Cuff Me

I nodded and tried to think of something witty to say.

She was cute in a shy, nerdy kind of way. Her glasses were thick with black rims and every time she looked down at the table her hair fell into her face. When she looked at me, I saw that her eyes were grey with a hint of blue. She was pretty, but not in an obvious sort of way. She looked smarter than any girl I had ever dated.

Back in high school, I was good at everything. I had girlfriends. I played sports. I got straight A’s. Everyone loved me.

r /> It wasn’t cocky to say so, because it was true. I tried not to let it go to my head. I didn’t want to be arrogant, but I also couldn’t deny what was right in front of me. I was good looking, smart, and athletic. Girls were attracted me. It was just a fact.

“I’m Wyatt,” I said, realizing I hadn’t yet introduced myself. “Wyatt Murphy.”

“I know,” Hailey chuckled. “We went to high school together.”

“We did?” I asked. My cheeks felt a little warm, but I covered quickly. I laughed and said, “Are you sure? I feel like I would remember you if we had.”

“Probably not,” she shook her head. “I wasn’t popular. I sat in the back of the class and only had a couple friends. My name’s Hailey. Hailey Clarke.”

“Clarke?” I asked with a frown. The name didn’t ring any bells. I could tell Hailey was amused by me, but she was kind enough to not say so.

I was failing. I never failed with girls. This was new and I didn’t like it.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I don’t expect you to remember me. You were on the football team, I was in the stands on a Friday night. We didn’t exactly run with the same crowd.”

“Yeah, but this is Bradberry,” I laughed. “Everyone knows everyone.”

“Apparently not,” Hailey shrugged.

I watched while she got out her notebook and popped the top off a pen. She wrote the date in the top right-hand corner of the paper and titled the page “Bio 101 Notes – Day 1.”

I smiled to myself while I watched her meticulous writing. She was careful to keep her handwriting neat. Her “y” was curled slightly in a girly way and I couldn’t help but think it was adorable.

“You really are a nerd, huh?” I teased. She looked at me with wide eyes and I gestured toward her notebook.

“I guess,” she said. “I just want to do well.”

I felt slightly chagrined at my teasing when her earnest and completely innocent gaze met mine. My attempt at flirting had obviously fallen flat. Hailey had only just sat down and already, she was throwing me off my game. She seemed completely oblivious to my efforts. A rarity for me.

I wasn’t usually so awkward with the opposite sex. I was that guy who always knew what to say to get them eating out of my hand. And to get them in my bed.

Hailey looked back down and her hair fell over her face again.

I wondered at the strange urge to push it behind her ear. Her hand, tipped with delicate looking fingers, smoothed the wayward strands back into place. It was an absentminded action, I could tell.

She began drawing in the corner of one page of her notebook. She seemed to forget I was in the room with her.

Another rarity for me. I never had to work this hard to keep a girl’s attention on me before.

I didn’t think too hard on why I wanted her attention on me.

“So,” I said, trying something different. I leaned a little closer to her and let the teasing tone fall out of my voice in favor of a more straightforward one. “Why Biology?”

“Huh?” Hailey asked, looking up at me, confirming my suspicion that my presence wasn’t affecting her in the least.

Her grey eyes shone from behind her glasses and I couldn’t believe I had never noticed her before.

“Why did you choose Biology for your major?” I tried again.

Hailey shrugged and looked back down at her notebook.

She clearly wasn’t interested in having a conversation with me. I watched her for a few seconds, waiting for her to speak, but she didn’t. She doodled in her notebook, completely unaware that I was still sitting beside her.