Jaxon and Noah climb out of Noah’s Escalade, Jaxon’s eyes finding Bryn’s. She flounces over to him, and he opens his arms. Their embrace is so loving it feels too personal for me to watch, so I avert my eyes toward Noah. He’s leaning against the hood of the black SUV, watching me. As I move toward him, forcing my feet to make the trek, his eyes rove from my bare legs to my curved hips and narrow waist and up to the ample cleavage peeking out from the top of my dress. His eyes never make it to my face; they just drift back down once more.
I swallow my sigh. And plaster on the smile. The same one I use all day long when I’m charming my professors, and when I’m at home or at a chapter meeting with my sorority sisters. The smile I don when I’m with my mother at a charity event or sitting through a holiday meal with my extended Moroccan family.
The dutiful smile.
“Hey.” My voice is casual, non-committal.
His mouth tips up into an expression that matches mine, except that casualty is tinged with all-male lust. “Hey.”
Tearing themselves apart, Jaxon and Bryn stand before us.
“So where are we going tonight, boys?” demands Bryn. All of her thick, honey-blond hair tumbles over one shoulder, held fast by a band.
Noah shrugs. “There’s this place where the guys in our frat go to play poker and stuff.”
I narrow my eyes. “Bryn and I don’t play poker.”
Noah moves closer, dragging me toward him with an arm around my waist. “Doesn’t matter, babe. I play poker. Jaxon plays poker. You girls can come along for the ride.”
My entire body stiffens when he calls me babe. My father never calls my mother that, and I think it’s a ridiculous term of endearment.
My tone is clipped with my reply. “Well, then, babe…”
Bryn groans, knowing me well enough to smell my stank attitude a mile away.
I put on my best perky voice, complete with a fake southern drawl. “If you want us ‘little women’ to come along for the ride, and bring you big boys your beers and snacks, then I guess we’d better get going, right?”
I smile sweetly and head to the passenger side of the huge vehicle. I yank open the door and hike my dress up enough to get me up onto the step. I climb inside, closing the door behind me.
I can see Jaxon chuckling through the windshield, giving Noah a pat on the shoulder as his friend’s expression darkens.
I smile to myself. Pretty sure this relationship isn’t gonna last very long.
Noah climbs into the driver’s seat, slamming his door and starting the ignition. The big beast of a car roars to life, and Jaxon helps Bryn into the backseat before climbing in behind her.
Noah glances at me. “You good?”
I give him the smile and then aim my gaze toward my window. “Of course. Let’s do this. There’s alcohol at this place, right?”
Noah’s answer sounds relieved. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll be just fine.”
Noah interprets this one hundred percent incorrectly, just as I expected him to. His eyes lighten with excitement as he turns the car around and pulls out of Bryn’s driveway.
He shoots me a quick, flirty grin. “It’s gonna be a good night.”
For who? I wonder, as I watch the urban oasis outside fly by in the darkness.
Four
NAIMA
Inky blackness cloaks the parking lot.
The velvety dark makes the hairs on my arms stand up in protest, my instincts swirling in a mad rush.
I sit in the Escalade, my eyes narrowing on the crop of warehouses sprawling before us.
“I thought you said we were going to play poker.”
My razor sharp words are aimed straight at Noah.
He glances at me, and then at the warehouses in front of us.
There’s a row of cars, expensive makes, parked on either side of the Escalade. So the place isn’t empty. But still.
Unease trickles down my back in the form of a bead of sweat.
“Yeah.” Noah rubs the back of his neck. “We do play poker here. There’s TVs and stuff, too, if you want to sit down and relax with your drink.”
I turn to stare at Bryn. “You been here before, B?”
She shakes her head where it’s nestled into Jaxon’s shoulder.
Okay, right now I need for her to stop being in love and pay attention.
“Bryn. Look at this place.”
She sits up and squints out the windshield. God, the girl needs glasses.
“What about it?”
A groan tumbles up from my chest and through my lips.
Jaxon reaches forward and lays a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Naima. I know it looks shady, but Noah and I have both played here before. It’s all good.”
My muscles relax a little, because I trust Jaxon, but I can’t shake the feeling that I don’t want to set foot inside that building. And as I glance at Noah, part of what’s causing that feeling occurs to me like a hard, fast blow to the stomach.
I need to tell him the truth about how I feel. I think I thought that Noah would get bored with me after a while, but he hasn’t. And me letting him believe that we’re a real couple when I know we can never be…well that right there will earn me a true B card.
Everyone opens the doors to exit the car, but I grab Noah’s arm to stop him.
“We’ll catch up in a few!” I call to Bryn and Jaxon.
Noah turns steely gray, quizzical eyes to me over the console. His short hair, cut in the trendiest style, barely moves from the amount of pomade plastered into it. But his handsome face is chiseled and could be cut from stone. It makes most women swoon.
I’m just not most women.
I take his hand in mine, squeezing it with gentle force.
“So, this thing we’ve had going on…” I indicate the space between us with a hand. “…Isn’t really the best idea for either of us.”
Noah quirks a brow. His expression stays
