Page 56 of Damaged Protector
Megan, on the other hand, was quiet and more reserved. She constantly fiddled with her wavy, shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair and hid her brown eyes behind thick-rimmed black glasses. I had her pegged as a serious student who would probably make a good study partner.
When we’d first gotten here, the deejay had been playing more current dance music, but about thirty minutes ago, he’d shifted to some older stuff. As soon as we hit the dance floor, “Back to Life” by Soul II Soul came on, and I squealed. I loved that song.
Lauren swayed, her hips moving in sultry circles. Almost immediately, a guy came up behind her and put his hands on her waist. After a quick, assessing look back at him, she wiggled her eyebrows at us and turned in his arms. He was super tall and really good looking.
Megan was starting to loosen up a bit, and I leaned forward, yelling over the thumping beat of the music. “You have good rhythm.”
“Really? I always feel so awkward when I’m dancing.”
“Not at all. Just loosen your shoulders up a bit.”
She did, looking more natural as she moved in time with the music. “I think Scott likes you,” she said loudly.
I glanced back at our table where the blond sat with one of our other classmates, Connor.
“He’s cute, but I’m not sure he’s really my type. He’s called me bruh at least four times so far.”
She laughed, and then her eyes lit up when Madonna’s “Vogue” came on. “Voooooogue!”
It was probably the silliest dance ever, except for maybe the Macarena, but we had fun framing our faces and singing at the tops of our lungs.
“Let’s go sit down,” she hollered when the song ended. “My feet hurt.”
“Wassup,” Scott said as we approached, scooting over to make room for me on the bench seat beside him. “You ladies can really move. I mean, like, damn, bruhhh!”
Good grief. That’s five. Megan met my gaze across the table, covering her smile with her hand as she obviously had the same thought.
“So, Mal. You want to go out next weekend?” Scott asked, not-so-casually draping his arm around the back of my seat.
“Oh, I can’t,” I said with fake apology in my voice. “My cousin is having a party Saturday night, and I have to go.”
“What about Friday?”
Ugh, take a hint, bruh.
“You’re really nice, Scott, but I’m not wanting to date anyone in our class. It could make things complicated.”
“What if I drop out?” he asked, winking and flashing me what I assumed he thought was a cute smile.
“No, I’m sorry,” I said simply. Is he sitting closer to me than he was a few minutes ago?
“Hey, bruh. I understand. We could go out as friends though, right? Like with a group. Have you met Ana, Travis, and Mackenzie from our class?”
“Um, no. I haven’t met them yet.”
“They’re pretty cool. They said something about a few of us grabbing a bite to eat soon. You down for Friday night?”
“As friends?” I clarified, and he nodded.
“Of course.”
“Yeah, okay. I guess it will be nice to meet some more people.” I leaned across the table toward Megan and Connor, who seemed to be getting along pretty well. “Hey, you guys want to go out to eat with us next weekend?”
“Sorry, I can’t,” Connor said. He was a ginger with a sweet face and a smattering of freckles across his nose. “I’m going to Houston to see my brother.”
“I can’t either,” Meg said, tilting her head apologetically. “My parents will be in town.”
“No biggie,” Scott said. “Y’all can meet the others soon. They all live in my apartment complex. We met at the pool this week.”