by Lexi Lawton
“You’re going to regret that by the end of the semester.” He chuckled. “You’ll get sick of me, I’m sure.”
“I doubt it.” If anything, he would get sick of her. Just like everyone else in her life had. She glanced over to find him staring at her with an intensity she’d never seen from anyone before. Her breath hitched, and her face flushed, but she didn’t look away.
“Good.” He leaned closer and lightly trailed his fingertips along her jaw, the touch so soft, she barely felt it. Yet, at the same time, it seemed to brand her, forever marking her as his. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she leaned even closer. “Jules?” His warm breath tickled her lips.
Her eyes snapped open to find his mouth dangerously close to hers. Was he planning to kiss her? Oh God. Would she have let him? She jerked back, and her heart pounded harder than ever. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Boys were bad, and they were mean, and they caused her too much pain. Yet, here she was, letting herself get swept up by the first attractive, nice guy to pay her attention since Zach. She swallowed hard.
He continued to hold her gaze for a moment longer before breaking away. Gathering their trash, he carried it to the nearby can and tossed it all in. “Ready to go diagnose some bad actors?” he asked.
Relief crashed over her; he hadn’t said anything about their awkward almost-kiss. If that’s even what had happened. She still wasn’t sure, but she knew there was no way a guy like Tanner could be interested in someone like her. She was simply misreading the situation. Slowly standing, she grabbed her bag. “I’ve never been more excited for a class before.”
From the corner of her eye, she noticed him look her up and down. “Me, either,” he muttered.
…
By the time Juliana’s last class ended on Thursday evening, her feet throbbed and each step felt like someone was shoving nails into her heels. There were electives she’d wanted to take above and beyond what her degree program required, so she’d decided to take a few extra classes this semester. What a mistake!
Her backpack, now overflowing with books, weighed her down as she made her way up to her room. Her shoulders ached, and her back screamed for relief. All she wanted was a hot shower, some food, and her soft bed. Please let the room be empty. She let her backpack slide off her shoulder and onto the floor, then unlocked the door.
She stepped inside and sighed with relief. There weren’t a bunch of people in the room, and Rebecca wasn’t naked. But the scent of sex hung heavy in the air. Gross. Rebecca was all dressed up, though, clearly getting ready to go out. Thank you, Jesus. “Hey.”
“Hi.” Rebecca didn’t bother to turn away from the mirror.
“You look nice.” Jules dragged her bag toward her desk. That’s when she noticed the mess. All her pens and pencils were scattered around. Her notebooks were hanging off the shelf, some of the covers were bent and ripped. Her makeup bag was on its side, all the contents spread out. The tips of her ears burned, and her face flamed hotter than an inferno. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, symbolically releasing the anger building inside of her. “Um, what happened here?”
Rebecca glanced over her shoulder quickly before turning back to the mirror. “Oh, I borrowed some of your perfume and lipstick. You don’t mind, do you?”
Unbelievable! “No,” she said, drawing out the word. “But I’d appreciate if you asked me first.” She began to toss items back into her makeup bag. “And if you do borrow something, please put things away when you’re done.”
“Sorry.” Her flippant attitude grated on Juliana’s nerves, and she clenched her jaw to stop from saying anything else.
She grabbed her only tube of lipstick and hesitated. She knew where Rebecca’s lips had been, and there was no way in hell she was going to put this anywhere near her mouth ever again. Turning to Rebecca, she held out the tube. “Here. You can have it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s a little too bright for me, and it looks way better on you.” She smiled.
“Thanks, Jules.” Rebecca took the lipstick and stuck the tube in her cleavage.
“So, where are you headed tonight?” She straightened her notebooks, making a mental note of how many new ones she’d have to buy to replace the ruined ones, and gathered her pens and pencils, returning them to the cup.
“I have a date with Garrett. He’s super yummy.” She laughed then smacked her lips. “Hey, you should totally come along.” Her eyes were bright with excitement.
“You want me to tag along on your date?” She shook her head. “No way.”
“He’s got a single friend who’s looking for someone to hang out with and maybe hook up.” Rebecca winked suggestively. “His name is Evan, and he’s wicked hot. He’s smart, too. I’m sure you two would really hit it off. He’d help you get over that fuckhead ex of yours.”
“Thanks, but no.” She toed off her shoes and sat on her bed, folding her legs beneath her. “Actually…” She averted her gaze and picked at her comforter. “There’s this guy I sorta like.”
Rebecca sat on her bed and grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “Is he hot?”
“So hot.” Jules laughed. “But he’s more than that. He’s super nice and funny and smart. We have a lot of classes together.”
She couldn’t believe she was admitting this out loud, let alone to her roommate of all people. Devon was normally the only one she spoke to about these things, but it was nice to be able to talk to another girl for a change.
Suddenly, Rebecca jumped up and started clapping her hands. “You got this guy’s number?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Call him. Right now! Ask him to go out, and we can double.”
Juliana’s heart lodged in her throat, and she swore she was going to break out in a cold sweat any second. “Oh, no, I can’t.” Not after she’d gone out of her way to tell him they could only be friends.
“Please tell me he knows you like him.” She stared hard at Jules, almost like she expected the intense look to reveal something more. “Wait.” She held up her hand. “Does he know you exist?”
“Of course,” she snapped, then rubbed her hands over her face. Just because she was tired and cranky didn’t mean she had to take it out on Rebecca. “He asked me to go to the roller-skating party at the Student Union on Friday, and I said yes.”
“Oh my God.” Rebecca busted out laughing. “Those things are so lame. Do yourself a favor and go to the frat party with me instead. I promise you’ll have way more fun.”
Jules flopped down on her bed, the mattress cradling her tired, aching body.
“Think about it, okay?” Rebecca grabbed her cell phone and dropped it into her purse. “I gotta go, but we’ll talk about this later.” She blew a kiss as she walked out the door.
Juliana let out a loud, pent-up breath. That girl was a handful. One minute she’s inconsiderate and rude and the next she’s acting like they’re best friends. Reluctantly getting out of bed, she collected her books and took advantage of the quiet to get some studying done.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and she’d managed to finish all the reading for Dr. Shaw’s class. She reached for her cardiology book when the door swung open. Rebecca stumbled in with two—two—guys trailing behind her. She stopped, looked at Jules like she wasn’t supposed to be there, then giggled uncontrollably.
“Jules!” she squealed.
Great, she was drunk.
“This is my yummy honey Garrett.” She planted a kiss on the guy with the black, wavy hair. “And this”—she grabbed the other guy’s shirt and jerked him toward her—“is the guy I told you about. Ian.”
“Evan,” he corrected, giving Juliana an apologetic smile.
“I thought you were going out.” Jules closed her book and stood, arms crossed. She had been tired before, but after an hour of reading, her eyes burned and her head ached. A sharp pain stabbed behind her eyes, and she rubbed her forehead. Was it really too much to ask for a single night in her own room without Rebecca br
inging home people Jules didn’t know?
“We did. But now we’re back. I wanted you to meet Evan.”
She shoved her feet into her shoes. “Evan, I’m sure you’re a really nice guy, but I’m not interested.” His face fell, and his expression was full of embarrassment and disappointment. Guilt nagged at her. He was an innocent victim in all of this, too. “It’s nothing personal. I’m not interested in dating anyone.” She slipped her key card into her wallet and clutched her cell phone tightly in her hand.
“It’s not like you have to marry the guy.” Rebecca laughed loudly. “Just hang out and talk. Or whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively as she sat on her bed and pulled Garrett down with her.
Jules put her backpack over her shoulder. “I’m going to the library.” She left the room without another word, but as she passed by the lounge, a bubble of anger erupted inside of her. Her temperature spiked a few degrees, and her heart thumped erratically. She did not want to spend the night sitting in the library. Besides, why should she be kicked out of her own room again so Rebecca could entertain her friends?
She opened her messages and sent one to Tanner. Hey. Want to go costume shopping? Her fingers trembled as she hit send. And when her phone vibrated, she jumped and almost dropped it.
Tanner: You bet your ass I do!!! Where do you want me to pick you up?
She smiled. Mckenzie hall. I’ll be outside waiting.
Blowing out a breath, she headed downstairs.
Chapter Six
The smile hadn’t left Tanner’s face since he’d gotten the text from Juliana. He had no idea why she suddenly changed her mind about costume shopping, but he wasn’t complaining. He buckled the belt attached to the bell-bottom pants and then adjusted the collar of the black patterned shirt so it was resting over the white vest. He kept the first three buttons undone and made sure the top of the shirt was open. Grabbing the matching white suit jacket, he slipped it on and then checked his reflection in the full-length mirror.
“Any day now, Tanner,” Jules called from outside the dressing room door.
Laughing, he stepped out. She stood near a rack of shirts, arms crossed and one hip cocked to the side. His gaze started at her beautiful face, which was still rosy from how hard she’d laughed at his last costume, and moved down. She was dressed in a one-piece polyester suit with a V-neck that showcased her breasts. An oversize belt sat perfectly at her waist, and the pants flared at the bottom. Every enticing curve was on display, and his gaze lingered a little too long on her hips—hips begging to be grabbed. By him.
“What do you think?” She spun around.
He whistled with appreciation. “Damn, Jules.” He motioned with his finger for her to make another turn. “Do that again.”
She turned around again, slower. His gaze was drawn to her ass. With how tight the outfit was, there was no way she could be wearing panties, could she? The thought she might not be had him getting hard, which was not a good thing when he was wearing very thin, very tight white pants. There would be no hiding his excitement.
“There’s one more costume I want to try on,” she said, snapping him from his thoughts. “But I really like this one.”
“So do I.” His voice was raspy and tight with need. “I like that one a lot.” He cleared his throat then held his arms out to his sides. “What about this one? Is it better than the last?”
Her gaze was languid and torturously slow as she appraised him, her eyes traveling the length of his body, not once but twice. His lips twitched and then curved into a smile. Just friends my ass.
“This is definitely much better than the last one. You’ve got a John Travolta thing going on.” She nodded. “I really like it.”
Her approval had his smile widening. “All right then. This one it is.”
“I’m going to go try on the last one. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into her dressing room.
Tanner quickly changed back into his normal clothes, returning the costume to its hanger. He stepped out of the room at the same time she did and froze. She now wore a long-sleeved mini-dress. And holy hell was it short. It stopped mid-thigh, and like the last costume, this one melded to her body, showing off every asset she possessed. She spun around, and the back of the dress appeared to be even shorter, barely covering her ass. God, those legs. He wanted to explore every inch of them with his hands and his mouth. He bit down hard on his bottom lip to stop from moaning out loud at the vivid, erotic thoughts consuming him.
“Which do you like better?” she asked.
“Both,” he blurted out. “I like them both.”
“So do I. But I only need one.”
“Maybe not.” He propped his arm on a rack of shirts. “There’s this Halloween thing I’ve been invited to. It’s a big charity event I go to every year. There’s going to be a haunted house and a corn maze, pumpkin carving, dancing. If you want to go, you could wear one costume to the roller-skating party and the other one to the Halloween thing.”
She frowned. His heart sank, but he waited for her to respond, hoping his instincts were wrong. “I already made plans with Devon for Halloween.”
“Oh.” He wasn’t sure what was worse—being rejected or knowing she was spending Halloween with another guy. She swore they were only friends, but he hated the thought of her wearing either of those costumes with anyone other than him. The nasty, green-eyed monster of jealousy clawed at his chest.
“I’m sorry.” She looked up at him through her long, thick lashes.
“No, it’s okay. So, which one are you going to get?”
She groaned. “I don’t know.” She approached the floor-length mirror hanging on the outside wall between the two fitting rooms and twisted from side to side, smoothing her hands down her sides and over her hips.
He curled his hand into a fist then flexed his fingers, working out the burning itch to touch her. She turned her back to the mirror then twisted around to look over her shoulder. Ass stuck out, back arched slightly, she ran her hands over the back of the dress and down her butt, then she tugged on the hem. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. This was now the second time she’d seduced him without even knowing or trying.
“Hmm.” She turned back around and tilted her head. “I really like the dress, but it’s a little short. I mean, if I fall while skating, everyone’s going to see my ass.” She laughed.
“Yes, that could be problematic…” He caught her gaze in the mirror and held it.
“But?” She raised a brow, her eyes sparkling with that same challenge he’d seen the other day.
Pushing away from the clothing rack, he stood behind her, tentatively placing his hands on her hips, and he leaned forward so his mouth was near her ear. She tensed, but her gaze was still locked with his in the mirror. “I have no objections to seeing your sexy little ass, but I don’t like the idea of you showing it off to everyone else.” He straightened.
Her jaw dropped, then she promptly snapped it shut. She playfully elbowed him, and he laughed, rubbing his stomach. “You say things like that to all your friends?”
“Nope. Just you.” He winked.
She spun around and faced him, and because he’d been standing so close behind her, they were now almost chest to chest. She gazed up at him, her eyes dancing with delight. Then she placed her hands on his biceps, and his arms tensed. “I’m going to go change.”
“Good idea.” Because if she stood there in that short-ass dress a second longer, he couldn’t promise to keep his hands to himself.
Once she was back in the fitting room, he grabbed his costume from where he’d draped it over the circular shirt rack. He checked his cell phone for messages—he had one voicemail that he’d listen to later—then shoved his phone into his pocket as Juliana emerged. She had both costumes.
“Did you decide on one?” he asked.
“I really want the dress, but I think the pants are more practical for skating.”
“I think you’re rig
ht.” She looked amazing in both, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little disappointed she wouldn’t be wearing the dress.
Once they paid for their costumes and were back in his car, she said, “Want to grab some food or something? I’m not ready to go back to my room yet.”
“Yeah, sure.” Like he’d say no to spending more time with her, but the fact she was the one to ask intensified his joy. Obviously playing it cool and not pushing for more was working in his favor. “How does pizza sound? I know this great place across the street from the community park.”
“Sounds good.”
He flashed her a smile and headed toward Country Cottage Pizza. An hour later, they sat in the park, nearly alone. The open, half-empty pizza box sat between them on the wooden bench.
“I have to admit. I was surprised to get your text tonight.” He finished his slice and then tossed the crust to the birds lingering nearby.
“Well, I was planning to stay home and study, but then my roommate showed up with some…friends.” She scrunched up her face. “I’m pretty sure she’s going to be tag-teamed before the end of the night, so I really had to get out of the room.”
His eyes widened. “Seriously? Tag-teamed?”
Juliana shook her head. “Of course that was the thing you focused on.”
He gave a lazy shrug then rested his arm along the back of the bench. “In my defense, that’s not something that comes up in everyday conversation.” He wound his finger in one of her curls then released it, smiling at the way it bounced naturally back into place, and he didn’t miss the way she subtly leaned closer.
“True. I sure as hell never thought it would be something I’d have to say.” She sipped her soda then set the cup inside the pizza box. “Thank you,” she said. “For doing this tonight. On such short notice.” She rested her elbow on the back of the bench and propped her head in her hand. “I hope I didn’t drag you away from anything important.”
He’d been hanging out with Jason, like he did every night, and when he’d explained, Jason told him to “get your fucking ass out of here and go get the girl.” A faint smile pulled at his lips at the thought of “getting the girl.” And even though he didn’t know her that well, he knew, almost immediately, she was one hell of a girl. He glanced over at her, and the sincerity of her expression floored him. He sucked in a deep breath, hoping to calm his racing heart.
