Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(67)

Violet’s smile falls instantly.

“I thought Gavin’s twenty-first party was here later tonight,” Jane says as she glances at the quiet house.

“It is, but upstairs they have a big, open space that we can use. It’s totally separate, and Gavin promised he’d keep people out.”

“Right, like he keeps people from parking in our driveway.” Vi cocks a brow.

Dahlia and Jane don’t look convinced either.

“It looks amazing,” I press. “The guys helped me move everything here. We have even more space than we did in the banquet room.” I sway my hips. “Bigger dance floor.”

My pep can only take so much silence.

“I don’t think so.” Violet turns like she’s going home.

I look to Dahlia and Jane for help.

“I worked really hard on this for you,” I say to her back. “I promise it looks just like you imagined. At least come inside and see it.”

Violet pauses, her shoulders stiffen, and she cuts me with a glare over her shoulder. “No, you think you did this for me, but you did it for you.”

“What?” My cheeks heat even in the cool night breeze.

“Tonight was supposed to be about us.”

“It is!”

“No. Jordan blew you off for his friends, and you saw this as a perfect opportunity to force your world into his. He isn’t different. He’s exactly the same as the rest of them. He won’t bend for you, so you will until you break.” She spits the words, and each one slices through me.

Violet’s hate for anyone associated with the basketball team is well established, but I don’t understand why she clings to it. Or why she wants to drag Jordan into it. He’s done nothing to deserve it.

“You're mad. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I promise you won’t have to see Gavin. I will stand guard at the door myself. Please just come inside and see it.”

“You think I could go in there and enjoy myself knowing he’s downstairs with all his awesome friends? In his house? Seriously, did you for one second think about how I would feel taking charity from him?”

My throat tightens.

“He destroyed me,” she yells, and for an instant, I can read every emotion on her face—pain, betrayal, humiliation. She steels her expression and repeats it. “He destroyed me. Just like Jordan is going to do to you.”

Any remorse I was feeling is wiped away with anger. “You’re wrong about him.”

“I guess we’ll see,” she says, and it feels like a curse.

Someone clears their throat, and we all look over to find Gavin standing on the stairs. His eyes are wide, and his hands are shoved in his pockets.

“Perfect.” Vi throws her hands up in the air. She heads back to our house, pulling pins from her hair as she goes. The long, dark strands shine and bounce in the moonlight. Jane offers me a sad smile and then follows her.

“Go,” I say quietly to Dahlia. “Make sure she’s okay, and I’ll take care of the party.”

She nods and gives me the same sad smile as Jane.

I take an Uber to the banquet room. The bus driver is waiting. Inside, a small line of people has gathered, waiting for the doors to open. Moving to the front, I let everyone know about the location change and that the bus is waiting to take us.

As more people arrive looking happy and excited, it hits me just how many people are looking forward to tonight. It might have started as Violet’s need to create something that rivaled the big parties on campus, but she instilled a hope in our classmates and friends that had been waiting for a chance just like this to dress up and dance with their friends.

Vi did this. She created something just for us—the wallflowers, the non-Greek, the unpopular, the whatever you want to call us. And now she isn’t even going to see it.





29





JORDAN





I take the steps up to the second floor, two at a time. A daisy in one hand, I open the door to the court with the other.

She stands in the middle of the room with her back to me in her light-yellow dress, blonde hair falling in waves past her shoulders. My chest tightens, and my limbs feel heavy and somehow weak at the same time. I am so fucked.

I’ve heard guys talk about falling for a girl like being checked hard into the boards, but I always assumed they were exaggerating.

I roll the stem of the flower in between my thumb and middle finger.

Dahlia and Jane see me first. Daisy turns to face me, dress twirling with the movement. She steps away from her friends.

I go to her and hold out the daisy.

“Thank you.” Her voice is quiet and unsteady, transporting me back to those first days in physics where she couldn’t talk to Liam or me without blushing. She stares down at it. Her red lips curve up in the smallest of smiles.

“This is pretty killer.” My gaze scans the court that’s been transformed. The flower archway is at one end near the DJ booth. People stand all around dressed up in formal attire. Some dance, others chat with friends in small circles.

“Yeah,” she says, and her voice breaks. Her lashes are coated in a dark black that makes her eyes look twice as big, and they water with emotion that makes me want to murder someone.