“Let’s go, brat,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the cafeteria door. The vibe is different from the first party we went to together. For starters, there’s no alcohol, which is a huge bummer, but it is eleven-thirty in the morning in the middle of the week so I guess that makes sense. Also, the buffet is much less elegant, consisting mostly of small sandwiches and even smaller pieces of cheese.Damn. Guess I won’t be getting much of a real free meal out of this.
The minute we walk in, Danika runs directly into Gemma, and the two start chattering on about blood or veins or something I’ll never understand. She moves to slip her hand from mine, but I hold tighter, reminding her we’re here as acouple, not just a couple of people.
I also know we’re bound to run into her prick ex at some point and having a hold on her helps her cause.It also gives me an incomprehensible sense of calm.
“Oh hey, boyfriend,” Gemma says, finally noticing my existence. I nod at her.
Dani squeezes my hand. “Wanna grab some food? We should go before we’re only left with cucumber sandwiches and crumbled blue cheese.”
Our trio heads to the food table, and I release Dani’s hand so we can each grab a plate.
“Hey guys,” Nico says casually, coming up behind us. I swear, this dick is everywhere. Danika grunts in response, grabbing two sandwiches to fill her small plate. Gemma hits him with a brilliant smile and I…well, I ignore the jackass.
“Arden, right?”Oh, I know he’s not talking directly to me.“You look tired. Need a coffee or something?” My jaw twitches with the pressure I’m putting it under. Beside me, Danika looks adorably confused. And rightfully so. It’s an odd comment unless you’re a jackass like Nico.
Without a word, I grab three sandwiches and pull Danika off the line toward the nearest table, leaving Gemma and Nico blinking in our wake.
“What was that about? Are you okay?”
“He’s just a prick.”
“I know that,” Danika says, taking a bite of her tiny turkey and swiss. “Just seems like a bit of an overreaction.”
I blink a few times, pulling myself out of the sea of red in my vision. She’s right. It is an overreaction. He’s trying to get under my skin but I won’t let him succeed in doing so. Melissa says to find something solid to hold onto in moments like these. Reaching out, I push an errant hair behind Danika’s ear. Her shocked eyes find mine but I don’t make a thing of it, instead reaching for my puny pastrami on rye and eating it in one bite.
I can tell she wants to push the issue but she’d be wise not to. I have no explanation she’d be ready to hear and talking about it will only cause me to tense up again. I don’t need to tense up. I need to be calm. I’m working on being calm.
We finish our plates in tense silence and then Dani mentions something about needing to talk to a professor. “You can go if you want. I think we’ve made our point today.”
I only nod, going to leave, but her hand pulls me back in. Dani gives me a hug that’s not just a “saying goodbye to a friend” hug. No, this is a “we’re lovers and we’re going back to our apartment to fuck after I finish up business here” hug. And I fully embrace it. I know she’s only putting on a show for her ex but at this point, I’ll take every crumb from her I can get.
Chapter Sixteen
Danika
Bythetimewefinish the anatomy lab, I’m exhausted. My showerhead is calling and so is that pint of Ben and Jerry’s I stuffed into the back of the freezer.
“Do you think we should get together and study before lab tomorrow? Charlie said there’s gonna be a pop quiz about the superficial extrinsic muscles at some point this week and I’m still lost on the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, and levator scapulae,” Paige says as we’re packing up our things.
It’s only three pm on Wednesday, the TA’s let us out a little early due to an event added to their own schedule, and I could always use a little extra studying. I suppose my icy men can wait a little longer.
“Sure, let’s go to the library,” I say, pulling my back onto my shoulders.
“I don’t know about you guys but I could definitely use a coffee before a study session,” Nico says, surprisingly cheerfully. “Wanna go to Groundbreaking instead?”
Paige and Carter nod enthusiastically. “We need to grab our books from my car but we’ll meet you there.”
I nod as we head out the door. Trying to walk quickly, I zoom down the path until I hear my name called from behind.
“Danika!”Damn it.“You know we’re going to the same place. We might as well walk together.” Nico has caught up to me and I have to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes. “You look good, Dani.”
Stopping in my tracks, I ball my hands into fists.
“Nico. Enough. This whole ‘trying to win me back’ game is getting really fucking old. You know I have a boyfriend now. You need to respect that.”
Nico jogs back to where I’ve stopped, the smile not falling from his face. “Dani, I know that. I’m not trying to win you back, believe me. I’ve gotten enough flack from that boyfriend of yours.”
I tentatively meet his eyes.