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4
The student union bar was mostly full of first years since it was freshers’ week. Travis and Ander had dragged all the housemates from number 1 and 3 out to induct our newbies into student life or some shit. Preston was playing doubles pool with Damon and two of the guys from the football team. Travis, Ander, and Ander’s best mate, Elliot, were crowded around the fruit machines, watching their friend JJ’s failed attempt to win money. That left me standing at the bar on babysitter duty with Levi and my new least favourite person, Noah.
We were waiting for drinks, and since I was in the middle, it was easy enough to angle my body so I had my back to Noah.
Casting around for something to say to Levi before Noah could jump in, I threw out the first question that came into my head. “Levi. What made you choose LSU?”
The next thing I knew, Noah had moved around me, and half of his body was pressed against my side. What the actual fuck? His attention was on Levi, but I knew he had to be aware of what he was doing.
The line of heat down my body felt…I couldn’t even say, but he needed to get the fuck away from me, right now. I twisted to the side so he stumbled, which brought a smile to my face. “Stay out of my personal space,” I hissed before turning back to Levi.
There was a long pause while Levi stared between Noah and me, his brows pulled together. The silence was finally broken by the bartender bringing our drinks over, and he seemed to shake himself out of the stupor he’d fallen into. “It was an easy decision in the end. I’m from Alstone, down on the south coast, and most of the students I went to school with ended up at Alstone College. But I want to design cars eventually, and being here in London gives me the most opportunities.” A smile curved over his lips. “Plus, my boyfriend lives in London now too, and I want to be close to him. He’s training to be a football coach. He gets his accommodation provided as part of the training course, but it’s only a single room, otherwise I’d probably be living with him already.”
Noah shifted on his feet, knocking my shoulder and making beer splash out of my pint glass and onto my T-shirt.Fucker. “You and me both—the opportunities part, that is. I’d like the boyfriend part too, though.” He shot Levi a genuine grin that had me gritting my teeth for some reason.
“It’ll happen,” Levi assured him. Before I could make what probably would have been an ill-advised comment, he suddenly seemed to remember that I was still there, and he turned to me. “What about you, Liam? Why LSU?”
I shrugged. “Dunno, really. I thought it was as good a place as any. I grew up in south London, and I didn’t want to go too far.” I didn’t add that I’d been worried about my mum being left alone…which she was until a couple of months after I’d started uni, when she’d told me about her new relationship.
I’d moved into the Mansions last September along with Travis. We already knew each other from playing on the same local youth football team for the previous three years, which had made the transition to university easier. Then I’d met our neighbour, Ander, on the day of the try-outs for the LSU football team, and we’d instantly hit it off. Gradually, my circle of friends had widened, and I’d settled into uni life with ease. I’d even stayed here over the summer instead of going home, mostly because although my mum was under an hour’s drive away, or half that if I got the train, she had her new “boyfriend,” and I wasn’t ready to see them together just yet. I was happy for her, though. Iwas.
After taking a swig of my pint, I returned my attention to the conversation. “It’s been alright here, for the most part. I had a falling-out with one of the guys on the football team last semester—he was a complete bellend, but he’s graduated now. Everyone else has been great, though, other than a couple of the lecturers who seem to exist just to give us a hard time.”
“Imagineyoufalling out with someone,” the wanker standing next to Levi said, giving me the fakest smile I’d ever seen.
“Yeah, imagine.” I shot him an equally fake smile. “I’m easy to get on with, unless I’m unfairly provoked.”
His eyes narrowed.
Levi stared between us, his brows raised. “What’s going on between the two of you?”
“Nothing.” Noah lifted his glass to his lips, keeping his gaze on me.
Levi dropped it. “If you say so. I’m going to find Preston, then. Have fun with…whatever this is.”
Locked in our silent stand-off, neither of us watched him leave.
Noah was the first to look away, dropping his gaze to his pint. That made me smile.
He downed his drink, then slammed his pint glass on the bar top with a glare. “What?”
I shrugged. What could I say without sounding like a dickhead?Oh, I was smiling because you looked away first. Yeah, I wasn’t going to tell him that. “Nothing that concerns you,” I said aloud.
His amber eyes bored into me, fringed by long, dark lashes. Who had eyes like that, anyway? They were way too fucking pretty to be wasted on a guy like him.
I recoiled at my own thoughts, my lip curling in disgust. Who the fuck cared what his fucking eyes looked like?
He caught my look and rolled said eyes at me. “Let me guess. You’re still thinking about how it’s supposedly my fault that I knocked into your precious car.” He accompanied the words “my fault” with obnoxious air quotes.
Clenching my jaw, I counted to five under my breath before I responded. “Itwasyour fault. But I’m not wasting my breath on discussing it with you anymore, when you clearly can’t see that you’re in the wrong.”
Closing his eyes briefly, he exhaled heavily, then gave a jerky nod. “Fine.” There was a second’s pause, then he said, “Want a game of pool?”
He looked as surprised by the question as I was, like he hadn’t meant to ask me.
“Why the fuck would I want to play with you?” I bit out before I could think my words through.
His gaze shuttered, the light going out of his eyes. Without another word to me, he pushed through the crowds and headed out of the exit door.
