Some girls laughed. Some guys echoed him, making the same motions, and I rolled my eyes. The back row was still empty, and I marched right there. I’d seek shelter with friends. Screw my rules. I had a feeling I’d need the support, and I plopped down in the far right seat. It was the only one the guys didn’t sit in.
The guy who led the cheer sat up and turned around. “I know Carruthers. How’d it feel to hold his dick? Did you get a little turned on? You can be honest. This is just between you and me.”
More snickers sounded.
One guy started to add to it, but Shay walked into the room with Linde and the rest of their friends following.
Shay said, “Only you would go dirty from that video.” He skewered the guy with a look, walking down the aisle. He let his bag fall from his shoulder, catching it before it hit the floor. “Tell the truth, James. Do you have your girlfriend grab your nutsack like that? You like it a little kinky?”
He stood in the aisle and waited.
The guy sat back down. “I was just joking, Coleman.”
“Yeah, you were.” Shay shook his head, dropping into the seat next to me. Linde didn’t miss a beat. He sat in the third chair, right on the aisle. The other four guys paused, but moved into the other seats.
Shay asked under his breath, “You okay?”
The girl who usually sat beside me looked over her shoulder to us. Her eyes slid from Shay to me, then back again before she turned to the front.
I nodded, feeling the back of my neck warming.
Linde leaned forward to see me. “Say the word, Clarke. That James guy likes to work out with us in the afternoons. I can have some guys spot him and give him some uncomfortable time under those weights if you want.” He winked. “Just say the word.”
“Thanks, Linde.” I said before turning to Shay, “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
Shay nodded, leaning back in his seat and pulling out his notebook. “I’m pretty sure I was doing him a favor. If he provoked you enough, he’d be in the hospital bed right alongside Carruthers.”
Linde snorted. “You haven’t had a problem with him or his buddies, have you?”
“No.” I hadn’t even considered that. Besides Parker, no one messed with me in high school, not like that. The girl shit happened, but this wasn’t the same. Guys found out who Blake and Gage were and backed off. Usually. I never had an altercation like I had on Saturday. That was new for me. “Are they the type to do that?”
Linde didn’t say anything. He just sat back in his seat, as if he were slinking away.
Shay shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
He looked like he was going to say something else, but the professor came in, and we spent the next hour learning about the political dynamics in the United Kingdom.
Once we were dismissed, Shay asked, “Have you already done the reading for Wednesday?”
I nodded. “I’m caught up through next week, but it isn’t really sticking in my head. Everything he said today was all new stuff. I should go over the book again.”
“You want to do that together?”
Linde and the other football players already left.
A couple girls stayed behind, sneaking glances at us. Or no. They were watching Shay.
He was standing in the aisle, and I hadn’t yet cleared the desk where Linde sat. A few of the other students lingered, as well, mostly to talk to the professor, but I caught a few other curious looks our way.
I lowered my voice. “Like in the library with our group?”
He didn’t even know the girls were there. “Like in my room, or in the living room if you’re uncomfortable.” His eyes darkened as they held mine.
He wasn’t just talking about studying, though I was sure we’d also do that. “I—” Fuck. I was going to decline, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to spend time with him, or maybe it was that whole hiding away factor. I’d been hiding before, but in a different way. I hid who I knew, who I was related to, and that seemed to be getting out more and more. But that feeling to hide again was there, and going to Shay’s house was the perfect place.
I felt flutters in my chest.
I couldn’t lie to myself. There were other reasons I wanted to go to his place, but studying and hiding were at the top of that list. I nodded. “Yeah. I’d be game for that.”
His lips lifted in a half-grin. “You have a couple classes still, don’t you?”
“One. I’m done by two-thirty Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”
“You want a ride?”
“Uh . . .” I considered it. “I should drive my own car. You know, since we’re not—”
“We’re classmates, Clarke.” He led the way down the aisle and out the door. He bypassed the girls completely. “You’re always bringing up the dating thing. Maybe you’re the one who wants to be dating.”
He started down the stairs. I was following behind him, and I didn’t answer. It was too difficult. People were going the opposite direction for their classes, and still others trickled in behind us from the floors above. When we pushed through the bottom doors, it was like a dam and the students were spilling free. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Kristina walking out.
“Hey.” I stopped to wave.
She looked up, a grin spreading over her face. She’d been frowning down at her planner, but put it away as she drew near. Her eyes flicked to Shay. “We meet again.”
“Kristina.”
She nodded. “And everyone knows who you are.” She asked me, “Where have you been all weekend? Oh, my God. You’ve missed a ton.”
“What are you talking about?” I assumed she would’ve seen the dick-in-the-hands video.
Her eyes widened dramatically. “Laura, Sarah, and Casey had a massive fight last night. Massive. I must share the details.”
Shay began edging backward. His eyes found mine. “That’s my exit. I’ll see you later.” He held a hand out toward Kristina. “It was nice seeing you again.”
“You, too.”
Kristina sighed as he left. “I know I have a boyfriend, but damn, girl. He’s gorgeous. I can’t believe you’re still holding out telling the girls about him.”
I groaned. “Are you kidding me? They know about Gage. I’m already stress-eating that situation. I got home from the library and ordered a pizza last night.”
“Did you eat it all?”
“My stomach made me stop after three slices. Don’t judge me. I was hungry.”
“No judgment here. And talking of no judgment,” she whacked my arm, “you didn’t tell me about your video this weekend. I think it went viral yesterday.”
Kristina grabbed the door leading into the food court, and I went ahead. “I was hoping you hadn’t viewed it.”
“Are you kidding me? Casey was there. She had front-row tickets.”
Yeah. Casey. She’d become a different sort of problem. I cleared my throat as we got into the line for the cafeteria. “You said the girls got into a fight last night? Are they eating with us?”
She snorted, pulling out her ID. “I doubt it. Casey took off. I have no idea where she went, and Laura and Sarah have been at the guys’ building all day. I saw them in the dorm bathroom this morning, but Sarah said they needed a mental day.”
The amount of stress that just left my body was comedic. I tipped my head back. “Thank God.”
She handed her card over to run through the machine. Mine was next, and our conversation was paused. It was food time, which meant ice cream first for me. If the other girls weren’t eating with us, I snagged a table in the far corner. Kristina found me. She’d gone the healthy route today with a salad, an orange, and a carton of milk.
I looked at mine. I had pizza last night. My tray consisted of ice cream, a piece of cake, two chicken strips, and a small bowl of yogurt.
I said, “You’re not holding up your end of the Freshman Fifteen Agenda. I can’t eat your end for you.”
She picked up her milk and pointed at me. “You’re doing quite fine, Miss I Have the Longest Legs Ever, But Act Like They’re Short and Chubby. Kennedy, you can eat like this and still be drop-dead gorgeous. Not me.”