An Instant Attraction

Chapter 37

This week has been unbearably slow. I haven't seen Dex since he kept his promise on Monday to get me back to campus in time for my afternoon class. I would have been happier to stay in my bed with him for the rest of the afternoon, but he had practice anyway. I made it to my class with just minutes to spare. It's Thursday and I'll be seeing him tonight for dinner. His mom is making a big family dinner tonight before the season opener tomorrow, Kristin said it's a family tradition. She and I are going to drive over together to meet the guys when they get out of practice. We've been texting and talking on the phone, but our schedules have just been so busy this week that we haven't been able to catch each other between classes or for lunch. At least this was a convenient week for my monthly friend to arrive.

I'm sitting in my English class trying to concentrate on the lecture my professor is intent on giving, but I have a lingering menstrual headache that won't quit. After droning on for way too long, my professor finally dismisses class ten minutes late. Luckily, I don't have another class after, but I see a few of my classmates run for the door knowing that they probably have to make it across campus for another class. I decide to stop in the food hall to grab a coffee, hoping that the caffeine will help diminish my headache. I order a pumpkin spice latte and a cranberry muffin. It's quiet in the food hall at the moment, so I decide to sit at one of the larger tables to spread out and study a little while I enjoy my afternoon snack. I have a little time to kill before Kristin is done with her classes, so I pull my laptop from my backpack and hit the power button.

As I reach down to retrieve a few papers and books from my backpack, I notice a small rowdy group of guys sitting a few tables away from me. They seem to be looking in my direction and I can hear a few hushed comments, but I put my head down and try to focus on my assignments. I'm doing my best to ignore them when out of the corner of my eye I see one of them stand and start walking towards my table. As he gets closer, I lift my head. I recognize him from my nutrition class but I don't remember his name. My initial thought is that he must be coming over to ask a question about class, but then he grabs one of the chairs at my table, pulling it out and making himself comfortable.

"Hi, I'm Jason. You're Mia, right?" he asks smoothly.

"Uh...yeah. Is there a reason you just sat at my table?" I ask a little more abruptly than I intend.

He just smiles brightly, ignoring my rudeness. "Just looked like maybe you could use some company," he says.

I slide my arms from my jacket, feeling warm now that I'm inside. They've obviously turned the heat on in the food hall and the hot latte I'm sipping is adding to the affect. "Actually, I was trying to get some studying done and enjoying a little alone time." I smile back at him, trying to be a little nicer this time.

I notice his eyes turn down as he glances at my chest and I suddenly want to put my jacket back on feeling incredibly uncomfortable by the obvious attention. His eyebrows raise slightly, "Oh. I see, you're one of those," he chuckles.

I'm completely confused. I must be missing something. "One of what?" I ask.

"Hockey groupie," he answers simply. I glance down, realizing he wasn't checking out my chest he was reading the text on the front of my shirt. I'm wearing Dex's BU Hockey t-shirt that I have no plans to give back.

"What?" I bark out a laugh.

He raises his hands slightly in front of him, "I didn't mean to insult you. It's just that the hockey team has this following and a lot of them tend to be girls. I just noticed your shirt and thought maybe you only had a thing for hockey players. Sorry."

I'm still laughing and I am in no way insulted. "Actually, this is my boyfriend's shirt and he's on the team. So, I guess you could say I have a thing for a particular hockey player."