with me the way he did all those other girls? What was wrong with me? Was I not pretty enough? Did he not find me attractive? He knew I didn’t have a boyfriend like Chloe.

  Whatever, I decided. I didn’t want Adrien to want me anyway. Right? Of course not. I was too busy for boys. That didn’t stop my mind from obsessing over it though all the way home on the bus, and all the way up the three flights of stairs as I made my way to my apartment.

  An old, dingy mirror hung in the hallway. It had probably been there since the eighties when the building was last decorated. I stopped in front of it, looking at my reflection with interest, wondering what guys saw when they looked at me.

  I mean, I didn’t think I was gorgeous or anything, but I wasn’t hideous. I pulled at a curled strand of hair, twisting it in the dim lights above me, the shade of brown darker indoors. Was I not sexy maybe? Those other girls wore sexy like it was a perfume. They just sprayed it on themselves in the morning and walked out of their rooms ready to entice any male in a fifty yard radius. They had the giggle, hair flip, and eye bat thing down to an art.

  Maybe that’s what I was missing. Maybe I just didn’t give off the sexy, “hey boys” vibe, they all did. I wouldn’t know how to even if I’d wanted. Being overly flirtatious wasn’t really my thing. Especially not now when I had so much else on my mind.

  “What on earth has put that look on your face?”

  I froze at the sound of his voice. Jesus. What was it about this man that had my body instantly pulsating? Adrien was superhot, and I didn’t have this reaction to him, even though I sat beside him five days out of the week. Grey Anderson says one sentence to me, and suddenly it’s as though I’ve stuck my finger in a socket, and electric shocks are shooting through my body.

  Slowly, I turned my head to see him leaning against the opposite wall just a little ways down the hallway, watching me. Our eyes locked and held, just like they did at the bar. I could feel my cheeks heating as his stoic gaze ate me up. He pushed off the wall, walking toward me.

  “Well?” he said, stopping in front of me.

  “Well?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. What had he asked again?

  His lips twitched. “Why are you standing out here looking at yourself as if you don’t know the person in the mirror?”

  “Oh,” I said, my cheeks flaming now. “Uh…” I looked back at the mirror and then him again, trying to figure out an explanation that didn’t sound lame and pathetically sad. “I, uh, thought I felt a pimple coming, so I was just stopping to check.”

  Holy. Shit. That did not just come out of my mouth.

  I should have just gone with the truth. Wondering about your own personal attraction was a lot less embarrassing than talking about skin problems to a guy who looked like sex incarnate.

  Actually, this could explain exactly why guys didn’t flirt with me like they did other girls. Apparently, I was a complete idiot.

  Awesome.

  Chapter 10

  Grey

  I’d been running late to get to my parent’s place. My last appointment at the shop had gone longer than I’d expected, so I knew I was going to have to rush my dinner if I was going to make it
before Mom and Dad went to bed for the night. A quick stop at the local small grocery store had eaten up more time than I wanted to as well.

  So when’d I’d taken the stairs two at a time, my only thoughts were on throwing some dinner together and getting out again as quickly as possible.

  But then I saw her.

  My feet had frozen on the dense carpet, thankfully muffling the sound of my approach. Not that she looked as though she’d notice me anyway. For some reason, I couldn’t look away as I leaned against the wall to watch her with interest.

  Honor stood in the hallway, staring at her reflection as if she didn’t recognize the girl staring back at her. A small line formed between her furrowed brows, those plump lips of hers turned down slightly at the corners. I watched as she absorbed every part of her face, that crease ever remaining as she did.

  I had no idea what was going through her mind, but suddenly my protective instinct had reared from where it had lain sleeping, and all I wanted to do was erase that look of confusion from her face. Whatever she was thinking, whatever she was seeing when she looked at herself, I knew it wasn’t what it should be.

  No one as smart and beautiful as Honor Jacobs should stare at themselves with that level of insecurity.

  I couldn’t take it anymore when I finally spoke so she’d know I was there. As I stood in front of her, closer now, I watched as her mouth opened and closed as she tried to explain what she was doing there.

  It was obvious she didn’t want to tell me the truth. I understood wanting to keep things private, so I decided to let her off the hook.

  Kind of.

  I wasn’t going to push, but I also wasn’t going to let her retreat into her apartment to continue whatever inner conflict she was having. Before I could think better of it, I spoke.

  “What are you doing now?” I asked.

  She seemed surprised, her mouth snapping shut, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I have to teach a class in a couple of hours.”

  “Then you’ll need to eat something first,” I said, walking around her. Unlocking my door, I looked back to see her still standing in the same spot, watching me. I jerked my head. “Come on, I was going to make dinner before I need to go out myself.”