“Mind if I walk you to class?” he asked.
I didn’t think I could have spoken if I’d wanted to, I was that shocked, but I managed to squeak out some sort of reply that he must have taken as consent. He gave me a little smirk, and with his hand resting at the small of my back, he ushered me to my next class. My conclusion was that I’d somehow fallen into an alternate reality during math class, because in what world did the captain of the football team walk someone like me to class?
No, I’m not ugly. But I’d seen the girls Tyler “dated”, and I used the term loosely. They weren’t anything like me. They were all blonde, curvy, and at the top of the social food chain. He could literally have any girl he wanted in the entire school, so why was he escorting me to class as if he was my boyfriend? Sure, our kiss was probably the most important event of my entire life, but he’d locked lips with plenty of girls. I doubted my kiss was special.
We paused outside of my next class and he pulled me close again. His head lowered and my breath hitched in my throat. Was he going to kiss me? I felt my eyes widen, but he stopped a mere inch from my lips, lips that were now tingling and begging for a kiss that would probably never come.
“I’ll meet you here after class.”
There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes right before his nose caressed mine. He pressed a kiss my cheek, making my lips insanely jealous, and then he took off. I was left standing outside my class, slack-jawed and probably looking like a complete loon. Somehow, I managed to snap out of it and went inside to find my seat. My best friend, Amber, stared at me, eyebrows raised, as she waited for me to dish about what was happening between Tyler and me. Except, I didn’t know what to say.
“He wants me to wait for him after class.” I know I had to look at least half as dazed as I felt. Amber smiled at me, but it was this devious I’m plotting to take over the world kind of smile.
“Maybe he can be your Hunter repellent. You should ask him out.”
I think I must have hallucinated for a moment. “Did you just say I should ask out Tyler Robbins?”
She nodded, that same scary smile on her face.
“Amber, he’s Tyler Robbins. Why would he go out with me?”
“Maybe for the same reason he just kissed you. I know you don’t see it, but you’re gorgeous, Hadley. He had to have noticed at some point, and now that you’ve broken the ice, not to mention having dumped Hunter, he figures it’s time to make his move.”
She believed the words coming out of her mouth, but I just thought she was crazy. No way Mr. Football Captain wanted to date me. He probably hadn’t even known I existed before I kissed him this morning. Maybe I gave him false hope and he thought he was going to get lucky? Well, if that was what he believed, I would have to straighten him out next time I saw him. My lips craved his, but that was as far as I was willing to go. Unlike the girls he usually hung out with, I was far from easy. I’d dated Hunter for nearly two years, and he’d never even gotten to second base. Now, I was eternally grateful for that.
The teacher droned on and on about the book we were reading in class. Being somewhat obsessed with books, I’d read ahead. All right, to be perfectly honest, I’d read the entire book. It wasn’t like I was heading to Milo’s Pizza Café on a Friday night with my boyfriend, or going to whatever party was taking place on the weekends. Even when I’d dated Hunter, I hadn’t been a party kind of girl. He’d been okay with that, perhaps a little too okay. It had just never occurred to me that he was heading to those parties solo and hooking up with random girls. Not until I received the video proof on my phone.
There was a knock at the door and I looked up to see the object of my obsession leaning against the doorframe. How does he look so incredibly sexy so effortlessly? His gaze clashed with mine across the room and there were instant sparks. Had he felt it too? The way his lips tipped in a slightly sardonic smile said he knew exactly what I was thinking and that it amused him.
“Mr. Robbins, shouldn’t you be in class?” Mrs. Lundstrom asked, as she adjusted her glasses.
“I need to see Hadley Ryan for a moment. It’s important.”
Mrs. Lundstrom sighed, but I could tell from the slight smile on her lips that she wasn’t really annoyed with him. I didn’t think there was a female alive who wouldn’t fall under Tyler’s spell, even the seventy year old Mrs. Lundstrom. She gave a slight nod and motioned for me to step into the hall. My heart was pounding in my chest, racing like it was trying to win the Kentucky Derby, and I smoothed my skirt as I made my way over to the door.