“Oh, come on, this is way too good. You know that.”
“Stop it. You’re not funny.”
“He’s looking at you. I mean really looking at you, and the dude has this giant frown on his face. Wait a minute, you turned him down, didn’t you?”
She took a deep breath. “It’s not against the law to say no.”
“Have you seen that guy?”
“Yes, I’ve seen him.”
“Then you and I both know it should be a sin to deny him.”
“John, stop it.” If he kept on going, she wasn’t going to be able to stop laughing.
“Babe, I’m a heterosexual and even I’d go out with the guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s some kind of joke.”
John looked toward Blue, and much to her surprise, he’d actually dropped down on the table behind her.
“I don’t think it’s a joke,” John said.
“Whose side are you on?” she asked.
“Your side, but if you’re being a royal pain in the ass, I’ve got to, you know, tell you.” John cleared his throat and she turned to see him holding a note that clearly came from Blue.
She took the note.
Why won’t you go out with me?
She wrote back: There’s no law that says I have to. She turned and slid the note back to him. The teacher started the lesson and she expected that to be over.
Seconds passed.
John slid the note back to her.
Staring at it, she took a breath, and reached for it and opened it up.
There’s no law that says so but I promise you it’ll be a good time.
Rather than respond, she folded the note and continued to listen to the teacher. Nothing good could come from dating Blue. She knew of his reputation with the girls around this place, and the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near it.
Chapter Two
Blue wasn’t used to fighting for a woman, but he didn’t mind Laylah being pessimistic about dating him.
“You got burned down,” Mitchell, his closest friend said.
“Don’t start. I didn’t get burned down.” He tossed the ball back to one of his teammates before heading to the water stand. He grabbed a cup and filled it with water, then drank it all down in one gulp.
“Did you or did you not ask Laylah on a date and she said no?”
“She didn’t come out right and say no. She merely made her escape and ignored me throughout English and avoided me for the rest of the day.” He frowned. “Is it normal for babes to do that?”
Mitchell laughed. “I’ve never known a chick to run in the opposite direction. That’s news to me.”
“You’re not helping me at all. You know how much I like her.” He crushed the cup in his hand and tossed it into the trash bin. Their coach had already called time on practice today, but as always, they stayed behind to keep at the top of their game.
He was distracted today. All he kept on doing was replaying what went down with Laylah. How could she not want him?
In all the scenarios that played in his head, her not wanting him wasn’t high on the list, and he was a little … no, a lot, put out. Why didn’t she want him? He was a good catch.
“Maybe your reputation is a sticking point for her.”
He frowned as he looked at his friend who held his hands up. “Don’t blame me. I’m not the one who, you know, screwed his way through the cheerleading squad, and had all of those cougars after you.”
Blue regretted telling his friend about the woman who taught him everything he knew. “How could she know all of that?” He glared at his friend and at that moment, he hated his reputation.
“Girls talk.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” He looked toward the field and shook his head. “I’m out. Talk to you later?”
“Sure thing.”
Mitchell waved at him as Blue headed toward the locker room. He took a quick shower, changed into some sweats, grabbed his gym bag, and headed out toward his waiting car.
As he got there, he heard the unmistakable sound of a car refusing to turn over. He glanced toward the sound and was surprised to see Laylah still at school. She stopped trying to turn over the ignition and slammed her palm against the steering wheel.
“Come on, baby, one more,” she said, all but screaming.
After walking over to her car, he held his key out and knocked on the window. He couldn’t help but smile as she had to wind down her window. Her car had been a bit of a joke when she first arrived with it at school a year ago, but he saw the charm.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“Need a ride?”
“Nope.” She grabbed her cell phone. “I’ll call the garage my father uses.” She put the cell to her ear.
He knew how busy the garage in town got and she’d have no choice but to leave the keys above the wheel and they’d grab it at some point, or they asked you to drop off the keys at the office on your way home. He’d experienced car trouble before, and after listening to her conversation, he figured she had the same look.