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I roll my eyes. “Look, I don’t want to be here either, but I had no choice. You know what goes down at these parties.”
He shoves his hands into his pockets and snickers. “Yeah, I do, and you just had to be a knight in creepy armor. What the hell are we even going to do, stand there watching her like a bunch of strange bodyguards?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep her safe.”
The two of us walk up the steps and into the house. People are everywhere. Some are taking shots, while others are doing keg-stands. It’s all part of the college experience everyone looks forward to. Even I had my fair share of it, before my coach and my dad laid into me about how I was throwing it all away for a few drunken nights I’d never remember.
“You know,” Colby says teasingly, “for someone who has no interest in her, you sure are invested in her safety.”
“My God, you gossip more than half my students.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “I’m just speaking the truth, my dude.”
We go over to grab a beer and then casually make our way throughout the party. The goal is to stay out of sight—to find somewhere I can keep an eye on her, without her ever knowing I was here. At least that way I’m keeping her safe while still keeping a safe distance. Unfortunately, that backfires when she sees me before I see her.
“Uh-oh. Hurricane Callahan headed this way.”
My brows furrow as I follow his line of sight, and that’s when my eyes meet hers. She looks like a mix between pissed off and intrigued. The shirt she’s wearing stops about midway, showing off the belly ring dangling against her stomach. Further down, her jeans hug her hips perfectly. Fuck me. Half my mind wants to cover her up, while the other half wants to peel every inch of clothing off her until she’s nothing but a quivering mess underneath me.
“I may have been kidding the other day, but I’m starting to think you really do have stalker tendencies.”
Taking a sip of my beer, I shrug. “You turned down my invitation. I had nothing better to do, and a party sounded like a good idea.”
She places a hand on her hip. “A party you told me I shouldn’t go to? Really?”
“Wait, wait,” Colby interrupts. “What invitation?”
Shit, I forgot he was there. Tessa smirks before completely blowing up my spot.
“Mr. H over here invited me to come hang out at his place if I agreed to not come here.”
“Okay, when you say it like that, it sounds worse than it is.”
My best friend starts to laugh at my expense. “Okay, I’m going to need a girl on my arm if I’m going to deal with this shit all night.” It’s then that he notices Lennon standing beside Tessa. He drapes his arm across her shoulders. “Hey, Lennon. You look good.”
“I’m seventeen.”
Jumping away as if she burned him, he fixes her shirt and hair so it looks like he never touched her. “The fuck. Shouldn’t you be at home coloring or some shit? Where are your parents?”
Tessa and I chuckle while Lennon smiles sweetly. Colby mumbles something about needing another beer and walks away. Meanwhile, Tess gives me a look that makes me wonder if it was a mistake coming here at all.
“So, are we going to talk about why you’re really here?”
I play it off as well as I can manage. “I already told you. I had nothing better to do.”
She steps closer and runs a finger down the front of my shirt. “Are you sure? There wasn’t some other reason?” I swallow hard. “Tell me, Ash, what would have happened if I chose you instead of here?”
“The offer still stands. Why don’t we go back to my place and you can find out?”
Her tongue slips out to moisten her lips, and it’s embarrassing how fucking drawn to it I am. I almost think she’s going to take me up on it, until she steps away and shakes her head.
“Nice try,” she tells me. “I came here for a reason, and it wasn’t so I could leave and go play Scrabble with you and Colby.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of Monopoly or Xbox.”
“Yeah, not a chance.” She loops her arm with Lennon’s and looks me up and down once more. “Have fun stalking.”
As soon as they leave, Colby steps up beside me. “Did you know Lennon was only seventeen?”
