#Selfie

by Cambria Hebert

  I tilted my head for better access, wanting deeper, and she grabbed the front of my shirt to pull me closer. I kept kissing. I ground my mouth against hers.

  But it just wasn’t enough.

  No matter how deep I went, no matter what angle I tilted my head.

  It didn’t even matter when she reached around and slid her hand in the back pocket of my jeans.

  She gasped when I shoved her away. Her eyes were dazed as I held her at arm’s length, my fingers digging into her shoulders.

  Missy’s lips were swollen and her chest was heaving.

  “Come on,” she said and tried to turn toward her room.

  Anger cracked through me like a lightning bolt in a thunderstorm. “No.”

  She blinked and some of the fog cleared from her eyes. “No?”

  “I don’t want you,” I growled.

  “W-what?”

  “We aren’t gonna happen, Missy. I don’t want you and I never will.”

  Her face fell. It was the shittiest thing I’d ever said to a girl, especially a girl I honestly didn’t want to hurt.

  I’d feel like a dick for this later. But it was the only way I knew how to get through to her. Hell, Rimmel was probably going to read me the riot act. I didn’t give two shits about that either.

  I was done with this night. Done with these feelings. And yeah, maybe I wanted to lash out because this burning sensation in my chest was slowly giving way to pain.

  Fuck it. Fuck it all.

  Missy yanked herself free, turned, and fled.

  I watched her go.

  Once she disappeared into her room, I pivoted on my heel.

  I looked between the door outside and the door leading to the stairs.

  One offered solace, and the other led me straight to hell.

  I debated for all of one second.

  And then I made a choice.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Ivy

  He danced well.

  He moved with confidence and a little bit of arrogance. When he first pulled me up against him, I stiffened, totally put off by the nerve of the guys in this club.

  They were always trying to cop a feel.

  But then he spoke. “May I have this dance?”

  The throaty quality to his voice combined with the music gave me a buzz. I looked at him from beneath lowered lashes. “I think you’ve already taken it.”

  “I’ve seen you giving some dudes the bounce tonight. Thought I might be next.”

  “Any guy who hefts my luggage around an airport for me gets a dance.”

  “Only one?” He flashed a smile that showed off the dimple in his cheek.

  Well, he was a smooth talker, wasn’t he?

  “Two?” I tilted my head to the side.

  “I can work with that.”

  And he did. Like I said, he danced well. He almost made me forget the reasons I didn’t want to be here tonight.

  Almost.

  Despite Trent’s smooth moves, sweet-talking, and dimple, I couldn’t quite shake him.

  He was always there, no matter where he was. I knew his location in the club the entire night. I didn’t even have to look for him to know.

  It’s like my body was a broken compass and it only ever pointed due north. And Braeden was that exact coordinate.

  As I danced, I stole glimpses out of the corner of my eye.

  At first, it’d just been him and Romeo. But it didn’t stay that way. The next time I braved a glance, he was sitting there with Missy. She was drinking out of his beer, and he was watching her. God, the way he looked at a woman. Like he was a hungry fox and she was his dinner.

  I knew Missy was going to try and rekindle something with Braeden, something more than what they had before.

  And from what I was seeing, she was getting what she wanted.

  I was happy for her. Best friends always wanted their friends to have what they desired.

  I hoped they’d be very happy together.

  I was dancing a slow song with Trent, and his arms held me close. It was an automatic reaction that I clung to him a little tighter, seeking some kind of comfort.

  His chin dropped down near my shoulder, and his lips moved against my ear. “I think my two dances are almost up.”

  “I should be getting home anyway,” I said. I thought about Prada and her tiny furry body; she was probably lonely.

  His fingers stroked my hair. “Need a ride?”

  “That would be great.” Riding home with him would be a lot better than sitting in the car with Rimmel and Romeo. She’d know something was up; she already suspected something. The way I was feeling right now, if she pressured me, I might crack.

  The song ended and Trent pulled back. Our fingers threaded together, and he led me off the dance floor. Romeo and Rimmel were also headed off.

  “Hey,” I leaned into Rimmel.

  She noted my hand in Trent’s and squeed. I suppressed a laugh. She was drunk. “Trent’s gonna give me a ride back to the dorm.”

  “You cool to drive?” Romeo asked Trent. I almost felt like he was asking because he cared about my safety.

  “Yeah, man. I only had one a couple hours ago.”

  Romeo nodded, and they pounded fists. Before Trent could pull me away, Romeo leaned down. “You cool?”

  I drew back enough to look in his eyes. “If I said no?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’d kick some ass.”

  He did care.

  I smiled. “Yeah, I am. Thanks, Romeo. You looking out for me means a lot.”

  “Always,” he replied and held out his fist. I bumped it with mine.

  “Bye,” Rimmel said, giving me a wave, and then tripped over her own feet. Romeo moved fast, scooping her up and tucking her against his chest.

  “Call if you need anything,” he said.

  Rimmel petted the side of his face. “You’re so pretty.”

  Trent and I laughed. Romeo’s lips twitched. “Not as pretty as you, baby.”

  He carried her toward the table, probably to talk to Braeden. Trent turned to me. “You ready to go?”

  I nodded, and we made our way through the crowd.

  Trent drove a Mustang. It looked pretty new and was the color of steel. The interior was all black and the dashboard lit up a cool blue color.

  We didn’t say anything until he pulled the car in a parking spot outside my dorm.

  Suddenly, I got nervous. I didn’t know what he expected right now. He knew Rimmel wasn’t coming home because she was with Romeo. So he also knew I was going to be in my room alone.

  Was he expecting to be invited in?

  I couldn’t. Just the thought of it locked up my body with stiffness.

  “I’ll walk you to your door,” he said and climbed out.

  I sat there twisting my hands in my lap nervously. I sat there so long he made it around to my side and opened my door like a perfect gentleman.

  I smiled sheepishly and got out.

  “Hey,” he whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m just walking you to the door. Nothing else.”

  Relief filled me.

  He chuckled. “Am I that scary?”

  “No!” I burst out. I felt guilty. Trent was so nice. Nicer than I deserved. He hadn’t done one thing to make me think he just wanted me for sex.

  Unlike some people who shall remain nameless.

  “You aren’t at all. I just…” My words faded away as I searched for the right thing to say.

  “Aren’t in a habit of sleeping with guys you aren’t dating?”

  That stung. Like a lot.

  He meant no harm. He said it without knowing.

  But damn, did the words cut me like a knife.

  “I’m sure I have a reputation,” I began carefully, thinking of all the parties I’d been to in the past year.

  “Lots of people have reputations. The BuzzBoss sure likes to remind everyone of that.”

  I laughed. “True. But I don’t think the Boss h
as ever perpetuated my rep.” They hadn’t needed to. I was who I was loud and clear.

  Trent smiled. “I like to form my own opinions of people.”

  “And I’m trying to get back the girl who would have given you a really good opinion.”

  “From where I’m standing, you don’t have very far to go.”

  I stopped in front of the building entrance. “You’re a really good guy, Trent.”

  “Ah, that’s the kiss of death.”

  “Definitely not. Being good isn’t a bad thing.”

  “Don’t girls usually like the bad guys?”

  “I don’t.”

  I still don’t like you. The words echoed in my head.

  “Maybe I didn’t want to just walk you to the door,” Trent admitted, looking a little sheepish.

  “You didn’t?” I swallowed.

  He shook his head slowly. “I was hoping to maybe ask you a question.”

  “Okay.”

  “You wanna maybe go out sometime? Like on a real date?”

  “A date?” I echoed. The term was so foreign to me. I hadn’t been out on a date in a long time. Mostly, I just hooked up at parties or hung out with guys at football games.

  “Yeah, the kind where I pick you up at the door and kiss you good night.”

  Something pierced my heart. I wanted that.

  I wanted it so badly.

  But not with him.

  I told that mean little whisper to take a long walk off a short pier.

  “I’d love to.”

  Trent seemed relieved this time. I smiled because it was so cute. “Yeah?”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Just so you know, I made sure it was cool with Missy.”

  “You did?” I felt my brows shoot up my forehead.

  He nodded. “I thought maybe you’d feel weird about going out with me when it was pretty obvious Romeo tried to hook me up with her. I know how much your friends mean to you.”

  And didn’t that make me feel one inch tall?

  “They do,” I whispered.

  “She and I are just friends. In fact, she seemed pretty excited when I told her I was gonna ask you out.”

  “She’s a good friend.” Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.

  “So I’ll call you later? We can set something up, maybe for next weekend?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  He smiled wide and started to walk off. Then he jerked to a halt like he’d forgotten something and turned back.

  He moved quick, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me close. I thought he was going to kiss me.

  He did.

  On the forehead. And then on the cheek.

  When he pulled away, my heart was beating a little fast.

  “Next time, it’s gonna be the lips,” he whispered and stepped back.

  I watched him walk away, hands in his pockets and the cool spring air blowing around us.

  I was the stupidest girl on this planet.

  Like, I deserved an award for my idiocy.

  Because even after that, even after the freaking panty-melting behavior of Trent just now, my panties were firmly intact.

  And thoughts of Braeden were still running rampant through my heart.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Braeden

  I paced in the space around me.

  What the hell was I doing?

  I knew better.

  It wasn’t too late.

  I could leave right now. No one would ever know I was here.

  The images wouldn’t leave my head. They were assaulting me. It was like fucking torture.

  I threw my arm up on the wall and leaned my head against it. I stared down at my feet, at the carpet beneath them.

  I couldn’t let her do this.

  I couldn’t let him touch her.

  I raised my other hand and knocked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Ivy

  There was a knock on the door. It was just a regular knock, nothing alarming or special about it. But for some reason, my pulse began to hammer and I jackknifed into a sitting position. Beside me, Prada stirred a little, and I stroked her fur reassuringly.

  As I stared at the door, adrenaline pumped through my limbs like I was in some dire fight-or-flight situation.

  It was ridiculous.

  I was in my dorm room. Alone. Trent went home, and I came upstairs.

  Maybe that’s why my body was reacting this way, because I just wanted to be alone. Because I just wanted to lie here and pout.

  Gah! I was pathetic.

  I flung my legs over the bed, stood, and shoved my hair back out of my face. Gently, I moved Prada off my comforter and tucked her into the soft blanket beneath it. When she was settled, I snatched the fluffy white duvet off the bed and wrapped it around me, tucking everything inside but the top of my head and face.

  Hopefully, whoever it was would go away fast. I wasn’t in the mood for any more socializing.

  God. I might as well just go check in to a nursing home now.

  When my hand closed around the doorknob, a flutter of something that felt suspiciously like butterfly wings erupted beneath my ribcage.

  I shoved it away and opened the door enough for me to peek out.

  The top of a dark head filled my line of sight, and I blinked.

  I’d know that head anywhere. Braeden was half leaning in the doorframe to my room. His arm was flung up on the wood trim, his forearm resting against it, and his head bowed down to lean on his arm. There was something in the way he stood there—sort of hunched over, not looking up—that pierced me.

  If my heart was beating hard before… now it was practically galloping. Beneath the comforter, my hands tightened in the cotton, and I tugged the blanket even farther around me. Like a coat of armor, like a shield around my heart.

  I’d seen Braeden a million different ways. All of them were stupid and annoying.

  Okay.

  Not all of them.

  Like ninety-nine percent.

  I’d never seen him like this.

  Whatever he was feeling was palpable. It surrounded him and pushed toward the door and wound through the small opening I used to watch him. He seemed almost forlorn, regretful… and maybe a little weighed down.

  He lifted his head. His rich espresso-colored eyes looked at me but then continued past, like he was trying to see inside. Short strands of his dark hair were disheveled and sticking out wildly about his head. The faint scent of beer wafted from his breath, and I wrinkled my nose.

  “He here?” he spoke, gesturing toward the room with a hitch of his chin.

  “Who?” I asked, my mind literally blank. There was no room for words, for common sense, when just his mere presence crowded me this way.

  Bu-bump, bu-bump, bu-bump. The sound of my heart thudding beneath my ribs was so loud I was shocked he hadn’t asked about it.

  With sudden clarity, I realized something. I’d been waiting for him.

  Braeden straightened from the door, pulling himself up to his full, impressive height. “I’m gonna take that as a no.”

  I stepped back when he flattened his palm on the door and pushed it open. I didn’t move any farther when he stepped in and shut the door. We stood there in a perfectly roomy enough space for two bodies, yet we crowded one another.

  Braeden towered over me. And I liked it. I wasn’t necessarily small, but when he looked at me the way he did just then, I felt small. I felt like the smallest star in the darkest sky.

  Yet I wasn’t overlooked.

  Make a wish on me.

  Just one wish.

  The thought, however beautiful and wistful, acted as a bucket of ice poured down my back. I yanked away and walked farther into the room, keeping my back to him.

  I didn’t trust myself to look at him right then.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped. At least I sounded annoyed. He didn’t have to know I was annoyed with myself an
d not him. I just needed that wall to come back up. The wall that was always between Braeden and me. The one that made it so easy to hate him.

  “I promised Rim I’d make sure you got back okay.”

  That was a lie. Rimmel knew I was fine.

  My annoyance meter went into the red. “Clearly, I’m fine, so you can leave. Go type up your report.”

  “What the fuck are you wearing?”

  I spun to glare at him. “It’s my blanket. I’m cold.”

  “It’s spring,” he retorted.

  “Well, not everyone is full of hot air like you.”

  His eyes narrowed, and my tongue slid over my front teeth.

  “You sick?” he demanded. I wondered if he noticed the fraction of a step he took in my direction. I sure did.

  “No. It’s late and I’m tired. I was in bed before you rudely came ‘a knocking.”

  He glanced at my bed, and I followed his gaze. Pillows were all over the place, a couple on the floor and a few scattered around the bed. The sheets were twisted up in the center, and the fuzzy blanket I used beneath the comforter was all piled up, concealing Prada. It looked like I’d been rolling around in there …

  Something in his eyes sparked like the catch of a match. Before I could ask him what his problem was, he surged forward and caught the front of the comforter. I let out a startled squeak and gripped the ends together until my fingers hurt.

  Braeden yanked, trying to take away my shield. I stumbled forward a bit, and a corner of it came loose, but I managed to keep hold of it.

  “Hey!” I protested.

  “You naked?” he demanded.

  “What!” I shrieked as we fought over ownership of the comforter. “You’re insane! Get out!”

  “Why else would you be hiding under all that fabric?”

  I panicked. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t know.

  What had I been thinking earlier when I put on my pajamas?

  “Braeden, stop!” I growled as he pulled some more. The loose corner of the blanket had fallen, and I tripped over it and stumbled forward.

  He caught me. Or rather, his chest did. I fell right into him, and he wrapped his arms around me. I wasn’t charmed by his hold.