I tilt my head at her. “You’d do the same for me if I were in a bind.”
“You’re right. I absolutely would. And once I find a new apartment and move in, you’re welcome to crash on my couch any time. Or hey, I’ll let you sleep in my bed while I take the couch. It’s only fair since that's exactly what you’re doing for me.”
She looks into the crowded living room. “Actually, what are you going to do tonight? You can’t sleep on the couch when there’s a party going on.”
I reach up and stretch my arm over my head. “I’ve got an air mattress that I can inflate. I’ll sleep in the closet.”
She shoves my arm. “Blake, don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to make you sleep in your own closet.”
I raise my eyebrow at her. “You’re not making me do anything. I’m offering.”
She bites back a sweet smile that makes my chest do funny things. I clear my throat.
“You can put the air mattress on the floor of your bedroom, okay?” she says.
I study her expression. “You sure you’d be comfortable with that?”
She nods. For a moment, I think about asking her again, just to make sure, but I don’t want to fuss over her. She hates that.
But I need to make sure she’s not just saying this to be polite. Especially after how things ended with her ex.
I don’t know the details. She won’t tell me, and I don’t want to push her.
All I know is that she dropped out of her program at Chicago University in the middle of last semester after breaking up with her ex, Logan. He was a hockey player, and they had been going out for a few months. I never met him, but when Briar and I would text and talk on the phone, she said he was a good guy and that she liked him a lot.
But then, one night a few months ago, she called me in tears, saying they had broken up. I asked her what happened, but all she said was that she didn’t want to be around him anymore, and that she quit school because she wanted a fresh start. I tried to get her to tell me more, but she didn’t want to talk about it. She just wanted to move on and forget about Logan. So she transferred to Hollis and hasn’t brought him up since.
I haven’t either. But my gut tells me he did something terrible to her. I’ve never heard her that upset before.
I notice she’s different around men now. She’s quieter and keeps her distance whenever she’s around a guy she doesn’t know.
That protective feeling inside of me morphs into something sharper, angrier. No one’s ever going to make her feel that way while I’m around.
But I don’t want to make her uncomfortable after what she went through with her ex. I don’t want to push her boundaries by making her sleep in the same room as me.
When she looks up at me, her gaze is warm. There’s no trace of fear or stress in her expression.
“You’re my best friend, Blake. Of course it’s fine for us to sleep in the same room together.”
Relief washes over me. “Okay.”
Nick pops his head into the kitchen. “Hey. You guys wanna play beer pong?”
We follow him into the living room. In the middle of the game, my phone buzzes with an alert. I pull it out and see a slew of new comments on my latest post on Instagram.
I hide my smile. I don’t want anyone to notice my reaction and ask why I look so happy. I don’t want anyone to know about my Instagram account. It’s my biggest secret.
I skim the comments.
I like hot shirtless men, and I cannot lie.
A hot guy with a six-pack AND a happy trail? YES PLEASE
OMG those forearms! YUM!
So, um, new kink unlocked. Sexy shirtless guy who doesn’t show his face? HOLY HOTNESS.
I check my follower count and see that I’m almost to one hundred thousand followers.
