You make me wanna la, la in the kitchen on the floor
I'll be your French maid where I meet you at the door
I'm like an alley cat
Drink the milk up I want more
You make me wanna
You make me wanna scream
—Ashlee Simpson (La, La)
I paused, doubling over with my fists on my knees. Deep breaths Nora, I told myself.
"You okay?" Vee asked, jogging in place.
Okay? Okay? Well let's see. I had a cramp biting into my ribs, my lungs were getting tight, and I felt like I lost my legs on the second lap. I felt like putty, all mushy and worn out. In other words, I was not okay.
"Agua," I breathed, forcing my tired limbs to straighten up. Vee seemed as if she's just hopped onto the track a second ago. How was it that she wasn't even tired yet. We jogged four lapse around the whole football field. It's was just ridiculously huge.
"All right, you have to sit out," she said, lugging me towards the bleacher. I dropped onto the metallic bench without hesitation, hurting my butt. I grimaced.
I glanced up at Vee, her body eclipsing the afternoon sun. The weather had taken a turn for the better today: zero winds, no clouds leaving us bathing in a beaming shower of sun. It really felt like spring, then.
I gratefully took the bottle of water she offered up and chugged down a third of the bottle in a gulp. I sighed, taking in even breaths now. "Why are we taking this course again?"
"Because mama needs to drop a few pounds but sadly I lack motivation. You're my support system," Don't think it was ever an option.
"Yeah well, I'm getting dizzy supporting you," I mused, fingering the pocket of my sweat pants for my iron pills. I was anemic and sometimes when I was over exerting myself I'd get dizzy and breathless. Real breathless.
Vee frowned. "Why didn't you take your pills this morning? You should've warned me you were low," she chided, but I was barely listening. Taking another swig of water, I downed my pills, my gaze trained on the swift shadow moving across the field.
I headed straight for my dorm, after the little episode I witnessed yesterday. Patch had seemed frozen to stone, perching up on the library steps with his hands in his curly dark locks.
I doubted he was up for studying, especially since Marcie had just called a quits on their whole . . . fling again.
I had seen the scene play out before. It even appeared in gossip magazines. Because the Arch-angels were such a popular varsity college team, they got a lot of publicity, especially Patch. Girls were gaga for him when he came across a magazine. It was a question what Marcie was to Patch because of the on-and-off situation they went through. They didn't even make up—they just came across each other and broke out into a make-out session.
Vee liked the thought of a infuriated Marcie but wasn't surprised, hear the news. "Watch, you'll catch 'em under the bleachers groping like freaky monkeys tomorrow," she told me.
There was no question there but it was their topic at hand that roamed my mind.
I tried to see myself in Marcie's place with a hundred girls gawking at my super hot boyfriend without any shame or respect. (Really, not that hard.) I guess I could see why she was very possessive of the guy but did it mean she had to assert her status so crudely. Patch was right—she didn't have to act like a bitch. What did it matter that I was having a little one-on-one time with Patch.
I hadn't asked for it.
And what did she mean when he asked her why she couldn't trust him. Had he cheated on her before? I pondered the idea for only a second. Hundred of girls crowded where he worked for simply a candid pic on their phones and surely enough I didn't doubt Patch could work a charm on any girl. Plus he was a football player, this kind of stuff went to their heads.
I couldn't say it was beyond him. He seemed like the bad-boy jockey with a lack of restriction or rules. Everything about him alerted you of danger, but who could ignore such temptation.
"Earth to Nora," Vee sing-sang.
I glanced up reluctantly, squinting against the glare of the sun. "Yeah,"
I hadn't realized I was studying Patch. Like his stance, his swift moves, they way he seemed to assess his opponents. He was careful, taking in his surroundings and always a step ahead of anything.
He owned the field.
"You two were staring," she mused, her gaze flickering between me and apparently Patch. He was staring . . .
"I didn't even realize," I muttered, more to myself than to her.
"Okay, weird. Before you start sending each other psychic messages, lets get out of here," She sighed, shrugging up to her feet. "We have a date with the showers and desert with the library.
I held out my hand, too lazy to haul myself up and onto my feet again. I took the last of the water from my bottle as we headed back to the girls housing dorms, when my name was called. Vee and I paused, giving a puzzled glance over our shoulders.
Staring back was Patch. He waved me over but I stood in my place, unsure.
I asked Vee, "Should I?"
"Uh, no." she said as if it were the obvious answer in the world. We heard Coach holler for Patch's attention and he seemed to reluctantly draw back towards his practice.
"What do you think he wanted?" Vee asked as we started towards our dorm again.
"No idea."
Vee and I freshened up and switched into capris and tanks considering the warm weather. Vee was yammering about a blow out sales at Macy's when we strolled into the Library. It was must go, once-in-a-lifetime sale that she was not planning on missing. Of course she'd drag me along.
"Hey, Mrs. Seralli," I grinned politely as we rounded the counter adjacent to the giant double doors.
"Hey," said Vee.
"Afternoon ladies." the fifty-something year old women smiled sweetly, a ray of lines fanning about her cheeks.
"Do you need me work today?"
She sighed gratefully, a fluff of hair fluttering up in the breeze she created. "That would be nice. These old weary bones are getting tired of this labyrinth they call a library. Can you please put these reference books back up stairs."
"Of, course," I smiled, taking the fat ass textbooks she shoved up onto the counter, but inside I really didn't need another round of gym.
"Bless you, child," Mrs. Seralli sighed and returned back to a novel she was hallway through.
Vee bat her lashes and grinned as if she were swooning. "You're such a saint," she sighed contentedly.
I bumped my hip against hers since my hands were occupied. "Shut up," I grinned.
"Well, anyways, I saw these really cute heels," she went on as we made for the stairs. I gave her meaningful glance, but said nothing. "What? Don't give me that look,"
I rolled my eyes. "Well, do you really think you need heels," I asked, taking in her height once again.
"I actually have the legs for it," she pouted.
I lifted an indifferent shoulder. "I'm just saying,"
"Yeah, well you know how to kill a puppy." she huffed as we scaled up the stairs.
My brows furrowed, and for a cruel second, I could actually see it play out before me. "That's cruel and unusual."I shuddered.
"Well, if it isn't Cinderella," a dark, Irish voice spoke from beside us as we move on to the loaded bookshelves on the second floor. We turned to the stranger and Scott who stood a little behind him. "You forgot to leave you glass slipper behind."
The Irish dude was tall, even for Vee, with inky bluish-black hair and a hawk nose. I recognized him as the Arch-angel's star quarter-back. He was also a fan favorite. Rixon—I think his name was.
Vee smirked besides herself, her smile overly flirty as she gave him a quick head-to-toe. "I'll make sure to remember that next time, Charming," My eyes rolled back, as I suddenly itched to get away.
Really?
"Would next time be at the Easter Fair at Delphic this weekend? I'd really like to take you," he grinned. He has perfect teeth.
Vee pursed her lips, and held up her iPhone, camera already aimed. "Let me think," she murmured and took the snapshot. She handed it over and he happily punched in his let me look at his candid which was pretty impressive for a raw shot. "Sure."
He flashed his perfect teeth. "Call me,"
Vee said nothing but stared back coyly, watching him as he descended the stairs. "Nice ass," she said under her breath. I snorted a little. Vee was ridiculous. "Hey, I'm heading for the computers,"
"Kay,"
I skimmed through the rows, looking for the right shelf. My fingers glided over the spines of the worn, dull books that were lined up like stiff soldiers. Letters and numbers were taped to their sides, marking their identity. Out of my peripheral vision I could make out a silhouette taking form as it moved in.
Almost certain it was Scott, I spun around sharply.
"Oh, god!" I jumped, clutching tightly to the books before I made any noise. I heard a chuckle escape Patch as he watched me try to settle my heart. "What are you doing here?" I gasped, my hand clutching at my chest as if to stop it from punching it's way through my ribs.
"Looking for you," he replied coolly, leaning up against the wall to the window. "I know you work here, so I guessed this was my best chance at finding you,"
I studied him for a moment. I found it weird how Patch kept showing up in places uninvited. Sure he worked at Borderline and the field was his domain but we had never been even acutely aware of another. Why now? And how was it that he knew where I worked and which dorm I vacated.
I couldn't help but feel wary.
"I'm sorry but when did you become a stalker?" I demanded, hand still to my chest. This seemed to amuse him. I watched as the right corner of his mouth pulled up, his eyebrows arched.
"I didn't mean to startle you," he said but his expression told me otherwise. "Are you always this jumpy?"
"No," I frowned, not especially pleased by his sudden presence. "You just seem to show up a lot lately, in some way, shape or form." I added, stretching up on my toes to tuck a volume of the English dictionary away on a high shelf. I wasn't known for my height but if not for my legs, I'd be dwarfed by anyone around me.
Thank you long legs.
"Anyways, you found me. What do you want?" I asked, easing back off the balls of my feet and capturing his roaming gaze. He was talking in my length, his eyes lingering on my bare legs. And even though he knew I caught him staring he still took his time to meet my gaze.
"You bailed on me yesterday," he remarked, that stupid smirk still on his face.
I paused, unsure of how much to say.
"Uh, actually I was late," I said slowly, pacing out of the row and down the stairs. Patch was quick to follow. I wasn't sure how much I should share with him, considering I was eavesdropping in their little frat but it's not like they weren't eventually going to kiss and make up, as Vee so nicely explained.
But none-the-less Patch caught me at the foot of the stairs. "And?" he prompted when I said nothing else.
"And . . ." I began slowly. "you were sort of occupied when I got there,"
His eyebrows furrowed but then relaxed in understanding. "You caught that?" he didn't seem pleased with my knowing.
"No," I lied impulsively.
He stared me down. "You're a poor liar, Nora," I opened my mouth to object but I had no argument. I really did. Hey, though their conversation had peeked my interest a little, what was going on between Marcie and Patch was just that—between Marcie and Patch. I didn't need to get in the middle of anything.
Turning on my toes, I made for the computer lounge where Vee sat streaming the web.
"I'm not mad or anything," he said as if reassuring me I hadn't done anything wrong. "If it was a private conversation we wouldn't have made it public episode."
"You two seem to have a lot of those," I muttered without registering what I was saying. I glanced over my shoulder, "No offense or anything,"
He dismissed it with a wag of his. "Nah, you're right," he muttered, his gaze thoughtful and untrained. "You're totally right,"
"Look, I didn't mean—"
He shook his head, holding up his hand. "No—you know what forget it. Tomorrow, please, don't bail on me again. I really need this, alright?"
I nodded solemnly. "Of course,"
"Great, tomorrow,"
"Tomorrow," I echoed. He graced me with a barely there smile and walked out, disappearing out into the darkening sky.
By the time Vee and I had finally headed back to the girls housing dorms, the sun had tucked away below the horizon, turning the sky from blue to tar black. Distant stars freckled the black sheet of night, the moon casting the eeriest glow upon the school grounds. The temperature had dropped dramatically over the course of the last hour, the air freezing our butts off as we rushed back to our dorm.
Vee shivered violently, burring. My teeth clicked. "Well, that was just lovely," she muttered grudgingly. We weren't yet prepared to shrug off our jackets until we in the comfort of our toasty room.
Vee went for a toasty shower while I made for my comforter.
I didn't know why but I couldn't help but let my thoughts drift towards Patch. I didn't know much about him, but I think I started wanting to. He seemed different, and for some reason it only made me crave him more.
What am I getting into?
