Love, Lies, and Deception(18)
Wrapping my arm around Kristian’s waist, I leaned into him as we walked. “Kristian, I’m really sorry about Natalie. I wish I could’ve been there for you last night. What are you going to do about her? Did you two break up for good?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “I just don’t know. She won’t answer my calls and I refuse to be a stalker and fly up to New York to find her.”
“Yeah, don’t do that,” I advised truthfully. “Although, it could be considered a grand gesture to do that, but it could also definitely backfire. Maybe you should give her a couple of days and see if she comes around.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Well, how about this. Let’s get our friends together and go out tonight. We can blow off study group and make up for it tomorrow. Dancing and having a few drinks is what I need to get my mind off of her. What do ya say?”
My thoughts went straight to Alec and what I was supposed to be doing tonight instead of going to the bar. My insides were conflicted, but I knew my friend needed me more. Kristian had been by my side unconditionally and I needed to let him know I’d be there for him. Maybe I would ask Alec to join us.
“Sounds great. I’ll tell Emily when I see her later,” I insisted. “I’m only going to drink a couple of drinks and that’s it. My head’s still pounding from last night’s festivities.”
“Yeah, and about that. Next time, call me and I’ll come stay with you. You don’t need to be drunk and let guys you hardly know stay in your place,” he scolded. “There’s no telling what could’ve happened.”
If only he knew.
During lunch, Kristian had a meeting with his forensics professor about a referral letter, so I ended up eating my turkey sandwich alone. I waved at a few of my study group partners who were lounging in the grass, but I really wanted to be by myself so I could get a little extra research time in since I wasn’t going to be studying later that night. I can’t wait until I don’t have to study anymore.
As soon as I opened my book, a picture message came through on my phone. I didn’t recognize the number, so I was curious to see what it was. One time I had this lady sending me pictures of her posing and showing me things I really didn’t want to see. I kindly texted her back and said she had the wrong number. It was very interesting.
My phone took forever to load, but when it did I was staring at a picture of me, sitting under the tree eating my turkey sandwich. It was just taken.
“What the …” I said, staring down at my phone, but Alec’s laugh quickly caught my attention.
“That look on your face was priceless.”
Smiling, I set down my phone and glanced up at him. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans with specks of mud all over his boots and pants. Wow, even dirty he looks amazing.
“You know, I would say you taking my picture like that was kind of creepy, but then I’m sure you knew that. You’re not stalking me, are you?” I asked teasingly. He could stalk me all he wants, I almost said, but of course I wasn’t going to.
He laughed. “No, I’m not stalking you. I had to go to the hardware store for my aunt and I thought I’d walk through campus in the hopes of finding you here.” He paused and bit his lip, furrowing his brow. “Well, now that I think about it, that does kind of make me sound stalkerish.”
Teasing, I nodded and said, “Just a little bit. How did you get my number anyway? I don’t remember ever giving it to you.”
He grinned wickedly. “You didn’t, but I have my ways.”
“Okay, yeah, you’ve been officially named a stalker. Emily might ban you from coming over if she finds out.”
Alec knelt down in the grass and sat down beside me, chuckling. “Well, I guess you’ll just have to come to my place every night then. I can’t seem to get you out of my head.”
I agreed wholeheartedly, and mumbled, “Trust me, I know the feeling.”
Alec looked down at his watch and sighed. “Okay, I have to go. I’ll see you later though.” He leaned over and kissed me quickly on the lips before standing up. “Study hard, babe.”
He smiled at me one last time before turning around and walking away. I couldn’t believe he went out of his way to see me. My stomach fluttered and my heart skipped around like crazy, but then I remembered that I couldn’t go to his place that night; I had to go to the bar and I hadn’t told him yet. Dammit, this sucks, I groaned. I’ll just have to come up with another plan.
“You know what today is don’t you, Mare?” Kristian asked, whispering behind my ear. Yes, I do, I wanted to hiss back, but couldn’t. Our professor of Molecular Biology, Ms. Tatum, quirked an eyebrow at our exchange and smirked. She knew what we were doing.
She was the nicest professor I’d had over the past five years, and also the oldest; she was probably in her early seventies. Her vibrancy and lust for teaching made her seem younger, but she knew her stuff and I’d enjoyed her class immensely. She was a short and stout woman with straight, gray hair down to her shoulders. Today she was wearing an ASU T-shirt with a pair of khaki pants.
In a way, she sort of reminded me of my grandmother, and I made a mental note to visit her when I decided to go home. We had one minute left before our period ended, and I was bouncing in my seat, ready to go.