Page 46 of Show Me 1
“Yeah, that seemed to be a theme.” I shook my head and started wrapping my sandwich to take with me when Reid’s hand shot out and covered mine.
“Don’t. Just listen to me for one minute.Please.”
The note of plea got me, hitting a trigger leftover from growing up in a house where we each had to fight to be heard. I’d hated the feeling and tried never to provoke it in someone else. Even when that someone else probably deserved it.
Reid leaned forward at my prompting expression. “I have no excuse. I was an asshole. You didn’t deserve that. You were nothing but good to me, and if I could take it back, I would, believe me.” He pulled his hand away from mine and dropped it in his lap. “Every time we cross paths, I can feel the…the distaste coming off of you—it’s potent as hell—so I just wanted to reiterate, in case it would help. I’d rather not leave this year behind with you hating me, if I can help it. I got caught up in trying to be a badass freshman year, suddenly having access to a bunch of things I hadn’t before.” He pressed his lips together. “Never mind. My explanation doesn’t matter. The apology does.”
It was the apology that should’ve been given the first time. Maybe I was a sucker, but the regret I read in his eyes softened me toward him. Not enough to fling an arm around his shoulder and tell him it was okay, but enough for me to nod and say, “Apology accepted. Thank you,” just as Sam stopped in front of the table.
“Y’all almost done eating, or can I join?”
“You can join us,” I offered just as Reid shot him a pointed we’re-in-the-middle-of-something look.
Sam glanced between us curiously. “Um, actually, I just remembered…”
I made a grab for his wrist. “We’re supposed to go over that statistics stuff, remember?”
He shot another look at Reid before nodding and dropping into the seat next to me.
“I had a little trouble understanding that one, too. Great. We can all go through it together,” Reid said decisively.
What followed was the most awkward impromptu study session I’d experienced in all my years at the U. It topped even the time I was in a group of six and Charlie Denham had a big piece of spinach between her teeth, and the rest of us spent a half hour pinging each other with our gazes and silently arguing over who was going to be the one to tell her until I finally did it. Then she’d glared at us all for the rest of the study session like we’d betrayed her. Which, to be honest, we kinda had.
“Well, that was enlightening, but I’ve got another class,” I said as we limped to a finish. I tossed my books in my bag, grabbed my lunch trash, and pushed my chair back, jetting while Sam and Reid were still in the midst of zipping their backpacks.
Sam caught up with me on the quad. Damn my short legs. “Was he bothering you?”
“No more than usual.”
“I can talk to him.”
“What? No.” I didn’t want Sam stuck in the middle. Despite not knowing all that much about sports, I did know that the teammate bond was a real thing and could affect a game. I had no desire to cause strife between Sam and Reid. “I’ve got it under control.”
Sam wanted to say something else. I could tell by the way he chewed on his lower lip. He nodded reluctantly. “Okay. I mean, I know you can handle your shit. I didn’t mean to imply you couldn’t or anything. I mean, if I did.”
I stopped and turned toward him. The sunlight hit one side of his face, and instead of his usual smile, I read something that looked closer to worry. I didn’t like that expression on him. Or that I had caused it. I preferred his smile. “He wanted to apologize again for freshman year, that’s all. So he did that.”
“Good. He should’ve.” Sam’s gaze strayed over my shoulder as he paused a beat, then returned to my face. “Does he want you back?”
I burst into laughter. “I don’t think so.”
“Then he’s still an idiot.”
The relief that the return of his smile brought me was kind of ridiculous. “Even if he did, I don’t wanthimback. But you’re right. I deserved that apology, so I’m taking it. Where are you heading?”
“Biology. Wanna walk me there?”
I nodded a yes, and we started walking again. “I’ve got another scene idea I want to run by you. For next time our schedules align.” I knew he had an away game coming up, and I’d be working until close at the restaurant both nights of the weekend anyway, but was I dying to get my hands—and hopefully my mouth—all over him again? You bet your ass I was.
Sam laughed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “All right, hit me. No, wait, let me guess. Is it a variation on the coach-player theme?”
“You think you know me so well.”
He bumped me with his shoulder, wearing a playful expression that shouldn’t have lassoed my heart and tugged as much as it did. “I think I’m starting to figure out what you like, yeah. Which seems only fair considering that you seem to have ninja-level skills at getting a guy off.”
“Is that so?” Free floating praise? Don’t mind if I do. And it was true that I’d gotten him off with a dry jerk in under five minutes when we’d filmed the other day in the LGBT Studies section of the library. We apparently had a thing for both books and irony.
Sam’s cheeks took on a precious pink hue, which he rubbed at as he shook his head chidingly. “Don’t get all cocky about it.”