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“Rory?” Austin asked with concern.
“I thought so, too,” I admitted, forcing down the pain that came with the words. “But then senior year happened, and we both realized that the long-distance thing wasn’t going to work.”
“You never know; you might get to reconnect at a game.”
God, I hoped not.
I never wanted to see Ben Sudeikis again.
“Fitton U are in our conference.”
Don’t remind me, the words teetered on the tip of my tongue. But I forced them down.
I had no intention of sharing my deepest, darkest secrets with Austin.
Even if he was my brother.
Because he was.
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Just tired. In fact, I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“Yeah, I probably need to hit the sack. I promised Aiden and a few of the guys I’d hit the ice with them in the morning. But I’ll be around later if you want to hang out.”
“Ella said something about going over to her place tomorrow night.”
“Check you out already making friends.” He grinned, but his expression quickly sobered. “I’m really glad you’re here, Rory.”
A beat passed. Loaded with expectation.
“Yeah,” I replied, and this time, I meant it. “Me too.”
The next morning, I slept in. Maybe it was the move, or hanging out at the bar, or just the emotional turmoil I’d felt watching Connor and Ella all night, but when I finally woke, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.
It was a little past ten, and Austin had texted to say he tried to wake me and say goodbye, but I was out cold. He also said Connor and Ella had left to meet Aiden and Dayna for breakfast. So I had the house to myself as Noah had yet to return from wherever he’d spent the night.
Probably in the blonde’s bed.
My lips twisted with mild amusement. She had been so obvious, batting her eyelashes and running her fingers up and down his chest. Ella said he slept with lots of girls, and blondie had been obviously up for it.
I shoved all thoughts of Noah and his sexual proclivities out of my head and focused on getting ready for the day.
It felt strange to wake up in their house, go into the bathroom, and take a shower. Creeping out of the guest room and slipping downstairs to the kitchen like a thief in the night. Like I didn’t belong here.
But I guess this was home now—at least, for the immediate future.
It was temporary though. And deep down, I was glad Austin had offered me somewhere to stay—for free, I might add—instead of having to stay at a hotel or accepting the student housing emergency accommodation.
I’d never heard a good story about that, and I really needed my first few weeks at Lakeshore U to go well.
The coffee machine whirred to life, the rich scent settling deep inside me as I hummed a quiet tune and waited. It was almost done when the front door rattled, and a voice called, “It’s me.”
Crap.
Noah swanned into the kitchen with messy bedhead and his t-shirt on backward.
“Did you dress in the dark this morning?” I fought a smile, although it was super annoying that he still managed to look so good, given his unkempt state.
