Next Man Up (Making the Score #2) - Tawdra Kandle Page 0,69

tonight, if I wanted. I knew that. In spite of what I’d said to Gia, if I were attracted enough to someone, all of my flimsy rules went out the window. This guy was new here, which told me that he wasn’t part of the Santori family. He might not even work here very long.

But even so . . . as he set my sparkling water and lime down on the table and not-so-accidentally brushed my arm with his chest when he leaned over, I didn’t turn my head to meet his eyes. Instead, I moved away just slightly, just enough to send him the message that I wasn’t being rude, but neither was I interested.

He understood. I knew it by the way he took my order moments later, polite but no longer so flirty. I almost expected to feel disappointment, but instead I was only relieved.

We ate our salads and pizza, and we’d just ordered dessert—cannoli, the specialty of the house. Nate and Gia were arguing good-naturedly over how they took their espresso, and I was half-listening in distracted amusement.

“Tuck!” A pretty red-head, petite and slender, came bounding over to our table, her gaze fastened on Eli. “Ohmigod, I can’t believe I ran into you here. How do you even know about this place?”

“Hey, Cora.” Eli smiled at her, his face lighting up. “Ah, I’ve been coming here since I was in high school. I grew up a town over, in Franklin. How about you?”

“Oh, my roommate is from Miltonville. She drags me over here once a month because she says no other pizza is worth eating.” Cora’s gaze flickered around the table. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt your dinner.”

“Nah, we’re just about finished, anyway. This is my roommate, Nate Wellman, and our friends, Gia, Quinn and Zelda. Guys, this is Cora. We’re both education majors, and we’ve been in a few classes together.”

“I’m just a freshman, but Tuck’s been so nice to help me.” She smiled, and fuck it all, the bitch had dimples. I stiffened my shoulders and narrowed my eyes as Cora laid her hand on Eli’s upper arm and rubbed it lightly. She was totally feeling his muscles. Her small body was pressed up to his side, and if I wasn’t wrong, one of her boobs was brushing against him.

I knew I was an enormous hypocrite, and I knew it was wrong, but every fiber of my being was screaming, MINE!

“I didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done.” Eli was looking up at her, and the warmth in his eyes made my stomach turn over. “You kept me from flipping out when Professor Crazy assigned a fifteen-page paper a week before spring break. So it works both ways.”

“Yeah.” For a moment—what was for me a long, awkward moment—the two simply grinned at each other, as though the rest of us had vanished. Quinn nudged me and quirked an eyebrow.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to your friends.” Cora eased away with obvious reluctance. “My roommate’s back at the dorm, waiting for me to bring a pizza for us.” She hitched her purse onto her shoulder. “If you ever get a craving to come over here and need a lift, you’ve got my number. I’d love to . . .” She paused. “Uh, hang out when we’re not talking about school stuff.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Eli watched Cora as she walked over to the take-out counter. And maybe I was petty, but it looked to me like she was shaking her ass as she went. Not that she had much of one to shake. But still.

The minute she was out of earshot, Gia and Quinn pounced. “Oooooooooh.” Gia gave Eli round eyes. “Tuck’s got a girlfriend!”

His face actually went a little pink, and that nausea that had gripped my stomach earlier got a bit worse.

“Shut up,” he said without any heat. “Cora’s just . . . a girl in a couple of my classes. She’s nice.”

“Yeah, I could see by the way she kept feeling up your bicep just how nice she wants to be to you.” Quinn laid one hand alongside her cheek and batted her eyelashes. “‘Oh, Tuck, you’re so sweet and kind! And gee, isn’t it a coincidence that we both love the same pizza place? It’s practically fate.’”

“She wasn’t like that at all,” Eli protested. “You’re being totally ridiculous. She’s not interested in me.”

“Uh, dude.” Nate wagged his head. “Usually I’d have your back, but I have to