“Naah, I’m good.” He’s already brushing past me, heading right where I don’t want him to go.
The moment Hannah notices Justin, her cheeks turn pink and a startled look crosses her eyes, but she recovers quickly and greets him with a hesitant smile.
Oh hell no. My back snaps straighter than a hockey stick. I want to stalk over there and yank her away from Kohl. Or better yet, yank her right into my arms and kiss the living daylights out of her.
I do neither—because this time I’m the one being intercepted.
Kendall appears in my path, her long blond hair braided over one shoulder, the tail end of it dangling in her cleavage. She’s dressed to the nines in a teeny red dress and impossibly high heels, but her expression is stormy as fuck.
“Hi,” she says tightly.
“Hey.” I clear my throat. “How’s it going?”
Her lips flatten in displeasure. “Seriously? You’re on a date and that’s what you say to me?”
Shit. Half my attention remains on Hannah, who is now laughing at something Kohl said. Thankfully Beau is still there to serve as a buffer, but I’m not happy to see her and Justin looking so chummy.
The rest of my attention is on Kendall, who I’m suddenly afraid might make a scene.
“You said you didn’t want a girlfriend,” she hisses out.
“I don’t,” I’m quick to reply.
She’s so pissed she’s actually trembling. “Then how do you explain her?” One manicured finger lifts in Hannah’s direction.
Great. Well, now I’m screwed. I can’t insist that it’s not a date, because Kohl is supposed to think it is. But if I say it is a date, Kendall might very well slap me.
I lower my voice. “She’s not my girlfriend. It’s a date, yeah, but it’s not a serious thing, okay?”
“No, not okay. I’m really into you! And if you’re not into me, then fine. But at least have the decency to—”
“Why?” I’m unable to stop the question that had bitten at my tongue last week when she and I called it quits.
Kendall blinks in confusion. “Why what?”
“Why are you into me?”
She scowls at me, as if she’s genuinely insulted that I would ask that.
“You don’t even know me,” I say softly. “You haven’t tried to get to know me.”
“That’s not true,” she objects, her scowl dissolving into a worried frown.
I let out a troubled breath. “We’ve never even had a real conversation, Kendall, and we’ve seen each other dozens of times since the summer. You haven’t asked me a single question about my childhood, or my family, or my classes. My teammates, my interests—hell, you don’t even know my favorite color, and that’s the kind of thing you find out in Getting to Know You 101.”
“Yes, I do,” she insists.
I sigh again. “Yeah? What is it then?”
She hesitates for a beat, then says, “Blue.”
“Actually, it’s black,” another voice pipes up, and then Hannah appears at my side, and I’m so fucking relieved that I almost give her a bear hug.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she chirps, “but…dude, where’s our beer? Did you get lost on your way to the kitchen or something?”
“I got sidetracked.”
Hannah glances at Kendall. “Hi. I’m Hannah. Sorry, but I need to steal him away for a second. Thirst calls.”
The fact that Kendall doesn’t object tells me that my point has hit home, and Kendall’s expression is a mixture of shame and guilt as Hannah takes my arm and drags me into the hallway.
Once we’re out of sight, I lower my voice and say, “Thanks for the save. She was either about to burst into tears, or kick me in the balls.”
“I’m sure the latter would’ve been well-deserved,” Hannah replies with a sigh. “Let me guess—you broke her heart.”
“No.” Annoyance rises in my throat. “But it turns out our amicable parting wasn’t as amicable as I thought it was.”
“Ah. I see.”
I narrow my eyes. “So my favorite color is black, huh? What makes you think that?”
“Because every frickin’ shirt you own is black.” She shoots a pointed look at my sweater.
“Maybe that’s because black goes with everything—did you ever think about that?” I smirk. “Doesn’t mean it’s my favorite color.”
“Fine, I’ll bite. What’s your favorite color then?”
I let out a sigh. “It’s black.”
“Ha! I knew it.” Hannah sighs, too. “So, what, do we have to hide in the hall for the rest of the night now to avoid that girl?”
“Yup. Unless you want to take off?” I say hopefully. I’ve lost all enthusiasm for this party, especially now that Kohl has arrived. Before she can answer, I strengthen my case by adding, “Kohl took the bait, by the way. So if we take off now, you’ll leave him wanting more, which was the plan, right?”
Hesitation digs a line into her forehead. “Yeah, I guess. But…”
“But what?”
“I was enjoying talking to him.”
Damned if that doesn’t feel like a knife to the heart. But why? I’m not interested in Hannah. Or at least I hadn’t been before. All I’d wanted was her tutoring services, but now…now I don’t know what I want.