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Paige nodded. “I promise.”
She stayed with them, chatting until it was time for them to leave. Then she helped carry their luggage to Bailey’s car. “Have fun and be safe,” she warned as she hugged both girls goodbye.
After they left, she returned to her own room, morose and lonely. Without those two around, she always had too much time to think. And thinking was the last thing she wanted to do.
When Mariah blew into the dorm, instantly ripping off her shirt and digging through her closet for something else to wear, Paige welcomed the distraction.
“Going out again?”
“Yep.” Mariah sounded sidetracked as she found a slinky, glittery, backless party top to wiggle into. “I’ve decided the only way to get over one man is to block out his memory with a couple more. And I’ve met this guy named Reggie. He’s so hot. Dreamy hot.”
Paige perked to attention. “Reggie? Reggie Oates?”
“Mmm hmm. Do you know him?”
“Yeah. We had geography together last semester. He’s really nice.” And she could totally see Reggie and Mariah hitting it off.
Wrinkling her nose, Mariah sent Paige a disappointed look over her shoulder. “Nice?”
“I mean—” Back peddling, Paige thought quickly. “Nice in a total player, party-animal, hottie kind of way.”
Mariah thought that through. “Oh.” With a grin, she winked. “Cool.”
With her vertebrae resting against the wall, Paige sat on her bed and hugged her knees to her chest as she watched Mariah get ready for her night out.
An evening in alone, thinking about Logan, might kill her. As Mariah slipped on a pair of black leather boot stilettos, an idea hit Paige, and she spoke before she could stop herself.
“Hey, can I come with you?”
Mariah paused and gaped at her. “What?”
Paige shrugged. Hadn’t she been the one to tell her father he needed to get out and meet people? Well, maybe she should listen to her own advice. And what if Logan was there, designated driving again? Maybe she could catch a peek of him.
She quickly dismissed the idea. Grr. She was supposed to be avoiding him. That was why she wanted to go tonight. To block out his memory with more guys, like Mariah had said. He probably wouldn’t be there, anyway; he couldn’t attend every party. Besides, if she wasn’t scheduled to work at The Squeeze, that meant he undoubtedly was.
“Are you serious?” Mariah demanded.
“Only if you have something I can borrow to wear.” Thank goodness Tess’s vomit had laundered out of the last dress Mariah had loaned her. Her roommate had no idea how close it had come to being ruined.
A proud grin splitting her face, Mariah rubbed her hands together with relish. “Oh, have I ever.”
The party was loud and rowdy and took Paige’s mind off pretty much everything. Mariah ditched her the moment they arrived. Reggie appeared, greeted Paige with a grin and a quick hug, and then he whisked Mariah away.
She meandered through the different rooms, surprised at how similar the only two fraternity houses she’d ever been inside were to each other. Spotting Logan nowhere, she relaxed a little even as she tensed more, not sure how to engage anyone in a conversation.
Not that she had to worry about that.
A large form loomed in front of her, hazel eyes glittering with approval as the behemoth grinned and checked her out from head to toe. “Hey, I’m Dorian.”
She nodded. “I know. I’ve seen you play football.”
The star quarterback of Granton’s football team brightened. “Have you? And what’d you think?”
They’d lost the one game she had attended with Tess and Bailey, and Dorian Wade had thrown two interceptions along with getting sacked four times. Not wanting to hurt his feeling, she nodded and smiled politely. “It was fun.”
His gaze slid back down Mariah’s outfit. The emerald dress hugged her frame like a second skin and the spaghetti straps barely held her bust up. Self-conscious under his intense scrutiny, she wiggled her fingers at her sides. Why couldn’t he just look her in the eyes?
“Ever had a Jell-O shot?” he asked, finally lifting his gaze.
