“He is such an attention whore.” I slammed my body down in the seat across from Melissa.
“Then stop paying attention to him.”
“It’s sort of hard not to when he’s always creating a spectacle.” I waved my arms toward the gaggle of girls following his every move.
“Hi, Melissa.” A deep voice interrupted my Jack-bashing.
“Oh…hi, Dean,” Melissa responded, her voice all soft and sweet. I shot a quick glance at her under my eyelashes, and smiled to myself.
“Would you mind if I sat with you?” Dean smiled when he asked and kept his hazel eyes locked on Melissa’s.
“No. We’re much better company than your brother’s table anyway,” she teased, poking him in the ribs.
He glanced in Jack’s direction, shaking his head. “It just gets old sometimes, you know?” He placed a slice of pizza on the table and sat down.
“Hi, I’m Dean.” He stretched his hand across the table.
“I’m Cassie. I’m Melissa’s roommate.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed.
“It’s nice to—”
“Dean! What are you doing over here?” Jack’s sultry voice echoed throughout the student union , and I felt my stomach lurch. I lifted my gaze to find him staring at me, so I pinched my lips together, hoping my annoyance would be loud and clear.
“Oh, Kitten. I see you’ve met my little brother.” Jack winked before placing his hand on Dean’s shoulder and squeezing.
“Thank God he seems nothing like you. I might actually be able to tolerate him.” I tilted my head and smiled sharply before taking a bite of my turkey sandwich. I noticed Melissa and Jack sharing an amused glance, and I wanted to kick Melissa under the table. The last time I did that it left an ugly bruise on her shin and she didn’t speak to me for days, so I restrained myself.
“You need me to work some of that aggression out of you?” Jack offered with a sexy smile.
My mouth was full, but I didn’t let that stop me. “I’d rather eat dirt.”
“I almost want to see that.” Jack chuckled and one dimple appeared on his cheek.
“You would. Go torture someone else,” I begged, nibbling at my sandwich before looking away.
“But I like torturing you.” He grinned and moved to sit next to me.
“Uh, no!” I shouted before throwing my bag right where he was about to plop his perfect little ass. He stopped short and stood back up.
“Why so angry, Kitten?”
“Why so annoying, jackass?” I mimicked his tone.
I had just taken a bite of my pickle when Jack’s warm breath in my ear stopped my chewing. “You’ll come around. You’ll see. You can’t resist me forever.”
I suddenly had the urge to spit my half-chewed food all over his arrogant face. The thought of doing it made me laugh, and I accidentally inhaled a little of what I was chewing. As I choked and struggled to swallow, he walked away smiling.
“Sorry about my brother. He isn’t really a jerk.” Dean smiled as he defended his brother, his head cocked to one side with sincerity.
I coughed to clear my throat and picked up a napkin. “He just plays one on TV?”
“Something like that. Don’t take him too seriously. He’s just having fun with you.”
I half smiled. “But I’m not having fun.”
“But you are. And he knows it,” Dean added, his expression a mixture of confidence and knowing.
I didn’t respond to Dean’s accusation, not wanting to prove him right…or wrong. I took a healthy bite of my sandwich when Jack walked back over to our table. Caught with a mouth full of food again, I couldn’t speak, so I simply narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
He shoved a napkin into my hand and walked away without saying a word. I started to unfold it before reading #23 on the field, #1 in your heart, followed by some numbers written in black ink. I quickly crumpled it up and threw it in my bag.
“What was that?” Melissa interrupted the thoughts swirling around in my head.
I swallowed. “His phone number, I think. I didn’t really look at it.”
“He gave you his number?” Dean’s face appeared puzzled.
“I think. Maybe I’m wrong. I’ll look at it later.” I was suddenly embarrassed at the assumption that Jack had given me his number, when maybe it wasn’t Jack’s number at all.
Melissa turned toward Dean. “What’s with the face?”
“He doesn’t give out his phone number. There’s no point with him.” Dean’s gaze darted from my face to Jack’s, turning his head to scrutinize his brother, now sitting several tables away.