As soon as we make it out of the fair, Zara unlinks her arm from mine and stops. Before I have time to ask her what's wrong, she places her hands on my shoulders and squeals.
"Okay, I can't wait until we're back at our dorm. I'm just dying to know."
"Know what?"
"What's the real story with you and Tanner."
I pull a face. "What do you mean 'real story'?"
She looks at me, exasperated. "You know. You... him. Have you ever hooked up?"
My eyes blink rapidly as I finally understand her question. Me and Tanner? I instantly burst out laughing like a madwoman. Zara has no choice but to release me from her hold as I bend over laughing.
Even in my fit of hysterics, I notice other students are looking at me as they pass, probably wondering if I'm having a breakdown or something.
"Sorry," I apologize after a minute. "It's just... Tanner's the last person I'd ever want to be with," I say as I wipe the tears from my eyes.
"We literally don't get along. Everyone back home knows this."
"Really?" she asks disbelievingly.
"Yes! Everyone says it's like World War III when we get going."
"Not even a simple kiss? Just because you don't like someone, it doesn't mean that things don't happen," she tells me as she hooks her arm around mine and walks us forward.
"Before Jake and I got together, there was this boy in my class who I absolutely hated. Yet he was so cute that I was willing to look past that and made out with him a couple of times."
"Zara!" I shriek.
"What? I am human." She lightly tugs my arm to bring us onto the path on the left, which will lead us back to Putnam. "So... Did anything like that ever happen?"
I wish Zara would forget about this question as I'd rather not tell her than Tanner and I have kissed, even if it wasn't wanted on my part.
As soon as my confirmation comes out of my mouth, I can imagine her thinking this is amazing news. Especially since it happened so recently. Yet, I don't want to lie to her.
"I've never kissed Tanner. But Tanner's kissed me," I mumble.
Zara's eyes go wide. "You have? Hang on. What you said doesn't make sense."
I laugh bitterly. "Tanner kind of accosted me at a restaurant just before I moved here. He pinned me up against a wall and then kissed me. Believe me when I say it wasn't romantic at all."
"No!" she gasps. "Oh my God, Leah. Did he hurt you? If he did, I swear to God I'll go back in that fair and rip his balls off."
She begins to turn us back in the direction of the fair, but I strengthen the grip on our arms and stop her from turning. "No. He didn't hurt me. There's no need to de-man him."
I shrug. "Besides, if anyone's inflicted more damage to another, it's me," I say before thinking.
Zara's footsteps falter, and she splays her hands on my shoulders again. "No shit! What have you done to him?" Her voice goes an octave higher.
I kick one of my sneakers on the path and quietly groan. "I may have slapped him after he did that."
"Shut up! Go you, though!"
"I was tempted to slap him again on Monday when he said that he only kissed me because he was meant to hook up with another girl that night and basically used me as a consolation prize."
Zara sighs.
"Yep, that sounds like something Tanner would do. He was a bit of a man-whore last year with the girls. Although... Are you sure that's why he did it? He could just secretly like you," she says teasingly.
I make a disgusted noise in the back of my throat as we take a right so that our building comes into view behind the trees. "Trust me. Even if Tanner ever had an ounce of romantic feelings toward me, I'd never get with him. I don't know if you know this, but he's not a really nice person. At least to me he's not."
Zara scrunches her face up. "What has he done to you to make you dislike him so much?"
"Where do I begin," I joke darkly.
For the next ten minutes, I tell Zara every story I can think of from my childhood that involves Tanner pissing me off in some way.
Seeing as I've known Tanner since we were little, I have to make sure I pick the best examples to show exactly why I don't like him. Every so often, Zara gasps or throws out an occasional cuss word in response to my memories of Tanner. Including the time he locked me out in the snow for an hour, deflating all the tires on my old car when I was trying to get to a summer job, and endlessly making out with my friends at parties.
"I think the worst thing he has ever done though, is the time he punched Shawn."
"You mean your ex?" Zara asks as we enter the building.
I nod my head in confirmation as we walk up the stairs to our room.
"It came out of nowhere. Shawn was just standing next to me when Tanner appeared from thin air and punched him square on in the jaw."
I shiver as I recall the noise of Tanner's fist connecting with Shawn's face. "He hit him with such force that Shawn fell to the floor."
I take a shaky breath as I remember how worse it could have gotten. "Then Tanner jumped straight on him and had his arm pulled back, ready to deliver another blow. Luckily, his friends showed up in time and pulled him off of Shawn before he could do any further damage."
Zara places her hands behind her head. "Fuck! I know that Tanner can have a short temper sometimes, but just fuck."
We're quiet for a couple of minutes while Zara processes this news. "Are you sure Tanner doesn't like you? That sounds like a guy who's jealous."
I roll my eyes. "For the last time, Tanner doesn't think of me that way," I say as I put the key in the door and push it open. "It was all to do with a fight they had on the ice earlier."
I swing the door shut behind us and collapse on my bed while Zara sits against her headboard. "Both our school hockey teams were playing against each other, and at some point in the game, they started fighting over a foul hit that Shawn apparently delivered to one of Tanner's teammates."
"Did he?"
I frown as I still don't know exactly what happened on the ice that day. "I actually don't know. I got bored with the game at that point and was on my phone when I heard the commotion on the ice. Shawn said one thing while Tanner said another.
"But everyone was certain that Tanner pushed Shawn first on the ice. That fact pissed me off, and when I saw Tanner at the after-party, I couldn't help myself when I threw my drink on him."
Now that I think about it, it wasn't one of my finest hours. But still, Tanner went too far that night when he punched Shawn over it.
Zara brings her hand to her mouth to stop the giggles from escaping. "Oh no. Poor Tanner."
"I do feel a bit bad about that part."
She rests her head in one of her hands and seems deep in thought. "Do you think you two could ever get past your differences? It seems Tanner is up for that idea."
I snort. "It's not at the top of my to-do list."
"Hmm. It might be better for the both of you if you did."
"God, you sound just like our parents!" I groan.
"Well, I'm glad they have the same point of view as me," she responds triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah. Can we please change the topic now?"
Her lips twitch as if she's trying not to laugh. "All right, do you want to put Pitch Perfect on while I go grab some sodas out of the vending machine?"
I breathe a sigh of relief. "Sure."
Thankfully, the rest of the evening is Tanner zone free, as Zara doesn't mention his name again. I think in some ways, I surprised her on how Tanner behaves towards me, but I hope I haven't changed her opinion of him too much as I don't want to come between whatever friendship they have.
She has confirmed my thoughts on Tanner being a player, though, as she said he hooked up with quite a few girls in his first year. It shows me he hasn't changed his ways since he was in high school, as he always had some new girl on his arm whenever we were at the same party. And it just makes Zara's thoughts on Tanner liking me even more absurd.
We spend the remainder of the afternoon watching different movies on my laptop and order Chinese takeout, eating it straight out of the plastic containers with some plastic forks we bought for occasions like these.
When 7 p.m. rolls around, Zara packs an overnight bag as she is going to spend the night at her boyfriend's fraternity house. She offers me the chance to quickly meet Jake while he waits in his car for her, but with my current food belly, I don't think I have the energy to go up and down the stairs. Fortunately, Zara understands the feeling exactly and jokes that she's too full to even contemplate sex with Jake later.
With Zara gone for the night, I put on a charcoal face mask, slip on an exfoliating foot mask, and lay against my cushions on the bed as I study for my upcoming classes on Monday. I'm two-thirds of the way through my reading list when I receive a notification on my phone. I roll onto my stomach and reach for my phone off the desk, regretting the move immediately as I press against my bloated stomach. When I see that I have a message request from Tanner I groan. Why can't he just get the message?
Going against my better instincts I accept the message and read it.
Tanner: You still pissed at me?
Me: Yes.
Tanner: Want to try and remedy that?
Me: No. And for the last time, Tanner; Leave-Me-Alone!!!!
I throw my phone onto Zara's empty bed and pick up my textbook again and pick up where I left from.
Not even a minute passes when my phone chimes again. "Why can't this boy just get the message?!" I shout out to my empty bedroom.
I ignore my phone and carry on reading about the different attachment theories when my phone chimes again and again. Realizing that he's not going to give up on messaging me, I stomp over to Zara's bed and reach for my phone.
Tanner: Come on, Le-Le. Just meet me tomorrow for coffee.
Tanner: I promise I will be on my best behavior.
Tanner: Seriously. You're ignoring me?
Me: Ugh! You know how much I hate that nickname. It's Leah! L-E-A-H. And no, I can't meet you tomorrow because I'm going shopping with Zara.
I'm not really, but he doesn't need to know that. As soon as the morning comes, I'm heading straight to the library to hide in case he decides to drop by my dorm.
My phone is silent for five minutes, and I think I've got the message through to him loud and clear when I hear another ping on my phone.
Tanner: Zara says she has no idea what you're talking about. Don't try to pull a fast one on me, Leah! You know I will win this game.
Busted.
Why did Zara even tell him this? I hope she's not rooting for him. I open up my texts and quickly message her.
Me: What did you say to Tanner about me? I just tried to get out of seeing him tomorrow saying I'd be with you and he called me out.
I bite on the end of my nail as I wait for a response.
Zara: I'm sorry I had no idea. He came into Jake's room and asked us what we were up to tomorrow. I told him I was going to be visiting my mom for the day. It was a little odd now that you mention it.
Thank god. She didn't sell me out. Tanner basically tricked her into finding out the truth. Is there anything this guy won't do?
Me: Okay. Thanks for letting me know.
Zara: No problem.
My phone pings again with a new message from Tanner and I realize he's not going to let this go, and after being found out I don't really have a good excuse not to meet him. Reluctantly I give in.
Me: Fine. When and Where?
Tanner: Meet me at ~the Free Speech Movement café~, 12 o'clock.
What a fitting name, I muse.
Me: Okay, but you're paying.
Tanner: I guess it's the least I can do.
I don't message him back and I decide to power my phone off so that I don't have to hear any more annoying pinging coming from my phone.
I can't believe I have to waste part of my day tomorrow seeing him. I'd rather have a root canal. It would probably be less painful than the awkward conversation we will have. Sighing, I abandon my studying for now and head to the bathroom to clean this mask off my face.
What do you guys think of Tanner's past? Do you think these two can make up?🤔
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