reason for him to explain. I just felt so stupid for believing he wasn’t the guy I initially thought he was.
“Would you hold up?” Chase said, stepping in front of me and stopping me in my tracks.
I huffed. “What?”
“You never answered me about working on the project.”
My eyebrows climbed. “That’s what you wanted?”
He stared out at the bustling quad, avoiding my eyes. “Yeah.”
He was such a liar. “I can’t.”
His eyes dropped to mine. “Why not?”
“I have plans.”
His browns cinched in the middle. “With who?”
Hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Ryan,” I lied.
His eyes darkened, anger looming in them. “Why?”
“Because I like him. And I don’t have to hate myself for liking him. It’s easy. And he makes me smile.” There, asshole. How do you like it?
He buried his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Are you hanging out at the house?”
“Don’t even tell me I’m not welcome.”
“That’s not why I’m asking.”
“Then, why? Will Chantel be there and you wanna hang out all together?”
Again, his eyes darted away from mine.
I stepped around him and took off to my next class, leaving him a distant memory—at least for the time being.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After dinner with Valerie, I returned to my room, thankful Chantel wasn’t there—but wishing I wasn’t curious where she was.
I pulled out my laptop and spent the next few hours completing my Art History assignment about the evolution of the female form. I based my support on various ancient works of art, and it turned out to be a fascinating assignment. Once I uploaded my essay to the portal—which I knew how to do, thank you very much—I tucked my laptop away and ducked out of the room to conduct my pre-bed routine. When I returned, I tucked my toiletries away in my closet.
There was a knock on the door. I stepped away from the closet and approached it. “Who is it?”
“Ryan.”
Ryan? I pulled open the door. “Hey.”
He held up a bag. “I brought you something.”
I eyed it. “What is it?”
“Can I come in?”
“Do you have rope or handcuffs in that bag?”
His eyes widened. “Whoa. What kind of visit do you think this is?”
“I didn’t mean…” My cheeks pulsed with heat. “I meant…Lifetime movies…kidnapping.”
He laughed. “I’m joking. I knew what you meant. And, no. No kidnapping. Not tonight, anyway.”
I moved out of the way to let Ryan in. He wasn’t as tall as Chase, so he didn’t fill the space the way Chase did when he’d been in my room. “So, what is it?” My eyes motioned to the bag.
Ryan held it out to me.
I took it from his hand. It was heavier than I expected. I leaned against my desk chair and looked inside. I laughed.
“So?” he asked.
I reached inside and pulled out a small billiards trophy. The golden plaque on the front of it read, Billiards Champion Kappa Sigma Fraternity. “Wow. I’m honored. Did you have this made?”
He nodded. “That’s why it took a little while to come in.”
“Well, thanks,” I said, turning and placing it on my desk. “I think it looks perfect right there.”
“And, for the sake of total disclosure, I may have had ulterior motives in bringing that by.”
My eyebrows lifted in question.
“I was hoping I could maybe take you out,” he said. “Seeing as though for some reason Chase already thinks I am.”
I winced. “Yeah, about that.”
“No need to explain,” he said. “I played along, so he totally thinks we’re hanging out tonight.”
“Thanks.”
He shrugged. “Just say you’ll go out with me this weekend.”
“Oh. I…”
His hopeful eyes stared into mine. I had no reason to turn him down, especially now that he covered for my little lie. Besides, I was single and could do what I pleased.
“Sure,” I said.
A huge smile spread across his face. “Great. Let me get your phone.”
I grabbed my phone off my desk, unlocked it, and handed it to him.
He dialed his number and his phone rang. He handed it back to me. “I’ll call you this week.”
I nodded. “’Okay.”
He moved to the door and pulled it open. “Bye Sophia,” he said as he disappeared into the hallway.
I closed the door and moved to my bed. I dropped down with a humph, unsure how I felt about my impending plans with Ryan. Like I’d told Chantel after I met him at that first party, Ryan really wasn’t my type. But he looked so hopeful when he asked, and I just couldn’t bring myself to say no—or confess why I’d told Chase we were going out in the first place.
There was another