Best Served Cold (17 page)

“Are you having a good time with your sister?”

I heard his sigh. “I should say yes. Alison’s not a bad person, but sometimes she sucks the life out of me, you know? She makes Sarah nervous, because she’s ready to jump on her for anything she says or does, and then Dad gets mad.”

“Does she at least like Des?”

“Yeah, when she lets herself. It’s like she’s afraid loving him means she’s not supporting my mom.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with all that.”

“Yeah, well, she’ll be gone tomorrow afternoon, and then I just have to do all the homework I should have been doing all weekend.”

“Speaking of which...” I stood up. “I better get back to this blog post I’m putting together. And Ava’s got the movie on pause. I can’t keep Tom Hanks hanging on any longer.”

“Fine, ditch me for Tom. Meanwhile, I’m on my own.”

I laughed. “Use your imagination.”

“I hope you don’t mind that in my imagination, my sister is gone and you’re sitting in my lap?”

“Not at all.”

“So which one next?” Ava held up two DVDs. “More Meg goodness with
Sleepless in Seattle
, or be daring and move on to Katherine Heigl with
The Ugly Truth
?”

“Decisions, decisions. Okay, let’s try Heigl and Butler. I could use some sassy fun.”

“Great, but if we go that direction, I need chocolate.”

“Don’t tell me the chocolate drawer is empty!” I clapped my hand over my heart in mock horror. “How could we let that happen?”

“All right, smart ass, laugh it up, but it’s your turn to make a food run. I’m thinking Crunch bars and maybe some peanut butter cups.”

I sighed, deeply and with great meaning. “Fine. I’ll go out in the dark and cold to get your fix. Just remember this next time I need sour cream potato chips.”

“Yeah, whatever. Make it snappy.”

I tossed Ava a not-so-friendly gesture, shoved my feet into the furry slipper shoes that were good for this kind of on-campus errand and put on my coat. The halls were quiet for a change. The girls were either out already for the evening or hunkered down with books and movies, like Ava and me. I ran into a few of them in pajamas or sweats on their way to friends’ rooms, but no one stopped me for information or advice, which was a nice change. Maybe our little freshmen were finally growing up.

The student union was only a few minutes’ walk from our dormitory, and the sidewalk was well-lit. I kept my head down and scurried along. I wasn’t worried about running into Liam; he’d be out for the evening by this point.

Almost no one was in the snack shop at the SU. The cashier looked bored as she leafed through a magazine and talked on the phone.

I stood before the candy rack, trying to decide what I felt like eating. I found Ava’s requests and had just picked out a chocolate bar with almonds for myself when two guys walked in the door.

“Jules?” Giff laid a hand on my shoulder. “I thought that was you. What are you doing, trolling for chocolate?”

I turned, smiling up at him. “Hey. Yeah, it’s a movie night. Gotta have our snacks.” I glanced behind him, where a familiar dark-haired man stood at the drink cooler.

Leaning toward Giff, I lowered my voice. “So wrestling worked out for you?”

He flushed a little, and then grinned. “Yeah, you might say. Dean said you hung for a little while, but then you bailed.”

I shook my head. “Only so much wrestling a girl can handle. I mean, of the spectator sport-kind.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess. But maybe next week we can—”

“Giff.” I took his hand, squeezed it. “You’re a wonderful friend, to both Liam and me. But your roommate and I had a heart-to-heart this morning after the meet, and I can tell you what you and I were planning isn’t going to work. I wish I didn’t have to say it, but he’s a bigger jerk than even I thought. I don’t want him back. I’m sorry you went to all that trouble.”

Giff frowned. “I knew something went down. Liam wasn’t there when I got back to our room. He’d gone running, and he’d gone hard. He was snarly and nasty when I asked what was up. And then he showered and went out tonight. Didn’t say where.”

I shrugged. “Whatever. He can do anything or anyone he likes, it really doesn’t matter to me. But you do matter. So can we still be friends, even though you live with a dick?”

“Honey, we’re all dicks. And of course, I’m always your friend. You can’t shake me loose that easy.” He turned a little as the other guy approached. “Jeff, this is my friend Julia. Julia, this is Dean’s brother.”

I offered my hand, smiling. “Your brother’s a good sport. Tell him I said so.” I held up my candy. “Now I’m taking my chocolate and getting back to Gerard Butler. You two...” I winked at them. “Behave yourselves. Catch you later, Giff.”

It felt good to have everything out in the open with Gifford. One less snarl in my life. I hurried back to my room and dumped the candy onto Ava’s lap.

“Here you are, my lady. Are we queued up and ready?”

“You bet. Mmmm, thanks.” She tore open a wrapper, bit into the Crunch and pointed to the screen as the opening titles appeared. “Ever notice that Gerard is a little bit of jerk in this movie?”

I laughed as I settled back into movie-watching mode. “I have it on good authority that honey, they’re all dicks.”

It snowed again the next week, just enough to make it a pain in the neck to get around campus. I hated having to wear my boots to class and sit there for an hour, feeling like the abominable snow woman about to melt into a puddle in the over-heated classrooms.

Just to add to my irritation, Ava was acting strange. If there was one thing I could count on in my life, it was her steady presence in our room, always studying or writing papers. Unless she was going out with me to eat or leading a study group, she was at her desk or in bed with books.

When I came back to our room on Tuesday and found it empty, I didn’t worry, figuring she had gotten held up after class. But when I glanced up at the clock later and realized it was after six, I reached for my phone to text her.

She didn’t reply. I was just about to call her when the door opened.

“Oh, my God, you had me worried. Where’ve you been? And what’s wrong?”

She was flushed and frowning. “I’m sorry. Impromptu study group after class and I figured it wouldn’t take that long, but then it did.”

“Ave, what happened?” She was practically shaking as she shrugged off her coat and hung it up.

“Nothing happened. I got a C on the quiz in cog psych. It was stupid, and I’m mad at myself.”

“Are you sure that’s all?” I knew Ava was uptight about her grades and hated getting anything under an A, but I’d never seen her this upset about a quiz.

“Yeah. Listen, I’m going to skip going to dinner tonight. Can you bring me something back from the SU? I need to get to work. I’m really behind.”

“Sure.” I pulled on my boots and coat. “Anything else I can do?”

She shook her head, but her eyes didn’t meet mine. “No, thanks. I just need a little time to think. To study.”

But it was more than that. For the rest of week, it felt as though she was avoiding me. We ate together, but more often than not, it was a rushed meal before she hurried back to the dorm to do homework. She was quiet and looked so awful that I wondered if she might be sick. At the same time, she seemed to be out more than I was used to, telling me she had a meeting or was tutoring. It was so completely unlike her that I was uneasy.

The bright points in the week were when I got to see Jesse. He was too busy with classes and school work to go out at night, but we managed a few minutes here and there when he came home in the afternoons.

“I’m going to get fat.” He patted his flat stomach after I’d served him homemade pizza leftover from Desmond’s lunch. “And spoiled.”

I shook my head. “Don’t get used to it, buddy. I’m just luring you in with good food.”

“And then you’ll have your way with me?” He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap as I passed his seat.

“Jesse, Desmond--”

“Is sound asleep upstairs. I can hear him breathing through the monitor. And Dad and Sarah won’t be home for another couple of hours.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me, trying to be suggestive but only coming across as comical as a cartoon villain. “I’ve got you all to myself.”

“Oh, woe is me.” I wriggled in his lap, smiling when I felt his response and heard the sharp intake of breath. I linked my hands behind his head. “Whatever will I do?”

He lowered his mouth to mine. “Give in. There’s nothing else to do...”

“If I must.” I managed to get out the words before he covered my lips, his tongue making insistent forays against mine. A thrill of desire shot through me, and I was lost...at least until I heard Desmond waking up.

Our afternoon encounters kept me going, but I was looking forward to the weekend, to spending some time with just the two of us, alone. Jesse had promised to go to a basketball game on Friday night with his dad, and on Saturday, I had a conference for journalism majors in Philadelphia. I didn’t get back to Birch until after seven.

Ava wasn’t home, but before I could wonder about it, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Jesse’s number.

“Hey. Perfect timing, I just got back.”

“That’s me, perfect. How was the conference?”

“Oh, fine. All the people I’m going to be competing with for jobs in about a year, gathered in one place to hear how those positions are disappearing. It was a feel-good fest.”

“Lots of sexy Tom Brokaw-wannabes?”

I laughed. “Maybe. You jealous?”

“Nah, Tom Brokaw was never my type. So are we still on for tomorrow? I was thinking mid-afternoon, a couple of DVDs, and I’ll get food from someplace.”

“That sounds amazing. You know what, though, don’t get food. I’ll go to the store on my way over, and I’ll make us something. I mean, if that sounds okay. If you’d rather have take-out, that’s cool, too.”

“No, oh, God, no. I’d rather have real food, but I didn’t want you to feel like you have to cook. I mean, before next weekend, with the Super Bowl.”

“I can handle it. Being in the kitchen is therapeutic. Anything you feel like especially?”

“Anything at all. I am the non-pickiest eater you’ve ever met, I promise.”

“Fabulous. I can be really creative then. Did you know you actually can buy cow brains at the grocery store now?” I struggled to keep the giggle out of my voice.

“Uhh, I hope you’re joking. I’m not picky, but I’m not that adventurous either.”

“Totally kidding. I promise. What time do you want me?”

He dropped his voice a little. “I want you now.”

A thrill of electricity ran down my middle. “Oh.” I spoke on a rush of breath.

“But I guess tomorrow about three works, if that’s okay with you.”

“I can do that. What are you doing now?”

“A research paper on dysphasia in middle grade children. It’s riveting.”

I laughed. “I bet. I have big plans: working on the blog and doing an outline for a paper. Maybe watching a movie.”

“Which one? Just so I know not to get it for us tomorrow.”

“Ah, probably a chick flick.
Sleepless in Seattle.
I think you’re safe. Unless you’ve got a thing for Meg Ryan. About fifteen years ago
.
”

“She’s hot, no question, but I don’t think any of her movies were on my short list for tomorrow.”

“Okay. You surprise me about the movies, I’ll surprise you about the food.”

“That’s a plan. I guess I better get back to work here, so I can enjoy you tomorrow.” He paused. “I mean, enjoy being with you. Sorry, that came out wrong.”

“I don’t know, it sounded okay to me.”

He laughed, low and intimate. “Do you know what I’d be doing if I were with you right now?”

My heart thumped. “No...what?”

His voice was a husky whisper. “I’d touch your face. Just lightly, just my finger tips. And then I’d lean...closer...and a little closer...and I’d brush my lips across yours. Run kisses down your neck, to that little hollow dip in your throat, where I can feel your pulse. My hands would be low on your back, just above your hips, pressing you to me.”