She's The Man: Chapter 3
Viola lazily opened one of her eyes, closed it, and then opened both of them. Duke sat on his roommate's empty bed silently naming each step just as she was about to do them; opens one of her eyes, closes it, opens both of her eyes. It was a habit of hers that he had noticed the second time around. He loves how she always inspects her food before putting it in her mouth, the way she smiles and bites her lips, the way she ties her hair before a soccer game. Every little thing Viola does, Duke notices.
"Morning." He walked over to her and whispered into her ears.
"Hey……" she murmured.
"Vi."
"Yes."
"I…um, I-" He never can tell her…he's always had trouble.
"Um…we're meeting Sebastian and Olivia at CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) for lunch today, 12:30, 'member?" He quickly changed the subject.
"Uhuh," Viola now a little disappointed. "What time is it?"
"Just about eleven." Duke replied as she pulled his face closer to hers and whispered, "carry me to my room…please." He gave her one of those irresistible smiles again, wrapped her in his blanket to protect her from the cold and carried her off to her room.
"Man! Viola's taken, Ian trust me, you don't stand a chance."
"Thanks for the support Chris."
"Chris is right…for a change. That Vi girl is a pretty tough shot. From what I heard, she fell pretty deep for that Duke Orsino dude."
"See! Even Dave here agrees with me." Ian ignored his teammates then stated, "she's insane! She disguised herself as her brother, went to Illyria, and tried out for the boys' soccer team. She then flashes a stadium full of people to prove that she's a girl and that she can play soccer as well as any other guy can. I saw her do that front flip with the ball yesterday…that was just incredible! She is so passionate about the game……just like…"
"Like you, Ian?" Dave finished for him.
"Yes-"
Chris interrupted, "you can get any girl, ANY, and you choose Viola Hastings. Why her?...I mean why! When all those, well, babes out there are standing in line for you."
"There's just something about her…I…I just…She is the one I want! That's it. No one else."
Chris and Dave cracked up. They laughed so hard, they were falling off their chairs. They just couldn't believe how soft Ian got over this one girl. What was up with all this "the one" crap. Their friend; Cornwell's soccer star, independent, strong and tough was now the total opposite! Ian gave them both a shove to make them stop.
Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, well technically out a door, he saw Viola and Duke walking in holding hands. She was laughing hysterically because of some remark Duke had made.
A million things were racing through Ian's mind. She laughs so easily. What the hell does she see in that Duke guy? What does he have that I don't? Oh, look at her smile. Damn!
"Let's go before you make a fool of yourself," said his friends, suddenly, as they dragged him out of the restaurant.