“Della—” He murmured. I heard the guilt in his tone, the regret. But I refused to figure out if it was genuine or not because it was hard to tell with him sometimes. He was more than just hot and cold. Moments ago, he’d burned me, and I welcomed it freely. But now? Now I felt the ice take over my veins because it was the only way to simmer the boiling blood that came with seeing his mask slip back into place. The one he wore when he realized he saw me as more than little Della.
“If you really want to help me, figure out what you want without destroying everybody else. Okay?”
I was proud for walking away. For not looking back. I wouldn’t let him tell me it was a mistake or that he regretted anything. Once was enough. Twice? I knew I wouldn’t handle it well. Not that the first time was anything I wanted to remember. I’d cried for a week remembering how he looked at me. That wouldn’t be now.
And when a day passed and I heard nothing from him, I didn’t think about it.
Or when another came and went.
I took care of Ramsay after smuggling him back into my apartment, went to classes, and hung out with Ren like I was fine. Was I? No. But just like Theodore West, I was great at pretending.
Chapter Nine
Della
The strong arms came from nowhere and threw me over a broad shoulder before I knew what was happening. Yelping, I grabbed onto a white t-shirt, probably with some sports logo on it, and tried balancing myself while the strong scent of lemon drops suddenly hit me.
“Lawrence!”
His laugh was deep as he spun us around. I was glad I opted not to wear a dress today like I had planned considering the heatwave we’d been experiencing as spring hit. It wouldn’t have stopped him from flashing my panties to everybody around us though.
“Ren,” I complained, smacking my fists into his back. He only laughed louder and returned the favor. On my ass. Rolling my eyes as he set me down, I ignored the catcalls from people walking past us on the quad, recognizing some of his frat buddies and teammates. “Was that necessary?”
“You ask that every time and the answer never changes,” he mused, pecking my cheek.
He offered me his arm like nothing happened and I took it without second guessing it. “The Hut?”
“Sure.”
We walked side by side, weaving past groups of people who were talking in the middle of the sidewalk. “You’ve been unusually quiet lately. Don’t think I haven’t noticed just because I’ve been busy with practice.”
“And Ben,” I teased.
He knocked my shoulder with his. “He might be another distraction, but Coach is being his usual self to get us ready for the big game. You’re going right?”
I snorted unattractively. “Don’t I always?”
“You’ve been staying in a lot.”
The pause was there, other people’s conversations filling in the temporary silence between us. I was about to come up with an excuse, one he’d probably see right through, when Tiffany appeared a few feet away as we neared the building housing our favorite hangout.
My feet stopped, jerking Ren to a halt too. He looked at me with pinched brows, seeing my gaze on the blonde who was looking back. To my surprise, she lifted a hand and waved.
“Who’s that?” Ren asked quietly, interest high in his tone. I didn’t miss the way his eyes checked her out in the tight leggings and shirt she wore, showing off her athletic body.
“Someone I used to dance with.”
His “ah” wasn’t as quiet as he looked her over again. Her eyes darted between us, but she didn’t walk over. I was glad there was no pressure to reach out to her. She was letting it be my choice just like she said, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel a little guilty about it since she was being kind.
“Want to go say hi?” he asked next. We started walking slowly in that direction.
Tiffany looked over her shoulder like somebody was calling her, so she lifted a finger and glanced back our way. I nibbled my lip and debated on what to say. Hi was usually a good place to start, but I knew Tiffany long enough to figure out she’d want to talk about more than the weather and how classes were going.
She made the decision for me, backing toward the group of girls who must