the stress you must be under. You’re practically famous.”
“What’s your darkness?” His eyes are back on my face, searching.
I laugh. “You want a list? It might take a while.”
One side of his lips curves up. “You’re funny.”
I shake my head. “I’m just trying to graduate this May and get to law school, maybe live in a warmer place and have a little house out in the middle of nowhere. That’s all I want.”
“Ah.” He gives me a long look. “I’m headed to lunch. You want to join me in the student center? I swear I won’t talk about poetry.”
“I like poetry.”
“Okay, we’ll talk about whatever you want.” He grins. “Edgar Allan Poe, huh? He’s twisted. I dig The Raven a lot, but his short stories are my favorite. Ever read ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’? It’s a classic Gothic horror story. And the sound of the heart beating in the background…damn, gets me every time.”
I feel my lips parting. He talks about Poe like he’s his bestie. A man that knows his literature and looks like a Greek god. Well. I clear my throat. That’s a turn-on.
And wait…
Is he asking me out? No, goofball. It’s lunch. Right, right. Casual.
But…
I’ve seen him with his hockey friends in the student center before. They’re a loud, gregarious group and girls are always all over them, flitting from one player to the next.
Nope. Can’t do it.
“Uh, yeah. Poe’s cool.”
His eyes get heavy. “Or we can go back to my place.”
And there he goes…
I shake my head. “You just assume I’m ready for a repeat, don’t you? I’m not looking to be your girl of the month.”
“Hmmmm. You sure? You like me.” He grins.
I shake my head. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Stop being so infuriating,” I say, my free hand on my hip.
“But it’s so fun to mess with you. I think you like it.” He reaches out and toys with a piece of my ponytail then pauses, looking at his hand in my hair, as if he’s surprised it’s there.
He drops it and stares. “Can’t seem to help myself.”
My mouth dries. I’m not sure how to respond.
His chest rises as he looks at me, and heat hums inside me.
Maybe he sees it on my face.
“Come on,” he says, his voice lowering. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t care where.”
My lower body clenches, and shit…
I suck in a shuddering breath. “I can’t. I’m going to see someone.” Mara.
“A guy?”
“Pfft. Maybe.”
“No boyfriend though?”
“I have friends.”
“Huh. I see. Okay.” He shrugs and takes off down the row, and I follow. “You know, I can walk you to meet your friend,” he offers, a glint in his eyes as he waits for me at the bottom of the stairs.
I squint up at him. “Jealous?”
He laughs. “No way, babe.”
Babe. The word sizzles around me and I want to burn shit down.
I give him my own nonchalant shrug as I walk past him. “Oh, yeah, you definitely are.”
10
Zack
“Your cat coughed up another fucking hairball,” Reece calls out as he marches out of his bedroom. Dressed only in snug zebra striped boxers with a pair of pink unicorn flip-flips on his feet—where does he buy these things?—he holds up one of his sneakers and shakes it in the air. His eyes land on me. “Right in my goddamn shoe. Do you have any clue how disgusting it is to feel that shit between my toes?”
Eric, who’s sitting on the couch watching The Bachelor, snorts. “Don’t leave your shoes on the floor.”
He shakes his head at Eric. “Where should I keep my shoes? On my bed? On the dresser? You might have a different answer if she puked on your stuff.”
“She likes me.” Eric shrugs, never taking his gaze off the TV as he throws more popcorn in his mouth. “Besides, nobody’s getting rid of Long John Silver. Since she showed up, we’ve had a good run.”
Except for the game where I lost my shit, but I don’t bring that up.
“That’s right, Reece. You can’t mess with a good luck cat. She’s our lucky charm,” I say, holding back a grin as he drops the shoes at my feet and glares. I lean over and pet her, her body currently curled up on the kitchen table while I study. “And she’s not my cat.”
“You named her and she sleeps with you. You, my brother, are a fucking cat owner,” he huffs, throwing his hands up, moody as hell. It doesn’t faze me. Reece is an emotional guy with a temper that flares hot