pictured his body, all sweaty, slick, and shiny. Before I could stop myself, a small moan escape me.
My eyes widened. I cupped my mouth and quickly ran until I reached the front of the building. Feeling out of breath—for various reasons—I skidded to a stop. I shook my head in a huff. “It’s those books you’ve been reading, Estelle. They’re messing with your mind!”
Chapter 10
I chose not to tell Anna about my run-in with Jacob. For one, it was devastatingly embarrassing. And secondly, she had latched onto Lucas as if she were a parasite. Somehow having a boyfriend made her think she was some relationship guru and I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to subject myself to her advice. So, during a rare Lucas-free outing, I decided to talk about anything but Spinja…at least I tried my hardest to.
Anna and I sat in the middle of Ward’s cafe, a quaint mom and pop restaurant at the end of sorority row. Despite rumbling bellies, we decided to pass the time playing table football with a sugar packet. I flicked the yellow rectangle and watched as the puffy envelope sailed across the table. “Where’s our server? We’ve been sitting here for almost ten minutes.”
Anna glanced around and scowled. “I know; this place kinda sucks for customer service, doesn’t it?”
“Yup. If we were back in my hometown, we would have had our drinks by now.” My eyes clouded over as I recalled my favorite diner on the corner of Pembroke and Constitution. The staff all knew me by name, which actually may not have been a good thing, as I tended to eat alone.
“Well, too bad we’re not,” Anna muttered as she impatiently glanced at her watch. “I’m freaking starving. I’m down for moving to Virginia now if it means getting any semblance of food.”
I propped my chin onto my hand and mused, “You know when I moved here I thought it’d be such a huge culture shock.”
“And it wasn’t?” she asked absent-mindedly.
I gazed out the window and watched a few people jog by. “Not really. I mean certain things are different, but it’s all just the same.”
“Where are you from?” a familiar voice asked beside me.
The sugar packet sailed past my face, hitting the girl seated behind me. “Hey!”
“Sorry.” Anna snickered, eyeing me knowingly. “Looks like my friend here forgot she was in the middle of a game.”
“How are you ladies doing?” Jacob asked, peering down at us. He flashed his magazine-worthy smile and raised his hand in greeting.
Though Anna’s head was turned in his direction, her eyes peered at me from the corners. “We’re doing well; just craving a salad we’ll probably never get.”
“Salads are good,” Jacob replied. He shot me a wink and all at once the inside of my mouth turned into sawdust.
At least you won’t be able to tell him how amazing he is , I thought wryly.
Anna grinned mischievously. “Did you want to join us?”
I narrowed my eyes, eliciting a wider grin from my roommate. How did Anna expect me to eat around Jacob when I couldn’t even open my mouth properly? She was doing it to be a bitch, I was sure of it.
“Sure,” Jacob replied with a soft smile.
Damn it.
He shrugged off his track jacket and draped it over the seat beside me. “Can you scoot over just a bit?”
I nodded quietly and pushed myself to the opposite end of the booth, basically squishing against the plexi-glass window. I made sure to avoid Anna’s stare, knowing full well that her expression would probably irritate me no end.
My roommate let out a soft giggle and sighed. “So Jacob, what brings you over to this neck of the woods?” She motioned around the tiny cafe, which reeked of lemongrass. “Didn’t peg you as a vegan or gluten-free lover.”
“Believe me, I’m not,” he replied. “I have a tournament I’m competing in next week and I’ve been doing nothing but eating like crap. Figured it was time for a detox cleanse to get me back on
My eyes widened. I cupped my mouth and quickly ran until I reached the front of the building. Feeling out of breath—for various reasons—I skidded to a stop. I shook my head in a huff. “It’s those books you’ve been reading, Estelle. They’re messing with your mind!”
Chapter 10
I chose not to tell Anna about my run-in with Jacob. For one, it was devastatingly embarrassing. And secondly, she had latched onto Lucas as if she were a parasite. Somehow having a boyfriend made her think she was some relationship guru and I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to subject myself to her advice. So, during a rare Lucas-free outing, I decided to talk about anything but Spinja…at least I tried my hardest to.
Anna and I sat in the middle of Ward’s cafe, a quaint mom and pop restaurant at the end of sorority row. Despite rumbling bellies, we decided to pass the time playing table football with a sugar packet. I flicked the yellow rectangle and watched as the puffy envelope sailed across the table. “Where’s our server? We’ve been sitting here for almost ten minutes.”
Anna glanced around and scowled. “I know; this place kinda sucks for customer service, doesn’t it?”
“Yup. If we were back in my hometown, we would have had our drinks by now.” My eyes clouded over as I recalled my favorite diner on the corner of Pembroke and Constitution. The staff all knew me by name, which actually may not have been a good thing, as I tended to eat alone.
“Well, too bad we’re not,” Anna muttered as she impatiently glanced at her watch. “I’m freaking starving. I’m down for moving to Virginia now if it means getting any semblance of food.”
I propped my chin onto my hand and mused, “You know when I moved here I thought it’d be such a huge culture shock.”
“And it wasn’t?” she asked absent-mindedly.
I gazed out the window and watched a few people jog by. “Not really. I mean certain things are different, but it’s all just the same.”
“Where are you from?” a familiar voice asked beside me.
The sugar packet sailed past my face, hitting the girl seated behind me. “Hey!”
“Sorry.” Anna snickered, eyeing me knowingly. “Looks like my friend here forgot she was in the middle of a game.”
“How are you ladies doing?” Jacob asked, peering down at us. He flashed his magazine-worthy smile and raised his hand in greeting.
Though Anna’s head was turned in his direction, her eyes peered at me from the corners. “We’re doing well; just craving a salad we’ll probably never get.”
“Salads are good,” Jacob replied. He shot me a wink and all at once the inside of my mouth turned into sawdust.
At least you won’t be able to tell him how amazing he is , I thought wryly.
Anna grinned mischievously. “Did you want to join us?”
I narrowed my eyes, eliciting a wider grin from my roommate. How did Anna expect me to eat around Jacob when I couldn’t even open my mouth properly? She was doing it to be a bitch, I was sure of it.
“Sure,” Jacob replied with a soft smile.
Damn it.
He shrugged off his track jacket and draped it over the seat beside me. “Can you scoot over just a bit?”
I nodded quietly and pushed myself to the opposite end of the booth, basically squishing against the plexi-glass window. I made sure to avoid Anna’s stare, knowing full well that her expression would probably irritate me no end.
My roommate let out a soft giggle and sighed. “So Jacob, what brings you over to this neck of the woods?” She motioned around the tiny cafe, which reeked of lemongrass. “Didn’t peg you as a vegan or gluten-free lover.”
“Believe me, I’m not,” he replied. “I have a tournament I’m competing in next week and I’ve been doing nothing but eating like crap. Figured it was time for a detox cleanse to get me back on
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