He frowns. “You’re my little sister; it’s in my job description to worry about you.”
My heart squeezes. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Sis. We'll be in touch.” And then, he’s gone.
I look around the room at all the boxes and wonder if maybe I was a little hasty in denying help, but I remind myself that I am a strong and independent woman and get to work. When I finally finish a few hours later, I sit on the side of my bed and look around the room. I can’t help my smile. It feels good, really good. I just know I’m going to love being a college student, and I can’t wait to play basketball here. A dreamy smile fills my face. To finally get to play for FMU is a dream come true. I love basketball with every fiber of my being and getting to play for the same school my brother plays for is the ultimate experience. Zane’s the best quarterback this school’s ever seen; and I’m not just saying that because he’s my brother. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Slate’s also making waves in soccer. He's probably going to go professional after he finishes at FMU, and Reid is just as impressive in basketball. The guy is like a scoring machine. Quint’s setting records left and right in football as well. I can’t help my grin. I’m ready to join all that greatness and add my own stamp to our history here. I just have to wait a few more weeks, and I’ll get that chance.
I find my phone and call Zane. “Hey, I’m finally done. Is that offer for dinner still available? Because I’m starved.”
Zane chuckles. “You’re always starving.”
I don’t bother denying it because it’s true. “So, what’s for dinner?”
“What do you want?”
I think about it a minute. “How about Panda? I know that’s Evie’s favorite.” I hear her happy cheer in the background and know I made the right decision.
Zane says something to Evie that I can’t hear and probably don’t want to hear. My brother is a hopeless romantic and absolutely beyond in love with Evie. I’m so happy for him; I love Evie like a sister. She’s so amazing. “We’re heading there now.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you there.”
“You remember where it is?” he asks.
“Yep. I'm good. See you soon.” I head into the bathroom and look at myself a moment in the mirror. My long blond hair hangs down my back, and my blue eyes sparkle with excitement. I grab my wallet and my sunglasses and head downstairs. I smile at every girl I pass on my way. I open the front door and step out, putting my sunglasses on. I'm not surprised to see the tall shifter standing a few feet from the door. “Hey, Reid.”
“Hey, Riley.”
“Let me guess. Zane sent you to walk me over.”
His lips turn up in the corners. “Possibly.”
I groan. “He is going to have to back off, or this isn’t going to work.”
He’s quiet a moment as he walks next to me. “He just worries about you.”
“Yeah, well, he doesn’t need to; I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
Reid doesn’t say anything after that. I take in the sights as we walk, and it does not escape my notice all the female attention he’s drawing. “Wow, Reid, you’re pretty popular with the ladies on campus.” I grin up at him, knowing he hates that kind of attention.
His grimace is exactly what I expected. I laugh and tug on his arm. “Come on. Let’s speed up; I’m starving.”
“Did you not eat all day?”
“No, I was trying to get everything done before Ashley, my roommate, got back. I don’t want to annoy her on my first day.Hey, you want to play a pickup game sometime soon?” He looks down at me in surprise. “What?” I ask.
“You just haven’t asked me to play in a long time.”
I snort. “Well, that’s because you became a giant; and I could no longer beat you. But.” I turn to him. “I’m going to need to up my skills since I’ll be playing college ball now.”
“Whenever you want, Riley.”
I take that in. “Thanks. You’re one of the good ones, Reid Marshall.” I glance up at him. “You know, you’re the one that pulled away first, right?”
He frowns at me. “What?”
“You were the one that stopped playing ball with me first.” I’m very careful to keep the hurt out of my tone; I've had years to get past it. And I remind myself, Iampast it. “We were friends, or at least I thought we were; and then one day, you ghosted me.” I shrug, playing it off. “And we haven’t played since.” He stops and looks down at me, but I really don’t want to have this conversation right now. So, I turn away from him, grateful to see Zane and Evie waiting for us. “Ooo, there they are.”
Chapter 2
