He leaned even closer and I could feel his breath on my face. It was warm and sweet. “Maybe you could help me if I get behind.”
Trying to gain control of my emotions, I busied myself putting my textbook into my backpack. Without looking at him, I said, “I'd be happy to help you. Just let me know.”
He leaned against the wall. “I'll need your phone number or address or something so I can get in touch with you.”
“Okay.” I gave him my cell phone number, which he typed into his phone. Then, reaching into a side pocket of my backpack, I pulled out a pencil and small notepad. “Let me write down my address for you.”
He smirked. “Aren't you the organized one?”
I'd always been proud of my organizational skills—it was one of the few talents I knew I had. Feeling more self-assured that he’d noticed something I was good at, I handed him the slip of paper with my address.
He took it from me and looked it over. “I know a few people who live in those apartments. How do you like it there?”
“It's okay. My roommates are pretty nice, although I don't see them all that often. They're always going somewhere. How about you? Where do you live?”
“Me?” His eyebrows rose. “I can't tell you.”
I laughed. “Why not?”
He wasn't smiling. “I'm kind of between places. I'm staying with some friends this week. I don't know where I'll be next week.”
“Oh. That's not good.”
His smile was back. “It's no big deal. Keeps things interesting.” He stood. “It looks like we can go in now.”
I followed him into the classroom, wondering why he was between places, but when he sat by me I forgot all about his housing problems as I tried to think of something clever to say. Before I could come up with something, a female voice called Trevor’s name. I turned toward the voice and saw the back of Trevor’s head. He was looking at the owner of the voice—a gorgeous girl with auburn hair and flawless skin. Though I tried not to stare, I couldn’t help but notice how skilled she seemed at flirting. Trevor completely ignored me, transfixed with her.
My gaze shifted to my textbook as my shoulders slumped. There was no way I could compete with this girl or others like her. I resigned myself to admiring Trevor from afar.
The professor began the class and out of the corner of my eye I saw Trevor finally turn away from the girl and pay attention to the lecture. Though I tried to take notes on the lecture, I was totally distracted by the interplay between Trevor and the auburn-haired girl. Every time the professor turned her back to write on the white board, Trevor and the girl whispered to each other.
At the end of the lecture I looked at my notes and saw no more than ten words, and what was written made absolutely no sense. When the teacher dismissed us, I stalled in gathering my things, hoping Trevor and the girl would leave before me.
Sure enough, Trevor stood to leave when the girl did.
“See you later, Lily,” he said to me.
Surprised he remembered I was there, I lifted my gaze from my backpack and met his eyes. He had a friendly grin on his face, and when our eyes met, he winked at me.
I had no idea what that meant, but forced a smile onto my face as I tried to hide the jealousy that sliced through me. “See ya.”
I zipped my backpack and silently counted to ten before leaving the room, hoping Trevor and his friend would be long gone. Stepping into the hall, I glanced in both directions and didn’t see them anywhere.
I finished my classes and headed home, disappointed with myself that I was getting so distracted by a man I had no hope of dating. I vowed that I would push him out of my mind and focus on my studies. After all, I only had so much money to pay for school—I couldn’t afford to waste it. My thoughts went to my sweet father. When he’d died suddenly of a heart attack it had been difficult for me. Since my mother had been killed by a drunk driver when I'd been just eight years old, my father and I had become very close. And though taking care of my father had consumed my life for two years, the suddenness of his death had only made me feel worse, and I was still struggling to accept his passing.
As I reflected on one of the most life-shaping experiences of my life, I realized that, in a very tragic way, that experience was preparing me for the rest of my life.
You never know what's around the corner.
Trepidation washed over me at the thought.
Chapter Five
The next afternoon when I answered the knocking at my door, I was shocked to find Trevor standing there.
“I was hoping you could help me with the questions we have to do for our class,” he said with a smile.
I almost told him to ask the auburn-haired girl for help, but knew that would be counter-productive. Instead I said, “Sure.” Then opened the door wider. “Come on in.” As he lifted his backpack from the ground, his biceps flexed. Trying to distract myself from the way I was drawn to him, I asked, “Which ones have you done so far?”
He laughed. “None yet. I thought we could do them together.”
“Have you even looked at the questions?” I asked as I sat on the couch. “Or were you just assuming I'd do them for you?” I smiled when I said it, but I was only half-joking. I had to admit I was a little irritated that he’d ignored me during class, but was coming to me for help now.
“What kind of a guy do you think I am?” He asked with a smile. “I was hoping we could study and get to know each other at the same time.”
His words soothed my bruised ego. Flattered by his unexpected attention, I didn't know how to respond. I didn't have much practice with flirting and I didn't think I was very good at it—unlike the auburn-haired girl from class. I stood abruptly. “I'll be right back.” I went into my bedroom and closed the door.
Standing in front of my mirror, I took a deep breath, then ran a comb through my hair.
He might actually be interested in you, Lily. Just relax and be yourself.
After glancing at myself one last time, I went into the living room.
“Everything all right?” he asked. His book was open on the coffee table, the questions were next to it, and a blank sheet of paper lay beside that.
“Yes, and I see you're all ready to work.”
He smirked. “Yes, Miss Jamison. Your student is ready.”
“Very funny,” I said, though I liked the way he teased me. “I assume you've actually read the chapter?”
“Not exactly. I prefer to just find the answers as I need them.” He read the first question before flipping through the chapter and spotting the answer. “See? Here we go.”
“Okay, whatever.” I watched him write down the answer. “What are you majoring in, anyway?”
He looked up from the sheet of paper. “Business management. If things go the way I hope, I’ll graduate two years from next spring.”
“Really? That's not too bad. So how old are you anyway?”
“Twenty-three. I’ve been putting myself through school, so it’s taking a while to finish.”
“Well, I think it’s great that you’re doing that.”
He smiled at me, then bent back over his paper as I watched him work. A moment later he looked at me. “Aren't you going to do your homework?”
I smiled, and in a non-boasting voice said, “I've already done it.”
His vivid blue eyes bore into mine. “I like that in a woman.”
The intensity of his gaze unnerved me. “What's that?”
“You get things done.” He smiled with obvious approval. “You don't mess around.”
My confidence soared at his words. “That's why I'm here. To get my degree.”
He nodded. “Good for you. I'll bet you're going to get it done, too.”
An hour later he closed his book, finished with the assignment. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”
I considered the offer. I'd really enjoyed spending the afternoon with him—in fact, I didn't want him to leave—but I still had other homework to do and didn'
t want to get sidetracked by his attention. Besides, I didn’t want him to think I was so anxious to be with him that I would drop everything just because he threw out a last minute invitation. “Thanks for the offer, but I still have a lot of work to do before tomorrow.”
He smiled, hiding any disappointment he might have felt. “Okay. I'll see you in class.”
I closed the door behind him, wondering if he’d been let down by my refusal or if the invitation had only been a way to thank me for my time. The fact that he’d ignored me in class and just come to see me so I could help him made me think it was the latter. That thought brought a prick of regret because I found myself more and more attracted to the blond man with the penetrating blue eyes.
He seemed to have a lot of secrets hidden behind those eyes and I was curious to discover what they were.
The next day when I got to Sociology class I didn’t see Trevor, though the auburn-haired girl was present. About five minutes after class started I heard a student come in. I turned, and when I saw Trevor sliding into a seat in the back of the room, my heart leapt. When he looked directly at me and smiled, my heart went into a gallop. I smiled back, then turned and stared at my notes, trying without success to wipe the smile from my face.
Once class was over, I took my time gathering my things, waiting to see if Trevor would approach me. As I zipped my backpack, he still hadn’t come over to where I sat. Disappointment cascaded over me, and I stood and turned to leave. He still sat at his desk, but the auburn-haired girl had joined him. She was sitting in the desk in front of his, turned to face him.
I would have to walk right past them to leave the room.
Gathering my courage, I walked toward the door, ignoring him as I neared his desk. Though I felt his gaze on me, I kept my eyes on the exit. A moment later, as I passed his desk, I heard him say, “I’ve gotta go, Amanda.” I walked out the door and into the hall. A moment later I heard him call out, “Lily, wait up.”
Anticipation surged through me as I stopped and turned toward him, letting him catch up. Trying to act like it was nothing special that he’d sought me out, inside my heart throbbed. “Hey, Trevor. Glad to see you made it to class.”
He smiled as he reached me, and we began walking down the hall. “Yeah, I got stuck at work. But at least I made it.”
I wanted to ask him about Amanda, the auburn-haired girl, and what their relationship was, but didn’t have the courage.
“So Lily, I was wondering if you were doing anything later.”
His question was completely unexpected and it took me a moment to respond. “Uh, just studying.”
“Do you think you can pull yourself away long enough to grab some dinner with me?”
I swallowed. “Sure, I guess so.”
He looked offended. “You don’t have to.”
Feeling stupid and inexperienced, I said, “No, no. I want to.”
“Okay then.” He grinned. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
I smiled back, relieved he wasn’t mad. “Okay.”
“See you then.” He turned and went the other direction.
For a moment I stood in place, watching him go, amazed he’d asked me on an actual date.
Maybe his invitation yesterday afternoon had been sincere.
Chapter Six
That evening he took me to a local Mexican restaurant. We chatted about inconsequential things for a while, then he asked me about my family.
“It’s just me now,” I said, trying to keep the sadness at my father’s passing at bay.
“Really? What happened to your parents?”
I explained how my mother had died when I was young and how my father had gotten sick and I'd cared for him until he’d passed away recently.
“Wow. And you don’t have any siblings or aunts and uncles or anything?”
When he put it that way, loneliness swept over me, and I had to swallow hard to push the lump down my throat. “No.”
“I really admire you, Lily. Being completely on your own and getting your education.” He paused. “That must be tough. I’m surprised you’re not working though. I mean, school’s not cheap.”
Feeling proud at his acknowledgment of my independence, I opened up a bit more. “I was fortunate that my father had a life insurance policy so I’m able to use that to pay for everything.”
“Well, that’s great. I’m sure that helps a lot.”
“It does. I couldn’t get by without it.”
He nodded. “I hope the food comes soon. I’m starved.”
“Me too.”
While we waited for our food to arrive, Trevor had the waiter bring him some wine. After it was poured and the waiter left, Trevor looked at me and said, “I know you’re not twenty-one yet, but do you want some of my wine?”
“No thanks.”
“Not a wine drinker, huh?”
“You know how I told you my mom died when I was young?”
He nodded.
“Well, she was killed by a drunk driver. Because of that, my dad completely stopped drinking and I guess I just adopted his attitude toward alcohol.”
He looked kind of shocked. “So you don’t drink at all?”
“Yeah.”
“How do you feel about other people drinking?”
I hesitated. “I haven’t thought about it much before, but I suppose it doesn’t bother me if other people drink in moderation. I do have a problem with people drinking to excess. And I especially get upset if someone drinks and drives.”
Once our food arrived, we talked some more and I noticed he barely touched his wine. He told me he worked at an auto-body shop, helping out from time to time, but that wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
When he took me home, we walked to my front door, but I didn’t invite him in.
“I had a good time, Lily. I hope we can do this again sometime.”
“Thank you. I had fun too.” I wasn’t sure what the protocol was at this point in the date, so I just stood there, waiting for him to take the lead. When he stepped closer to me, my breath caught. His blue eyes seemed to look right into my soul and I leaned toward him. His hand slid to the back of my neck, then he gently pulled me to him. When our lips met, feelings exploded inside me—warmth, longing, desire. I'd never experienced those feelings in my life, and after too little time he pulled away, his hand still on my neck, my gaze locked with his.
He smiled, then released me. “I’d guess I’d better go.”
I didn’t want him to go.
“I’ll see you later,” he said.
“Bye, Trevor.”
I watched him walk to his car, then I went into the apartment. I touched my mouth and felt his hand at the back of my neck, pulling me close. I peeked through the blinds and watched his older model blue Camaro pull away from the curb.
My attraction to him worried me because I feared he was just a player. Even so, I knew I was falling for him.
I didn’t see or hear from Trevor the next day and we didn’t have class together. I wondered if he was at work. I didn’t know exactly where he worked, just that he worked with cars.
When he didn’t contact me over the weekend, I doubted the vibe I'd gotten from him—that he liked me. Even though I tried to push him out of my mind, I found it hard to not think about him. When I was able to turn my thoughts away from him, I worked on my assignments and read my romance novels.
The next time we had class, I got there after Trevor did, and as I walked into the room, Amanda, the auburn-haired girl, slipped into the desk next to his. Even though I knew I had no claims on Trevor, possessiveness rushed through me, nearly choking me. Turning away from them, I found a seat in the back row. As I pulled out my notebook, I looked their way. Trevor turned in my direction and gave a subtle shrug of his shoulders, which I hoped meant he’d been saving the seat for me but Amanda had gotten there first.
Feeling marginally better, I listened to the lecture, although my eyes kept straying to Trevor and Amanda a
nd noticing every single time Trevor gave her the slightest bit of attention. As I looked at her radiant smile, I could almost feel myself shrinking into invisibility.
The professor droned on and my mind began to wander. I imagined Trevor and Amanda spending the weekend together, hand in hand, laughing. As it seemed more hopeless that Trevor would be my Prince Charming, my head pounded.
Once class was mercifully over, I quickly gathered my things and left before I had to face him.
Chapter Seven
Alyssa called that evening.
“How are you?” I asked as I sat on the couch.
“Good. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me on the quad for lunch tomorrow.”
I agreed, and after chatting for a few minutes, we hung up. We’d eaten lunch together several times and were becoming good friends.
With my roommates out it was quiet and I was glad I’d be able to concentrate as I worked on homework. To make sure I wouldn’t be interrupted, I set my phone to mute before placing it on the coffee table, then picked up my Econ textbook and began reading.
I was nearly finished reading the chapter when there was a knock on the apartment door.
“Hey, Lily,” Trevor said with a smile when I answered the door.
Before I had a chance to think, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
His smile vanished. “I thought you’d be happy to see me.”
Briefly closing my eyes and shaking my head, I sighed. “You confuse me.”
“What do you mean?”
I was hesitant to share my feelings.
Am I supposed to be coy and pretend like I haven’t noticed him flirting with Amanda, or is it okay for me to tell him how I really feel—that I'd sensed a connection when he kissed me and I thought he’d felt the same way? Then again, I’ve only been on one date with him. Why do I think he owes me an explanation?
“Nothing,” I said. “Never mind.”
His smile was back. “Okay then. Have you done your homework for class yet?”
Lily's Story: The Complete Saga Page 3
