“Sounds good,” I said, my voice tight.
Bella sighed. “We’re going to have to work together for eight weeks. Can you do that?”
“Of course,” I snapped, proving the exact opposite.
“Right. Did I ever tell you that my father made his billions in commercial real estate?”
We climbed the staircase to the Beaumont dining hall before I worked out just what she was trying to tell me. “So… you know a thing or two about how to develop something in New York?”
“Yep,” she said as we stepped into the dining room, with its soaring ceilings. “Twenty-one years of boring dinner table discussion are about to come in handy.”
Finally — a little good news. “Well okay then.” I held out a hand to her. “This is going to work great. Let’s shake on it.”
She gave me an eye roll, but she also shook my hand. Hers was soft, and I didn’t really want to let go of it. “See you Thursday,” she said.
“Thursday,” I agreed. And before I could think better of it, I leaned down and gave Bella a quick kiss on the cheek. She smelled of fruity shampoo and soft skin.
Then I got the hell out of there.
Nine
Bella
For a moment I just stood there in the doorway of the dining hall, watching Rafe’s very fine ass disappear into the kitchen. My fingertips found their way onto my cheekbone, to the place where Rafe had put the sneaky kiss that short-circuited my brain.
Rafe was the most confusing boy I’d ever met. A month had gone by since we’d hooked up — it was ancient history. But I still felt too aware of him, and I didn’t know why. On our walk over here, I’d given him a freaking lecture on morality, because I couldn’t figure out how to shut up.
And then he kissed me? Who did that?
“Um, Bella?”
I turned to find Graham and two other friends — Corey and Scarlet — staring up at me from the table just inside the door. “Hi,” I said, dropping my hand from my cheek, and feeling self-conscious.
“Hi yourself,” Corey said with a grin. In fact, they were all smirking at me.
That unstuck me. I walked over to the empty seat beside Graham and dropped my backpack onto the floor. Sitting down, I stole one of Graham’s little dining hall glasses of Coke and drank it down.
“Who’s your friend?” Graham asked, turning his head to look pointedly at the kitchen door.
“Neighbor,” I corrected. “We have a class together.”
“Huh,” he said. “Did you notice that your neighbor was smokin’ hot?”
Was I ever going to get used to him saying things like that? Doubtful. “I did notice,” I mumbled, wondering how quickly I could change the subject. “Got any plans for the weekend, guys?” I tried.
“Not really,” Corey said. “Then again, it’s Tuesday.”
Right. “Good point.” I looked over at Graham’s tray and went in for another glass of Coke.
He blocked my hand. “You know, they’ll give you a tray of your own.”
“Where is the love?” I complained. I stood up anyway and went over to the beverage counter. The truth was that I didn’t feel all that well, and I was strangely thirsty. So I put three glasses on my tray and filled them with ice and soda. Food didn’t sound all that appealing, but I made myself a small plate at the salad bar, then went to sit down with my hockey friends again.
While I ate, Scarlet, a goalie on the women’s team, asked Corey questions about their upcoming tournament in Boston. “I haven’t played in that arena before.”
“It’s a dump,” I said at exactly the same time Corey said the same thing.
“Jinx!” Corey cried. “But it’s true. They need a renovation. Badly.” She was the manager of the women’s team, so she traveled all the same places with her team that I did.
My stomach ached, so I pushed my plate away. Hopefully I wasn’t coming down with anything. Strains of “When the Saints Go Marching In” began to rise up from my backpack.
“Whose ringtone is that?” Scarlet asked.
“My mom’s,” I said, reaching down to decline the call.
“That’s hysterical.”
“Yeah, I crack myself up.”
Unfortunately, the darned song played twice more before lunch was over. When I finally stepped into the empty stairwell, I called her back. “What is it, Mom?”
“Bella! I have good news. Your sister just found out that she got the grant she was so excited about. Now she can open her immunization clinic.”