“I’m pretty sure that’s called a date.”
He smiled his amazing smile and I tried not to gasp. It was hard being candid with him when he was so stunning. I felt like I had car-jacked a film star.
“Would you like my number?” I asked without thinking. A wave of embarrassment washed over me as soon as the words left my mouth.
He didn’t answer right away; instead he let out a long sigh. I felt the heat rise on my face, starting at my neck and surpassing my eyes until it scorched the roots of my hair.
“I don’t have to give you my number, I just meant….”
“Are you all right?” Jared said. He watched me as if he thought I would break down into tears at any moment.
I could only nod as he slowed to a stop behind Andrews. I didn’t dare look at him. I fumbled with the handle and then felt his hand on my arm.
“Nina?” He reached around to gently hold my jaw and turned me to face him. “Don’t be upset. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m sorry. I…I think I misunderstood,” I bit my lip, drawing his attention to them.
He leaned in closer; his eyes still focused on my mouth. When he was just a few inches from me, he shook his head and pulled back.
The blood rushed in from every inch of my body and my feet tingled as the adrenaline rushed through them and then disappeared. I had been wrong. What I had taken to be flirtation or attraction must have been more of a fondness for me. He looked at me as a little sister, and I had made my misconception all too clear.
I opened the door, hopping out into a shallow puddle. The motor of the Escalade still hummed behind me as I pressed the door closed and walked to Andrews, too humiliated to look back.
Chapter Three
Suspicion(s)
I didn’t leave campus again until Beth, Kim and I met Ryan and his friends for drinks in a pub downtown. When we arrived, I saw that it was less of a pub and more of a dingy hole in the wall, but it would serve our purpose.
Tucker nodded to the bartender. “Hey, Tozzi.”
Tozzi eyed our group as he dried the inside of a glass and nodded.
We began with a shot and toasted to our mascot, “TO THE BIG BROWN BEAR!!”
I lost count of how many drinks I’d had, it was easy to do that with an open tab at the bar and Tucker ordering round after round. My cheeks were beginning to complain from the constant giggling and smiling, so I made fish faces to stretch them out. Ryan squeezed and pulled at my face as he laughed, having far more to drink than I had.
Ryan spoke as quietly as a drunk person was capable, brushing my bangs from my eyes and laughing as if he should be hiccupping tiny bubbles with every word. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?” he asked.
“A few times,” I replied.
He grabbed each side of my face and pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m glad you came, Nina. I never have this much fun.”
Beth had just volunteered to call a cab when the door opened and I saw them. Jared walked in with a platinum-blonde beauty. She was all of five feet four inches and clearly younger than I. Her lips were plush, snowy banks glittering under her icy blue eyes. She moved with the confidence and precision of a runway model, disregarding our table as she strode by. Her hair was board-straight, barely grazing her shoulders, and her thick bangs hung just above her eyes. A tiny diamond piercing sparkled in the crease of her left nostril. I’d never seen anything like her in real life before. She looked like punk rock Barbie with her heavy eye makeup, skin-tight clothing and knee-high boots.
Jared ignored us, too, as he followed her to the bar, and I felt something catch in my throat when he sat next to his companion.
Kim grabbed my shoulder. “Does he know you’re here?”
“I don’t think so,” I choked out.
“What’s going on?” Ryan asked, seeing our reaction to the fair-haired couple at the bar.
“That is the guy that’s been pursuing Nina,” Kim said, eyeing Jared with disgust.
Ryan looked at me and nodded in Jared’s direction. “You’re dating that guy?”
“No.” I stood up from the table. The door was just a few steps away, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of them.
Tozzi took one look at the blonde Jared was with and shook his head. Jared whispered something in his ear, slid something across the counter and the bartender walked away without further argument. The girl — and she was a girl — looked up at Jared with an annoyed expression. I was instantly angry. He had chosen to be with her and she was bored with him.
Beth stumbled back to the table. “Cab’s on its way.”
“Let’s wait outside,” Kim said, pulling me with her.
Just before I looked away, Jared raised his eyes to meet mine. I was glad that he had seen me, then he wouldn’t be so surprised at the fury I would unleash on him the next time we happened upon each other. My anger gave me the distraction I needed to turn away. I shook my head in heated disbelief that he’d shown up with such a fake looking sl—
My arm pulled in the wrong direction. “Nina, don’t go,” Jared said.
“What are you doing here with her?” Beth sneered.
I looked down at my arm and then glared up at Jared. He removed his gentle hold on me so as not to offend me further. “Just…wait a minute. It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t think anything,” I snapped.
Jared sighed. “Yes, you do. If you would just give me a moment to explain….”
In the next moment Ryan was standing beside me, eyeing Jared. “She’s leaving. You need to step back,” Ryan said in a low, hostile voice.
Jared turned his head away from us, laughing off the threat. He turned to look directly at Ryan, and I recoiled as his eyes turned from warm pools to steely blue.
After a few tense moments, Jared looked down at me. His eyes softened again. “Nina, I don’t want you to leave upset. Just hear me out.”
“I don’t think I will,” I said, turning away from him. His hand shot out to catch my arm once more. Ryan grabbed Jared’s arm and I could see that in seconds the situation was going to escalate.
A petite hand shot out and gripped Ryan’s wrist, bending it back just enough to incapacitate him. Ryan cried out in pain.
A feminine but firm voice came from behind Jared. “I’m just going to tell you this once. Don’t put your hands on my brother.”
“Okay! Okay!” Ryan begged.
“All right, Claire, that’s enough,” Jared murmured, watching me. He sighed at the horror that emanated from my eyes as I watched her draw her hand back from Ryan’s.
“This is my little sister, Claire,” Jared explained with chagrin.
My eyes shot a confused look at Claire, searching for some sort of offense taken by her, but there was none. He was telling the truth.
“Your sister?” I asked. From my peripheral vision, I could see Ryan rubbing his wrist.
Claire watched Ryan, seeming both irritated and concerned, almost as if she had regretted hurting him. Jared noticed the way she looked at Ryan as well, and they traded a strange glance.
“I didn’t want you to think…,” Jared trailed off, looking at me, “I’m sorry. About the other day, it’s difficult….”
Claire rolled her eyes and made her way to the bar. Jared whispered in her ear as she passed.
