Young Love (Bloomfield #4) (8 page)

On Friday he even brought us coffees, which put him way up in both our books. The strangest thing of all, was he didn’t really flirt with us either. Of course, that was what I had assumed were his initial intentions. Yet, he surprised me by keeping everything light and friendly.

“So, what kind of dance do you do?” he asked as we walked out of class on Friday. Chloe had run out ahead of us to meet Kyle in the parking lot. They were going away on some romantic trip that weekend, so I knew she wouldn’t be around the apartment building. I just prayed Cat didn’t get the urge to go out again. I didn’t think I could handle it two weekends in a row.

I looked over at Adrien in surprise. “What makes you think I’m a dancer?”

He laughed, rolling his eyes as we walked side by side. “It’s obvious, Honor.”

He laughed harder at the confused look on my face.

“First of all, you sit and walk like a dancer. Most girls have horrible posture, but yours is nice and straight. If I took a guess, I’d bet my money on ballet.”

I pursed my lips.

“It’s ballet, isn’t it?” he said with a wide grin. I shrugged. “Ha! I knew it.”

“What’s the other reason?” I asked, curious.

“My sister did dance all her life,” he said. “I’ve always been around it, so I can recognize someone who dances pretty easily.” His eyes dropped down the front of me. “You have the body of one.”

I smacked his chest, pointing a warning finger at him. “Watch it.”

He raised both hands. “I’m just stating a fact, girl. I’m not trying to pull any moves.”

“Uh huh.”

“Adrien!” a girl’s voice shouted.

We looked over as a group of five of them all waved.

“Looks like I’m needed,” he said with a grin that was surprisingly not cocky at all.

“Ah yes,” I said, glancing around him at the girls who stood waiting anxiously. “Your harem awaits.”

He laughed. “You can’t be the only girl in my life, ballerina.”

“You wish,” I replied.

He winked. “I’ll give you a shout later this weekend. Maybe we can get together Sunday to go over that paper.”

I nodded at him as he walked away from me backwards.

“Stay out of trouble,” he called out before turning around.

“I think I’m the one that should be saying that to you,” I shouted at him.

He spun around again as he moved. “Girl, I’m nothing
but
trouble.”

Good lord. Some guys had more ego than was safe. I watched as he was practically swallowed up by the girls. The group walked off, Adrien in the middle as if he were some sort of celebrity.

Why did a guy like that, who was obviously the kind who entertained girls frequently, decide one day to become my friend? And only a friend? I never got the sense that he was seriously flirting with me at all. Chloe had made the same remark on Wednesday before he got to class.

I mean, I appreciated that about him. It was one of the reasons I was really starting to the like the guy. I didn’t feel awkward or constantly on edge around him, because I knew he wasn’t trying to get into my pants. There was some part of me though – a very
small
part – that couldn’t help but wonder
why
he didn’t flirt with me the way he did all those other girls? What was wrong with me? Was I not pretty enough? Did he not find me attractive? He knew I didn’t have a boyfriend like Chloe.

Whatever, I decided. I didn’t want Adrien to want me anyway. Right? Of course not. I was too busy for boys. That didn’t stop my mind from obsessing over it though all the way home on the bus, and all the way up the three flights of stairs as I made my way to my apartment.

An old, dingy mirror hung in the hallway. It had probably been there since the eighties when the building was last decorated. I stopped in front of it, looking at my reflection with interest, wondering what guys saw when they looked at me.

I mean, I didn’t think I was gorgeous or anything, but I wasn’t hideous. I pulled at a curled strand of hair, twisting it in the dim lights above me, the shade of brown darker indoors. Was I not
sexy
maybe? Those other girls wore sexy like it was a perfume. They just sprayed it on themselves in the morning and walked out of their rooms ready to entice any male in a fifty yard radius. They had the giggle, hair flip, and eye bat thing down to an art.

Maybe that’s what I was missing. Maybe I just didn’t give off the sexy, “hey boys” vibe, they all did. I wouldn’t know how to even if I’d wanted. Being overly flirtatious wasn’t really my thing. Especially not now when I had so much else on my mind.

“What on earth has put that look on your face?”

I froze at the sound of his voice. Jesus. What was it about this man that had my body instantly pulsating? Adrien was superhot, and I didn’t have this reaction to him, even though I sat beside him five days out of the week. Grey Anderson says one sentence to me, and suddenly it’s as though I’ve stuck my finger in a socket, and electric shocks are shooting through my body.

Slowly, I turned my head to see him leaning against the opposite wall just a little ways down the hallway, watching me. Our eyes locked and held, just like they did at the bar. I could feel my cheeks heating as his stoic gaze ate me up. He pushed off the wall, walking toward me.

“Well?” he said, stopping in front of me.

“Well?” I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. What had he asked again?

His lips twitched. “Why are you standing out here looking at yourself as if you don’t know the person in the mirror?”

“Oh,” I said, my cheeks flaming now. “Uh…” I looked back at the mirror and then him again, trying to figure out an explanation that didn’t sound lame and pathetically sad. “I, uh, thought I felt a pimple coming, so I was just stopping to check.”

Holy. Shit. That did not just come out of my mouth.

I should have just gone with the truth. Wondering about your own personal attraction was a lot less embarrassing than talking about skin problems to a guy who looked like sex incarnate.

Actually, this could explain exactly why guys didn’t flirt with me like they did other girls. Apparently, I was a complete idiot.

Awesome.

Chapter 10

Grey

I’d been running late to get to my parent’s place. My last appointment at the shop had gone longer than I’d expected, so I knew I was going to have to rush my dinner if I was going to make it before Mom and Dad went to bed for the night. A quick stop at the local small grocery store had eaten up more time than I wanted to as well.

So when’d I’d taken the stairs two at a time, my only thoughts were on throwing some dinner together and getting out again as quickly as possible.

But then I saw her.

My feet had frozen on the dense carpet, thankfully muffling the sound of my approach. Not that she looked as though she’d notice me anyway. For some reason, I couldn’t look away as I leaned against the wall to watch her with interest.

Honor stood in the hallway, staring at her reflection as if she didn’t recognize the girl staring back at her. A small line formed between her furrowed brows, those plump lips of hers turned down slightly at the corners. I watched as she absorbed every part of her face, that crease ever remaining as she did.

I had no idea what was going through her mind, but suddenly my protective instinct had reared from where it had lain sleeping, and all I wanted to do was erase that look of confusion from her face. Whatever she was thinking, whatever she was seeing when she looked at herself, I knew it wasn’t what it should be.

No one as smart and beautiful as Honor Jacobs should stare at themselves with that level of insecurity.

I couldn’t take it anymore when I finally spoke so she’d know I was there. As I stood in front of her, closer now, I watched as her mouth opened and closed as she tried to explain what she was doing there.

It was obvious she didn’t want to tell me the truth. I understood wanting to keep things private, so I decided to let her off the hook.

Kind of.

I wasn’t going to push, but I also wasn’t going to let her retreat into her apartment to continue whatever inner conflict she was having. Before I could think better of it, I spoke.

“What are you doing now?” I asked.

She seemed surprised, her mouth snapping shut, her eyes narrowing slightly. “I have to teach a class in a couple of hours.”

“Then you’ll need to eat something first,” I said, walking around her. Unlocking my door, I looked back to see her still standing in the same spot, watching me. I jerked my head. “Come on, I was going to make dinner before I need to go out myself.”

“Oh,” she said, moving slowly. “You don’t have to –”

“Get your ass in there, Honor. It’s just dinner.”

She hesitated for a second before stepping past me into my place. Stopping just inside, she looked around as I closed the door behind me. It was a good thing I was neat, I thought, as I looked at my place with her. It wasn’t as homey looking as her place, but I was a guy. I wasn’t one to go out and buy knick-knacks and shit.

The layout of our places were the same, except flipped. My bedroom shared a wall with hers, while my kitchen sat on the opposite side. The living room had a simple leather couch and chair in it, with a dark coffee table, and a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. It wasn’t much to look at, but it was comfortable for me.

Walking past her, I went into the kitchen to drop the bags of groceries I was still holding on the counter. I heard her move to the other side of the breakfast bar, her eyes watching me as I started to unpack.

“You good with tacos?” I asked, looking up at her.

She was biting her damn lip again. This girl was going to kill me one day. She nodded, seeming slightly uncomfortable. I didn’t blame her. Things were always strained between us. There wasn’t much I could do about the kiss we’d shared before, or how I found her undeniably attractive. But I could try to smooth things over so we could at least be friends.

“You look like you’re about two seconds away from bolting,” I teased, switching the stove on as I placed a pan over the flame.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she replied.

I snorted. At least she was honest. “I’m sure we can manage to hang out without things being awkward, Honor.”

“Okay,” she said, sounding unconvinced. She sat down on one of my bar stools and watched as I got the meat going before turning to the counter to start chopping veggies.

“It’s just two friends having dinner together,” I said.

Her brows lifted as her lips twitched. “Is that what we are now, friends?”

“Sure, why not? We have mutual friends, so we might as well try to be. It will make things less awkward when we all hang out.”

She hummed under her breath. I didn’t know what that meant.

“Do you always cook dinner for friends?” she asked.

“When I see them standing alone and dejected looking out in the hall, yeah.” I glanced up at her, that furrowed brow back. “Want to tell me what’s really bugging you?”

“Not really.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough. What class are you teaching tonight?”

Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “Acro,” she answered. “And then I have to practice my solo.”

“Do you have a competition coming up?”

She nodded. “At the end of November.”

“You’re an amazing dancer,” I said, my hand faltering. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. When I looked at her, she simply smiled at me.

“Thanks,” she said.

The tension left me as I continued to chop the tomatoes. “Are you going to try out for a dance school like Perrie was talking about? I bet you would make it.”

“I don’t know,” she said, settling back. I liked that she was slowly becoming more comfortable. “Mom always wanted me to, but I already got into BU. If I tried out for any of the larger dance schools, I’d have to transfer and move further away. It’s just a lot of hassle.”

“Yeah, but you’d be doing what you love,” I pointed out.

“I’m fine doing what I’m doing now,” she said.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try. Maybe if it was an option, you’d think differently.”

She tilted her head side to side, as though weighing the idea in her mind. Those perfect teeth peeked out again to nibble on the corner of her bottom lip. “Maybe,” she said, snapping my attention away from her mouth and back to her eyes.

“Is Jeanie in your class tonight?” I asked, grabbing some plates for us.

“Yes she is,” she said with a warm smile. “She’s an awesome little girl.”

“Of course she is,” I said. “She’s related to me.”

She chuckled. “Right. That must be why.”

I gave her a quick wink, not missing the way her cheeks blushed slightly. I set out the food, letting her build her own taco. We stood side by side in the kitchen, stuffing the shells in the first companionable silence between us since the night I first met her. It was…nice.

I led us to the living room, turning on the TV as we both settled in the couch.

“What do you want to watch while we eat?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter to me.” She sat beside me, surprisingly. I had half expected her to pick the chair just to keep some distance between us. Crossing her legs, she placed her plate in her lap and wiggled until she was comfortable.

It was only when her gaze lifted to meet mine that I realized I was just sitting there, watching her. I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t often that I had girls over to my apartment like this. Actually, it was unheard of, before Kelly. Seeing her here though made a strange feeling blossom in my gut.

Clearing my throat, I looked away, and focused on finding something to watch. I settled on Dateline: Real Life Mysteries. I knew it was the right choice when she expressed her love for the show, and the two of us ate as we watched shit that I was sure would probably freak her out as soon as she was home alone again.

She got up half way through. “I’m going to make another one,” she said, surprising me again. It was nice to see a girl who wasn’t afraid to eat seconds in front of a guy. Kelly ate like a rabbit.

It’s because you’re just friends,
I reminded myself.
She’s not trying to impress you.