Moving In With The Enemy

Chapter 16 ~ "I'm Over It"

I feel like I've been in a washing machine since Saturday night. I couldn't stop dwelling on what had happened between Walker and I, things had changed drastically and I didn't know how to feel.

I was happy that he'd told me things about himself and happy that'd been honest about where he was coming from. I was especially happy that he'd properly apologized for his behaviour towards me. That was important to me, not because I wanted to be apologized to, but because I wanted him to understand how it made me feel.

There seemed to be these moments that kept creeping back into my mind, no matter how many times I pushed them out. It was the last thing I saw every night before I fell asleep, and there was no getting past it when he was right across the hall.

While that moment on the lawn behind the frat house might have been electric, there's nothing convincing me it wasn't purely heat of the moment. Nothing convincing me that he was genuinely interested in kissing me, old habits die hard and I know Walker says he's trying to put it all behind him, I don't know how true that is.

The two of us could hardly look at each other now and I hated us for it. I hated myself for getting that close and making things weird, we were ignoring each other for the fear of what would happen in a sober conversation.

My phone buzzes on the pool office's desk and I see Chase's name pop up on the screen. I'd met him for coffee on Tuesday like I'd promised I would, we always had decent chats and conversation, but never about anything beyond surface level. I thought when I met him that we actually had good conversation, but we didn't click the same way I did with Abby or even just the guys I lived with.

CHASE [8:07PM]
*Just finished a wo next door, I could walk you home?*

I sigh and smile slightly, that was nice of him. 

ME [8:08PM]
*Not off until 10, see you tmr night x*

I will say this much, for everything Walker wasn't, Chase was. He was always good about being nice and making friends, asking you about yourself. 

There were only two reasons that Chase and I weren't as close as we could be. Number one, we were just totally different people. Chase liked early mornings, eating plain chicken breasts and brown rice, working-out, going to bed at a reasonable time. He didn't really like to drink because it brought on too many extra calories and he was laid back and relaxed about everything, he didn't have a concrete plan for something after fourth year. 

The other reason was I suspected he was developing a mild crush. It wasn't confirmed because I really didn't believe it, I thought maybe he was always just being nice. But my sixth sense was on fire at our Tuesday coffee.

"Can I help who's next?" The cashier called and I gestured for him to go first.

"Nah, you go." He insisted with a polite gesture and I smiled.

"Could I get a medium vanilla latte please?" I asked and before the cashier could repeat it back, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"And could I grab a large coffee, two milk." Chase added and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What are you doing?"

"Ordering." He shrugged. "That's all thank you." He said, looking at the cashier who smiled with a wink, ringing it in.

"No, that's alright. I can pay for it." I insisted and he shook his head, pulling a ten dollar bill out of his back pocket.

"I insist." He told me and I gulped, feeling nervous. 

Then everything was just off for the rest of the night, the few minutes we were alone before study group were awful. He kept trying to ask me how my search for a boyfriend was going, obviously remembering that terrible time in the coffee shop months ago when I told him there were no good guys around.