I pulled my door open a fraction and Maggie’s eyes widened a little at my current state. “You have a visitor.”
My eyes narrowed. “Who?”
“Beck.”
Beck was here to see me? Why? I sighed heavily. “Tell him I’ll be right out.” I closed the door and turned back to find my jeans. I shimmied out of my pajama shorts, pulled on jeans and a hoodie, and scraped my hair back in a ponytail. The truth was I didn’t give a crap if I looked like shit. Beck was hot, yes, but I had no intention of going there. Especially not when Claudia had a crush on him.
Upon opening my door to step out, I found myself forcefully shoved back inside by my best friend. Claudia flipped the lock in a hurry and then slammed her back against the door. Her gaze drifted over me and she paled. “You cannot go out there like that.”
“It’s just Beck,” I grumbled.
Claudia shook her head. “Lying redhead alert.”
I guessed she was alluding to Maggie but had no clue what she meant. My expression said so.
She sighed. “It’s not Beck. It’s Jake.”
I sucked in a breath at the news. “Why would the redhead lie?”
“He probably asked her to lie.”
“Either that or she saw the drama between us last night. She knew I wouldn’t go out if I knew it was him.” My heart pounded in my chest. “I’m not going out there.”
“Not looking like that.”
I ignored my friend’s look of disgust and threw myself on my bed. “Not ever. Tell him to go.”
Thankfully, Claudia didn’t argue with me. She disappeared for a few minutes and when she returned, she came right over to crawl onto the bed beside me. “He’s gone. He looked like I’d just told him Santa wasn’t real.”
“Do you feel sorry for him?” I wasn’t sure if I did or not.
Claudia shook her head. “I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know him. All I know is what he did to you. I also know it was pretty bad what he went through and, you know, it can take time to get over these things. Maybe he just wants to apologize.”
I turned my head, wishing like hell the knifelike pain in my chest would just disappear already. “I don’t know if I have it in me to listen to that apology. It took me a while to get over it, and now he’s back in my face again, reminding me of everything …”
We lay in silence for a while until eventually I turned my head on the duvet to stare at Claudia’s stunning profile. “What happened last night with Beck?”
Claud’s lip curled and I couldn’t quite read what that expression meant even as she replied, “He said I’m a good girl and he doesn’t mess with good girls because he wasn’t a one-woman kind of guy.”
My eyes widened. “He said that?”
“Mmm-hmm. He said he likes me. Wants to be friends.”
“At least he’s honest, I guess. Are you going to be friends with him?”
Claudia shrugged. “Sure, why not. I don’t do manwhores, no matter how hot they are, but he’s fun. Friends. Whatever.”
“Are you sure my eyes aren’t puffy anymore?” I asked, ducking my head as we walked up the cobbled lane toward the college.
“No puffiness or redness in sight. You look hot. You always look hot,” Claudia said a little absentmindedly.
“Are you nervous about seeing Beck again?”
“Nervous? Why on earth would I be nervous?”
I ignored her and kept following Maggie, Gemma, and Laura. They’d heard we were going to the student union to hang out with Beck and they’d invited themselves along. Beck was a popular draw.
Claudia had come into the kitchen at dinner to tell me she’d just spoken with Beck and he’d invited us to hang out at the student union. At first, I was wary. It turned out Beck and Jake were best friends at Northwestern, so Beck had called Claudia to ask if I was okay. Apparently, Jake had told him our whole story. Claudia hadn’t told him anything about my reaction to seeing Jake but she said she wasn’t sure if we were free. Beck had caught the hint and assured her that Jake wouldn’t be there.