Jake Undone(29)

Bring it on.

I didn’t like the looks of her. Even if my relationship with Jake stayed platonic, I felt protective of him and certainly didn’t want that cheap hussie to have him.

The four of us lingered until almost closing time and shared an entire platter of baklava. It was late by the time we went back upstairs to the apartment, so all of us retreated to our rooms.

Exhausted from the day’s events, I went to the bathroom to wash my face but skipped a shower. I couldn’t wait to bury myself under the covers. As my head hit the pillow, staring back at me on the nightstand was another origami bat. I chuckled and opened it.



Congratulations again on making the grade.

Imagine the possibilities when you finally get laid.

P.S. Kidding, Nina! Just retesting your ability to take a joke.

P.P.S. Your blood tastes like bananas.



He was certifiably nuts, but he never ceased to make me laugh.





CHAPTER 10





Friday morning, I awoke with the jitters, anxious about my date with Alistair that night. He was supposed to be picking me up at seven and taking me to a popular Italian restaurant down the street from the university.

It was bugging me that I was not looking forward to it as much as I had hoped and that I couldn’t stop thinking about Jake. Thankfully, as usual, my roomie would be headed to Boston for the weekend straight from work and wouldn’t be a distraction tonight. It wasn’t healthy to be focusing on him so much, and I was convinced that going out with Alistair was a necessary step in the right direction.

I would have to get through a day of classes, though, before I could concentrate on things like what to wear and how to do my hair for tonight.

Alistair sat in his normal seat next to me in math and he immediately acknowledged our plans when he turned to me and whispered with a twinkle in his eye, “I can’t wait to take you out tonight.”

I just nodded, not wanting Professor Hernandez to overhear anything. It’s a good thing I was paying attention to the lecture, because Hernandez called on me to come up to the dry erase board and work on a problem about Venn Diagrams. “Ms. Kennedy, shade in the parts of this diagram which correspond to the named set.”

When I colored in the correct parts of the circles in red, he nodded in agreement. “Very good, Ms. Kennedy.” Then, he whispered to me with a slight smile. “Most improved student, so far this year, it seems.”

Maybe he wasn’t such a jerk after all. Feeling a sense of achievement, I couldn’t contain my smile. Alistair high-fived me when I returned to my seat.

After class, we walked down the hallway to the exit, and Alistair’s blue eyes gleamed as he said, “I’ll pick you up at seven.” He truly was a handsome guy; maybe tonight, I would feel something stronger for him in a different setting.

“Yup, sounds good. See you later,” I said.





***





That afternoon, Tarah was making an early dinner in the kitchen when I got home from school, and the apartment smelled like garlic and onions.

“Hey, girl,” I said as I placed my backpack down on the couch.

“Hey! I am just making some rice and chicken. This gluten-free diet is a bitch. Want some?”

“No, I can’t. Thanks. Actually, believe it or not, I have a date tonight.”

Tarah dropped her spatula and picked it up, waving it at me. “Excuse me? How did I not know this?”

“It’s no big deal. I’m not sure if I even like him like that. He’s a guy in my math class. His name is Alistair.”

“Interesting name.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. He is really cute, though…and nice…and smart.”

“As opposed to really hot…not so nice…and super smart, like Jake? You know, I thought that something was developing there, but I guess I was wrong?”

“Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. There is just this vibe between you two lately. I really sensed it when we were at Eleni’s the other night. You guys are opposites, but you seem to fit together somehow.”

I know.

I shrugged my shoulders in frustration. “Well, tell that to him.”

“I knew it! I knew you liked him,” she said pointing the spatula at me.

I held out my hands in protest. “Please don’t go there right now, okay? I am supposed to be focusing on this date.”

She rolled her eyes. “I wanted to slap that bitch Desiree the other night. She clearly wanted to get her paws into him.”

My stomach knotted up when she mentioned Desiree. “Can we not talk about Jake right now?”

“Okay, okay…your date. First off, what are you wearing?”

“My black Donna Karan dress…”