“He did buy you a sandwich,” I remind her.
“It sucked.” He turns his eyes, locking them right on me.
“He’s coming this way,” I say, not moving my lips. He stops at our table. I have to tilt my head all the way back to get a good look at him.
“Can I join you?” he asks, taking me by surprise.
“Are you going to give me my sorry back?” I find myself teasing him. His lips twitch, making him look even sexier.
“I jacked your sandwich. It was terrible.” He shrugs, not caring about anything Trin is saying. His eyes remain trained right on me. My body starts to heat.
“If I give it back are you going to let me join you?”
“Sit,” Trin says before I can respond, pointing to my side of the booth. “If you’re trying to get into Quinn’s pants, I suggest you don’t eat her fries.”
“Trin,” I hiss at her. My whole face feels as though it’s on fire. He leans back, putting his arm on the back of the booth. He’s not touching me but he’s pretty freaking close. “You going to tell me your name?”
“Daman.”
“See? Was that so freaking hard?” Trin says, throwing her hands up. Betty comes over, dropping off our plates.
“I’m Quinn,” I tell him, putting my hand out for him to shake. He takes it but doesn’t let it go. Instead he weaves his fingers through mine.
“Can I get you anything?” she asks Daman.
“I’m good.” Still he doesn’t even look at Betty. His eyes stay trained on me.
“If you didn’t come here for food than what are you doing here?” Trin asks. I hadn’t even thought of that.
“I saw her through the window.”
“So you came in to see me?”
“Yes.”
I’m not sure what else to say so I use my free hand to take a bite of my meatloaf. Trin digs into her salad. I try to free my hand but he doesn’t budge. I keep peeking over at him and notice that if he isn’t looking at me then he’s checking the door.
“We’re going to a party after this. Do you want to come with us?” I offer. I’m pretty sure he has a thing for me. He’s not super talkative but he came inside to see me and he’s holding my hand. Some people might think it’s strange but I’m enjoying it. All of this has to mean something.
“Yes, I’ll be coming with you.” He lets my hand go momentarily to pull out his wallet. He tosses a hundred on the table.
“Let’s roll.” Trin slides out of the booth. Daman begins to follow suit. I tug on his hand, letting him know I need mine for a moment. He obliges. I slowly slide out. I stand, pulling my skirt down as far as I can. “You drive here?”
Daman nods his answer to Trin before he grasps my hand again.
“Cool.” She looks over to me. “You’re riding with him.”
“What?”
“He’s totally hitting on you.” She says this like Daman isn’t standing right here. “Your ass better meet me at the party. You don’t want me to come looking for you.” Trin gives him a hard look before heading toward her car, leaving me alone with Daman.
I wrap my arms around myself, having no idea what I’m doing here. I never dated in high school. It was forbidden. Now I’m at a total loss for what I’m supposed to do. Daman takes off his leather jacket, wrapping it around me.
“Thanks.”
He takes my hand, his fingers tangling with mine as he leads me toward some fancy-looking car, opening the door for me. I slip inside. My heart is racing. Why am I so into this guy? I don’t even know him. Yet I feel a pull toward him that I can’t explain.
He hops into the driver’s seat. “Seatbelt, babe.” He reaches over, grabbing it for me while clicking it into place. I lick my lips. His eyes flick there.
“Which frat house is having the party tonight?”
“Delta Kai.”
He shakes his head, not looking so happy about it. I should tell him he doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to but I don’t. I think he’s going to make this party a lot more bearable for me. I should be worried because I don’t know him and he’s a stranger but I’m not. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen? He could kidnap me?
Chapter Seven
Daman
I’m what you call a non-trad or non-traditional student. My advisor told me this when I started classes a month ago. She also told me that I might feel disconnected from my classmates who are younger and dumber. She didn’t add the last part. It was just my characterization of the whole thing after she spent about ten minutes talking about all the things teens these days don’t understand. After the spiel, she handed me her card and told me to call her anytime. She even wrote her home phone number down, which I thought was weird.