Page 16 of Of Course, Cutie
“Hello, Simon.” I turned back to my phone to see if Burke had replied yet.
Simon tugged the phone from my hand, laughing. “How ‘bout you let me hold this for you while we have a drink, sexy.”
My instincts told me to knee him in the balls, grab my phone, and walk away. But that was an extreme reaction, wasn’t it? Society frowned on that behavior. Instead, I folded my arms and scanned his face: dark brown eyes, thick eyebrows, angular jaw, full lips. I was confident that if I lifted his jersey, I’d find a waxed six-pack, and if I looked up his Instagram and Tik Tok, I’d find hundreds of shirtless photos and videos.
Boring.
“How ‘bout you give me that phone back before I knee you in the balls, Simon?” I gave him a polite smile and held out my hand for my phone.
Simon threw his head back and laughed. “Damn, Anna.” He slapped my phone against my palm and watched with greedy eyes as I slid it back into my bra. “Girl, have I seen you around campus?”
I gave him a blank stare. “How the hell would I know what you’ve seen around campus?”
Simon rolled his eyes. “Do you go to UCC?”
“Yep.”
“Cool, same!” Simon grinned.
Holy shit, dude! What a coincidence! “I think everyone at this party goes there.” I turned back around to gaze out at Matteo’s yard. Hey, look, there’s the bush that I got to know so well last year.
Simon leaned against the deck railing, pressing his side into me for the second time tonight. And now I knew who the worst Axe body spray offender was. “What are you studying, Anna?” His arm snaked its way around my waist.
I slid away from him. “I don’t know yet. Just working on generals. It all feels like a massive waste of time.” Kind of like this conversation.
Simon laughed. “School’s a waste of time? What else are you going to do? Start a multimillion-dollar tech company out of your garage?”
I shrugged. “Maybe.” Did Matteo invite this guy on purpose? “So, how do you know Matteo?”
“Uh,” Simon scratched his freshly shaven chin. “Is that the little gay brown dude?”
I raised both eyebrows. What a fucking dumbass. “The little gay brown dude? Did you really just say that?”
Simon laughed. “What?”
The back door slid open, and Matteo yelled, “Charlotte!”
I glanced over at Simon. “Excuse me. The little gay brown dude needs me.”
Simon narrowed his eyes at me. “Charlotte?”
I shrugged and waved over my shoulder as I headed for Matteo’s grinning face. “Talk to me, boo.”
Matteo looped his arm through mine and led me back into his house. “Okay, so Jonah’s mom texted and asked him to come home and help with all the trick-or-treaters, so he had to leave early, but OH MY GOD! He is the sweetest thing, Charlotte! I walked him to his car, and he gave me this adorable little peck on the cheek, and I think I just melted like the wicked witch of the west!”
I grinned and bit my lip. “Mattie, that’s fucking adorable!” I pulled my best friend in for a hug.
“I’m dying, Charlotte! Look, my hands are shaking!” Matteo grinned and shook his head. “Oh!” He smacked my arm. “Who was the cutie you were talking to?”
I shook my head. “No one.” Then I smiled and leaned in to make sure he could hear me well over the music. “Burke texted.”
Matteo gaped at me. “Let. Me. See.”
I handed him my phone and watched him bite his bottom lip as he read my text exchange with Burke. Matteo glanced back up and reached for the hem of my shirt. “Whoa!” I slapped his hand away. “The hell are you doing?”
“I’m checking to see if your damn panties melted away!”
We both laughed, and I collapsed against my best friend. “Should I turn the flirt on? Should I go for it?”