Page 6 of Make Her Break

Oh please. Pretty name? Is that really the best he’s got? It’s such a cliché that I almost laugh in his face. Either he’s trying to charm me for some reason, maybe to give him my notes because he doesn’t want to bother, or he says this exact same thing to every girl. I give him a small smile and quickly turn around.

“You should come to my game this weekend,” he says, leaning forward a little over the back of my seat. “It’s gonna be a good one.”

“Um, okay,” I mumble, because I don’t know what else to say to that, and then I pretend the lecture has my full attention.

But what does that even mean? Come to his game? Is it an invitation, or is it just something he says to everyone so the stands fill up? Why would he care whether I’m there or not? He doesn’t even know me. He dropped a pen on me and now I’m supposed to show up and cheer for him?

Maybe it really is just a thing he says, or he likes the attention. Or maybe he actually wants me there for some reason I don’t know, which makes even less sense. But I’m not going to waste the rest of class picking it apart while the professor talks.

Except, I still don’t understand what Jayden wants. Maybe I’m just another girl he wants to add to his endless list of conquests. But whatever. I’m not falling for his bullshit, even if his mouth is kind of nice. Wait, what? Why am I thinking about his full lips and his light blue eyes that are just so...

Nope.

Nope.

Stop, brain. Stop!

When the professor finally lets us go, I gather my things fast and head for the door without looking back. Jayden doesn’t matter.

WHEN I GET BACK TO the dorm, Aniyah barely lets the door shut behind me before she’s off the bed and right in front of me.

“Okay, okay! Tell me everything,” she says, grabbing my arm. “Right now. Everything.”

I blink at her. “Tell you what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me.” She squeezes my arm harder. “Jayden Burgess. My friend is in your class, and she texted me, like, an hour ago, freaking out because Jayden actually talked to you.”

I gape at her, because... What the fuck? Someone in my class watched me return a pen to a guy and thought it was worth texting their friend about?

“Wow,” I say. “Okay. So this is just high school all over again.”

A whole campus full of grown adults, and the most exciting thing that’s happened all week is a soccer player saying hi to the new girl. Aniyah’s friend doesn’t even know me. She was just there, watching Jayden, and felt like gossiping about something totally irrelevant. I don’t know whether to be flattered or a little creeped out.

“What did he say?” She sits down on the edge of her bed and pulls me down next to her. “I need every single little detail.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I set my bag down by my feet. “He dropped a pen on me, and while he was getting it back, he asked if I’d come to his game this weekend. So, yeah. Not exactly a love story.”

Aniyah’s eyes go wide, her hand flying up to grab my wrist. “He invited you to his game?”

“I guess.”

“And you’re going.”

“Why would I go?”

She stares at me as if I’ve said something in another language. “Because... Because it’s Jayden fucking Burgess. Guys like him don’t just invite random freshmen to their games. Do you have any idea how many girls would kill for this?”

“Well,” I say, with a little shrug, “I’m not impressed.”

Her mouth opens as if I’ve just insulted her. “You’re not impressed?”

“Not really. I handed him back his pen, he said his name, and I said mine. He probably invited half the girls in my lecture hall to his game, and I bet the stands are going to be full of girls, so no, I’m not going to lose my mind over it.”

“You’re unbelievable,” she says, shaking her head at me. “I swear, completely unbelievable.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I’ll check my schedule and decide, okay? Maybe I’ll go, or maybe I won’t. It’s just a soccer game.”

Aniyah flops back onto the bed with a groan and slings an arm over her eyes. “Jayden Burgess invites her to a game and she has to check her schedule. I can’t with you. I really can’t.”