An Instant Attraction

Chapter 22

As planned, Dex and I drive to campus together in the morning. My day passes quickly and most of my anxiety is relieved now that my first day on a new campus is almost over. I text Kristin to see where she wants to meet, and she suggests the Starbucks in the food hall. This way we can grab a good coffee before heading back to the apartment.

We find a table and sit down with our lattes and I decide to send a quick message to Dex, *Will I get to see you before I leave?

He writes back instantaneously, *where are you? I have an hour free before practice

*Food hall, near Starbucks I type hoping that I'll get to see him before we leave. I look up to see Kristin in texting Luke too. Ten minutes later Dex and Luke walk up to our table. My lips instantly turn up into a smile when I see him. He gives me a quick kiss before going to grab himself a snack and drink.

"You two are just so adorable together," Kristin squeals. I think she secretly loves the fact that we're dating brothers, if what Dex and I are doing is dating. I think it is, but we still haven't actually talked about it or put a label on it. I'll have to try to approach the subject with him later. I don't want to do any of the "friends with benefits" stuff, that isn't anything I'm into. I'm a commitment girl, especially after the cheating situation I went through with Zack. I don't want to play anymore games. Dex and Luke sit down at the table with us.

"So, how was your first day?" Dex asks.

"I had a good day. I had two classes and spent some time in the library. What about you, how was your day?" I replay with excitement. I've always loved school and being back in class and on campus is definitely getting me back into my comfort zone.

"Eh...it was okay. I had this math class that I can already tell is going to be torture. Other than that, it was fine. I wish I had classes with you, that would ease the pain and suffering," he says with a laugh.

I laugh too. Maybe next semester I could actually arrange to have at least one class with Dex, that would be nice. As my mind wanders, I notice that Kristin and Luke seem to be whispering about something. Just as I'm about to say something, Dex does it.

"What the fuck is up with the two of you and all the whispering?" his question comes out quite bluntly.

Kristin lowers her eyes to the table. She doesn't say anything, but she reaches her hand over and squeezes my knee under the table. Luke looks towards the entrance of the food hall and moves his head indicating for one or both of us to look towards the door. I turn my head and my eyes instantly meet the icy blue eyes of a tiny brown-haired girl. I see her gaze go to Dex and then down to the back of my chair where his arm is resting behind me. I wonder how long she's been watching us.

I turn my attention back to the table, but Dex is still turned slightly. I can't look at him yet, I'm not ready to see his eyes or the feelings they may be hiding. Instead I focus on Kristin who is meeting my gaze. "I'm sorry," she mouths as she gives my leg another small squeeze. Dex finally turns back toward the table, but his posture seems stiff and I can tell something is different.

"Hey Luke, we should, uh, probably head over to get changed and ready for practice," he seems to stutter awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure," Luke responds as he leans over and gives Kristin a kiss before standing. "I'll call you later," he says to her with a small smile. He glances one last time in my direction and says, "See you later, Mia."

Dex stands and I wonder if he's even going to look at me again. I feel so uncomfortable and as much as I don't want to cry, I can feel the tears starting to build. I hold my breath and bite my bottom lip in an attempt to stop them from spilling over. He leans over and whispers, "I'll text you after practice." His deep voice touching my ear does crazy things to my body as my cheeks warm slightly and I finally pick my face up to look at him. His hand touches my cheeks lightly and he leans in to kiss my lips. They part for him without hesitation and our tongues touch softly. I can feel the warmth spreading from my cheeks and down my neck as I know people are watching us, but I don't care. Excitement is coursing through me as he claims me so publicly. Our kiss breaks and my head feels light.

"I'll talk to you later," he says as he turns to meet Luke by the door.

"Wow! That kiss made me hot," Kristin says with an enormous grin. I swat at her arm playfully, "Oh shut up!" She takes a peek over my shoulder.

"If looks could kill," she whispers. I turn just enough to see Rachel shooting daggers in my direction. She seems to have joined some friends at a table nearby and they're obviously looking at me and Kristin, as they point and whisper.

"You ready to go home?" Kristin asks.

"Definitely," I say as I stand and turn towards the exit. Luckily, we can reach the door without going directly by Rachel's table. I take one more glance and notice that Avery has joined the table too. She seems to give me a small sideways smile and a shrug, as if to say sorry. I hope she isn't going to cause any more problems. I really don't want to deal with any forced drama from these girls. Kristin and I are silent as we walk to the car. Once our doors close, Kristin looks at me and bursts out laughing.

"Sorry, I don't mean to laugh but that was really weird and uncomfortable," she says still amused. Her laughter is contagious and I end up laughing too. We're both still chuckling when she starts to drive. "The look on Rachel's face when Dex kissed you was priceless, I wish you could have seen it," Kristin says.

"Are Avery and Rachel close?" I ask curious if this could pose a problem in the future.

"Yeah, they're pretty good friends. That's actually how Dex and Rachel ended up together. Avery was dating Chris and she set them up. I think they were roommates in the dorms freshman year, and they've been friends since. Don't worry though, Avery is actually really sweet, she's harmless," Kristin tries to brush my concern away but I can still feel a bubble of doubt growing in my stomach. I think Kristin can sense my unease, as she looks over to me giving me a comforting smile, "I don't think Dex even looked in Rachel's direction when he left the food hall. He only has eyes for you."

I hope so...