27. Chapter 27

27

Heath

"Who is Adrian Hayes?" Sebastian leans back, sipping sweet coffee calmly like it's Sunday morning and nothing is fucking wrong in the world.

"A prick Hope likes," I grumble and drink the protein shake.

"But didn't you say he's fictional?"

"Does it matter?" I snarl at him.

He slowly nods and drinks the coffee. I want to splash it in Adrian fucking Hayes' face. What kind of absurd name is that?

"She said there are more," I tell him, wishing the burn in my chest would abate, but it only flares up brightly. I've never felt like this before. For fuck's sake, I've never even cared who liked who, certainly not some girl.

My best friend was right. She's not some girl to me.

Sebastian chuckles and it annoys the hell out of me. "This just got interesting. Who thought the shy book nerd has—"

One glare from me and he shuts up. Clearing his throat he says, "Well, they're all fictional so it doesn't matter if she likes them."

"It fucking matters," I argue.

Sebastian smirks. "Unless you like her."

I pin him with a glare. "I don't fucking like her."

Rolling his eyes, he sighs and runs his gaze across the parking lot searching for someone. His girlfriend. Marie Anderson. When he doesn't see her, only then he turns to me

"So, this Adrian guy, what he's like?"

"Asshole."

"Heath," he drawls out in a dry tone.

I sip my shake. "Google didn't write much about his attributes, so I don't fucking know."

"Is he a guy or a man? Wait, are there men or there can be guys too in books? You know, under eighteen."

"I don't fucking know."

"I'm sure you wish you did."

"He's some famous golden soccer player at school who's loved this girl since they were children. Have a nickname for her and shit. And he's always only loved her."

I see Sebastian grin from the corner of my eye. "You know a fucking lot."

"Google mentioned it."

"What else did it say?"

"Nothing." That was the annoying part. I have no idea who this Adrian fucking Hayes is.

"So, from what I see he sounds like a good guy. Loves the girl, only wants her, and has a nickname for her. I see the appeal."

"Are you fucking serious?"

"What's wrong?"

"How about we start with he's fictional. "

"No threat to your reign, your majesty."

Exasperation clings to my nerves. I'm seconds away from slamming his face into the window and making him realize how much it bothers me that Hope likes this guy.

With a chuckle, he playfully punches my shoulder. "Look, it shouldn't matter when you have no feelings for her. She can like a tree for fuck's sake because you don't like her . So why fret over some fictional guy or man? You continue being her friend."

Friend. Right. It's better if Hope and I stay friends because nothing good will come out if we—

Why the fuck I'm thinking about going beyond friendship? I don't want that.

Besides, she needs a friend, someone she can confide in because there is something very wrong in her life. If I want to help her, save her, I can't ruin what little progress we've made as friends.

"Look, here they come." Sebastian gets out of the car, and I follow him.

The second Marie steps out of her car he's holding her by her waist and kissing her deeply.

Hope watches them with a small smile, then comes over to me. Today she's wearing a light sweater and jeans and Converse. As usual, there's a book in her hand. I inspect it closely, it's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

I cock my head to the book. "Book number…"

"Two." Life fills her eyes.

"How was book one?"

"Just like I remember. Great." Her smile widens.

I can't stop looking at it.

"You didn't update me," I complain, much to my surprise.

"Oh, I thought you didn't mean it seriously—"

"I always mean what I say, Rose. You should know it by now."

She stares at me with an open mouth. Amusement fills me, and I gently tip her mouth to close it.

I decide to go easy on her. "You haven't read this one before?"

"No. No… um…not at all," she stutters, and my brain believes that it's because of me. "I haven't even watched the movies because I didn't want to spoil it for myself." She hugs the book tightly to her chest.

The school bell rings and the four of us enter the school building. The moment we step inside, people stop and stare at us. As we move along the hallway, I hear the snippets of whispers which I ignore. But that doesn't stop them from talking about us.

Suddenly we're the center of attention on a Monday morning.

Sebastian and Marie have their locker side by side—Sebastian somehow got it done—so they drift away from us.

I don't keep much in my locker except for snacks or spare notebooks and pens. There are no photographs or things like other students have.

I lean against the locker next to Hope's and study the inside of her locker. Like me, she hasn't decorated it. But hers has a row of textbooks, pens, and a hoodie.

"Why is there a hoodie?"

"In case of emergency."

"What about pants?"

Blush tints her cheeks. "There's shorts underneath it."

Hoodie and shorts. An image of her wearing them flashes through my mind. Her long, sexy legs in those shorts.

For fuck's sake. I need to stop thinking about her like that.

"Did I get any orders over the weekend?" She closes her locker and looks at me with her light brown eyes.

"See for yourself." Handing her my phone, I watch as she opens the app.

Averting my gaze from her, I notice the number of eyes on us. Almost everyone is taking a double take at us as if we're dressed as clowns. Motherfuckers.

I search for Marie and Sebastian who are nowhere to be seen. Those two always leave me alone with Hope. Intentionally.

"I got three orders." A deflated smile clings to her features.

"It's something."

Just like that, her gloomy smile changes to a beautiful, bright one. "You just said what I say to you."

I didn't realize.

I fold my arms over my chest. Her eyes quickly drop to my muscles that stretch the material of my black shirt. Her gaze traces my entire arm, then reaches my broad chest.

She's openly staring at me with fuck-me eyes. For fuck's sake.

"See something you like?"

"Yes." Her eyes widen and she cups her mouth in shock.

A smirk itches my lips. I did not expect that.

" No . I meant no. Big no. Big fat no," she babbles, looking at me all nervous and shy. Her cheeks further turn red.

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" I tease her with a passive face, not letting her know that I'm enjoying the fuck out of it.

"Ugly? What! No. You're not ugly from any angle." She roams her eyes all over me.

Heat crawls up to the back of my neck and then spreads everywhere. The more her gaze drills into me the more I become self-aware. It's not long before I feel the heat traveling somewhere it's not supposed to. I straighten up.

Insects and heat weren't enough, now I'm getting a boner. Fucking wonderful.

Without thinking, I bend down to her ear and catch her sucking her breath. Interesting.

"I suggest you stop looking at me like that, Rose." I linger by her side as her flowery scent draws me to her.

"Why?" She looks up with her innocent eyes at me, which are not so innocent.

"You don't want to know," I whisper, my gaze dropping to her mouth.

Pink full lips. I've never seen lips so tempting before. Fuck. I've never even looked twice at lips before. But right now, I can't stop looking at them.

Kiss her.

Kiss her.

Fucking kiss her.

The shriek of the bell removes the blanket on my senses, and I pull back from her with every bit of self-control I possess.

Her eyes are big and peer up at me with surprise and… something else. I don't like that look one bit. It's tempting.

Turning around, I climb up to the roof to smoke a cigarette.

There's no fucking way I'll be able to concentrate when full lips and brown eyes are all I can think about.

Four cigarettes later and I'm still thinking about her.