Seventeen
My foot is bouncing up and down under the table as I watch her standing in the line. I’ve been waiting for you, Ed. Her face is scrunched up in this cute little scowl as she crosses her arms over her chest.
I’ve seen this look a million times before from her; she’s in attack mode, sending a silent warning to everyone in the dining hall not to fuck with her. But that doesn’t apply to me. It never has. And she’s about to find out that I’m not everyone, I’m her someone.
She scans her card at the check-in kiosk, and I watch attentively as her pissed off expression morphs into total surprise, followed by the most stunning smile I’ve ever seen. She looks fucking beautiful.
Every time I see her, I think she looks prettier and prettier, but this time it’s different.
Her beauty steals my breath as this fucking demon robs me of all the oxygen in the room.
Her smile is lighting up the whole room, and the sun rays pouring through the ceiling-to-floor windows are no match for her glow.
It’s official, seeing her smile for the first time is at the top of my list of once-in-a-lifetime moments that I’ll never forget.
Now that I’ve seen it once, I want to see it all the time.
I want to be the reason why she smiles every day.
I’ve never gone out of my way and done something like this for anyone before.
She’s the first person I’ve ever wanted to try to make happy just because.
All the puzzle pieces that make up my thoughts and feelings for her click into place in my head, and they fit together perfectly.
I can literally feel my heart doubling in size as it beats in my chest. I like making her happy; it makes me happy too.
And I’m never really happy unless I’m on the ice.
Fucking hell, I really, really like her.
Like, I like-like her. Like more than I did when I told her.
Seeing her like this, knowing I did something to make her smile like that, settles something deep inside of me.
I feel it in a place I didn’t know existed.
And this little demon found it. She walks further into the cafe and grabs a tray on her way into the food court.
Fill it up, baby, get anything and everything you want.
I’m never gonna let you go hungry again. I promise.
She reemerges, and my chest tightens when I see her holding a tray full of food with that pretty grin on her face.
Damn, and to think I fucking kept her from eating at all.
I can’t believe that my skipping out on tutoring led to her skipping meals.
This won’t ever make up for that, but at least it’s a start.
She gently places her tray down and drops her giant fucking bag on the other chair at her two-person table.
I stand up, grab my shit, and keep my eyes on her as she takes off her seen-better-days jacket and sets it on the back of her chair.
She still looks happy as hell, and I wanna see her smile up close. That grin on her face belongs to me.
“What's up, man?” Monroe says from my right. I didn’t hear him come up to the table. She’s got me locked in.“Your brother said you were sick this morning, you good now?” he asks. Oh yeah, I’m fucking great.
And I am, as I watch her take off another piece of clothing.
Without scanning the room, I’d bet I’ve seen most of the girls in here naked.
And none of them had my full attention when they took off their clothes.
Yet here she is pulling off her oversized black hoodie, and it’s got me staring.
And my cock stirring. Especially when that white long-sleeved Devils Baseball shirt rises high enough to show off a sliver of her skin.
Fucking hell. It’s the same shirt that she was wearing earlier this morning when I saw her nipples… which means she’s got nothing else underneath that layer but a bra… maybe. No more, Ed. Whatever else you're wearing is just for me now.
I grind my teeth together and lift my chin, attempting to push down my fucking rage when the practice tee of some other dude shifts over her little tits as she finally takes a seat.
But I don’t stay mad for long. How can I?
There’s no fucking way. Not when this girl looks down at her food, picks up her fork, and starts doing a happy shimmy.
“Bro, you listening to me?” No. She takes a bite of food and shuts her eyes when her lips wrap around the metal fork. I’ve never been so fucking jealous of an ordinary object before. She takes bite after bite, and it’s like I’m watching my new favorite show. Don’t interrupt me, Monroe.
“Not even a little bit,” I tell him. “I’ll see you later, man.” I’m done standing here. I start walking and pull my hat down on my head. I don’t want to talk to anyone else but her, and I beeline for her table where she’s still enjoying herself. That’s it, keep smiling, you happy lunatic.
“Hi, Ed,” I offer when I walk up to her. Her eyes shift from her plate to mine, and her smile melts right off her face as she snarls at me. This is the exact face she made when I kissed her for the first time. She ended up slapping the shit outta me, and I fucking loved it.
Not gonna lie, thinking about her spicy, snarled mouth, and kissing her again has me grinning hard.
I swear, I must look like a psycho. I don’t care anymore, there’s no point in fighting this…
not when it’s so fucking obvious and makes perfect fucking sense.
I reallyyyyyyyy like this mean little thing.
“Um, hello?” She’s so fucking sassy with her snappy little attitude. Her murder eyes are definitely more murdery than usual as they narrow in on me.
“How’s your–,” I start to ask when she shows her teeth and starts to literally hiss.
“What are you doing here, cabrón ?” She bites out, leaving me wide open to press every single one of those sweet little buttons.
“I’m pretty sure this is what most people would call a conversation, smartypants.” I grip the looped handle on the top of her massive bag and drop it to the tiled floor next to the table. I pull out the empty chair and take my seat, so that I’m sitting across from her.
“There, that’s better.” And it is. Now I can see everything. She’s got the triple S special: salad, soup, and a sandwich, and I take note as I scan her tray.
I’m pretty sure her chicken Caesar salad has more croutons and shreds of Parm cheese than actual lettuce.
There’s a bowl of tomato soup that she’s topped with even more croutons, except these ones look orange, like they might be cheddar or something, along with a super cheesy grilled cheese.
There’s also a bowl of mixed croutons on the side and a smaller bowl of shredded cheddar.
Note to self… This girl likes cheese and bread in a variety of ways.
“For who?” Us. I also spot two bananas, an apple, a bag of blue Doritos, and a few packages of blueberry muffins. There’s also an XXL to-go cup of what I assume is soda. It actually could be fucking kerosene for all I know.
“I wanted to sit with you, Ed.” Her whole face turns as red as her apple.
“I’m not interested, pendejo ,” she spits out while leaning over her food and into the space between us. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you if the steam rising from her tray is from her or her hot soup. That’s how angry she looks right now.
But I don’t buy it, and I’m not moving. This girl didn’t just lean closer to me to tell me to leave; she moved her whole ass body into my space to tell me that she didn’t want me there. She can deny it all she wants, and in whatever language she wants, but her body is saying something else.
“Should I text you instead?” Her eyes go wide and are expressive as hell as her eyebrows rise up and then knit together. “You seemed to wanna talk to me earlier,” I remind her, and her eyes lock with mine as she realizes I caught her.
The longer she stares, the redder her face gets. I can feel the heat rolling off her skin from here.
She only gives me three seconds before blinking and turning her head away, but it’s all the confirmation I need. She liked talking to me, too.
“Yeah, no,” she says to disagree and pushes herself back until she’s against the chair rest. I’ve already got my phone out and wake it up to prove her wrong. I wanna show her that she doesn’t have to hate me as much as she thinks she does.
“What do you call all this then?” I hold up my phone and scroll over our text on my screen, but this stubborn little shit refuses to look.
“A momentary lapse in sanity,” she states with an eye roll right before she catches her messages on my screen.
“Was it? You sure about that, crazy girl?” I make sure to scroll slowly so she can see all the ones she sent me. She - we - broke all the texting rules and gave zero fucks sending them rapid fire like that.
“Don’t worry, hockey boy, I’ll block you after I’m done eating,” she says while picking up her fork and stabbing her food. “That’s your cue to leave, pendejo .”
“People eat and talk together all the time, look around.” But she doesn’t, and I don’t give a shit what anyone else is doing, so I don’t look either.
“This isn’t that,” she protests as she moves her food around her plate.
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I prefer to eat in peace and you’re over here annoying the shit outta me like you’re lost or something.”
“Ouch, Ed, you wound me,” I chirp back, and her night sky eyes roll back into her pretty little head.
“ Pobrecito , did the word annoying hurt your feelings?” She’s got a playful look on her face, and my cock takes notice of the flirty smirk she’s giving us. It has me grinning like a psych patient whose meds just started to kick in.
I lean forward over the table, inching out any room between us, “Not as bad as you pushing me away and locking me out after giving me the best kiss of my life.” And it was.
“Don’t lie to me, I hate fucking liars,” she hisses while daggers fly out from her eyes.
“Never have, Ed, and I never will.” My tone is sincere. Steady. Strong. Unwavering.
“I don’t believe you.” This girl has probably heard it all before and has been let down by the world. I’m gonna change that. But not just with my words, but with acts of service. That’s how I’m gonna earn her trust. That’s how I’m gonna win her over: by showing up.
“That’s okay, you will.”
“ Tan engreído (So conceited) ,” she says with a huff and looks down at her food. “You sound so sure of yourself.”
“Oh, I am.” I’m confident as fuck. I know I can do this because my heart’s in it.
“And why’s that, pendejo ?” Her eyes come back to mine, and I can tell this is a make-or-break moment to prove to her that I’m serious. And I’ve never been more serious in my life.
“Because I’m gonna show you, that’s why. I’m gonna prove it to you. And not just with words, but with action. I’m playing the long game here, Ed, I’m not going anywhere.” Her eyebrows knit together over her eyes as she digests what I’m saying.
“Is that why your ass is stuck to that chair?” she says and lifts her chin. Defiant little shit.
“It is. Now eat your lunch, you demon. Don’t let your soup get cold.” She looks down at her tray, and her face is softer when she looks up again. I think I’m getting somewhere, and it makes me feel like I just scored a game-winning goal.
And when her body relaxes in her seat, and she lifts her soup and crouton-filled spoon to her sweet and spicy mouth, I feel fucking victorious.