Rumor Has It (Rumor Has It #1)(34)

His brown hair sways in the light breeze. He’s wearing his letterman’s jacket, his name on the side of it, and his blue shirt underneath is just small enough that I can see his chest stretching the fabric. Handing the soda to me, his smile seems genuine, which make me stare at the dimple in his left cheek a little too long.

I shift my eyes back to the soda. “I do, actually. How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess.” He shrugs and rubs the back of his neck.

I've seen him do that a few times now, mostly when he seems to get nervous, which confuses me. Why would he be worried about a soda?

“I mean, it was that or Coke. So, I had a fifty-fifty shot.”

“Thanks.” I pull out my history packet. “So, what’d you cover?”

He drops next to me, and I realize how close he's sitting. I never get flustered with Carter, but as I notice how close his knee is to mine, my breath catches. Clearing it, I take a sip, trying to re-focus on the homework we are going over and not that fact that my bare knee is gazing his jeans. I mean, that’s silly, right?

"I covered the First Battle of the Bull Run."

“Really?” I ask, unimpressed.

“What?”

“Carter, that’s the first major battle. You couldn’t have picked something a little more intriguing.”

“Sorry.” He smiles, nudging me with his shoulder. I swallow a gulp of soda again to calm my anxiety.

Is it just because he’s never actually flirted with me that I think he’s doing it now? No, he can’t be flirting.

“I had less time to work on it, so I wanted something I could cover well.”

I read over his paper, and he asks to read over mine. I only have his word to go on about how smart he is, but as I read his report, it's excellent. Yes, the first battle of the Civil War is an easy topic to cover, since there's so much information on it, but his words are articulate. And even his handwriting is good, which I don't know why I notice, but I do. By the time we finish covering everything, the bell rings.

“Looks like we spent the whole lunch out here,” Carter says. He gets up and extends his hand to me.

I look at it cautiously, almost like I’m a little girl and think I’m going to get cooties. Then I think about that stupid rumor and how mad he apparently got. I don’t want him to think I believe the rumors, so I calm myself down and grab his hand as he helps me up.

“Sorry, I probably kept you from your friends.”

“It’s okay.” I pull my bag over my shoulder. “I see them every day.”

"Cool." He looks down the hall, before smiling at me. "Well, we're going to the same class. Mind if I walk with you?"

“Sure.”

As we walk to history, I'm acutely aware that I'm walking next to Carter Dixon. Not because I'm super nervous or have a few butterflies in my stomach. Where'd those things come from anyway? Not because he's captain of the basketball team or is one of the most widely known players in school. No, what makes me extremely aware of my situation are all the eyes quickly flashing our direction.

Carter must notice my apprehension because he nudges my shoulder. Again, a shot of adrenaline shoots through me. “You good?”

“Yeah.” I nervously look around to see more eyes staring at us. “God, the rumors are gonna fly.” I look over at him and see him look a little anxious. Then I remember the last rumor that was spread about him. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything.”

“You heard about that one, huh?”

I don’t have to see myself to know my cheeks are flush. “Yeah, but I also heard that it wasn’t true.”

“It’s not.” He nervously rubs the back of his neck again. “You know, a lot of stuff out there isn’t true.”

I scoff. "Yeah, but I'm sure a lot is." Carter gives me a hurt look. "Sorry. I guess I shouldn't be one to talk. You might be in the deep end of the rumor pool, but I've never even jumped in. I wouldn't know what it's like."

His hurt look is replaced with a smile. “That’s a good thing. And I can’t say I did anything to stop the rumors.”

I nod, the silence drifting between us as we approach the door to our class. Opening the door, he waits for me to go in first. I walk to my seat and find myself looking over my shoulder, feeling like a total hypocrite, as I check out his butt before he takes his seat.

When the bell rings to end class, a light sigh of relief slips out, as I make my way to art. A welcomed distraction from Mystery Texter, but also from these new feelings for Carter? Feelings? No, they aren’t feelings. They couldn’t be. We just met up for lunch to review homework. That dimple in his left cheek is adorable though. No, Emma.

As class starts, I set up my canvas and stare at Heartbreak. Grabbing some greens, blues, and a magenta, I mix them around and start to add a lonely flower growing out of a brick below the dark cloud I painted. Getting lost in the painting, class is over before I know it, and Ms. Hales walks over to me just as the bell rings.

“Really excellent.” She admires the painting and a sense of pride beams through me. “I meant to tell you earlier, but you’re friends with Micah, right?” I nod. “I was hoping you two would head to the gym and get a layout for how we might set up the art gallery. Sorry, I know it’s short notice.”