us creaks open and we spin around, only to see the phenomenal Tyler Stokes stepping out.
He looks at me first but once he reaches sight of Brittany, his eyes narrow. “Natalie, can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Um . . .” I bite on my lower lip then look at Brittany who is scowling at Tyler.
“I’ll call you later, Natalie.” She twists around, almost too quickly to seem real, and then dashes down the hallway and out of the door.
Turning slowly, I face Tyler who has his fingertips tucked in his pockets. “You know her?” he asks, smiling casually.
“She’s a friend of mine.”
He nods slowly, licking his lips. “May I ask you something?”
“Sure,” I say as firmly as I can but I have to admit I’m nervous as hell.
“You’re ignoring me. Why?”
“I’m not ignoring you.”
“I had a seat saved for you in there. I saw you look right at it but you went for a seat next to someone you didn’t know? Was last night a regret?”
I shrug as I place my new pen into my satchel bag. I then adjust the strap and my book that’s beneath my arm. “Last night isn’t a regret. It was fun.”
Tyler chuckles lightly but then he does the unexpected. He steps forward and pushes me against the wall, kissing me with a little too much passion. I begin to melt against him as the heat radiates from his firm body but it takes only a few seconds for me to pull away.
“Tyler . . . I—we can’t do this. I’m not feeling well today.”
His eyes harden as he takes a step back. Taking a deep breath, he rakes a hand through his hair and swallows the invisible lump in his throat. “I’m sorry. I’m just . . . it’s been a while. I really like you. I just thought you had fun with me last night.”
I look at him inconspicuously, adjusting the strap of my bag again and taking a step forward. “Last night was fun, but today has been shit for me. I’ll call you soon and we can still study tomorrow I just need a little me-time, you know?”
“Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, sure. I can give you that.”
Nodding, I step around him but as he calls my name, I curse beneath my breath. I turn to face him, confused by the smile on his lips. “Please don’t keep me waiting.”
Forcing a smile, I take gradual steps back until my back bumps against the exit door. “I won’t,” I lie before hurrying out.
Chapter Twenty
Nolan
“I better be seeing shit,” Mills grumbles from my bedroom door. Groaning, I flip on my stomach, allowing my back to face him as he flips the light switch on. “Nolan get your ass up now. Why are you not with Natalie?”
“Because she doesn’t want me,” I slur.
“Are you drunk?”
“Possibly,” I chuckle as he turns me onto my back again. He looks down at me and I watch as he spins above me. “Where’s Lorie?”
“In the living room so don’t bring your drunk ass out there.”
“Well I have to go out there if I wanna meet up with Natalie again, right? But this time I’m going to get her to listen to me. I’m not letting her run.”
“Yeah,” Mills scoffs. “You better do something. You know I’ll fuck you up if we came back this fast for nothing.”
He turns around, making his way towards the door but before he can stop, he looks over his shoulder at me. “I . . . uh . . . I have something from Dad that you might wanna read. It’s a letter that he left with Mom. She told me to give it to you if she didn’t make the surgery.”
In an instant I straighten up and stare at him. My eyelids are heavy but I force them to stay open. “Well where is it?”
“I’m not giving it to you until you’re sober. Goodnight, fag.” He chuckles, stepping out, turning the light off, and shutting the door behind him.
Shaking my head, I stand from the bed and stumble onto my feet. A few boxes are kicked aside but I find my phone through the darkness and call Natalie. Of course it goes straight to voicemail. “Damn it,” I hiss. I swore I wasn’t going to talk to her again but I miss her. I want nothing more than to hear her voice, to be next to her.
Without thinking, I pull some jeans on, grab whatever T-shirt I can find through the