His Shortcake

Chapter 4

Tamara Ramirez

Eyes followed my every move as I entered the campus. Consciously, I tried to hide my face with my blonde locks, hoping to shield myself from their curious gazes. Phone in hand, they stared at me, then back at their screens, as if comparing something. I stared at the floor and continued walking to the campus cafe to meet my friends.

Even as I entered the cafe, customers had their eyes on me. I looked around and saw the familiar dark brown hair I had become accustomed to. I walked to our table and was greeted by two sets of ocean-blue eyes.

Artemis was quick on her feet when she saw me. Her dark brown hair was swept up into a side ponytail, making her vibrant ocean-blue eyes stand out even more. She smiled as she pulled me into a hug and then led me to a chair. "Have you seen the pictures?"

Her twin brother, Apollo, intercepted before I could answer. He gave Artemis a stern glare. "Let her breathe, Art."

I stared at the twins in confusion. "What is going on? Everyone's creeping me out." My eyes wandered to the people around us, finding them sneaking curious glances at me again.

Art's eyes widened even more as she leaned in, half of her body almost lying on the table between us. "You noticed?!"

"Of course I did. They've followed my every move since I got out of the car," I said, taking a sip of the mocha latte they ordered for me. The taste of coffee brought a smile to my face. I love coffee.

Apollo pushed his phone across the table within my reach. "They took pictures of you and Dustyn yesterday. You two look intimate," he commented. I didn't miss how he emphasized "your" before Dustyn's name but chose not to comment on it. Instead, curiosity got the best of me, and I reached for his phone.

I opened the photo in question and, boy, did it look bad.

Dustyn's hands were around my waist as he lifted me into a hug. I had my hands around his neck, and my head was on his shoulder, making it look like I was kissing that part of his body. Dustyn's tight grip on me was noticeable, along with the fact that he kissed me on the cheek. There was even a picture of us smiling at each other like a couple who hadn't seen each other for years.

I looked at the site and wasn't surprised it ended up on the university's gossip site. It made statements like 'lovely couple' and 'the brat found her sugar daddy'. Most of the comments were demeaning; some were just envious. I expected backlash, but I never realized people taking our kind of education had no class at all.

"So, are you guys dating?" Artemis asked, grinning with curiosity glistening in her blue eyes.

I rolled my eyes at her and gave Apollo back his phone. "Nope. Not even in the slightest. I just missed him, that's all."

"Really?" she asked, suspicion clear in her voice.

"Yes. But Alec told me I was invited to dinner by Dy's father this Friday," I said, wishing the ground would swallow me up after the squeal Art let out. Heads turned in our direction, everyone eager to catch a rumor or confirm it.

I was surprised when I found out this morning at breakfast. Alec woke up late and was all over the place, mumbling to himself when I got out of my room. His back was to me as he mumbled a good morning. Just before he left, he told me about Dustyn's father's invitation for dinner at their house tomorrow night. I was too surprised to ask him the details but planned to ask him tonight.

"I can take it down. Just say the word, Mara," Apollo said determinedly. Apollo has crazy talents. For one, he's a god when it comes to hacking sites. Just as he said, he could take down the post in a snap of a finger. He's never been caught and probably won't start now.