I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,16

was long overdue.

Elodie and Alice’s eyes were all big—the way they’d been when they saw Tristan in the hallway earlier.

Speaking of Tristan.

I glanced around the crowded space and spotted him almost immediately. He was taller than most and was leaning against the bar, staring at me with his arms crossed. His lips were pressed into a tight line and annoyance played in his eyes.

The song switched to a slow one, and I was all too happy to break eye contact with Tristan. I turned to face Chris, noting how dark his eyes were in such close proximity. The complete opposite of Tristan’s. “One more song?” I asked.

Chris smiled as I draped my arms over his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around my hips and rested his hands above my ass. “I’ve never seen you before,” he said, his eyes staring into mine. “Are you new here?”

I nodded. “I just transferred.”

“Lucky me,” he said.

I laughed as we moved to the slow tempo of the music.

“What year are you?” he asked.

“Senior. You?”

“Do you have a problem with younger guys?” he asked.

“Not at all.”

“Thank God.” He exaggerated a sigh of relief. “I’m a junior.”

I laughed, loving the easy flow of our conversation.

The song eventually ended and a fast one began.

“Let me get you another drink,” Chris said before leading me to the bar—the opposite end from where Tristan still stood. The bartender saw Chris and handed over two beers.

“Do you live in the frat?” I asked as we drank our beers away from the crowded dance floor.

“Yeah. You wanna see my room? I got the huge corner room.”

“Um…” A cold sweat swept over me. It was a harmless question. Why was I getting so nervous about the idea of being alone with him?

“It’s okay,” he said, sensing my hesitation. “Maybe another time.”

I nodded, appreciating that he wasn’t pushing me. “Yeah. Another time.”

He ticked his head toward the dance floor. “I see your friends. Let’s go show them how it’s done.”

We joined Elodie and Alice back on the dance floor.

The party began to thin out after one. Elodie motioned toward the stairs. “You ready?”

“Yeah.” I was exhausted and drunk. I couldn’t wait to slip under my covers because I was going to sleep so well.

“Let me get your number,” Chris said.

I rattled it off as he punched it into his phone, then he walked us upstairs and toward the front door. For the first time, he noticed Tristan following us.

“Hey man? Who you here with?” Chris asked him.

“I’m with them,” Tristan said, though his eyes were on mine.

Chris looked to me, his brows knit together. “Is he?”

“He’s Alice’s older brother,” I lied.

Alice gasped.

“He’s very overprotective and insists on following us everywhere,” I explained.

Chris looked to Tristan who didn’t seem amused by my explanation.

“Well…” I paused awkwardly by the open front door. This was usually where the guy went in for the kiss. But Chris and I had three sets of eyes on us. The girls knew enough to hang back and pretend not to be staring, but Tristan kept walking, brushing between us on his way outside so Chris and I needed to step away from each other. “It was fun hanging out tonight,” I said to Chris, trying to ignore Tristan’s rude behavior.

“Yeah, it was,” Chris agreed.

“See you around,” I said before stepping outside with the girls following.

“Marco dropped off the SUV,” Tristan informed us as soon as we were away from the front door. “It’s behind the house.”

Alice and Elodie eagerly followed him. I trailed behind, not wanting to seem too desperate to give in to his wishes to drive us. But, I was walking sideways, so out of necessity, it was safer to take the ride.

The girls slipped into the backseat first. I used my hip to push Alice into the middle of the backseat.

“You should’ve kissed him,” Alice said.

“Totally,” Elodie agreed.

“I wasn’t feeling the audience,” I explained as Tristan floored it in reverse out of the parking spot, sending the three of us tipping sideways—purposely, no doubt. It didn’t matter, we broke into drunken laughter anyway as we righted ourselves.

Elodie looked past Alice to me. “Are you gonna see Chris again?”

“Maybe.”

“He was in my chem class last year,” Elodie explained. “He’s a really good guy.”

Tristan made a low, choked sound in the front seat.

“Was that a scoff?” I asked Tristan.

“Just a tickle in my throat, ma’am,” he said.

Ma’am? Son of a bitch.

“Did you have fun tonight?” I asked him. “Because by the looks of it, you were having a ball