Love Across Boarders

Chapter eleven

I couldn't stop thinking about her.
Even as I laughed with the guys and pretended to care about the conversation around me, my mind kept drifting back to Busayo. The way she looked at me tonight guarded, defensive, like she was ready to fight me off at any moment. It was like a wall she'd built around herself, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out how to get past it.
I hadn't planned on talking to her at the mixer. Hell, I didn't even expect her to show up. But when I saw her standing there by the door, looking uncomfortable and out of place, something in me couldn't stay away. It was like she had this pull, this gravitational force that kept drawing me in, no matter how much I tried to resist.
I glanced around the room, trying to spot her in the crowd again. She'd disappeared into a corner, like she was trying to make herself invisible, but I knew she was still here. I could feel it. And that was the problem.
I shouldn't care. I didn't want to care. But there was something about her something that messed with my head every time we crossed paths.
It wasn't just the way she challenged me, although that was part of it. She didn't treat me like everyone else did. She didn't care about my family name or what people expected of me. She saw me differently, and it threw me off balance in a way I wasn't used to. I didn't have all the answers when it came to her, and I hated that.
I took another sip of my drink, trying to focus on the conversation happening around me. But all I could think about was how she'd looked at me when I'd told her to relax, like I'd hit a nerve. Like I'd seen something in her that no one else had.
Every time I was around her, it was like the ground shifted beneath my feet, like all the things I thought I knew didn't make sense anymore. And I hated that, too.
Someone bumped into me, jolting me out of my thoughts. I turned to see Ryan, one of the guys from the soccer team, grinning at me like he was in on some joke I wasn't part of.
"You good, man?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You've been quiet tonight."
I forced a smile, shrugging like nothing was wrong. "Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking."
"Thinking, huh?" Ryan nudged me playfully. "About Busayo, maybe?"
I tensed, but tried to play it off. "What are you talking about?"
He laughed, slapping me on the back. "Come on, dude. It's obvious. You've been watching her all night."
I wanted to tell him to shut up, to mind his own business, but I knew it wouldn't do any good. Ryan and the rest of the guys loved to tease me whenever I so much as glanced at a girl, and if they thought there was something going on with Busayo, they wouldn't let it go.
"There's nothing to watch," I said, keeping my tone casual. "She's just...different."
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"
I didn't answer right away, because honestly, I wasn't sure how to explain it. Busayo wasn't like the other girls here. She didn't care about fitting in or making friends. She had this drive, this intensity, like she was always pushing herself to be better, to prove something. And it wasn't just about school or academics-it was like she was fighting for her place in the world. I'd never met anyone like her before.
And that scared me.
"Doesn't matter," I said finally, brushing him off. "Forget it."
Ryan shrugged, clearly unconvinced, but he didn't push the subject. Instead, he turned back to the group, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again.
I glanced across the room one more time, my eyes searching for her, even though I knew I shouldn't. I didn't want to get caught up in whatever this was between us. But the more I tried to push her out of my mind, the more she seemed to invade it.
Maybe it wasn't just her that I was trying to figure out. Maybe I was trying to figure myself out, too.
I found her near the edge of the room, looking like she wanted to disappear. I knew I should leave her alone, but something pulled me toward her anyway.
"Busayo," I said when I got close.
She looked up, eyes narrowing immediately. "What do you want, Darren?"
I could feel the irritation rolling off her, but it didn't stop me. "Why do you always act like this?"
"Act like what?" she snapped, crossing her arms.
"Like you're too good for everything," I shot back, stepping closer. "Like you have something to prove all the time."
Her eyes flashed, anger simmering just beneath the surface. "Maybe because I do. Not everyone gets handed their life on a silver platter."
"Right, because I'm the bad guy here," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You don't even know me, but you've already decided you hate me."
"You're right," she said, her voice cold. "I don't know you. And I don't need to."
I clenched my jaw, the tension between us thickening. "Why is it so hard for you to admit that maybe, just maybe, we're not that different?"
She laughed, but it was humorless. "We're nothing alike, Darren."
"Keep telling yourself that," I muttered, my frustration rising. "But you can't ignore me forever."
"I don't have to ignore you," she shot back. "I just don't care."
But the way she said it? We both knew it was a lie.