Page 8

“I’LL CATCH YOU GUYS later,” I say to Walton and a couple of the others as they head out to wherever the team’s celebrating.

But actually, maybe this is part of my task. Getting close to Veronica, learning her habits, finding the cracks I’m supposed to pry open... And yeah, I really want to know why she didn’t show up. Maybe it wasn’t on purpose. Something else could’ve come up and stopped her.

I check the usual spots where she might be, but I don’t see her anywhere. Just as I’m ready to give up, I remember the library, because she seems like the type who’d rather be reading than doing anything else, and for some reason, someone thought it was an amazing idea to keep it open 24/7 so people could study.

Of course, the moment I enter the library, I spot Veronica at one of the tables, her books spread out everywhere, her head down, her pen in her hand, as she’s completely immersed in whatever she’s reading. She probably didn’t come to my game because she was in here, doing homework or whatever, for fuck’s sake. That’s just insane.

The librarian’s still at the front desk, so I lean an elbow on the counter and give her my warmest smile. She glances up at me, looking a little flustered, which means this will be easy.

“Hey, sorry to bug you,” I say, keeping my voice down. “That girl at the table over there... Has she been here a while? I think she’s in one of my classes.” I tip my head toward Veronica so the librarian knows exactly who I mean.

She peers toward the table. “Oh, her? A few hours, at least, I think.”

“Hours, huh,” I say, keeping the smile fixed on my face, even as I grit my teeth. “Wow. Dedicated.”

So Veronica’s been holed up in here the whole time, while I was out on the field looking for her. She picked the library over my game. The boring, dusty library over... me. Seriously? And I don’t even know if she forgot I asked or just decided it wasn’t worth her time, and I hate it.

I thank the librarian, who practically melts behind the desk, and I head off toward the nearest row of shelves. I need to be patient. Veronica clearly isn’t the type who scares easily and if she’s actually playing hard to get, she can’t think I’m here for her.

I grab the first book off the shelf and head over toward her table, as if I just happened to wander into the library and spotted a familiar face.

When I get to her table, I knock my knuckles lightly on the wood so she’d look up. “Oh, hey,” I say, as if it surprises me to find her here. “You’re that girl from my class. Veronica, right?”

She nods, the corner of her mouth lifting into a small smile. “Yeah.”

“The game was great. Did you see it?” I tuck the book under my arm and tilt my head.

“No,” she says, glancing back down at her notes. “Soccer’s not really my thing.”

“Ah, okay.” I keep my voice light, but my jaw tightens.

Soccer’s not her thing? Really? As if she didn’t just skip seeing me play to highlight a fucking textbook. Every girl on this campus would’ve killed for an invite and waited for a chance to see me shirtless after the game, but Veronica just... Un-fucking-believable.

“So what’s all this?” I ask, nodding at the mess of books and papers spread across her table. “You pulling an all-nighter or something?”

She raises her eyebrows at me. “I’m just studying.”

“Sure.” A grin tugs at my mouth. “You’re a freshman, yeah? Look, if you ever need help with anything, or someone to show you around, just let me know. This place is kind of a maze your first year. It’s easy to get lost.”

“Thanks,” she says, “but I’ve pretty much figured everything out already. And I’ve got a map on my phone.”

Huh. Okay then. “Right, I’ll let you get back to it,” I say, giving her a quick nod, and head for an empty table a couple of rows over.

Over the top of the pages of the random book I picked, I take a peek at her. Her head’s down the whole time, her eyes on her work, and she doesn’t even look up once. I keep waiting for a little glance my way that every girl gives me sooner or later, but she doesn’t do anything. I shift in my chair, scraping it back a little so it makes noise, but she doesn’t even flinch.

Unnerving. One smile, and the librarian was more than ready to help me, but Veronica won’t give me a second glance. The more I think about it, the less I understand her, and the more I want to.

Fine. If she wants to make this hard, I’m good with that. Girls who don’t fall easy are more fun anyway, and they make the win taste better when it finally comes. Veronica has no idea what I plan to do with her, but she will eventually.

Chapter 6

VERONICA

THE LECTURE HALL IS empty when I get there, and I’m glad about that, because it gives me a good while to set everything up for my presentation before anyone shows up to watch me fumble around at the front. The presentation counts for a big chunk of my grade, and I’ve gone over it so many times in my room that I could probably do it in my sleep.

I’m not about to let the computer or a stubborn projector ruin it for me now, not after all the reading I did and all the nights I spent putting the slides together until they were perfect. I head to the professor’s desk and dig my flash drive out of my bag. The college computer takes its time waking up, and once it does, I plug the drive in and pull up my file.

My title slide fills the projector screen above me. I tap through the first few slides just to be sure nothing’s out of order or missing, and they all look exactly as they should, so I click back to the start.