Page 13 of Anything (Mayberry University #1)

CHAPTER TWELVE

Sophie, Mia, and I head west to the “lab building” after lunch. Every building on campus has a formal name, but students just call them by their purpose. At least Saga gets a nickname—otherwise, it’d just be “food building.” Dorms stick to their official names. You know, more tradition.

I’m already sweating, and my hair sticks to my neck. I peel it away. It’s the middle of September, Texas. Get your act together.

Oh.

Spotted—do you hear Kristen Bell’s Gossip Girl voice?

—Levi Whitaker striding with purpose from Albert Hall.

Stay tuned for more sightings, Upper East Siders.

XOXO. Gray chino shorts, white linen button-down, and that leather backpack …

Levi could’ve walked off a sailboat—or out of a Gossip Girl Hamptons episode.

The backpack, with its simple flap and buckle design, adds an understated elegance to his look.

Nothing he wears is flashy or trend-driven, just clean, classic.

Well, except for those black-and-orange Flooders socks he sneaks under his pants.

I clamp my mouth shut to keep Mia and Sophie from noticing him, so my greedy little eyes can take in Off-Limits Guy without ridicule.

Ever since we went out for wings, Sophie has invited Austin and his buddies to join us most nights.

Or maybe we’re joining them. It’s hard to say since I just show up where Sophie tells me to.

Sometimes we take a walk outside, look for stars in the often-cloudy East Texas sky, or meet at the Memorial Student Center, called MSC—one of the more straightforward nicknames—for a show or card game.

On weekends we usually hang out on their floor in their lounges.

Bless Sophie and her planning. We’d all be lost—or certainly less entertained—without her.

She and Austin constantly scheme together, happily bickering.

Lucky—scary?—for me, Levi nearly always joins Austin.

Their legendary bromance is even cuter up close.

Each silently ensures the other gets what he needs and then teases and smacks his buddy’s arm to keep it all under wraps.

Yet another reason to find Levi supremely likable.

Apparently I tally up the reasons he’s dangerous as well as the reasons to like him. If only my brain had a mute button.

Whenever he’s close my mind goes to war. Part of me insists I can finagle some way to make things work with him, but the rest of me revolts, insisting the risk is far too great.

Levi’s fancy watch glints in the fierce sunlight. He still dodges the topic of his wealth like Neo dodges slow-mo bullets, but his unparalleled sophistication and self-assuredness give him away. The guy’s a natural leader, a human magnet.

Even on a mission to class, Levi’s swagger says the future doesn’t faze him.

How is he so steady? I try to trust that God has my back, but doesn’t Levi ever worry?

He seems driven by different motivations.

His eyes flit about in observation and calculation, as if he sees things I don’t.

Sometimes he gets up to speak with someone or refuses to do something and I can’t imagine why .

He can be impatient, entitled, even arrogant when his intelligence is challenged, but when I try to compare him to Aiden, it doesn’t stick.

They’re nothing alike. I hear Levi doesn’t participate in some of the floor antics, like dog piles or wrestling, which makes me want to see him as pretentious, but stories float around about his former rap battles and prank wars that disprove the theory.

Doesn’t matter though. I can’t afford to get too close.

He’s triggered my two worst freak-outs since I’ve been here.

Not exactly date material. No, I have to take care of myself.

So I drool from afar like all the other girls on this campus.

He’ll lose interest in me soon, and hopefully I won’t have to watch him flirt with whichever girl?—

“Kit, snap out of it,” Mia says two steps ahead.

I scramble to catch up.

At least they don’t know the bear trap my brain got stuck in. My habit of introspection is saving me from some major teasing.

“ Tiguere ,“ Mia calls to Levi. “Go learn something.”

We’re just one building away now. Maybe she was waiting for the right moment to acknowledge his presence. More likely, she’s just not as creepy as I am, accidentally searching for him all the time.

Levi turns, a smile widening. He steps toward us, then glances at the door. With a nod in greeting, he walks in.

“That nod. He’s like an alien. I need to do some research.” Oh no. That was my outside voice.

Sophie and Mia cackle at my expense. I cover my face.

“What do you have in mind?” Sophie asks. “ Gossip Girl would make good research, right?“ Like she read my mind. She pulls open the door to the lab building, her voice echoing in the empty lobby. “The old one, though, because Nate.”

The damage is done. I try to accept that this research is happening as a group.

“Eh, too trashy,” Mia say s

She’s not wrong. I’ve been trying to do a better job keeping the questionable shows and movies at bay.

“ Outer Banks ? Wait, all the Kook guys are bad.“ Sophie frowns, maybe taking it personally.

“ Gilmore Girls ?“ Mia asks.

I prefer the high school seasons, but I keep that to myself.

“The late seasons with Logan. He’s kind of like Le-vi,” Sophie says.

There’s a similar promise of adventure in his eyes, plus the blond hair. The money, the charm, the confidence, of course. Levi is so much kinder, more reliable, more compassionate. I shake the thoughts from my head.

Sophie purses her lips. “She’s not convinced. Tristan is like the bad-boy version, kind of.”

I shudder. Tristan is far too much like Aiden.

“Team Dean, Jess, or Logan?” Mia asks me.

“Jess all the way.” My easy reply apparently surprises them. “What? He’s smart and mysterious, and who else carries around a book in their back pocket?” Good thing I haven’t seen Levi with a book in his pocket—that might just do me in.

“I can’t believe it.” Mia chuckles. “I had you down for a Dean girl. High School Dean, obviously.”

I shrug. No, thanks.

“I’m with you, Kit,” Mia says. “He takes a while to get his act together, but I was always rooting for him.”

“Which team, Sophs?” I ask.

“I hope it’s not weird since I just said he’s like Levi. I’m Team Logan so hard.” Sophie laughs.

Okay, it’s a little weird, but way less weird than how my stomach just dropped imagining her going after Levi.

“How he calls her ‘Ace’? I’m so into it,” she says. “And he holds onto his friends forever. Ooh, and the Life and Death Brigade is so my jam.”

“You would fit right in jumping off that platform with an umbrella and a formal dress.” I avoid the first comment like the land mine it is.

Sophie claps.

“Since we’re not in alignment about which season”—Mia steers us back to the mission at hand—“we could always go straight for Downton Abbey. ”

The image of Levi at that enormous British estate sends us into a giggling fit. Just dress him in the tailored suit he no doubt owns—I would very much like to see him in it—and he would fit right in, especially with that formal voice of his. I don’t think my friends have heard that though.

“Oh,” Sophie says, “we have to do tonight, ’cause tomorrow I have to study for that insane bio test on Friday.”

Mia and I blink at her. “You’re going to study all night?”

“I mean, besides my run, yeah. I do study sometimes.”

“Uh huh …”

“Okay, fine. ‘I am about to do something very bold in this job that I’ve never done before … try.’”

I clap Sophie style. “Aw! A Jim Halpert quote! I wish Ayumi was here.”

Sophie’s grin drops. “Okay, fess up, Kit. Why are you still playing hard to get with Levi?”

“You did stare at him the entire way over here,” Mia says.

I reel back. “I—I’m not?—“

Sophie waves me off like I’m a personal affront, heading to chem lab. “See you guys at dinner.”