Harper's Rules 1 & 2

Chapter 21: Harper

Write this down, Hallmark: Nothing good ever comes out of stalking someone.

I saw Jake, while I sat across a table at my dorm's dining hall with Eddie. Through the perfectly clear glass, Jake's eyes darkened as he lowered his phone off his ear and turned away. The sight flipped a rush of urgency through me.

Time to wrap up.

"Eddie." My eyes flipped back up to his and I gathered the gentlest voice I really didn't have in me. "I... am not in the most stable place right now. Seriously, you seem like a nice guy but I'm a hot mess."

My eyes shifted to where blank space now occupied the spot where Jake had stood. "And, frankly, right now I'm an unavailable hot mess..."

"All I'm asking is for a chance," he offered and held out his phone. "Even as a friend, which you sure look like you could use right now."

I nearly fell over at the word because I was probably the poster child for the most awful, non-friend person.

Just check TMZ. I should be glad they haven't dug up all my exes yet.

TMZ wasn't actually the worst offender, that award went to anonymous social media gossip... everywhere. I lost count of the number of names that were thrown at me, slut, whore, turf burner, jersey chaser, Trojan subscriber, Harrison's bicycle... although Jake's Achilles heel was probably my favorite.

"Sure, right." I rolled my eyes, then entered my new phone number into Eddie's phone.

Eddie offered a huge slice into his character when he didn't test that number, just tucked his phone into his pocket. So, I smiled and wished him goodbye.

"Take care, Harper."

"Thanks." I waved over my shoulder on my way out.

The more steps I took, the more I wished I'd stayed there like a normal fucking human being. Then I wouldn't have chased after Jake's large frame and paused when he met up with another girl. I wouldn't have seen them together at Rendezvous, a cafeteria one block away from Feast. And I definitely wouldn't have seen how Jake sat across from her at a table, laughed, and smiled at one point with his hand cupped over hers.

With her small frame, brown hair pulled in a ponytail, and fair skin, I had no idea who she was. But the way her brown eyes batted up at Jake turned my stomach. At one point, she also reached across the table and grabbed his hand, which hit me harder than a period cramp.

He's found someone else. That's why he was silent.

I bet he came here to end things with me.

Within my thoughts, which swirled messily the longer I took in Jake's exchange with the girl, I almost missed the heavy footsteps that approached me from behind.

Just like when I'd asked the universe for a dick, the universe delivered.

I just wished it hadn't sent this dick.

"Hate to say I told you so," a haughty male voice spoke up.

After I nearly jumped out of my skin, I turned and met Ethan's smug grimace. I wasn't sure how he managed to look simultaneously cocky from being right and severely annoyed, but he masked neither of those emotions as his brown eyes studied mine.

I realized I'd long passed the creepy stalker time limit when his eyes shifted to the view on the other side of the window. "Should've beaten him to it when you had a chance, Harper."

"Fuck you, useless sack of shit testosterone," I tossed back with a middle finger shot right in front of his nose.

"Tempting." He rolled his eyes, then yanked open the exterior door. "Who knows what kind of STD you two have passed back and forth between each other. And I have one more gift for you too."