Brothers Forever

10. The Likes of Me

Chapter 10: The Likes of Me

Sterling’s Point of View

I stayed after in my physics class for a few moments to talk to my teacher, Mr. Bryant, about writing me a recommendation letter for my college applications. He had always liked me, so he wholeheartedly agreed. With that taken care of, I headed off to lunch.

Unfortunately, I was a few minutes late, so the line was practically a mile long. I looked up and down the line to see if there was anyone I knew, so I could just jump in by them. I really did not want to wait for an hour just to get some crappy food. I didn’t see any of my friends, but I did spot a girl with curly, brown hair with her nose buried in a book. She wouldn’t notice if I slipped quietly in front of her. I casually made my way over to her and stepped in line just ahead of her. I smiled to myself when she didn’t as much as move a muscle in recognition of what I did.

“You can wipe that smile off your face,” I heard a quiet, intriguing voice from behind me say. “Just because I’m reading doesn’t mean that I’m unaware of what’s going on around me. You could have just asked if you wanted to cut me. I wouldn’t have cared.”

I turned around to face the girl whose head didn’t even graze my shoulders. I looked down to search for her eyes, they were a chocolaty brown. I realized she wasn’t a brunette like I had originally thought; her hair had a reddish tint to it. She was actually pretty hot once I took the time to look at her.

“I’ll be sure to do that next time,” I told her as I flashed my trademark smile. She just rolled her eyes and buried her nose back into her book. She reminded me a lot of someone, but I wasn’t sure who yet. “I’m Sterling, by the way.”

She didn’t bother to look up as she responded, “I’m Grace. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to reading my book.”

Grace was kind of feisty for a girl half my size, but I kind of liked it. “What if I said I do?”

Her big brown eyes were full of a mixture of confusion and annoyance. “What if you do what?" 

“What if I do mind that you’re reading? I’d like to talk to you, Grace,” I elaborated with a wink.

She shot me a glare that would have normally made me back off, but that glare was accompanied by a slight blush. She was interested whether she wanted to be or not.

“Well, I’d much rather read then talk to the likes of you,” she spat.

“The likes of me? You don’t even know me, babe,” I told her with a smirk.

Grace slowly turned her head to look at me and shot me another deadly look. It finally clicked who she reminded me of. “Don’t ever call me babe! And I may not personally know you, Sterling, but I’ve heard enough to know I don’t want to.”

“You seem like you’d be smart enough not to believe everything you hear, Grace,” I said with a serious face. I knew exactly how this girl worked now.

She looked up at me and her brown eyes softened immediately. She was quiet for a moment and then in a soft voice she said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have judged you solely based on what other people said.”

"Does that mean you’ll give me a chance to show you what I’m really like?” I asked her in a hopeful voice. We were at the front of the line now.

“On one condition,” she smiled, but I could tell by the gleam in her eye that she meant business, “You don’t ever call me ‘babe’ again!”