Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (10 page)

While Amanda watched Nathan get ready, she felt a hand
on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself looking into Christopher’s
eyes.

“It’s great to run into you again,” he said.

“Chris! What are you doing here?”

“Hanging out, just like you. But I don’t know anyone,
so I thought I’d join you and meet your friends.”

A crashing sound told Amanda that Nathan had just made
his move. She looked toward him. He’d hit a few less pins than she did.

“Another admirer?” Nathan asked, walking up to them.
Ashton, Grecia, and Kayla turned to look.

“Nathan, this is Christopher. He’s a new transfer
student. Christopher, meet Nathan, my boyfriend.”

“So you’re the lucky son of a guy?”

Ashton stifled a laugh. Nathan shook the hand that
Christopher offered.

“You haven’t mentioned him,” Nathan told Amanda.

“I met him recently. Christopher doesn’t know anyone,
so this
son of a guy
tucked himself under my wing. Without permission.”

Christopher laughed.

“You intimidated me at first, I won’t lie.”

“I felt just the same way when I met her,” Grecia
said, matter-of-factly. They all looked at her.

“These are the rest of my friends,” Amanda said to
Christopher. “Grecia; her boyfriend, Ashton; and her best friend, Kayla.”

Christopher greeted them, shaking hands with all
three. Kayla showed interest, but he didn’t notice.

“Nice to meet you all.”

They all nodded. Amanda felt that they also found
Christopher charming. The women, at least.

“Now we’re even,” Grecia noticed. “Christopher and
Kayla can play as a team, or join with one of ours. Which one will it be?”

“Two teams,” Christopher said. “We need to leave
enough space for the rest of the customers.”

“True,” Ashton said. “Join us, Kayla?”

Kayla looked from Christopher to Nathan. She then
nodded toward Ashton.

Almost a half hour later, Nathan’s team ended up
winning.

“The new guy has skill,” Ashton said in reference to
Christopher. “Ever played before?”

“It was the favorite pastime of my friends.”

“Where did you come from?” Grecia asked him.

“Tennessee.”

“Oh, the music state,” Ashton said.

The six of them left the restaurant shortly afterward.
Grecia and Ashton left in their car first. They took Kayla back with them.

“Do you need a ride?” Amanda asked Christopher.

“I brought my own car. Thanks.”

Christopher pressed a button on a little device
attached to his keyring. Behind Nathan and Amanda, a car beeped. They turned,
seeing a midnight-blue Mitsubishi Lancer sedan.

“Sweet ride,” Nathan said. “You should have showed it
to Ashton. He’s a car aficionado.”

“Is that so? I fancy myself as one, but I can only do
basic stuff. Beyond charging the tires or replacing a battery, I turn to a
mechanic.”

Nathan chuckled.

“That’s me, too.”

Christopher nodded.

“It was nice meeting your friends tonight, Amanda. You
should bring Judith next time, though.”

Amanda flashed a half smile.

“Ooh. Did she pique your interest?”

“Let’s just say I wouldn’t be able to recognize her if
we met again. I hardly ever learned anything about Judith the last time we saw
each other. She’s a tough nut.”

“You’re mean.”

Christopher laughed at that.

“See you later,” he said. He walked toward his car and
got in it. Nathan took Amanda’s hand. The two turned and walked toward his car.

“He seems okay,” Nathan said. He looked at Amanda, who
had just closed her door. “But he wouldn’t stop looking at you like a
retriever.”

Amanda burst out laughing.

“I thought the same thing. Christopher totally
idolizes me. You should have seen him when we met.”

“As long as he doesn’t hit on you, I’m fine with him.”

Nathan pulled out of his parking spot. He then drove
forward, heading back to the apartments.

“Thank you,” Amanda said. Nathan looked at her. “You
made the right call. Hanging out with our friends was good for me.”

“Anytime, love.”

Halfway through breakfast the next morning, Amanda
received a notification on her phone. She checked it and saw a new e-mail
from Stanley.

“Who is it?” Emmy asked. Amanda read the text for a
few seconds.

“It’s my agent,” Amanda replied. She put her phone on
the table. “He’s negotiating a new contract with Nordstrom. They want me to do
a shoot in April.”

“Nordstrom? That’s great!”

Amanda nodded.

“I haven’t worked with them before. I’ve only done
Sears and JC Penney.”

“Plus Calvin Klein and Fredericks of Hollywood.”

“Yeah, those too,” Amanda said. “And I’m working on a
contract with American Eagle.”

“You, girl, are a success to behold. To think that in
high school, you hesitated to become a model.”

Amanda blushed, remembering.

Later, Amanda drove to the Cornell campus with Emmy.
The latter went to find Judith. Amanda walked to the Olin Library. She wanted
to check out a book before her class started. There was a quarter hour left.

When Amanda was walking past a building, she spotted
Nathan. He was in front of another building, several feet from Amanda. She saw
that he was in conversation with a brunette.

As Amanda stood there watching, Nathan suddenly
embraced the woman. Amanda’s eyes widened. Was it really happening?

Who is this woman?

Nathan leaned back, his hands on the woman’s
shoulders. He appeared to be reassuring her.

Amanda didn’t know if she should confront them. She
bit her lip, trying to command her feet to move. But she stayed rooted to the
spot. Nathan reached with his finger and touched the woman’s face. It looked
like he was wiping away a tear. Amanda narrowed her eyes.

The woman leaned into Nathan’s touch. She began to get
closer to him, too close for Amanda’s comfort. And Nathan wasn’t moving away
from her.

Not about to just stand there, Amanda began walking
toward them. Just then, Nathan shook his head. He tried to walk away. The woman
held on to his wrist. Amanda halted, watching the progress. Nathan said
something to the woman, and then he freed himself. He started to walk toward
class. The woman turned in the opposite direction. Amanda saw that she truly
had been crying.

What is going on here?

A little angry, Amanda
turned back the way she’d come. She was going to have a serious talk with
Nathan.

A few hours afterward, Nathan waited outside his third
class of the day. He only knew a few of the students there, including Amanda.
At that moment, only a couple of their classmates stood outside waiting.

Nathan pulled out his phone. He saw that he didn’t
have any messages or e-mails. Nathan inserted his earphones and began playing
music on his phone.

A couple minutes later, Nathan detected movement to
his right. He saw Amanda approaching. She was looking at the floor as she
walked, appearing distracted.

Amanda walked right past Nathan. He watched her with a
puzzled expression. She stopped about five feet away from him and leaned
against the wall. Nathan pulled out his earphones.

“Earth to Amanda?”

Amanda casually turned her head toward Nathan. She
raised her eyebrows.

“Hmm. You remembered me.”

Nathan stared at her, dumbfounded. He shook his head,
recomposing himself.

“Pardon me, sweetheart?”

“I thought you were the only one who was going to have
a hard time in this relationship. Now I see that you have admirers, too.”

“Admirers, what?” Nathan asked, walking toward her. It
then dawned on him. “You saw us.”

“Bingo.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes at Nathan. He sighed.

“Are you seeing other women behind my back?”

“Baby, what guy in his right mind would cheat on the
most beautiful woman in the world?”

“The girl I saw you with wasn’t ugly.”

“That
girl
is just someone I met recently. I
haven’t had time to introduce her. She’s…she keeps to herself.”

“You mean, you kept her to yourself.”

“N-no!” Nathan said, groaning. “Her name’s Erika. She
came to me today because she couldn’t think of anyone else to go to. She’s new
here, and…she just lost someone very close to her.”

Amanda rolled her eyes.

“You’re so naïve, Nathan. That seems like an awfully
convenient story to get close to you.”

Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed.

“We’re still talking about me, right?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Amanda, why would Erika spin up a story just to try
to seduce me? I admit she’s good-looking, enough to get any other guy she
wants. I’m with you.”

Nathan reached out to touch Amanda’s arms. She tensed,
her gaze switching to his lips.

“I have eyes just for you, baby.”

Taking it slow, Nathan leaned toward Amanda. She
closed her eyes, and he brought her lips to his. He kissed her gently, feeling
Amanda’s arms begin moving up to his back. Nathan tugged at her bottom lip. He
could sense her heartbeat picking up speed.

Amanda stopped without warning, breaking the kiss. She
quickly looked toward both sides of the hallway.

“They’re watching us,” Amanda whispered.

“Since when has that made you nervous?” Nathan asked.
He kissed her again, molding his body against hers. Amanda let out a gasp.

Someone cleared their throat. Amanda’s eyes popped
open. She and Nathan looked toward the source of the sound. The instructor had
just got there.

“It’s time for class,” the man said simply. He
appeared to be trying not to smile. Amanda went red. Half the class was already
there. They’d been waiting outside the whole time.

“Let’s go,” Nathan told
Amanda. He took her hand in his. She smiled, and walked with him to class.

That day after his job interview, Nathan drove to a
local corner store with a gas station. As Nathan’s hybrid car didn’t need
refueling as often as his old car, he almost forgot it was time to make the
trip.

Nathan smiled to himself as he drove. He thought that
the interview had gone well. The recruiter had been impressed with his GPA.
Nathan hoped he’d get the job. He was right: that kind of job was pretty hard
to find in a town as small as Ithaca.

Pulling up to the parking lot, Nathan killed the
engine. He called his father before going to the store. Nathan could use a bit
of advice.

Jeffrey picked up in a few seconds.

“Good afternoon, son. How are things going?”

“Great. I just got back from a job interview.”

“You did? I thought you already had a job.”

“I resigned before Amanda and I went on holiday. Now,
I’ve been looking for a job that’s closer to what I want to do after
graduation.”

“Have you had luck in that?”

“Not much. The job they interviewed me for today is
promising, though. It’s about criminal law, but at least it’s about law.”

“Criminal law? And what is it that you’re studying?
Business law?”

“Yes. I have to take what’s available, though.”

“Yep. You need to have experience.”

“That’s what I’m doing.”

There was a short pause.

“I wanted to ask you something, Dad.”

“What do you need?”

“I’m about to refuel my car. Only, I’m not exactly
sure what to get. This is a different car from the one that I used to have. Do
I get the regular unleaded fuel as always, or do I spring up to the supreme
unleaded?”

“You want to know if it makes a difference, right?”

“Yes.”

“Are you able to afford the nicer fuel? Gas prices
aren’t exactly cheap nowadays.”

“Yeah, I have plenty of money. What fuel should I get?
My car is new. Don’t they get…accustomed to the type of fuel you buy often?”

“That doesn’t make sense. Cars are not sentient, son.
Have you read your car’s manual?”

“Not much.”

“Do so. It should tell you the recommended fuel
rating. However, exceeding it won’t benefit your car much. I suggest you get
the more expensive 87-rated fuel if you don’t mind the extra cents. The other
one has ethanol, which reduces mileage by a small fraction.”

“So, I don’t need the one with a 91 rating?”