Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(17)
We leave a minute later with fresh drinks.
Valley wins the game, but I only know because the bar is loud with cheers and applause at the final buzzer.
“I bet your boyfriend is happy,” Violet says. Her teasing gets infinitely worse when she’s drunk.
“He is not my boyfriend.”
“Not yet,” Dahlia bumps my elbow.
“Tell me again what he said when you went to his dorm?” Jane asks.
“I still can’t believe you just showed up there,” Dahlia says.
“I probably would have chickened out, but I ran into Jordan on his way up.”
“Oh, right,” Jane says. “I forgot they were roommates. They’re so different.”
They fire questions at me after I retell the story.
“What was their dorm like?”
“When are you going to see him again?”
“Are you like friends with him now?”
“Does this mean we’ll be invited to the hockey parties?”
“We’re not friends,” I say. “Aside from the favor, I’ve only talked to them during class. And Jordan and I exchanged a few emails.”
Their eyes pique with interest, and I wave them off. “It was silly.”
When it’s clear they aren’t going to stop staring at me until I tell them about the emails, I do. And then they spend the next thirty minutes talking about Jordan and the many rumors they’ve heard about girls he’s hooked up with. The list is long, but I already knew that.
“You didn’t tell me about Jordan,” Violet says later when the two of us make a trip to the ladies’ room.
“It was nothing.”
“It doesn’t sound like nothing.” Her gaze narrows. “Do you have a thing for him now?”
“Jordan?” My screech gets the attention of two girls entering the restroom. I lower my voice as butterflies swarm in my stomach. “No, of course not. He’s… no.”
But he is intriguing and not exactly who I pegged him to be. He’s playful and witty and even polite. He could have sent me away or made me feel like a real idiot for sitting around waiting for Liam, and instead, he sat there and talked with me until Liam got back. I always imagined him as Liam’s opposite, but I’m not sure that’s entirely true.
After another drink, the four of us head back to our house to watch movies and play dress up. It’s Violet and Jane’s favorite thing to do after a night out. Vi brings out her latest creations, and she and Dahlia play designer, dressing Jane and me from head to toe. It’s kind of awesome.
“Wine or stick with vodka?” Violet asks, pulling both from the fridge.
“Wine,” Jane says at the same time Dahlia says, “Vodka.”
With a laugh, Violet puts them on the counter. “Help yourself.”
Jane and Dahlia fawn over Violet’s newest designs, and I take my vodka and Sprite to the living room and scroll through my phone. I pull up the email exchange from Jordan and re-read it.
I hit reply and then tap my thumb on the edge of my phone, unsure what to say. I lock my phone and set it on the couch beside me. Liam gave me his number to contact him about the flowers, but I can’t make myself text him randomly even to say congrats.
My pulse thrums dangerously. I take a large gulp of my drink and grab my phone.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Congrats!
I heard Valley won tonight. Congratulations.
8
JORDAN
We’re staying in Utah tonight. The bus leaves early in the morning, and we have another game tomorrow in northern Arizona before we head back to Valley late Saturday night.
Liam snores lightly from his bed on the opposite side of the room. I pull on my headphones and turn on music, but sleep isn’t in the cards yet. I’m keyed up from the game. We finally pulled out a win. It wasn’t pretty, but we did it.
Scrolling through my phone, I respond to texts from my mom congratulating me on the game, then check email.
“No way,” I mutter under my breath. I click on the new message from Daisy. Something like excitement bubbles under the surface as I read her few words. I check the timestamp. Only ten minutes ago.
Fuck it. I’m bored and a long way from sleeping.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Congrats!
Thanks. I guess all we needed was a little bit of Johnson’s Law. What are you up to tonight?
I send it and wait.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Johnson’s Law?
I’m hanging out with some friends. I think you meant Pascal’s Law. How’d that work out?
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Yes, JOHNSON’S Law
Pascal’s Law was a stretch, but I took your advice and chatted with the guys about us all stepping up and helping lead. It might have been a fluke, but it worked tonight.
What are you and your friends getting up to?
I try to picture her out at a party in her cute little dresses, hiding in the corner.