Pretending (Westshore Series #1)

Chapter Ten: Fighting over a Bald Lawyer

"So I think we should make tonight a competition like old times." Warner starts his car and he has a devilish grin on his face. 

By old times he means how during our entire high school experience we competed for the highest grades. Sometimes we would make competitions out of things that were supposed to be for fun. 

For example, in grade ten we both volunteered for an auction and all we had to do was auctioneer some items. Somehow it turned into Warner and I betting on our own items so that we could raise more money than each other. I think I spent $500 that night on a barbeque...I have never even touched a barbeque. 

From the corner of my eye, I can see him still grinning at me.

"Fine, but whatever you have in mind I already know I will win." I smile warmly at him and he seems a bit dazed at first, not responding but just staring at me.

"What?" I ask feeling a little self-conscious and wondering if there's something stuck in my teeth.

"Nothing" he shakes his head and then gives me that disarming smile that I've been looking for. 

"Nothing," he repeats," You should just smile more often."

I guess he wasn't used to me being so friendly to him. Especially after I yelled at him in the first weeks of school but also throughout our lives. I never used to find our friendly competitions 'friendly'. I also considered him a nemesis rather than a friend. Looking back I was mean to him too, It was just that he had a whole group of friends bullying me whereas I was probably the only person to ever be rude to THE Warner Brooks.

The rest of the ride I try not to look at him or the hand that's resting on the stick shift, dangerously close to my thigh. Once or twice his fingers accidentally brush across it and jolts of electricity pass through my body.

We arrive at the building and I feel my hands start to sweat. Suddenly I am not ready to walk into a room full of important people in a dress this tight. I don't want anyone to look at me anymore, what if all of the lawyers hated me and thought I was dumb?

Warner is busy grabbing the food from his back seat "You ready?". I don't look at him and nod, grabbing my purse.

He tugs at my arm and pulls me back before I walk over to the door. Turning me around he grabs a hold of both my shoulders and tilts my chin to look at him. His eyes penetrate into mine like they're trying to figure something out.

"Are you okay?" He's scanning my face and visible parts of my body for I don't know what.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

I detest sounding so breathless, but he doesn't make a big deal out of it, not teasing me about my reaction to him. It's very un-Warner like and it goes to show our relationship is changing. I don't know if I want that to happen. While it's nice that he isn't terrorizing the living daylights out of me it's even more unnerving to have this sudden tension between us.

"You're acting weirder than usual. Did something happen?"

I roll my eyes "Calm down, I'm fine. Don't we have some rich lawyers to impress?"

Getting out of his grip, I turn my back on him and take a few deep breaths. My heart's racing in a way that's certainly not normal and my palms are starting to sweat. It's hard to believe that the guy whose sight I couldn't once stand has started causing all these strange feelings to explode inside of me.

We meet with all the other upper-year law students in the backroom and hand over the food we made. I peak out at the large dining hall and see lots of families, some with kids some without all dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner. You can tell who the lawyers are and who the families are quite easily.