Ch. 5 "Mr. Nice Guy!"
Gracie P.O.V.
I was all giggling inside when I saw him. Hayes Ford. I can't believe I was so close I could touch his arms, and he was staring at me at first with want, but then his heated eyes turned black because it was me, the pest he hates.
I sigh with sadness. I wish he would smile and talk to me like he wanted me around, but instead, he gives me cruel, snarling expressions, and rude and mean words spill out of his angry mouth.
Why do you hate me so much, Hayes? With tears clouding my eyes. I started rubbing my eyes when all of a sudden, I ran into a hard brick wall.
Ouch! That's just freaking great! More embarrassing things happened to me today. I groaned, and I started rubbing my head because it hurt.
"Oh, I am so sorry, Miss. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" I heard a deep, manly voice say. Then, I felt his hand wrapped around my waist.
I knew it wasn't a stupid wall but a person. By the look of it and the feel of it, a rock-hard-chested guy
I step back, but still, the guys are not so hard to grip anymore. I looked up and gasped; my eyes were wide when I saw a good-looking guy with black hair and midnight blue eyes. He was huge, and I could tell he was a football player by the t-shirt that said "RedHawks Vermont University Football Team."
I didn't know I was staring too long when I heard him clear his throat.
"Do you want me to model for you? I would. Especially for a beautiful girl like you," he said with a wink and a chuckle. I could see he was trying to make me laugh. It worked.
I started covering my mouth to laugh so hard. Ah, I think he will be a wonderful friend. I can tell he is a good guy, funny, and sweet.
After a couple of minutes, we were laughing together.
He had already let go of my waist and stepped away from me. Not too far, just enough to give me air and a sense of shape.
Even though he is handsome, my heart already belongs to him. That's something I can't say right now, or I will cry my heart out in front of this sweet and funny guy.
"Well, now we've got your smile back." He tells me with a big grin on his face.
"Hi, my name is…
"Jimmy!" I heard someone say a name, and I was waiting for the substantial, funny guy in front of me to tell me his name. But I guess someone beat him to it because he turned around, smiled, and waved at whoever was behind us.
So, my curiosity got the best of me. So that when I looked behind me, I saw. My eyes widened, and I let out a gasp. That is when I saw Hayes behind us, his eyes on me, arms crossed over his chest.
"Hey! Ford, my man! What's up, dude?" I suppose a smile accompanied Jimmy's name.
"Jimmy? What's up?" Hayes said, still staring between us, curious why a hot football jock is talking to a nobody-nerd like me in the middle of the road.
"Oh, nothing, bro. He said I was talking to her, pointing over towards me, when he stared back at me.
"Umm, what's your name-
I gave him a tiny smile because he is a lovely guy. So, I opened my mouth to tell him, but Hayes told him.
"This is Gracie, and Pest, this is Jimmy!" He tells him and me with no expression on his face, just a blink.
"Oh, Gracie he said, my name with a grin.
"That's a beautiful name," I heard him say, his voice tinged with a southern accent and a hint of northern. Then, he grabbed my hand, lifted it to his mouth, and kissed it. I giggled and blushed.
Oh, he is so sweet.
But I like how he speaks.
I liked it.
And I like him.
He's going to be a great friend to have. He's like a big brother I never had. I have no attraction to him.
I am not saying he is not attractive. But, because he is the kind of guy who the girls around us stare at, they can see that he is a handsome guy.
"Thank you," I say, apologizing again for running into him. I tell him this with a shy smile and a mumble, my face turned down, with tinted red cheeks.
"Oh, you don't have to say that. I am glad I ran into you," he tells me with something in his eyes and a happy grin on his face.
I could tell he already liked me. I hope I don't give him the wrong idea. I want him, but I don't have the same feelings for him as I do for Hayes.
Speaking of Hayes Ford, he is still here in front of Jimmy and me.
He could be a good friend once Hayes leaves, before he ruins my chance, with Jimmy as my new friend.
Well, if you need someone to run onto, I'm here. I am your guy!" He said with a chuckle, and a smile lingered on his lips. I knew he was joking with me. But in the back of my mind. I knew he could be severe.
Maybe I should tell him I am not interested in more than friendship. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but I also needed to make it clear that I was only interested in a friendship.
Hayes is still standing there staring over at Jimmy with a smile on his face, but I knew better. I know his facial expressions too well.
But I never get the one I crave for, that is, love in his eyes and caring for me.
No! I get the evil smirk and disgust on his face when he looks at me.
Don't think about it, or you're going to cry right in front of these guys, and the one guy in front of you is the one who makes that happen, and that's a lot.
So, I blow it off in my head, and I'm sure to hold back the tears and not let them fall. So that's when I let out a bright smile, and it grew on my face, and I didn't let Hayes see me crack and let him know he didn't beat me, and I didn't let him see me crumble like I always did when he's cruel and mean to me.
So, what I did next was something I knew I would regret later.
I lifted my tippy toes and kissed Jimmy on the cheek when I started walking away. But when I am waving him goodbye. I didn't know why I looked back, and I saw Hayes giving Jimmy a murderous look on his face when I was staring at him. He knew when to turn and turned his heated eyes on me. Wow, that was on time, I thought.
I gasped when I saw them all dark.
They were so dark I couldn't see any of his bright blue eyes.
Act normal and look away, Gracie; what do you think you're doing? Stop staring at him. I was trying to give myself a pep talk, but it's not working. It was like I was in a trans, and I could not look away.
And I didn't.
But I should have.