Avoiding Commitment (Avoiding #1)(8)

"I meant about Locke."

"He's dead right?" Olivia asked.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "No, I mean...what's his idea about knowledge?" she asked trying hard not to glance up at him while Olivia blatantly ogled the eye candy.

"Honestly, I don't care. I hate this stuff. I might just drop the class altogether. I don't get it," Olivia said shrugging her shoulders at her own indecipherable notes. "Him, I can fully understand. You should give it a shot." Her smile was genuine and her brown eyes glittered with excitement.

Lexi brushed her off, feeling the weight of her gaze uncomfortably. "No, what I need to shoot for is an A on this midterm."

Olivia rolled her eyes dramatically. "Whatever, you know you're going to get an A on this midterm no matter what. Come on; don't let a hot guy just fly before your eyes without doing anything about it. Don't you want to at least meet him? Know his name?"

It was Lexi's turn to shrug. "I guess a name would be nice."

"Have you ever even had a boyfriend?" Olivia asked giggling a little at the possibility that anyone had never had a boyfriend by the time they reached college.

"Of course I've had a boyfriend," Lexi retorted defensively. "I'm just not looking for a relationship."

"I didn't say you wanted or even needed a relationship. Doesn't mean you can't at least hang out with him," she uttered persuasively. "Lexi, you are crazy hot, and so is this guy. I don't see any reason why wouldn't go out with you. No need mooning over him all the time when he's available for the taking." Lexi smiled at Olivia. She was always good for a self-esteem booster. However, Lexi restrained herself from continuing the subject.

After a pause, Olivia changed topics, "So anyway, are you coming to Nick and Neal's throw-down tonight at The Theatre?"

"Yeah, I should be there," Lexi confirmed.

"Good, I've been helping them plan this for a month. I need as many people there as possible." Lexi just nodded since she had heard this same rant nearly every day since Olivia had decided to become their publicist. "I'm going to get myself a double caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream," she added a wink just for good measure, "to go from sexy Coffee Guy, and then I'm going to head back to the dorm to do a little studying before I get ready for tonight."

"Alright. When I'm finished here, I'll meet you and we can walk downtown together," Lexi agreed scribbling a quick note into her study guide. She watched Olivia slink over to the counter to get her coffee. Lexi quickly averted her eyes to avoid watching her friend shamelessly flirt with the guy she had just confirmed she might be interested in. But, she didn't think it really mattered that much. This guy was a no one to her, just a pretty face in a sea of pretty faces, she tried to convince herself.

Peeping her head up to get a quick look at him, she caught him staring at her. Her cheeks burned hot with embarrassment, and she dove her head back into her books to avoid his gaze. This was surreal. Of all the times she had gazed his direction, she was pretty sure that he had never actually looked directly at her. After a moment, she allowed herself to glance up once more and found him doing the same. This time she let their eyes meet for a few short seconds before tossing her head back into her books. She told herself that she wouldn't look up the rest of the afternoon if it saved her from embarrassment. She pulled her loose bouncing curls into a ponytail and dug into her books; not looking up as she promised herself, until she saw that he was leaving. By that time, her studying was complete. Pulling open her red Coach satchel, she tossed the contents of the table into the bag, and made her way home to get ready.

A few hours later, Lexi, Olivia, and fifteen others they had managed to drag out of dorms were casually standing in the middle of the dance floor waiting for Nick and Neal to hit center stage. The Theatre was a large open space with couches positioned into booths around the perimeter and for smaller shows, on the dance floor. This was one of those shows. An array of cheap metal folding chairs was set up in a haphazard semicircle in front of the stage. Dim lights were set up around the mostly empty theatre. Beyond the students that Lexi had arrived with, perhaps thirty others were clustered in a corner. The regulars looked bored and distracted even before her friends got on stage, and she didn't care to imagine what drugs they were on that made their eyes looked so out of focus. Lexi peeled her gaze away, refocusing her attention.

As the time passed, the room began to fill. Considering this was their first performance, they had drawn a relatively large crowd. A little over a hundred people poured into The Theatre just as Nick began spinning their opening track. Neal's original lyrics echoed throughout the room. A unanimous bounce began as the throng of people fell into rhythm with the flow of the music. Lexi sang along with some of the words she remembered.

"You're not bad. Maybe you should show them how it's done," someone said to her.

Lexi laughed out loud letting her curls bounce lightly. She turned to address whoever had said that and was face to face with him. She froze mid-laugh.

"You think so?" she asked trying to recover from her shock.

"Honestly, no," he said getting his turn to laugh.

"Well thanks," she said playing hurt. "I'm very offended right now." Lexi placed her hand over her wounded heart. "So...do I know you or do you always just insult people when you first meet them?"