Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
KEVIN
The longer the seconds ticked by, the more I lost hope.
I should have known.
Lance asking me to be his Valentine, his date, was all too good to be true. I probably really had imagined the entire scenario in a crazy drunken hallucination.
Ten minutes in, I justified it as him running late. Maybe something came up at the frat house that delayed him. I wished I had his number so I could text and ask, but we’d never been close enough to exchange them. I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Bernie since he’d definitely question why, and there was no way I was telling him I’d probably been stood up…
Twenty minutes in and I told myself I’d only wait ten more minutes. Thirty minutes in I was starting to lose hope, but I still didn’t want to admit that his serenading me with a song saying that we were love was somehow a giant misunderstanding.
It was at the forty-minute mark that I’d finally convinced myself Lance wasn’t coming. My headache was back and piercing the back of my head like it was trying to fill my brain with holes.
More people wandered around the fountain, looking for a place to sit. I’d taken this seat for long enough already and should probably let someone else have it so they could enjoy the pretty view, since I sure as hell wasn’t going to.
Just as I’d completely given up hope that maybe something really had happened to cause Lance to be almost an hour late, I heard my name being shouted.
In my peripheral vision, I saw at least three other men look in the direction of the sound—Kevin was a common name, after all. I looked over, too, just in case the person was calling for me.
I didn’t know who I was looking for since the student center was currently packed full of bodies, but I saw him instantly.
Lance was waving his hand over his head as he pushed his way past a group of people standing in the middle of the walkway.
He was glowing—either from the sweat that slid down his brow or what—but, in my eyes, he stood out from everyone else.
It was like a bright halo surrounded him as he walked toward me. I jumped to my feet to meet him.
Lance is here ! He didn’t stand me up !
My face was stretched with a smile so wide I could barely feel my headache anymore.
“You’re here!” I said when we finally reached each other.
Lance grabbed my hand. He gripped it tightly, almost like he was worried I’d run away if he didn’t hold on to me or something.
What a silly man. There was no way I’d run from him. Not when I’d been waiting so long for this moment.
He took another second to catch his breath. He must have run here for him to be out of breath. That must mean something really had kept him from arriving sooner, and he hadn’t meant to be late on purpose!
“I’m sorry,” he said through huffs of air.
I wanted to give him a drink or something, but all I had was the box of chocolates I’d gotten him and started nibbling on after thirty minutes of waiting.
It wasn’t my fault I was a stress snacker.
I couldn’t give those to him now, so I led him to one of the water fountains in the side area of the student center. There were fewer people hanging out in this spot and, the drone of noise quieted down a lot.
He drank from the fountain. His Adam’s apple bobbed with force with each sexy swallow. I was still staring when he wiped the water from his lips and turned to me.
I smiled. It wasn’t hard now that he was here in front of me and I had proof that this morning actually happened.
Did that mean this marked our first day of dating? I’d have to note it in my calendar when I got home tonight.
I’d also get him a new box of chocolates since I obviously couldn’t give him my half-eaten ones. Hell, I might even try making him chocolates from scratch in the dorm’s communal kitchen. It would be the perfect way to celebrate the start of our relationship, and Valentine’s Day that’s coming up this Friday…
My mind was running wild with all these beautiful images of Lance and me going on romantic dates and then heading back to my dorm room to snuggle, where one thing would lead to another…
Eyes shining, I took a step closer to him and grabbed his hand again. His hand felt good and warmed mine up. I liked holding it. And best of all, his fingers had tightened around mine again, too.
“Where are we going on our date?” I asked. I didn’t really care where we went; I was just excited to be with him. Alone.
A guilty expression flashed through Lance’s face, and a bad feeling shot straight through me and had my stomach rolling.
“Listen, there’s been a huge misunderstanding,” Lance said, looking very apologetic.
“Oh.”
My fingers felt cold again as I tried to drop his hand, but he didn’t let me.
There was a hint of desperation in his voice as he said, “We’re doing singing telegrams for a charity drive—our frat is, I mean.”
I nodded.
I already knew about this since Bernie had complained no less than a billion times over the last week. He’d sent me pics of some of the costumes they had to wear—a giant accurate heart, a cupid with a bow and arrow and everything, a potato for whatever reason, and so many more that I couldn’t recall right now.
Of course, there was the sweetheart candy shaped one that Lance wore this morning. I should have known there was some sort of mix-up because why would Lance sing his love to me?
I blamed my hangover for not realizing it sooner. That and my wish that Lance really was professing his feelings for me and asking me out.
I knew it had to be too good to be true.
“Well, a client asked for a singing telegram for his boyfriend this morning. His name is Kevin, and he lives in room 9 in Magnolia Park,” Lance continued.
As soon as he said it I knew what had happened. Lance must have seen the realization in my eyes, too.
“Yeah. I thought you were the client, but I apparently got the wrong person.”
I nodded. “The top screw on my door number fell off earlier this week, so the number has been upside down all week. They still haven’t fixed it yet. And I know Kevin in dorm 9. What a coincidence, right?” I finished with an awkward laugh.
“Yeah, what a coincidence…”
We stared at each other for a second. Embarrassment and shame from thinking that Lance could have liked me welled up. And I’d acted so obvious that if he hadn’t known about my feelings for him before, he was definitely aware of them now.
Kill. Me. Now.
I tried to pull my hand back again and make my escape. Maybe I could blend in with the crowd currently walking toward us and put this entire exchange past us.
I’d tell Bernie I couldn’t attend his events anymore because I suddenly became allergic to frat boys or something. It wouldn’t be too hard to avoid Lance for the remaining two and a half years of university, considering we were in different majors, and the campus was huge…
However, Lance’s grip on me was unrelenting. “Wait, sorry, I’m doing this all wrong.” He let out a huff of air and rubbed his face with his free hand before focusing back on me. “I’m glad the singing telegram wasn’t for you, and I was never more happy to find out you were single because…I like you.”
If this was any other situation, I’d be flying high from hearing those words. But I knew Lance was a good guy, and he was probably saying this to soften the blow to my ego.
“It’s okay,” I said, feeling more defeated now than I had when I was waiting for him.
“It is?” he asked. He looked relieved, and that only confirmed that he was doing all of this to be nice.
I nodded and kept my head down. Maybe if I didn’t look at his handsome face, I wouldn’t feel so much like a fool.
“You don’t have to pretend you like me to make me feel better,” I muttered.
“That’s not?—”
Before he could finish his words, I used my free hand to break our contact. My hands wrapped around my stomach, and his fell to his sides.
“It’s really okay. It was an honest mistake, and you don’t owe me anything. Look, I’m just gonna go, okay? I’ll see you around,” I said, mostly to his feet, then spun around and let the crowd walking by separate us.
Lance called from behind, but I didn’t stop and mixed in with another group who were walking toward the west side exit. I didn’t look back despite Lance’s pleas and slipped away before my rolling stomach had me hurling out what little I had for lunch right here in the middle of campus. I could only imagine how quickly the other students would pull out their phones to immortalize the event, and then I’d be forever known as that kid.
Not to be dramatic, but today could go to hell.
I was ready to crawl back into bed and sleep the rest of the day away.