Impossibly Love (3 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Branden

     
I never thought I’d see Moya at the
plaza near school
.
It looked like she was out killing time with her friend since classes were done
for the day.

     Moya would
probably accuse me of stalking her if I simply breezed up and said hi. She
would never consider I was out enjoying the afternoon as well. And as much as I
desired another attempt at talking to her, I decided to take my new purchase
and leave Sheppard’s Plaza without saying a word.

     I barely
made it out of the shoe store when her friend caught sight of me.

     She called
out to make sure and received confirmation when I turned around, “It
is
Branden?”
How she knew me I had no idea, though, it excited me thinking Moya mentioned me
to someone.

     I walked in
her direction as Moya’s friend, smiling brightly, hurried over to where I was.
Moya dragged behind, though. Their personalities were so opposite. One was
bubbly. The other had a dark cloud hovering over her head.
Interesting.

     When she got
close enough, she explained, “I remember you from Casey’s freshman party last
week.” Her voice sounded lively, like the only person who could revive a really
dead atmosphere.

     I couldn’t
remember her face at all, though. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

     “I’m
Vanessa.” She reached her hand out to shake mine. “We didn’t talk to each other
that night. But I remember one of the girls going on about you. Colleen
something…” She tried to remember.

     “Oh. Well,
it’s nice to meet you, Vanessa,” I offered back.

     I glanced
over at Moya. She stood there, quiet, no eye contact. Even then I was utterly in
lust. I quickly acknowledged her, “Hey, Moya, how’s it going?”

     She looked
at me momentarily, feigning interest. “It’s going great. Let’s go, Nessa.” She
tugged on her friend’s arm.

    
“Girl, what the hell?
Don’t be rude,” Vanessa snapped,
freeing her arm.

     I laughed
lowly then asked, “You girls out shopping?”

     “Something
like
that,” Moya said.

     Vanessa
elbowed her in the side. “Actually, Moya’s looking for a job. Something she can
do on weekends.”

     A light bulb
went off in my head. “I know a place that’s hiring. I could put in word for
you—”

     Moya
interrupted, replying politely, “I don’t want you to go out of your way.”

     I shrugged.
“It’s not out of my way. I’m happy to help.”

     She said
nothing, only gazed at me with marveling eyes. Then I felt it again—a moment
where there was a brief connection between us. The silence meant I’d pierced
Moya’s barrier a tiny bit.

     Suddenly,
her eyes flickered away from mine, and with the disruption, she fought my
assistance again. “No thanks. I’m good.”

     I didn’t
want to annoy her further so I decided to leave. “Well, let me know if you
change your mind.”

     I nodded at
a silent Vanessa, who regarded us with a smirk on her face. “It was nice
meeting you.”

     Turning to walk
away, I could hear Vanessa pressing Moya to say something to me. Moya groaned
in protest so her friend called out instead, “Hey, Branden.”

     Not
surprised, I spun halfway and looked back coolly. “What’s up?”

     “There’s a
party tomorrow night at the Alpha Kappa sorority house. Will you be there?”
Vanessa asked with pleading eyes.

     I smiled.
“Depends, will you be there, Moya?”

     Moya
straightened. “No, I don’t think I will—”

     “Yes!”
Vanessa piped in. “She will.”

     Even with
her friend answering for her, I already knew what Moya would say. Her view on
that subject was obvious. She
hated
parties; so did I. Still, if I knew
she would be at a party, I’d go to talk to her—even face the possibility of her
ignoring me again.

     Going back
to the conversation, I replied, “Then I’ll see you there.” I waved politely as
I walked down the sidewalk towards my car.

     I tossed the
bag with my new socks onto the passenger seat and got in around the steering
wheel. Closing the door, I placed the key in the ignition and started the car.
Before I could take off, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.

     A huge lump
formed in my throat, seeing the text reminder from my mother:

    
Remember
the meeting tomorrow morning at 10am.

    
I collapsed, my body
sinking back into the seat, unable to drive. Then I started to wonder, if I
were able to start a relationship with someone—with Moya—would she understand?
Was it even right to try so hard to get her in the first place when I had no guarantees?
Only time would tell, and whether or not she’d even give me a chance.

CHAPTER FIVE

Moya

     
I whined the entire walk over to the
sorority house
with Vanessa.
She wouldn’t take no for an answer so I ended up going to make her happy.

     Stopping at
the entrance, she spun me around to face her as she advised, “Be nice, and
mingle a little.”

     I rolled my
eyes, slipped out of her grip and sauntered into the party, Vanessa pranced in
beside me. She had no problem sexing it up, in her black laced mini dress with
three quarter sleeves and matching five inch stiletto cutout booties. I was
more minimal, wearing dark skinny jeans, black pointed toe embellished flats,
and a studded shoulder chiffon button-down blouse and a black blazer.

     Glancing
around, I realized Vanessa was right about who would attend. The guys were
mostly beefy athletes or wannabe contenders. And the girls seemed like
groupies. It was definitely not my crowd. Then again, I never had a crowd.

     Vanessa
spotted Calvin and I kept my eyes on the punch bowl. As she wondered off to her
boyfriend’s side, I maneuvered over to the refreshments table, sniffing the
punch discretely to see if it had been spiked before scooping some out to fill
my cup. My little behavior didn’t go unnoticed.

     “I do that
too, sometimes,” A deep and seductive voice said.

     I turned to
see who it was. “Tobias, hi…” I said, feeling awkward because I’d stood him up
two nights ago.

     Tobias
strode closer, a shrewd smile on his face. He didn’t look half bad in his navy
blue polo shirt. The sleeves were rolled up, clearly trying to showcase his
expensive watch. However, even I could appreciate that Tobias was all sorts of
yumminess with his mouthwatering, chocolate-covered, flawlessly sculpted body.
At the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a few girls drooling over him.

     “It’s nice
seeing you here, Moya. Too bad you couldn’t make it for dinner the other night,”
he said, looking down his nose at me as he took a sip of whatever it was he was
drinking. 

     I played
with my curls in uneasiness. “Yeah, about that, I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.”

     “It’s cool.
No worries.”

     Tobias
scrutinized me from top to bottom, licking his lips as he did.
So much for being a nice guy.
That was genuinely creepy.

     I started to
feel uncomfortable so I made up an excuse to walk away. “Well, I’ll see you
around. I have to take care of some stuff before driving home.”

     He reached
for my elbow before I could move. “Oh, hey, just a sec.”

     I turned to
fully engage him. “Tobias, I’m sure you’re a great guy. But I really don’t have
time for anything right now besides school.”

     His eyes
widened as if my remark was absurd, and a speck of disappointment flashed
within. “Vanessa told me you were apprehensive about dating, said you were
afraid of commitment.”

     “Oh did
she?” I glared over to where Vanessa and Calvin were dancing. She winked and
waved knowingly. I bit my bottom lip in frustration. I disliked how she would
go out of her way to explain me to guys so they’d think I needed to be fixed.

     “Listen,
there’s no rush,” Tobias went on. “I’m willing to wait for you to sort yourself
out. Just spend some time with me as you do.”

     I sighed,
putting my cup down on the table. “I have nothing to sort out. I don’t want to
date anyone right now.”

     Tobias
backed up, a new light of realization appearing on his muscular face. “Oh, I’m
sorry. Is it that you haven’t come out of the closet as yet?” He looked over to
Vanessa then back at me. “Your friend doesn’t know? She didn’t mention a thing
to me.”

     Shaking my
head in confusion, I asked, “Know what?”

     “That you’re
a lesbian,” he said matter-of-factly, leaning in close so no one could hear.

     My laugh
broke free at his words, the sound soft and filled with a cynicism that I
surprised even myself. “Oh right, so, because I’m not interested in a suitable
young man like yourself I’m
obviously
a lesbian. Please, get over
yourself, Tobias. You ain’t all that.” My eyes swept over his body in a
dismissive manner as I walked away.

     Seconds
later I heard him grunt, “Such a…” He held his tongue. Good thing he did. If
I’d heard the word I probably would’ve spun on my heels and bitch-slapped the
hell out of Tobias in front of everyone.

     That was the
main reason why I hated parties, high school or college. Because whenever I’d
be approached by a guy all the girls wanted, there had to be something wrong with
me for turning him down.

     I decided to
leave the party early, storming out while Vanessa stayed behind with Calvin. I
was too irritated to stay in the same vicinity as Tobias at that moment, and I
needed air to calm myself down before the drive home to Berlin Heights.

CHAPTER SIX

Branden

     
There was no way I’d make it to the
party
after my
session earlier in the day. It was all very intense; especially with my mother there
voicing her opinion and overlooking mine. Because of that, I decided to spend
the weekend in the dorm and avoid going home, only to elude the misery.

     Walking from
the parking lot after getting back on campus, I spotted Moya hurrying down the
path toward me. As pissed off as she seemed, I still couldn’t prevent myself
from checking her out. Those jeans certainly complimented her sexy curves. And
wow, her beautiful shiny curls bounced with every conquering step she took.

     Storming
right by me as if I was invisible, I grabbed her hand gently to slow her down.
Moya twisted with irritation then relaxed her face a bit seeing it was me.

     “Hey, are
you alright?” I asked.

     Moya wrung
her hand out of my grasp as she retorted, “I’m fine, just sick of stupidity.”

     I felt
concerned. “Did something happen at the party?”

     Shaking her
head, Moya let out a long breath. “It’s this idiot…uh…why am I talking to
you
,
anyway.” She concluded bitterly. “You’re all the same.”

     I followed
behind as Moya continued down the path. “Are you heading for your car? I’ll go
with you. Moya, you shouldn’t be walking alone at night.” I advised.

     “Ha, I can
take care of myself. Save that nonsense for some other girl who’s easily
impressed.”

     “Why are you
so angry?” I finally asked.

     She froze in
her tracks.

     Moya took a
moment then turned to face me. Her eyes narrowed in rage as she walked back. “I
am not angry! Why does everybody say that because I refuse to let any guy take
advantage of me?” She pointed a finger at me as she continued, “
Don’t
say you’re one of the exceptions because I notice you checking out my body
every single time we come in contact. So, I’m pretty sure you’re not interested
in really getting to know me.”

     She folded her
arms abruptly as her chest heaved, waiting for me to say something in defense.
It was as if she lived life in that way, always wanting to put up a fight and
never surrender, even if there was no battle to begin with.

     I lowered my
head, exasperated, not toward Moya, because of the sickening pain starting to
rip me apart from inside my chest.

     “What’s the
matter, Branden, nothing to say?” She asked sarcastically while tapping her
foot.

     There wasn’t
much I could say when I was so focused on hiding my discomfort. Without looking
up into her lovely brown eyes, I whispered, “I’m sorry…I have to go.”

     Pressing my
hand against my chest as the agony intensified, I swiveled and walked away
slowly.

     Moya
followed closely behind. “Are you okay?” she asked in a worried tone. It
surprised me.

     “Yeah,” My
voice was straining for dignity.

     Moya fell in
stride beside me, inspecting my body. “You don’t look okay. You’re barely
moving.”

     I didn’t
have the strength to try and persuade her, so I kept walking up the path toward
my dorm in silence. To my amazement, Moya continued along with me, not uttering
another word.

     The moment I
approached the residence hall, I searched in my pockets for my identification
card to open the main door. I fumbled before sliding it through the security
lock, nearly losing my balance.

     Moya gripped
my arm, trying to keep me steady. I felt a flare of excitement at her touch
that sent a shock through me. It briefly superseded the pain.  

     She spoke with
great concern, “You’re definitely not okay. Maybe you should go to the—”

     “It’s the
weekend, no one’s here in health services. I’m alright. I need some rest,
that’s all.”

     She released
my arm and took the card out of my hand to unlock the door for me.
Unexpectedly, I was seeing another side to Moya, a tenderness she tried so hard
to conceal.

     I enjoyed
the moment a bit too much it seemed, as Moya gave me a questionable look when
she turned to see me gawking at her. I was probably smiling too much.

     She shoved
the ID against my aching chest. “Here’s your card, asshole. Goodnight.”

     Oh great.
Moya must have perceived everything to be an act. That I wasn’t ill at all,
simply trying to get her inside my room. I deliberated calling after her to
explain as she walked hurriedly back down the path. Maybe it was best to leave
it like that. After all, my secret was still safe.