“What exams?”
I could feel her dark eyes boring into me, and I was reminded of her forceful personality. Sometimes I wanted to protect this girl so much that I forgot how strong she really was. “What’s this about?”
She sounded distrustful. It wasn’t like I planned on eating her tonight.
Well, not yet.
“We have a basketball game tonight. Wanna watch me play?” She hadn’t seen me play before, and I wanted to show off. “They’re also setting up a drive-in theater in the campus parking lot. Come with me,” I said, my eyes shifting from the road to her.
“I don’t know, Caleb…”
She was already giving in. I could hear it in her voice. I gave her a goofy grin. Her mouth twitched. My girl rarely smiled, but when she did, I felt like Superman.
“Don’t you want to show off your boyfriend to the world? Everyone wants my attention, but you get all of it, Red.”
She snorted.
“What a prize you are,” she said sarcastically. “And you’re not my boyfriend.”
People tended to misinterpret me. Just because I was a guy who smiled a lot, that didn’t mean I took everything in stride. I get hurt easily. I’m just really good at hiding my feelings with flippancy.
What she’d just said… That hurt. I didn’t know if she meant it or if she was joking. She must have noticed my change of mood because she turned toward me and studied my face.
“I’m sorry. I was just joking,” she said quietly, her voice apologetic, her eyes beseeching.
How could I be mad at her when she was so sweet? I wasn’t mad anymore, but I wanted her to work for my forgiveness. I always worked harder when it came to her, and I wanted her to do the same for me. I wanted to feel like I was worth it to her.
“Caleb?”
I gave her a small nod, my expression neutral. I couldn’t wait to see what she would do next.
She gently touched my arm, and I felt a jolt when her skin touched mine. She must have felt it too because she pulled her hand away.
“All right, I’m going to your practice, but only if Kara goes with me.”
“Kara?” I raised my brows. Cameron’s Ka
ra?
Red explained how she had met Kara at work, and how they’d bonded and were close friends now. I felt pathetic because I was a little jealous.
I knew Kara through Cameron. When they broke up, Cameron refused to talk about her. Even now, he couldn’t say her name.
“So you’re coming?” I sent her a goofy grin. Her mouth twitched into a smile. I did a fist pump and yelled at the top of my lungs, “Go, Caleb. Go, Caleb, go! Go, Caleb. Go, Caleb, go! Aaaaah! CALEB!”
I would have danced if I wasn’t driving. I had her laughing after my cheer.
I felt like I was flying.
After I parked the car, I climbed out quickly to open her door, but she beat me to it. She started walking away from me like I had leprosy.
“I’ll see you later,” she said over her shoulder. “If Kar agrees, okay?”
She didn’t wait for my answer and opened the entrance to the classroom building. It nearly hit my face as it started to swing closed.
“Wait.” I jogged to catch up to her. I noticed her looking around warily. Was she hiding from someone?
A few students were lounging in the corridors, some in front of their lockers, grabbing and storing books, checking their phones, and others in groups chatting. No one was paying attention to us. What was she worried about?