Beneath Your Beautiful

Goddammit.

I.AM.SCREWED.

Chapter 7

~ Huntley ~

I’m walking towards the cafeteria for lunch when I hear my name being called. I’ve been downright dreamy and inattentive today, completely preoccupied with what happened with Grayson last night. That kiss…

“Huntley! Wait up!”

I turn around and find Luke Bailey jogging towards me. He’s wearing his signature khaki slacks with another blue polo shirt tucked in. His hair is combed to the side and I’m sure he spent hours trying to get it to look that way. The sight of him makes me cringe.

“Hi Luke.” I try my hardest to smile politely. This guy gives me the creeps, something about him screaming ‘Sexual Offender’.

“Hi Huntley. So I wanted to make sure we’re still on for next Saturday?” He doesn’t waste time.

I could come up with a pathetic excuse and not think twice about cancelling but I promised Demi I would go on one date with this schmuck, despite the bad feeling I get when I’m around him. The fact that he called me hours after meeting me to make arrangements should’ve been the first alarm bell. Clearly he doesn’t know the ‘bro code’, which stipulates a three day waiting period before you call the girl. I’m a girl and even I’m familiar with that little rule.

“Uh,” I hesitate, “Sure.” I try to hide my displeasure with my own answer knowing full well that this is not what I want.

Just one date, I remind myself.

He grins wide and that’s when I notice his perfect, straight white teeth. They’re almost too perfect. His entire appearance, attitude included, exudes ‘pretentiousness’.

“Great, I’ll pick you up at seven then.”

I don’t think so. Getting in the same car as this guy is a terrible idea. “Actually, I’ll just meet you at the diner.”

His face falls momentarily but he recovers quickly. “Ok, that’s fine. I’ll see you then.”

I nod and he starts walking away. He shakes his head, muttering something to himself. Alarm bell number two.

The cloud I’ve been walking on all day has dissipated and this feeling of dread and unease settles inside of me. My mother always told me to listen to my intuition because it will never lead me astray but for some reason when it comes to Luke Bailey, I’m ignoring the bright neon lights that are flashing ‘danger’. And all to please Demi. I shake my head and wonder when I started doing things to please others.

My stomach growls. The sound reminds where I was going before Luke intersected my path. The cafeteria is full, flowing with students who gather here like animals at a watering hole. Everyone is doing something, creating the illusion that the cafeteria is a hive of consequential happenings. But in reality, it’s just a bunch of students eating, talking and messing around.

I move towards the line and fill my tray with some fruit and a grilled chicken salad. After the conversation with Luke my appetite evaporated, taking with it the craving I had for fried buffalo wings. The table where Demi usually sits with Brody and the football team isn’t visible from the door so I have to snake my way through the crowded room to get to them.

When their table comes into view, my feet stop dead before what my eyes are seeing registers with my brain. I blink, bringing everything around me into focus.

Grayson is sitting at the table with a very voluptuous red-head on his lap. Rebecca. She’s straddling him and by the looks of it her tongue is deep sea fishing in his mouth. Demi looks like she wants to kill both Grayson and Rebecca while Brody stares like he can’t believe what’s going on. The bile surges up my throat. My heart slows until it feels like it has stopped beating altogether.

My ‘fight or flight’ instincts kick in and like a coward, I opt for ‘flight’. I drop my tray on the closest table with a loud crack. Grayson pulls away from Rebecca and has the audacity to look surprised when his green eyes fall on me. Not too long ago it was my lips he was devouring. I want to gag. And then rinse my mouth out with pesticide.

I turn and walk out, ignoring his pleas coming from behind me. How could I have been so stupid? Of course our kiss meant nothing. He sampled the goods and now he’s moving on. That’s the kind of game he plays. I can’t pretend that I didn’t see it coming but it brings back some feelings I’d rather not deal with again. Thanks but no thanks.

“Huntley!”

I walk a little faster and try ignoring whoever is calling me. A strong hand grips my arm and pulls me to a stop. I swallow once, willing the unwelcome tears to stay away. Why I have the urge to cry confuses me, it’s not like Grayson and I are a couple or that he promised me anything after he kissed me. Except to call me. He said he would call me. I guess that’s not happening now.

“Huntley, it’s not what you think.”

I look up and find Brody’s concerned eyes staring back at me. My shoulders slump in relief. It’s not Grayson.

“And what do I think?” I ask him, knowing how bad it must’ve looked when I stormed out like an irreverent teenager.

“He wasn’t kissing her.”

I snort. “Are you kidding me right now Brody? Do I have ‘idiot’ tattooed in bold letters on my forehead?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” He lets go of my arm and rubs the back of his neck. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Brody nervous.

“Brody, it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t owe me anything.” I don’t want to be right but I know I am. Why I thought our kiss meant something is beyond me. Stupid girl emotions. We get attached to anything with a heartbeat.

“Look, you just walked in at the wrong time alright! Rebecca caught him off-guard and just came out of nowhere. Before any of us knew what was going on she had her tongue down this throat. I swear that’s what happened.”

I shake my head muttering “Whatever.” I make a move to walk away but Brody stops me. “It meant something to him,” he whispers. For a second I’m confused, thinking that he’s talking about what I walked in on a few minutes ago between Rebecca and Grayson.

I stare at him and he explains, “He told me about last night,” he pauses, “It meant something to him.”

His words sink in. He’s talking about mine and Graysons’ kiss.

“He told you?”

“He’s my best friend, he tells me everything.”

“It doesn’t matter now Brody.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I know him better than anyone and I’m telling you it meant something to him.”

Despite what Brody is telling me, I don’t want to get caught up with these feelings. He could be right, maybe it did mean something to Grayson, but I can’t wait for him to figure it out for himself. I have to take care of my heart and Grayson Carter is no good for me.

Brody surprises me and pulls me in to his chest. Nothing about the embrace is intimate or sexual. Instead it radiates a brotherly type of affection, like he wants to comfort me and protect me in one breath. “Please be patient with him,” he whispers into my hair. “He cares about you more than he’s ready to admit.”

He looks down at me and offers a small smile. It’s reassuring but doesn’t ease my embarrassment. I watch as he walks back into the cafeteria before I start heading towards my apartment building across campus. My phone beeps alerting me to a text and I pull it out.