“Too bad he isn’t all there, because he sure is hot.” The man had the whole John Cusackvibe going, with his long, dark hair and quirky ways. The only thing different was his strange, blue-green eyes. Vibrant and colorful, his eyes changed with his moods, sometimes blue, sometimes green, sometimes both. They were stunning, and Barb had found herself gazing into them more than once before common sense kicked in and she got away from the crazy.
Barb inched closer to the opposite side of the path. When the time came, and she knew it would, she’d need to be able to duck out of the way.
Stacy giggled. “Sure, if you like ‘em pasty.”
“Hmm.” Barb wasn’t about to admit it, but it was looking more and more like she did like them a little paler than her family would be comfortable with, especially her father. There was something about Will that tugged at her, made her trust him despite his goofy ways.
“Those eyes of his are pretty, I’ll give you that. All swirly blues and greens.”
Barb nodded. They were his most stunning feature, one she… “Wait. When did you get close enough to see his eyes?”
Stacy and Barb ducked, ignoring William Bunsun as he sailed over their heads.
“Oh fuck.” He landed hard in the bush on the opposite side of the path, his feet twitching on the concrete.
It really was a shame the man had the brains of a sparrow, because otherwise she’d totally tap that.
“He always overshoots us.” Stacy sighed as if she really gave a crap.
Barb nodded. “Too much bounce in his jump.”
“Sort of like Tigger, but without the stripes.”
“Or the theme song.”
“Barb, Stacey. A little help, please?” His warbly baritone shivered through her even as his goofy antics made her laugh. The man was a nut, but he was a good-natured one.
The girls continued down the path, ignoring the man’s pained groan. They knew from experience he would be back later, hunting Barb with a single-minded determination that she would have found scary if the man hadn’t been so sweet.
At first she’d been afraid of him. William Bunsun acted like a crazy stalker, hunting her all over campus. He hid behind garbage cans in the cafeteria, stalked her on the paths between classes, and in general acted like an idiot. She’d almost called campus police on his ass more than once.
Almost.
Sometimes she still questioned why she hadn’t, but she knew why she would never turn
Will in to campus police. And it wasn’t because of a pair of pretty eyes and a tight ass in tighter jeans, either.
About two months after school started, when she’d been considering calling the cops on his ass, Will saved her from a real stalker.
The relief on some of the faces of her dorm mates when that man had been kicked out of school had told her exactly what William Bunsun had protected her from that night. He’d decimated the creep following her, beating him bloody and chasing him off before turning to
Barb. For all he was awkward and geeky, that night he’d been her guardian angel. It was the first time she’d realized what power resided in the man who watched over her, and she’d been intrigued.
He’d stared at her, his blue-green eyes dark and troubled. “You all right?”
She hadn’t been able to speak, so she’d shrugged instead. Apparently he’d understood, because he’d disappeared into the bushes once more.
He’d followed her home that night, and every night since. He’d guarded her, kept her safe when she worked late, and made sure she never had a damn thing to worry about when it came to the things that went bump in the night.
So she’d let him continue to chase her, feeling safer than she ever had before thanks to the white man who couldn’t jump.
Over time it had become a game to them both, one they enjoyed immensely. It was a strange hide and seek he played with her. She knew when he was with her and when he wasn’t.
When the gifts and notes started showing up she’d finally known what he was doing.
He was wooing her, in his own freaky way.
Too bad for him, though. Barbra Browne did not plan to go down easy, especially for the
Great White Hunter. He might have managed to wiggle his way into her heart, but it would take more than that to wiggle into her pants.
“Guess what? There’s a party tonight at Brian’s place.”
Barb groaned. Stacey sounded way too excited. “Please don’t tell me you told him I’d be there.” Brian had been trying to get into her pants for months, but the man just didn’t know when to take no for an answer. She’d been holding him off for so long her arms were starting to get tired.
Stacy hunched her shoulders and tried to hide behind her books. “Sorry.”
“Stacy!”
“Afternoon, ladies.” The women nodded hello to Steven Williams, a smaller, paler version of his cousin Will. He didn’t have the same midnight hair or odd swirly eyes. His were a normal dark blue, his hair a lighter shade of brown. “He fly over you again?”9
“He’s eating dirt back there.” Barb gestured with her thumb. “Is he on a sports scholarship?”
Steven laughed so hard he had to stop walking.
Barb waited until the hyena was done laughing. Seriously, there was something wrong with these Bunsun-Williams boys. “You going to Brian’s party tonight?”
“Nope, but be careful, okay? I’ve been hearing rumours around campus about Brian and his parties. I’d hate it if anything happened to you two.”
Barb smiled. Steven was such a nice guy, but he couldn’t hold a candle to his cousin.
“Thanks.”
“Shit, I’m late for class. See ya.” Steve sauntered off, no doubt to dig up his cousin. Or fertilize him. You could never tell with Steven.
“One of these days that guy’s going to catch you.”
Barb snorted even as she shivered. The need to let Will catch her had been growing steadily. “Hell no. I’ll get caught when I want to be caught.” She darted a glance over her shoulder to see Steven laughing as Will brushed off, shooting his cousin a dirty look.
It took everything in her not to laugh. God, he was such a dork. But maybe…
Maybe he was her dork.
The two women entered the dorm, arguing about Brian’s party. “Aw, c’mon, Barb.
Brian’s got some pot.”