Doesn’t matter, dude, you’re keeping your hands to yourself with this one.
“I know you can walk by yourself, but believe it or not my mother raised a gentleman.” More like my grandmother. My mother didn’t spend a whole lot of time with me.
She lets out a loud ‘hmph’ sound and casts me a disbelieving stare. Right, she thinks I pulled my pants down in the closet to get with her, and made her the laughing stock of Sweetwater High.
I open the door to the café and lead her in. A few minutes later, we’re seated by the window, with a nice view of the back garden where they grow their fresh herbs. She glances around, a small smile on her face, and for some weird reason, I’m glad I was able to put it there. I don’t think this girl has had an easy go at life, and I made things worse for her.
“This place is really nice. How did you discover it again?”
“I needed a break from the frat house.” I stretch out, and my leg touches hers. She sits up a bit straighter, a look on her face that speaks of agony. “Shoot, sorry, did I hurt your foot.”
She takes a fast sip on her water. “No, it was my other one. So, you were saying…”
“The house has fifteen guys, and it’s always noisy and there are parties going on.” I rake my hand through my hair. “Sometimes it’s all just too much, you know.”
“My house is pretty quiet. Of course, it’s off-campus living, and most of the girls work part time jobs. With my track, and the time it takes, I’m not able to work.”
“You like it there?”
She curls her ponytail around her fingers. “It’d be great if the landlord wasn’t a deadbeat. The pipes break all the time, and the windows leak. In the winter, it’s freezing. I’d plug in my electric blanket, but only half my outlets work and I’m afraid to plug in an extension cord. Last year, there was a small electrical fire that woke us, but we were lucky to put it out before the place burned down and we went with it.”
My heart thumps in my chest. “Jesus, are you serious?” She nods and my mind races as I ask, “Who is your landlord?”
She leans forward and puts her chin in her palm. The flecks of yellow in her eyes are bright beneath the overhead light. “He owns a lot of the houses in the area actually, and never answers any of our calls.”
Anger burns through my blood. No one deserves to live like that. He’s putting lives at risk here. “You need to sue his ass.”
She shrugs, and shakes her head, like the effort would prove futile. “I have one year left, and once I become a lawyer, maybe I will.”
“Give me his name. I’ll have a talk with him.”
“I’m not going to do that, Christian.” She shakes her head, like the idea is ludicrous, and maybe even a little amusing. “My problems are mine, not yours.”
I lean in. “Are you forgetting that you’re mine now, Maize? I plan to take care of you. That’s how this works.”
“That’s not how it’s going to work for us, remember? Tit for tat.” She shakes her head. “I mean…”
Her voice falls off when the waitress comes, and she smiles when she sees me. “Christian, nice to see you. It’s been a while.”
“Nice to see you too, Nancy. Back for my fourth year, and have been dying to get back here,” I say to the elderly lady with short silver hair who treats me like the grandson she never had. I know that because she told me all about her daughters, and granddaughters.
“And who do you have with you today?” she asks, and adjusts her glasses as she takes in Maize with a wide smile.
“This is my friend Maize.” I put my hand by my head and mimic an explosion. “We’re going to blow her mind today.”
“I take it two orders of eggs benny, then?”
“You know it.”
She winks at Maize who smiles back as she collects the menus. “Right back with some coffee for you both.” She tosses me a wink before leaving and I get it. She thinks Maize is my girl. In a sense, I guess she is, sort of.
Her eyes dance with questions. “You must really be a regular.”
I shrug it off. “Like I said, it’s my spot to come to when I need some quiet time.”
“You bring all your girlfriends here?” As soon as that question leaves her mouth, she puts her hands up. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business. I don’t know why I asked. Ignore me. I don’t think I’ve had enough coffee yet.”
“No, I don’t bring any girlfriends here. I don’t really have girlfriends,” I admit honestly.
“Yeah, right.” she shoots back. “I’ve seen the way the girls look at you, and the way the cheerleaders are all over you, getting piggybacks after every game.”
“So what was that you said about not watching me?” Her face turns red, and I grin, letting her know I’m simply teasing her. “It’s okay, I know why you do it, Maize.”
“Why?” she asks, “And again, for the record, I don’t watch you.”
“You do it because you’re still trying to figure out how to get me back from the closet incident.”
She stares at me for a moment, and the corners of her mouth twitch. “I’m not much into revenge, but for the record, I guess there was a time or two in high school I considered running you over
