The Weight of Words (The WORDS Series) (33 page)

Yeah, okay, I’d give her that.

“And don’t let me hear you complain about your boobs or skin,” she warned. “Not to mention your hair, and your eyes. God, listen to me. I sound like I’m about to switch teams!” She laughed.

She was such a great friend. I dreaded having to admit I’d been lying to her.

“Listen,” she said. “I think I know what’s going on. I’m feeling a little down on myself right now too. I’ve been so busy with dance that I haven’t even bothered with dating, but there’s no logical reason why guys aren’t falling at
your
feet. Maybe you’re giving off bad vibes or something. I bet if you hold your head up high and tell yourself you are
so
worthy of a hot guy’s attention, the men will be lining up at your door in no time.”

I looked at her, biting my lip. “Well, let’s say, theoretically, that there
is
a hot guy I’m interested in, and, for argument’s sake, let’s say he’s interested in me, too.”

“What?” she exclaimed. “There
is
a hot guy? Oh my God, I want to hear everything!” She dragged me to the end of my bed.

“I don’t know where to start,” I said.

“Well, where did you meet him? How long have you known him? What’s his name? Did he tell you he likes you?” She didn’t give me time to answer in between.

“I met him in a class—”

“Really? So you already have something in common. That’s awesome. What’s he like?” she prompted.

“Um, well, he’s smart, he’s kind, he’s really funny—”

“Oh, no, this has ‘he’s got a great personality’ written all over it.” Julie winced.

“No, no, it’s not that at all. He’s tall, super-hot, great ass, eyes to die for, incredible hair, and the most amazing jawline—God, there are no words…”

“Oh my gosh! He sounds perfect,” she said.

“He’s pretty wonderful, but it’s not all sunshine and roses. It’s actually kind of complicated.”

I reached for the pitcher and refilled our glasses. How to proceed? This was all kinds of heinous.

“Complicated? In what way?” she asked.

“Well, we can’t
go public
, I guess you’d say.” I was choosing my words carefully, trying not to blurt everything out all at once.

“Why not?”

“Um, well, he’s a TA, so the whole anti-fraternizing thing, you know—”

I spoke hesitantly, watching Julie’s face for signs of comprehension. Suddenly, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

She started talking to herself: “What did you say? Tall, great ass, nice eyes, incredible hair, amazing jawline? Holy shit, no way! Oh. My. God! You can’t be serious?” Yeah, she’d hit pay dirt. Her eyes shone with amazement.

“Yeah, I am,” I said.

She stood up and walked across my room like she was in a daze, then turned and walked back, coming to rest against my dresser with her drink in one hand and her other hand on her hip.

“You know what? I should be in total shock right now. But I’m not. I
knew it.
I even asked you yesterday what was going on between you and Daniel, and you played dumb,” she said.

“I know, Jul, I’m sorry.”

“How long?”

“Not long. Only a week. Everything happened so fast and totally by accident.”

I told her about the dinner at the Grants, and how Daniel had gotten drunk and revealed his feelings for me. I left out the gory details of the snooker lesson, essentially telling her that his guard was down and he told me things he might not otherwise have said.

“So every time I saw you or talked to you this week, you and Daniel were an item? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. No, let me rephrase that—I can’t believe you
lied
to me!”

“You must get why we’re not broadcasting this? He’s a TA. There are rules.”

“Newsflash, Aubrey—the way you guys were looking at each other yesterday?
Totally
broadcasting. You might as well have been wearing red heart-shaped beacons. Besides, I’m your friend. Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I trust you, Jul.”

I reached for her hand, but she snatched her fingers from my grasp as if she’d just touched a hot stove. Her face had turned red. She put her shaking hand on the dresser for support.

“I feel like an idiot. You let me keep rambling on about how hot he is and all the while you two are hooking up? You had a good laugh at this behind my back, huh? Stupid oblivious Julie.”

“Not at all. It’s not like that—” I reached for her again and she backed up. “Will you just let me explain?”

She put her hand up in front of my face. “I can’t talk to you right now.” She started crossing the room.

“Julie, you’re not going to tell anyone, right?”

She spun around, her eyes blazing. “God, I can’t believe you just said that! What kind of person do you think I am?”

I helplessly trailed after her as she rushed out into the living room, slipped her shoes on, and grabbed her coat. She yanked the door open and dashed out to the hallway.

“Julie, please don’t go!”

She didn’t turn around, pushing her way through the door to the stairwell and disappearing. The door closed with a hollow click. I stood, staring down the empty hallway, before giving a resigned sigh and heading back into the apartment. I grabbed both my phone and my mojito, downing the rest of it before sending Daniel a text message.

Disaster. Julie just stormed out.
She’s super pissed at me. -A

I poured myself another and sat on my bed to wait for a response from Daniel. A couple of minutes later, my phone rang.

“Aubrey?”

“Daniel! Where are you?”

“We’re at a pub on Yonge Street. I’ve just stepped outside. So, things didn’t go well?”

“Nope. Not well at all. She is
so
angry.”

“Really? I honestly didn’t think she’d react that way. She seems pretty even-keeled. What happened?”

“I explained everything like you suggested, left out all the gory details, said we were playing it safe. At first I thought she was okay, but she kind of zeroed in on the lying thing and then took off. I don’t think we’ll be seeing her tonight.”

“Shit, that’s not good. You don’t think—she wouldn’t say anything —”

“Don’t even go there, Daniel. I came right out and asked her that, and she flipped her wig. She’s mad at me, but she’s not vindictive. She won’t do anything to hurt you.”

“Good. Well, not good that she’s mad, but—”

“I know what you mean,” I told him. “It’s okay. So what now?”

“Well, I guess I’ll tell Jeremy he won’t be seeing her tonight. He’ll be disappointed.”

“No offense, but Jeremy is the least of my worries right now.”

“Of course. Look, as ugly as this all is, I don’t want to cancel our evening. Penny and Brad are here. They decided to join us at the benefit.”

“Really? They’re all there, and they know we’re…kind of involved?”

“They know everything and they think I’m marginally insane, but they’ll cover for me with my dad. Don’t worry. They’ve got my back. Yours too.”

“Okay. That’s good,” I said, feeling a bit doubtful.

“Hey, chin up. This’ll all work out.”

I sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t worry, my love. I know you’re upset about Julie, but everything will be fine. She needs a chance to digest everything, that’s all. I’ll head back inside and finish my drink. Can you meet us in front of Brennan in forty-five minutes?”

The rest of the conversation was a blur. As I hung up the phone, I felt a surge of butterflies in my stomach. Yes, I was worried about Julie, and, no, I wasn’t convinced that everything would be fine, but in that moment I was too busy processing the fact that he’d just called me “my love” to think about anything else.

Chapter 21

Satisfaction

What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?
(
Romeo and Juliet
, Act II, Scene 2)

W
AS
I
T
W
RONG
T
HAT
I W
AS
E
XCITED
as I made my way to Brennan Hall forty-five minutes later? My desire to see Daniel completely overshadowed my anxiety over Julie’s reaction to the news I’d shared with her. Maybe she was right to question our friendship. I hardly recognized myself.

It was cold out, but I was strangely warm. Heightened anticipation—and three very large mojitos drunk in rapid succession—can do that to a person. As I neared Brennan Hall, I saw Daniel and Jeremy leaning against the wall of the building. Penny was huddled against Brad, her back to his chest as he rubbed her arms to warm her up. A hot flame of envy licked at my stomach. I couldn’t wait to behave the same way with Daniel.

Daniel caught sight of me and propelled himself away from the wall with a push of his foot, a casual but incredibly sexy move. In the glow of the floodlights outside the building, I quickly took stock of his appearance. He’d paired the blessed holey jeans with one of his leather jackets and a well-traveled pair of black boots. He looked so hot I actually wanted to cry at the thought of not being able to grab him and kiss him fiercely.

The only disappointing part of his ensemble was the baseball cap which hid his hair and his face, but perhaps the hat had its advantages because he truly looked like a third or fourth year student out for a night of fun. Was this a premeditated decision—an attempt at going out incognito? As I neared him, he sized me up in return, his eyes lingering over my legs. He shook his head and smiled as I stopped in front of him.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he said, his voice audible only to me. “If the ratty pants have one-tenth the effect on you as those jeans you’re wearing are having on me, we are in
serious
trouble, Miss Price.”

“Then we’re in big, big trouble,” I whispered, winking at him. I took in the whiskers on his chin and along his jawline. Further research was definitely required. Unfortunately, this would have to wait.

“I’m determined to behave myself tonight,” he said. “But you seem equally determined to make that difficult, crazy legs.” He smiled at me, the dimple making its first appearance of the night.

“Right, you two. Break it up,” Penny said, stepping between us. “You’re both dreadful at being discreet.” She pulled me into a quick hug. “It’s so nice to see you again. The playing field’s changed a tad since we last met, hasn’t it? And I gather everything went a bit pear-shaped this evening?”

I smiled weakly and nodded. “If that means things didn’t go smoothly with Julie, then, yes, I suppose you could say that.”

“Well, chin up. I’m sure she needs a little time to sort out her feelings. Wounded pride, that’s all. I wouldn’t start scouting for a new best mate yet.” She looked over my shoulder at Daniel. “Oy, you randy bugger, quit ogling her arse and put your tongue back in your mouth.”

“Busted, bro,” Brad said, laughing at Daniel’s sheepish expression.

Jeremy was standing off to one side, looking a little lost.

“Sorry things didn’t work out with Julie,” I said to him. “I know you were hoping to see her tonight.”

“Hey, no biggie. Next time.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded his head toward the doors of the building. “Let’s head inside,” he suggested. “Penny’s freezing.”

Penny linked her arm through mine, and we all filed into the vestibule outside the auditorium where a line had formed. From the hall, intermittent guitar chords and drum beats interspersed with sound checks drifted out to the lobby. A table was set up near the double doors to the hall where they were selling the admission tickets.

“I’ve got this,” Daniel said. He walked away to buy the tickets before anyone had a chance to protest.

“Best get used to that, doll. Daniel is generous. Don’t ever try to argue with him. He’ll get pissy with you,” Penny said.

“Thanks for the tip.”

Daniel came back and handed us each a ticket, and we lined up together. Jeremy checked phone messages. Brad and Penny were oblivious to their surroundings, but Daniel and I constantly scanned the crowd around us.

Daniel took stock of the line. “Lots of people. This is good. They’ll make some decent coin. It must be satisfying to raise money for a good cause.”

He began to talk about his mother’s volunteer involvement in MADD, explaining the complexities of administration fees for charities. I tried to pay attention, but having such a close-up view of his lips made it difficult to process his words. And he smelled of beer and leather. Delicious.

“You had a pint or two, I gather?” I asked him.

He laughed. “Talk about changing the subject! But, yes, I had a couple.”