The College Bully (Love Came In #2)

Chapter 24

It sounds so cliche, but I really don't like Mondays.

Okay so that's not completely true, I like most Mondays, but then you have those special Mondays from hell that completely ruin your mood and week. I was having one of those days today.

The day just started off badly with a large coffee stain on my favourite cream pants, progressively becoming worse as I got reprimanded by a strict professor for a dumb mistake in an assignment, got laughed at in the hallway when I tripped on nothing and dropped all my stuff on the ground, and was given a negative review on a recently submitted presentation by my boss in the internship that night (a separate issue that he never really gave positive comments, but still).

I think what possibly made it worse was that I didn't see Reece the whole day after what happened on the weekend, making me feel out of sorts. I couldn't focus well during classes, wondering why he didn't come to college that day, and my head was just not in the things I was doing.

Finally after dinner that night I drew up some courage and shot a message to Reece asking where he was that day; I didn't get a reply the whole night, and eventually fell into a troubled sleep, dreaming about intense grey eyes.

***

The next day, I was sitting on one of my favourite tables outside when I felt his stare on me.

I looked up, pushing my hair out of my eyes, and saw him standing with a group of his teammates in the far corner of the courtyard, eyes on me. A flush stole my cheeks, making me look down on the reading I was doing for a class, unable to absorb what I was reading.

A few moments after, I could feel his presence but refused to look up. The bench in front of me creaked slightly as someone sat on it. I finally peeked at him slowly, finding him staring at me already.

"So." Reece started.

"So." I echoed.

"Let me take you for dinner today."

My eyes snapped up fully, shocked at his question. "What, why?"

"Because I want to."

"You want to take me," I pointed at myself. "to dinner. In public. My bully will take me to dinner?"

Reece rolled his eyes but leaned forward with an earnest look in his eyes. "Yes Iris, I'd like to take you to dinner." His eyes took on a look I couldn't figure out. "And I'm sorry I didn't answer your text yesterday. Things were a bit too hectic...and I couldn't check my phone till today."

I waved it off. "That's fine."

Reece continued to stare at me intensely, putting his forearms on the table, his wide stance and body taking up most of the table, making me feel crowded but not in a bad way somehow.

"And what about dinner?"

I looked down at my lap and back up at him. "I don't think that's a good idea, Reece." I whispered.

"Why the fuck not?" His voice came out stronger than I expected.

"Because you're still the person who hurt me for 4 damn years, Reece. And I know you genuinely regret it, I know you do, it's just not the easiest thing to overlook." I sighed softly. "Because of a million other reasons, Reece, we're not even friends."

A part of me knew I was deflecting and lying. A part of me knew I was scared of opening myself up that way, making myself vulnerable even though I knew that Reece was someone who, despite everything, I trusted 100%. Just not with my heart.

I also had a feeling Reece knew all of those things.

"Fine." He surprised me by saying. I found his face had taken on a determined look that made me wary. "I understand where you're coming from. We'll start with something simple - a normal dinner with a friend. You can do that right?" He tilted his head slightly with an almost mocking look to it.