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Laughing as I retake my seat next to Scarlet, I show her the messages on my phone.
“Seriously? He thinks I’m capable of murder?” She tries to feign shock, but her laughter breaks free.
“He’s a drama queen. Plus, the quiet ones are always the ones you least expect, and you’re as quiet as they come.”
“I’m not sure whether to be offended or flattered.”
“It was a compliment.”
“If you say so,” she retorts with a smirk.
This girl … she’s it for me. I’ve known it for a long time, but the last twenty-four hours have confirmed it. From the easy way we laugh together to the sexual tension that seems to always be swirling in the air, there’s no denying she feels the same way.
Still, I know better than to move too fast.
Girls like Scarlet deserve to be swept off their feet.
Which is why I head back to the Kappa house after pizza. Why I spend the evening cleaning my disaster of a room between texting her to make sure she’s getting around the house okay.
And in the morning, why I find myself knocking on her door at eight o’clock with a grocery bag in hand, ready to cook her breakfast. A feast complete with two kinds of breakfast meat, eggs, toast, muffins from the bakery, and fresh squeezed orange juice.
Only her car’s not in the driveway. And she’s not answering my text messages.
“Hello?”
“Where are you?” I ask, attempting to keep the panic out of my voice.
“On the road home. Where are you?” she echoes, a hint of laughter in her voice.
“Standing at your front door.”
“Oh.” There’s a long pause before either of us says anything else. Scarlet’s the first to speak up. “I’m sorry, Colt. I took off before the sun came up so I could beat the traffic. I told you last night I had to go home today.”
“I didn’t think that meant this early.” So much for my plan to sweep her off her feet this morning. “When are you coming back?”
Another long pause has unease settling in my chest. “I’m not sure. It depends on my parents. Probably not until the twenty-seventh at the earliest.”
Eight days. Eight long as fuck days.
“Are you planning on spending New Year’s Eve at the Kappa house?”Please say yes,I want to beg her. I want to ring the new year in with Scarlet. I want her lips pressed against mine in celebration.
“I didn’t realize there was anything happening at your house.”
Max really needs to get on it. I understand it’s the holidays and he’s home with his family. That this is going to be a rough Christmas, the first without his dad. Still, we made a deal, and he needs to stick to his end of it and start planning this party. The band is counting on me, and I’m counting on him.
“Fade Into Nothing is playing. Exclusive guest list. Cover charge to get in. It’s going to be more of an intimate gathering than what we usually host at the Kappa house.”
“Sounds like fun. Count me in. And Gia. We always spend New Year’s Eve together.”
As long as she’s not standing between me and Scarlet at midnight, I don’t give a fuck who comes to this thing anymore.
Knowing the roads are still a little snow covered, I end our call. She promises to text me when she’s home safe, and I try not to sound too disappointed that I didn’t get to see her off.
Or check to make sure her ankle really is well enough for her to drive.
Even though I have no desire to meet her parents after everything she’s told me about them, I would have driven her home and endured their judgment if her ankle wasn’t healed.
Before slipping my phone in my pocket, I shoot Max a quick text, reminding him about his end of our agreement.
