“And I’m sorry about being such an ass**le about what happened between us the night of my fight.” Her eyes widened at that. “I know you said you’d forgotten about it, but—”
“I hadn’t.”
Her admission silenced them both momentarily. Then she spoke again.
“I just . . .” she shrugged. “I just didn’t want you to think that . . .”
“It hasn’t been my week all week.” Walter said, plopping across from them.
Hector turned and glared at Walter. The guy couldn’t possibly know what he’d just interrupted, but Hector felt like killing him anyway.
“First Dempsey beats me the other day, and then Samir pulls a Charlee stunt on me just now, playing my own game against me.” He turned to Hector, who was grinding his teeth already. “Like you, I never even saw what hit me until he had me cornered.” Walter shook his head. “I’ve been slacking. With all the time I’ve put into working out lately, I haven’t been doing much research or even playing online. I’m getting rusty.”
Charlee sat up, smiling. “Well, you can’t do that, Walter. Our first meeting with the U.S. team before the Jr. Olympiad is in a few weeks.” She stood up and grabbed her sweater from the chair it hung on. “You need to start training again.” She pulled her purse over her shoulder.
“You’re leaving already?” Both Walter and Hector asked at the same time.
Walter and Hector glanced at each other, and for an instant, Hector regretted sounding as desperate as Walter always did when she left early. But he did feel desperate.
“Yeah, I’m going shopping with Drew tonight.” She smiled, holding Hector’s gaze a little longer than she had since he told her to pretend nothing ever happened then said goodbye and started for the door.
She couldn’t leave now. He had to know what it was she didn’t want him to think. He wouldn’t be back in here until next week. Tomorrow he’d be busy all day helping Noah prepare for his fight. Damn Walter for having the worst timing in the world.
Walter started to tell him exactly what Samir had done to stump him. It was all Hector could to do not jump out of his seat and go after Charlee. A few minutes later and unable to stand it anymore, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and stood up. “I gotta make a phone call. I’ll be back.”
He bolted out of there, his heart already pounding. Not at all sure what to expect, he just had to know now or it’d drive him nuts all weekend.
For a moment, he felt the huge disappointment of not seeing her immediately, but he then he saw her headed toward the waterfall in the middle of the campus where Drew waited for her.
“Charlee!” He called out, hoping to stop her before she reached Drew. He had a feeling she might hold back if anyone else were around. She stopped and turned with that same startled expression she had when he sat next to her.
He rushed to her. “You didn’t want me to think what?” he asked as soon as he reached her, stopping right in front of her and staring right into those beautiful blue eyes. She shook her head, her expression a puzzled one. “Back there,” he motioned his thumb over his shoulder, “just before Walter got there, you started to say you didn’t want me to think something after that night. What was that?”
Her eyes widened as they had when he apologized for acting like an ass**le about the whole thing. “I uh,” she chewed the corner of her lower lip. “I just didn’t want you to think I had any expectations of anything else happening between us.” She glanced away for a moment then back at him. “I figured since you were asking me to pretend it never happened you didn’t want things getting weird and neither did I.” She sounded as if she were trying to reassure him then added in a lowered voice. “I didn’t want you thinking it was such a big thing for me, so I said I’d forgotten.” She crinkled her nose and smiled in the most adorable way it made him smile despite the angst he’d begun to feel. “Maybe saying I’d forgotten pushed it a little too far.”
A small but very relieved laugh escaped him. “Yeah, that was kind of messed up.”
Her mouth fell open, but she recovered fast enough. “You’re the one who told me to pretend it never happened. That was kind of messed up—embarrassing.”
“I know. I know.” He said, bringing both hands to his chest and holding them there. “And I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I handled it totally wrong. I just really, really didn’t want things getting weird between us.” He held back saying what he really wanted to ask. Was it as big a thing for her as it had been for him? With the thought of Walter still hanging over his head, he couldn’t, but he did say the one thing clearly—he needed to. “I meant it when I said you were different, Charlee.” The blue in her eyes had never been bluer. Hector had to concentrate on not getting lost in them, or he’d lose his train of thought like he’d done so often the night of the party. “I don’t want you to think that what happened that night was forgettable or insignificant to me at all.”
She smiled that timid little smile that should be anything but arousing because it was so sweet and pure. But it made him want to take her in his arms and kiss her like he could only close his eyes now and remember doing to her.
Something behind her caught his attention, and he tore his eyes away from hers to see her friend Drew holding her books to her chest, swaying side to side with her eyes closed, and he smiled. “I think your friend is getting restless.