Page 13 of Movers and Fakers

Boyfriend

Aurora Driscoll

I toss my empty iced coffee cup into a trash can and contemplate how much effort it would take to throw Hayes in with it. My eyes cut to the man in question, taking in his large muscular arms and tall stature as we walk through the library. If I thought I could take him down, I would. Or maybe not. He’d probably like it. And twist it into some evidence for me being in love with him.

After spending a little over an hour in his presence, I need to be far, far away from him. He took the session seriously enough but didn’t hesitate to throw in flirty quips where he could. Now he’s decided to walk me out. It’s like he lives to annoy me.

“Allow me, Your Highness,” Hayes croons, and jogs ahead to open the library door.

I glare at him as I pass through the doorway. Irrational anger springs up at how much taller than me he is. I’m taller than all my friends and used to matching the height of guys around me, but of course he has to tower over me.

“Haven’t you bothered me enough for today?” I grumble.

“You didn’t cut our meeting short, so I must not have been that bad,” he replies, and falls into step beside me.

“Your bar is—unsurprisingly—low.”

He grins, his green eyes crinkling at the corners.

“My standards are just different from yours. Now, where are you headed?”

“It’s this really great place called not telling you. The building is situated at the intersection of none of and your business.”

His responding chuckle makes my stomach swoop. Ugh. Why does he have to have an affect on me? I wish I were immune, but I’m no better than the rest of the girls on this campus. Even if I don’t act on my dumb thoughts, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I’m just a hair above Mckinleigh at this point. My face wrinkles at the thought of her throwing herself in Hayes’s lap and combing her fingers through his auburn hair. Who does that? Maybe it’s normal for Hayes, though. I’m not used to that kind of unprompted physical affection. I barely hug my friends and family.

“It feels like I’m getting closer to that bar I set,” he muses. “I should probably leave before you give up on me.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re playing limbo with that bar and you know it.”

He laughs again, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. That’s when I feel my phone buzz in the pocket of my sweats. I pull it out and my mom’s name and face appear on the screen.

“I’ve gotta take this,” I tell him while hovering my thumb over the answer button.

“I guess that’s my cue,” Hayes says, and veers away from me, confirming he wasn’t headed in the same direction. “Tell your boyfriend I said hi.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I say offhandedly as I press answer, thinking he’s done.

Hayes turns around so he’s walking backward.

“That’s good, because I’d hate to break up a relationship.”

“You don’t have nearly as much power as you think you do,” I reply, and his infuriating grin grows.

“I’ve got enough to keep your attention, and that’s all that matters.”

I’m about to reply when I hear a muffled voice saying, “Hello?”

My heart jumps. I forgot I answered the phone. Please, please, don’t let my mom have heard any of this conversation.

“Hey, sorry, Mom,” I say as I quickly pull it to my ear.

Hayes winks before turning around and walking away. I continue down the paved path through the quad to my apartment. I’ve got rehearsals in a little while, but it would be good to grab some food first. Jasmine meal-prepped over the weekend, so I know there will be plenty of options to grab.

“Were you talking to someone?” she asks, and I tip my head back in exasperation. “I thought I heard a boy.”

“I was talking to someone I’m tutoring,” I reply.

She sighs. “I was hoping you would have found a boy to date this semester.” Then her voice perks up. “But! I was talking to Michelle yesterday and she told me her son, Layton, just started at Georgia this semester. He’s a little younger than you, but that’s not really a big deal.”