I didn't want to look at him but really, who wouldn't eye-molest the shit out of him? I bet if my grandma were still alive she'd probably fondle his perfectly round ass. It looked like he'd cut a soccer ball in half and then stuffed the two ends under his tight ass jeans.

Ugh. Why? Why?

Why couldn't he have a flat ass? A butt chin? At least a really crappy personality? I could live with that. I could use that as a reason to leave, but I know he didn't. Even if he was a porn star, I knew he wasn’t a bad person. My bullshit-meter had become finely tuned after a year of teaching pathologically lying fourth graders. I'd be able to tell if he was full of shit but he wasn't.

"This is really making you feel weird, isn't it?" he asked me all of a sudden, stopping in front of the couch to pick up the black hoodie he had on earlier.

I wanted to tell him no, but I couldn't. "Yeah, a little. I just... I don't know. I just thought you were some bored guy that's really friendly and now... you have fans that probably think... I don't know. I don't know what I'm saying." It was a struggle to express what I was feeling because I really didn't know what I thought or felt exactly.

"I am some bored guy that was friendly to you." He gazed up at me through those long, dark eyelashes without saying anything. He shrugged more to himself than to me, I thought. "Can I tell you something, and you won't laugh?" he asked, but I was nodding before he even finished the question. He shook his head in amusement just a little. "It's hard—"

My phone started ringing obnoxiously loud right then. "Hold on," I told him, digging through my purse for my phone. Yanking it out, I saw the picture I had for Nicole, which was actually of her ass crack, displayed across the screen, so I knew I needed to answer the call. "Yes, Madame?"

"Let's go, Slut McGee. If I hear Zoey cry one more time about how hungry she is, I'm going to kill someone. Meet me in the parking lot, or do you want us to wait inside for you so you don't get lost?"

"I'll meet you by your car, Nikki." We each said a quick bye before I hung up the call and tossed my phone back into my purse.

"You need to go?" Tristan asked, zipping up his hoodie.

I nodded at him. "My friend, Nicole, is ready to leave." I told him, starting to make my way over to the door. "Umm, I think she invited Calum to our friend's birthday party next week so you're welcome to come too, if you want." I blabbered like a moron.

"Okay," he said, standing there, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie.

"Well, I guess hopefully I'll see you... there." My hand was on the knob, and I felt bad for just storming out of there. "Bye Magellan," I added not bothering to make any eye contact before throwing the door open and hustling down the hallway to leave.

I was about halfway to the door when I realized he never got the chance to tell me what was on his mind.

Chapter 12

Fifteen minutes and eight wrong turns later, I found Nicole's silver Mercedes in the parking lot.

The closer I got to the car, the more I realized that I was going to be facing the Spanish Inquisition as soon as I got in.

Zoey was already sitting in the passenger seat, offering me a quick wave through the window as I slipped into the back passenger seat. I looked up to see Nikki adjusting the rear-view mirror to face where I was sitting while Zoey moved the mirror on the visor to see me as well. They stayed quiet, staring at me through the reflection.

"What?" I asked, because their silence was stifling.

"Oh, you know what." Nicole responded with an inquisitive purr.

Zoey raised a perfect, dark eyebrow at me. "Spill the deets."