Chapter 6 Lois #2
Adam wraps up the presentation, and if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I like him best of the four. He’s got the kind of broad, warm, sincere smile I could see myself being drawn to, if I weren’t already crazy in love with Kirk.
“Any more questions?”
I start quietly tidying my things away in my bag, getting ready to steal out the moment this is all over. I’ve done a good job staying undercover, and my pulse has gone back to normal.
“I have one!” Becca suddenly hollers.
Oh no! Sweet baby Jesus, no!
I dip down to bury my head in my bag, praying it’s enough to hide my face.
“Are you guys free in the evenings, too?”
Becca! Girl, seriously?
“Our availability is updated every half hour. You can message with any special requests.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Anything else?” He pauses. “In that case, let’s go get ready for our first weekend of partying!”
I can feel my neighbor fidgeting next to me, and I figure she’s done. She taps on my shoulder, totally ignoring how I’m full-on glaring at her.
“I didn’t get to sleep with a single one of them last year,” she whispers, her eyes glued to the stage.
“Oh my God, I’m so sad for you,” I drawl.
She pouts. “I almost got with Donovan. I plan on starting with him this year, too.”
My eyes wander over to the Campus Drivers, and I lock eyes with Lane.
Fuck.
He recognizes me instantly, and a nasty smirk spreads across his devilish face as he raises a hand, wiggling his fingers at me while elbowing Lewis.
“You know him?” Becca asks, noticing him noticing me.
“Nope.”
“Hey, Lois! How’s it going, honey?” Lewis calls out through the mike, breaking my cover in the worst possible way imaginable.
“You can take a ride in the back of my Road Runner whenever you like!” Donovan adds, pointing a finger at me that I suddenly want to snap off.
Never mind, this is the worst.
“What?” Becca turns to me. “You do know them!”
“It’s not what you think,” I manage.
My hands are all pins and needles. It’s as if the whole room just fell silent, eyes boring into me no matter which way I turn. I zip up my bag and hug it to my chest, plastering a fake smile on my face, my mouth like cotton wool.
Finally, Adam switches off the projector. “Have a great weekend!”
Praise the Lord.
I jump up as if my seat were on fire, shoving my way along my row, desperate to get out of this hellhole before things get even more intense. Shit, I knew those guys would find a way of messing with me.
I pick my way up the stairs, slowing as I get caught in a clump of students, girls shooting me side-eyes, guys throwing creepy glances. Great!
I slink my way over to the first vending machine I find, fishing in my pocket for coins. My hands are shaking so hard I miss the slot, and the quarter clatters to the ground.
“Seriously?” I throw my arms up and look at the ceiling. “What did I do to deserve this?”
I turn around, scanning the ground for my coin, when I notice Lane a foot away, turning it slowly between his fingers. If there’s a god up there, I’m definitely on his shit list.
“Is God talking back?”
“Give me that!” I lunge at him.
Lane flicks the coin up with his thumb, smug as hell, and I’m left snatching at thin air.
“I need a snack,” I hiss.
He sidesteps to the right. “How did we do?”
“Gripping. I couldn’t look away,” I say flatly.
“Mean, Lois!”
He slips the coin into his shorts’ pocket, a dumb smirk spread across his face.
“I already take up so much of your precious space, Lane. So why not stay out of my way on campus?”
“Am I pissing you off right now?”
“Yes!”
“Well, there’s your answer.”
“Urgh!”
I’m being a little too loud, and people are starting to stare. Worse, I see Kirk coming through the lecture hall doors, and he’s staring right at us.
“I’m out of here,” I mumble, already turning away.
Lane reaches for my arm.
“Let me drive you, Lois.”
My eyes widen in horror. I don’t dare look at Kirk. He must have heard Lane’s offer, he must think something’s going on, when it isn’t.
“No,” I whisper. “It’s too early for me to go back. We have a deal, remember?”
“What’s with the whispering?” he whispers back, leaning into me. “You don’t want people to know we live together?”
“We don’t live together!” I hiss. I jab him in the chest—or try to, anyway. Say what you want, the guy’s pecs are as thick as his head.
Donovan interrupts us, laughing. “If you guys are gonna make out, don’t let me stop you!”
I whip my hand away from Lane and take two paces back. Becca has wandered over, in full sunshine mode.
“Hey!” I say, with all the perkiness I can muster. “How about a girls’ night?”
“Sorry, but Donny invited me to their party! He told me you’ll be there, too, so we can still hang out.”
She’s practically bouncing.
“Well, how about that?” Lane claps a hand on my shoulder. “Great news, huh?”
“What party?”
“Every fall, when school starts, we have a party at Lane’s for his birthday.”
Lane smirks at me. “Want the address?”
I stare him straight in the eye. “In that case, I’ll go to the library.”
“No can do. It’s not open on weekend evenings.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in.
“Come on, Lois! You and Kirk can come along, it’ll be fun.” Becca links arms with Donovan.
“Who’s Kirk?” Lane asks her.
Oh, kill me now.
“Her guy.”
“Really?”
He tilts his head at me, staring me down. He knows I haven’t told Becca about the breakup, and he’s wondering why.
“See you later!” She waves. “Will you walk me to the quad, Don?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
As the pair of them vanish around the corner, I’m frantically racking my brain for a way out, when Lane kicks my foot.
“Kirk?”
“Shut up,” I hiss with a glare.
Speak of the devil. There he is, just a few feet away from me, and though he’s looking away, I’ve got a feeling he was watching us.
I can’t believe this is happening! I’ve wanted so badly to see him and he’s been nowhere to be found.
Now the moment Lane and his idiot friends are around, he’s everywhere I turn. It’s official: I’m cursed.
“Lane, could you ask your friends to be a little less… intense?”
“Meaning?”
I shuffle my feet. “If they could play it like we’ve never met, that would be great.”
“Why don’t you tell them yourself?”
“I don’t want to hurt their feelings.”
“Oh, so this is how it is! But my feelings you don’t give a shit about?”
“See! You get it.”
“Despite the fact I’m the one giving you a home?” He raises an eyebrow.
He’s not wrong. I shouldn’t be so direct with him. It is rude of me, and he is doing me a huge favor. But jeez, he’s always trying to get a rise out of me, and not snapping back is hard. I didn’t even know I had this fiery side to me.
“I’m sorry.” I do my best to smile.
He looks me up and down before nodding, satisfied. “You know that if I do tell them, they’ll just do the exact opposite, right?”
I groan, scooping my hair up into a bun.
“Come on, let’s hit the road,” he offers.
“I really don’t want to come.”
“It’s my birthday, and I need help with the groceries. We have a deal, remember?”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you blackmailing me?”
“Car. Now.”
I bite my tongue, running through my options. It takes me all of one second—the truth is, I don’t have any.
“Okay, but on one condition.” I trot behind him. “No mentioning our temporary roomie situation under any circumstance.”
“You’re on bartender duty, then.”
“Asshole.”
“Say what?”
“Nothing.”
I throw myself into his car, brooding. If he thinks I’m paying for this ride, he can think again! I stuff my earbuds in, crank the volume up as far as it goes, and stay that way until we arrive at the grocery store near his apartment. As we browse the aisles, I think back to his talk earlier.
“How did you come up with the idea for Campus Drivers, anyway?” I ask, taking the basket from him. “Were you guys friends before?”
“Lewis and Adam already knew each other before college. Donovan is captain of the basketball team; Lewis plays for the team, too. They both have awesome cars, which helped them bond.”
“And how about you? How did you get in with them?” I ask. “Was it a car thing, too?”
“Yeah. They saw my Camaro on campus, and they asked me to marry them.”
“Let me guess: it was love at first sight.”
“Not exactly. I’m not easy, you know.”
I snort. “Wow, I’d never have guessed.”
He adds three bottles of soda to my basket, and there’s no hiding my struggle. I need two hands to carry this thing.
“Here, give me that,” he says, taking it from me.
“Thanks. So what about the app?”
Lane smiles. “Notice how many groupies Don has? They were always asking him for rides. It started as a joke about how we would charge them, and it all started from there. We realized SHU is one of the biggest campuses in America, and that having a cab service would be an amazing idea. We spent months working on it, and Campus Drivers launched last fall.”
“Is the money good?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s cool. It was a good idea.”
He seems surprised by the compliment, and I almost tell him not to get used to it.
Once we’re done stocking up on booze, we spend an hour getting the apartment ready. Lane shoves the couch back against the far wall and rearranges the living room, while I stack the cups. It takes me a few tries to get it right, and by the time I’m done, I never want to see a cup again.
“Is that what you’re wearing, Heartbreak?”
I glance down. “Umm, yes?”
“So you don’t plan on making an effort for my birthday?”
“Get over yourself.”
Like I said: He’s had enough niceness for one day.
I’M SO RELIEVED TO SEE Becca here, short pink dress and all—finally, a familiar face.
“You look incredible.”
“You look… like you did earlier.” She pouts. “You need to come over for a makeover sometime.”
I laugh, handing her an empty cup. “Yeah, let’s do that! What are you drinking?”
“Vodka?”
“Give me one sec.”
The apartment is filling up fast, and it turns out, I don’t mind making sure everyone has enough to drink. Keeps me busy.
I chat with Adam, trying my best to dodge Lewis and Carter. Lane is nice and charming to everyone except me. Standard.
“Lois!” he barks. “How about those cups?”
I shoot him a withering smile. He just loves to see me squirm, doesn’t he?
I head over to the pyramid I stacked earlier, and I already know this is going to be a toughie.
Gripping the edges of the tray, I shuffle my way back across the room, congratulating myself on making it this far as I near the coffee table, almost forgetting my recent unlucky streak.
“Carter!” Adam shouts over from the couch. “Your sister’s here!”
I turn to glance over at the front door just as Lane is slamming it shut.
A couple are making their way into the apartment, and I freeze.
A leggy brunette, with a guy I would unfortunately recognize anywhere.
Gravity kicks in, the tray tilting to one side, and I watch as my perfect pyramid collapses to the ground.
There’s a voice that sounds a lot like Lane cussing, but I can’t focus on anything other than the horror movie playing out in front of me.
“Happy birthday, Lane.” The brunette flashes him a smile. She hasn’t so much as glanced my way.
He leans over and kisses her cheek. “Thanks, Ju. Not working tonight?”
“Yeah, shift starts in an hour. We’re just stopping by for a quick one.”
The guy she’s with rests his palm on the small of her back.
“Make yourself at home, dude,” Lane says, holding out a hand.
“Hey,” the guy says. “I’m Kirk.”
That unlucky streak I mentioned? It just keeps on giving.
“Kirk?” Lane glances at me.
Yep. That would be my Kirk. The one who wanted space, all the better to squeeze in a new girlfriend.