“They’re laughing about me having to take you to dinner, first. It’s not usually… my thing.”
“First?” When the realization hits me my face distorts, Justin winces at my expression. I speak before I think “I was afraid they were laughing about you being seen with me dressed like this, and they think I’m going to sleep with you,” I grumble
“Why wouldn’t I want to be seen with you?”
“What were we talking about?” I ask, warding off the heat rising in my cheeks.
“You. What’s your major.” He asks, allowing me to change the subject.
“Oh, er… General Ed, for now. I’m still undecided, but I’m leaning toward accounting.”
“You’re not local though.” He says. Is it really that obvious… “You’re voice.” He states as if he read my mind, oh, he must have picked up on my light southern accent.
“Atlanta. Same as Cara.”
“How did you end up here from Georgia?”
I pick at the label that’s peeling due to condensation. “We just had to get away.”
“From what” he pushes.
“My parents.”
“Oh. What about Cara? She has parent issues too?”
“No, Cheryl and Dave are great. They practically raised me. She sort of tagged along I guess; she didn’t want me to come alone.”
Justin nods. “So, why Madison? Why Wisconsin?”
“What’s with the third degree?” I say. They question were drifting from small talk to personal, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.
Several chairs knock together behind us as the soccer team leaves their seats. They trade one last joke before they wander towards the door. Their pace quickens when Justin stands up. Those in the back of the group push those in front to escape before Justin makes his way across the room. He sits down, forcing the frustration to go away.
I raise an eyebrow.
“You were going to say why you chose Madison,” He prompts.
“It’s hard to explain,” I say shrugging my shoulders. “I guess it just felt right.”
He smiles as he opens his menu. “I know what you mean.”
-
Familiar faces fill the seats of our favorite lunch table. Cara sat on one side of me, Carder on the other, and the rest of the spaces were picked off by Tyler and his fellow Sigma Tau brothers. It was hard to hear with the low roar inside the cafeteria, and the air conditioner seemed to be broken again. The air was thick with the smell of fried foods and sweaty skin, but somehow everyone seemed to be more energetic than usual.
“Hey, Logan,” Tyler said, greeting the man sitting in front of me. His olive skin and deep brown eyes offset the white Madison Football hat sitting on top of his head.
“Missed you after the game Saturday, Ty, I drank a beer or ten for ya,” he says with a wide grin.
“I appreciate it. I took Cara out to dinner,” He says, learning over to kiss the top of Cara’s long blond hair.
“You’re sitting in my chair Logan.”
Logan turned to see Justin standing behind him, and then looked to me, obviously surprised. “Oh, is she one of your girls, Justin?”
“Absolutely not,” I say, shaking my head quickly.
Logan looked to Justin, who stared at him expectantly; Logan shrugged and then took his tray to the end of the table.
Justin smiled at me as he settled into the seat. “What’s up Emilie?”
“What is that?” I ask, unable to look away from his tray that was piled high with some sort of mystery concoction that resembled a chunk of wax.
Justin laughs and takes a drink from his water glass. “The cafeteria ladies scare me. I’m not about to critique their cooking skills.”
I didn’t miss the appraising eyes of those sitting at the table, Justin’s behavior has apparently piqued their interest, and I hold a slight smile knowing I’m the only girl they had ever seen him insist on sitting with.
“Ugh… that Bio test is after lunch,” Cara groans.
“Did you study?” I ask her.
“God no, I spent the night reassuring my boyfriend that you weren’t going to sleep with Justin.”
The football players seated at the end of our table stopped their obnoxious laughter to listen more closely, making the other students take notice. I glare at Cara, but she seems unconcerned with blame, nudging Tyler with her shoulder.
“Jesus, Ty. You’ve got it that bad, huh?” Justin asks, throwing a packet of ketchup at his cousin. Tyler doesn’t answer, but I give an appreciative smile to Justin for creating a diversion in the topic.
Cara rubs Tyler’s back. “He’s going to be okay. It’s just going to take him a while to believe Emilie’s going to stay resistant to your charm.”
“I haven’t tried to charm her,” Justin sniffs, seeming offended. “She’s my friend.”
I look to Tyler, “I told you. You have nothing to worry about.”
Tyler finally looks me in the eye, and his face brightens a bit upon seeing my sincere expression.
“Did you study?” Justin asks me.
I frown. “No amount of studying is going to help me with Biology. It’s just not something I can wrap my head around.”
Justin stands up. “Come on.”
“What?”
Let’s go get your notes. I’m going to help you study.” He beams.
“Justin…”
“Get your ass up Emilie Benson. You’re going to ace that test.”
As I pass Cara I pat her shoulder, “See you in class, Em.”
She smiles. “I’ll save you a seat. I’ll need all the help I can get.”
*Wow you guys have been amazing! I hit 3.2k reads and 100+ votes! That's so cool. Okay so I really need you guys to comment what you think about this story so far, I NEED your feedback! even if all you comment is a little smiley face DO IT! Also please vote because the more votes I receive the faster the update! Thank you all so much - Abby x*
