If We Ever Meet Again - Ana Huang Page 0,4

night,” she tossed over her shoulder.

“My ego and I always have a good night. By the way,” Blake called after her. “I hate seeing you go, but I love watching you leave.”

Farrah pressed her lips together, struggling not to smile at his intentionally clichéd line.

Blake Ryan may have a better sense of humor than she expected, but he wasn’t leading man material.

Not for her.

Not even close.

Chapter Two

Blake was still grinning when he stepped into his room and switched on the lights. The expression on Farrah’s face when he asked if she thought his pickup lines were cheesy?

Priceless.

She was in FEA, which meant she was off-limits. That didn’t mean he couldn’t flirt with her.

He had to keep life interesting somehow.

Blake tossed his keys onto his desk and surveyed his tiny kingdom. Technically, it was his and Luke’s tiny kingdom, at least until orientation week ended and Luke moved into his homestay.

But Luke wasn’t here, which meant Blake had all 150 square feet to himself.

Compared to his off-campus spread at Texas Southeastern, this place was a dump. The dark wood floors creaked. The cinderblock walls resembled those in a jail cell. The twin beds may as well be made for ten-year-olds. But the FEA dorm had one thing his TSU apartment didn’t: freedom.

For that luxury, Blake would give up all the plasma TVs and king-size beds in the world.

He flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, luxuriating in the silence. No stares. No whispers. Nothing but the quiet peace of a small room in a big city halfway across the world from home. For the first time since February, he felt as though he could breathe.

The musical tones of Blake’s custom phone alarm interrupted his bliss. Cleo had downloaded it when they started dating last summer. He woke up before dawn every day for football conditioning camp, and she hated the sound of the default alarm at 4:30 am.

He should change it back.

Blake cracked one eye open. It was 7:30 pm, which meant it was 6:30 in the morning in Austin. Time to call home.

He rolled over onto his stomach and flipped open his laptop. He stared at the Skype icon, thinking of excuses why he needed to cut the conversation short, before hitting the call button.

To his relief, Joy was the one who answered his call.

“About time, loser.” Joy popped a potato chip in her mouth. “You’re late.”

“Remind me again, was it you who wrote How to Win Friends and Influence People?” Blake tapped a finger on his chin. “Oh, wait. In order for you to do that you’d have to, you know, be literate. My bad.”

“Ha. Looks like Shanghai hasn’t improved your terrible sense of humor.” Joy cocked her head. “You look terrible. Is that a pimple I see on your chin?”

No way. He didn’t get pimples.

Nevertheless, Blake rubbed a hand over his jaw to check for unwanted intruders. Nothing except for the scratch of his five o’clock shadow. “Bullshit.”

“Yes, but I made you worry.” Joy cackled. “You are so vain.”

“I’ll hang up on you right now.”

“Do it.”

“I will.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They glared at each other.

Joy caved first. She grinned. “I miss you, big bro.”

“I miss you too.” Blake’s sister was a pain in the ass, but she was also one of his best friends and he loved her. Most of the time.

Some of the time.

“How’s Shanghai?”

“Great, for the most part. A bit noisy and polluted, but…” Blake shrugged. “You can’t have it all.”

He was happy to be in Shanghai—to be anywhere except Texas, really—but, truth be told, he found China strange and overwhelming. The food was weird, people stared at him wherever he went, and there was a lot of everything everywhere, all the time.

Noise. Lights. Cars. For a boy who grew up in the quiet suburbs of Texas, Blake felt like someone plucked him out of a fishbowl and dropped him in the middle of a highway during rush hour.

Not that he’d ever tell his family that. They gave him enough shit about his decisions as it was.

Besides, he arrived less than a week ago. He had plenty of time to get acclimated to Asia.

“You ready for TSU?” he asked.

“Of course. I’ve been preparing all summer. Besides, I’ve visited you on campus enough to know what it’s like.” After a stint at the local community college, Joy was transferring to TSU for her sophomore year. “Cleo’s been amazing. She gave me the lowdown on everything I need to know. Which classes I should take, bars I should go to,