I Thought I Was His Stalker. I Was Actually His Girlfriend Chapter 04

I Thought I Was His Stalker. I Was Actually His Girlfriend Chapter 04

I froze and turned around.

A young guy came jogging over.

He was tall, good–looking, and when he smiled shyly, a slightly pointed canine showed.

“It is you, right? Soph? I’ve seen your picture through Logan before.”

It took me a second to recognize him.

Then I immediately put on my most artificial smile.

“Hey, kid.”

“Ohhh, so you came to see Owen.”

Logan looked between us with the most obvious expression of understanding imaginable.

“You said you weren’t interested in hanging out with him, but apparently in private-”

I shoved him away before he could finish.

“Go.”

“Okay, okay, I’m leaving.”

Logan patted Owen on the shoulder.

“Sophie’s yours to look after.”

Owen glanced at me.

I immediately clasped my hands at him in a silent plea.

He laughed.

“Got it.”

Only after Logan disappeared did I finally relax.

I turned around and found Owen watching me with an amused look.

“So, Sophie. Did you really come here to hang out with me?”

I gave an awkward laugh.

“Close enough. I came here to… hang out.”

Owen snorted but didn’t call me out.

I looked around.

“Thanks for helping me. I’ll buy you boba.”

“Then I want something expensive.”

I laughed.

“Fine.”

While we waited for the drinks, we started another League match.

And honestly, as long as Blake wasn’t on the other team, Owen was very good.

“Yes–we won–ow!”

I got too excited and smacked my elbow against the corner of the table.

I hit the nerve perfectly.

Pain shot all the way down my arm and tears sprang to my eyes.

“You okay?”

Owen immediately reached over and held my arm, rubbing around my elbow.

“Poor little elbow. It’s okay, it’s okay.”

I was in pain and laughing at the same time.

I had just opened my mouth when the shop door chimed.

“Order 012…”

The voice stopped abruptly.

I looked up.

Blake was standing there, staring at me in surprise.

The air turned awkward.

Owen noticed it too.

He looked Blake over and frowned slightly.

“Aren’t you one of Logan’s-”

“He’s Logan’s roommate,” I cut in.

Then I smiled at Blake.

“What a coincidence, Blake.”

It hadn’t been that long since I last saw him.

He looked mostly the same, still distant and composed.

But apparently I was hopelessly biased, because he somehow looked even better than I remembered.

And his chest looked broader too, filling out the sweatshirt in a way I absolutely should not have noticed.

Blake gave a low hum in response.

His face didn’t show much, but his eyes had darkened.

“Who’s he?”

“Oh, he’s my friend.”

I answered naturally.

“Actually, you’ve played against him before. He was the Brand.”

Blake didn’t bother being polite.

“I remember. He was average.”

Owen lifted a brow.

“True. I’m not very good, so I’ll probably have to keep teaming up with Sophie and practice.”

Blake’s expression darkened even more.

He was about to say something when I spoke first.

“Blake, I have something for you.”

His face softened a little.

Even his voice got quieter.

“What?”

I opened my bag and held out the box I had packed.

“The things you… left with me before. I put everything together. You can check when you get back, but I’m

pretty sure nothing’s missing.”

Blake went rigid.

He looked at the box, then at Owen beside me.

For a moment, anger and panic flashed in his eyes.

“No.”

He pressed his lips together and pushed the box back toward me.

Then he looked at me with the faintest trace of hurt.

“I gave them to you. They’re yours. Or is your… friend bothered by them?”

Owen laughed outright.

“I don’t care at all. But I do think some relationships should be cleared up. Otherwise someone else might care.”

His gaze drifted toward the entrance.

I followed it and froze.

A girl was standing outside.

Short hair. Big eyes. Cute.

More importantly, she was wearing a navy hoodie identical to Blake’s.

Blake saw her too.

His expression shifted.

He grabbed his boba and left without another word to me.

I watched the girl brighten and fall into step beside him as they walked away.

“They even got the new matching cup set,” Owen added dryly.

“Your Blake probably has a girlfriend.”

I swallowed against the sting in my nose.

“Do you know her?”

Owen thought for a second.

“I think I’ve seen her in drama club. She played Little Red Riding Hood or something. Cute role.”

Cute.

Again with cute.

It wasn’t the first time I had heard that word.

So that was Blake’s type.

And whatever I was, apparently it wasn’t that.

But I had spent my whole life being myself.

I wasn’t going to turn into someone else because one guy liked a different kind of girl.

I liked who I was.

“Don’t be sad,” Owen said. “Worst case, like someone else. You’re pretty, you’re fun, and plenty of guys are

going to like you. There’s no reason to waste yourself on one person.”

I nodded and wiped at my face with my sleeve.

The button at my cuff scraped the corner of my eye and left it red.

“Easy.”

Owen caught my wrist.

“Don’t scratch your eye.”

I didn’t want to cry in front of someone I barely knew.

So I sniffed and forced the tears back.

Owen changed the subject at exactly the right time.

“Our club has a camping trip this weekend. Want to come? We have plenty of decent single guys. You can

distract yourself surrounded by a bunch of six–foot college dudes.”

I laughed despite myself.

“Okay.”

When Logan found out I was coming, he wore a teasing grin.

“So are you coming as my plus–one, or Owen’s?”

Dummy.

I ignored him.

Logan didn’t care.

“Saturday afternoon, wait at your campus entrance. We’ll pick you up.”

Then, because he apparently couldn’t resist messing with me, he added, “Should I book one tent for you and

Owen?”

I kicked him in the butt.

“Get lost.”

Saturday afternoon, I packed my things and went to the north campus entrance.

I immediately spotted a passenger van.

“Sophie!”

Logan rolled down the window and waved.

“Go sit in the black SUV behind us. This van’s new and still smells like leather. You get carsick too easily.”

I nodded and looked past him.

There was a black SUV parked behind the van.

As I walked toward it, the driver’s door opened.

Someone stepped out and reached for my backpack.

I stared.

“Blake?”