He Used Me as Practice for Her Chapter 10
I froze.
Ethan flashed me that familiar grin and waved a hand in front of my face.
“Hey.”
The wheels of his suitcase rattled across the concrete behind him.
For a second, I honestly thought I was hallucinating.
He fell into step beside me as if showing up hundreds of miles from home was the most normal thing in the world.
“Why is Viremont so dry? I thought northern summers were supposed to be cooler.”
A few seconds later:
“What’s the guy-to-girl ratio at this school? It looks like some majors might be all dudes.”
Then:
“The traffic around campus is awful.”
And:
“Is the dining hall any good?”
He glanced over at me.
“Oh, and what clubs are you in? Introduce me to some. We can join together.”
I took a deep breath and stopped walking.
Turning around, I looked him straight in the eye.
“Ethan, is this supposed to be funny?”
His smile faltered.
He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided my gaze.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
When he finally looked up again, his eyes were red.
“Not even a little.”
His voice was rough.
“But you wouldn’t talk to me. You disappeared from my life like none of it ever mattered
He swallowed hard.
“So I figured… if you wouldn’t let me back into your world, I’d come see it for myself,”
I kept my expression neutral.
“Well, you’ve seen it. Now what?”
A crooked grin tugged at his lips.
Some of the old Ethan returned, all confidence and trouble.
“Now?”
He shrugged.
“Now I do whatever it takes to stay in it.”
“Suit yourself.”
I turned and walked away.
I truly didn’t care.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Because afterward, I realized he had meant exactly what he’d said.
He really was doing whatever it took.
Other than mandatory classes like Calculus and Linear Algebra, I ran into him in practically every
elective I took.
Every.
Single.
One.
The moment I walked into a classroom, I’d hear:
“Charlotte! Over here!”
At the dining hall, he’d appear carrying a tray and point to the empty seat across from me.
“Anyone sitting here?”
The library wasn’t any safer.
“Wow. What a coincidence.”
His grin always made it clear it wasn’t.
Every time, I ignored him.
Every time, he came back.
A few weeks later, our college basketball tournament started.
One of my roommates practically dragged me to a game.
“There’s this ridiculously hot guy on the team,” she said. “Trust me, you’re going to love him.”
Then she nudged me with her elbow and pointed toward the court.
“Charlotte, that’s totally your type, right?”
I followed her gaze.
Of course it was Ethan.
He dribbled past two defenders, pulled up from beyond the arc, and sank a perfect three-pointer.
The gym erupted.
Cheers echoed from every corner.
After the game, several girls rushed over with bottled water.
Ethan politely declined every one.
Then he walked straight toward me.
The crowd seemed to notice immediately.
By the time he stopped in front of me, people were already whispering.
He pointed at the bottle in my hand.
“Can I have that one?”
The gym practically exploded.
The teasing, the cheering, the shouting.
It felt like the roof might come off.
His pursuit had never been subtle.
I handed him the bottle.
“We need to talk after the game.”
His eyes lit up instantly.
“Seriously?”
A huge smile spread across his face.
“Yeah. Absolutely.”
