Find Me

2

TWO-DYLAN

Quinn Langston. I'd gotten a peek at the application she'd placed on the counter, at Bean There, before Lexi had taken it. Lexi Davis was a cool chick, if you didn't get on her bad side. Unfortunately, she hated football players. She and I were friend's freshman year. Then she started dating a football player who treated her like shit and ended up cheating on her. After that, she despised us all and had a chip on her shoulder. We were both juniors now and I'd tried to show her that not all football players were assholes, but she either didn't believe me or didn't care enough.

There had been a chip on Quinn's shoulder too. Although, maybe it was more than that. I sensed that she hadn't had the easiest life so far. Unlike myself, who'd been born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I thought dryly. I'd had my own issues growing up though. Nothing I did was ever good enough for my father. Got an A on a test, I should have gotten an A+. Scored three touchdowns in one game, I should have scored four. Got into McPherson College, I should have gotten into Kansas State. I'd used the last couple years to try to put some distance between myself and my father, and I didn't mean physically.

It had been easier than I thought it would be, thanks to dad's new wife. My mother passed away when I was five. She'd had some kind of freak brain aneurism. I barely remembered her and what I did remember wasn't much. My mother had been a shy, behind the scenes kind of woman, but beautiful beyond compare, both inside and out. Dad had married her to be a trophy wife, but I think he actually fell in love with her, because he didn't take her death well. He'd been trying to fill the void she had left, which is why he was on his fifth marriage. This one was the worst. Monica was sweet as pie to me in front of dad, but the second dad turned his back the witch came out. She was an attention whore, which is why I didn't believe for one second that she was dying, as I'd been informed she was, just this morning. This was the second terminal illness she'd had since they married only six month ago. The woman was a hypochondriac, if I've ever seen one. At least dad's attention had been focused on her lately and I'd actually had several months of peace.

I wasn't sure what it was about Quinn Langston, but I'd noticed her right off. She'd been wandering around the quad, looking a little lost, so I was guessing she was a freshman. New students always had that look in their eyes, but it was something more. She'd seemed more fearful than a "normal" new college student. I mean, I remembered being pretty freaked out to be on my own, but I'd also been eager. It was that eagerness that had been missing in Quinn. She brought out my protective instincts, which is why I talked the guys into coming to Bean There. It hadn't been a hard sell. We frequented the place quite a bit. They didn't just have coffee flavored drinks. Last year they'd also installed a smoothie machine. That's what I came for.

"Well?"

I blinked, hearing the impatience and focused on Lexi who was waiting for my order. I grinned and told her, "Don't act like you don't know what I want." I winced, realizing that sounded a little like a pickup line. That's not how I meant it. Luckily, Lexi just rolled her eyes and went to make my usual. The pineapple/mango smoothie was where it was at. In another lifetime, I might have actually been hitting on Lexi, but I'd only ever seen her as a friend and now we weren't even that. It made me kind of sad. I wasn't the asshole she thought we all were. Ok, fine, so I'd been around the block a time or two, but I'd never lied to a girl, like Lexi's ex had. I'd always been up front about my intentions, so nobody could claim I'd led them on.

"Here. Four dollars." Lexi shoved the smoothie at me. I took it, handed her four dollars, and then put a few more into her tip jar, which didn't even earn me a smile.

Outside, Cohen Redford, my best friend and this year's starting quarterback, nudged me, "Yo Dylan, so when are you going to set me up with her. She's so fine."

I rolled my eyes, "Dude, you know the story. She wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole. Not only are you on the football team, but you're now our starting quarterback. That's a big strike against you, in her eyes. Lexi Davis won't look twice at a football player after Asshole Anderson fucked her over."

Cohen shook his head, "I'm not giving up. The year is just beginning and we still have one more after this one. That's plenty of time to wear her down."

"Why her? This isn't the first time we've had a similar conversation about Lexi, so I know this isn't some passing thing. You could get any girl you want. You've played the field plenty and I'm not talking about the football field." I asked, more out of curiosity than anything. Cohen Redford was a good guy, so I wouldn't object to him dating Lexi.

Cohen shrugged, "At first, it was because she didn't give me the time of day. Her bitchy attitude was and is a turn-on. I'm so used to girls falling at my feet that it's almost refreshing when they don't. Then I don't know, it was like once I noticed her...like really noticed her...she'd been stuck in my head ever since. I know I've continued to hook up with other girls in the meantime, but that was just boredom. That probably sounds douche-y, but this is college, Dude. I'm not going to just watch it go by."

It did kind of sound douche-y, but I didn't blame him. If he had waited on Lexi Davis, then he really would have wasted his college experience so far. I didn't think she'd ever come around about us, but who knows? I'd watched Cohen charm girls from age two to ninety-two, so anything could happen. I slapped him on the back and told him, in warning, "Just be sure to straighten your ass up if she ever does look at you twice. You fuck her over and Lexi won't get the chance to castrate you, because I'll get there first."

Cohen shuddered, "Don't threaten the boys like that man, you know I'd never fuck her over."

I nodded, "Good."

"So you going tell me about Pixie?"

"Pixie?" I frowned.

Cohen smirked, "The little chick that practically got mauled in there, before you saved her. I caught you eyeing her before and I know she's why you wanted to hit the coffee shop."

I forced a shrug, "I don't know her."

"But you want to know her?" He pushed for more.

I sighed and admitted, "Yea, I want to know her."