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“Come on, don’t leave me hanging here. Now I’m invested in the story.”
“Just as you thought. Zilch. Nada. Nothing.”
She presses her lips together and nods. “Well, you tried, girl. No shame in that.”
“I really did,” I admit. “That elusive spark just isn’t there.”
I refuse to acknowledge the combustible electricity that sizzles through the air anytime Ryder is in the vicinity.
How ironic is it that there’s no chemistry whatsoever with the one person I actually have a lot in common with, and there’s a veritable lightshow with the guy I can’t stand? The one who crawls under my skin like a stubborn rash that’s steroid resistant.
“Sounds more like you owe Ryder a solid for interrupting.”
I snort. “Do you really think that’s going to happen?”
Her shoulders shake as a few chuckles escape from her. “Nope. I can’t even picture it in my head.”
Me neither.
“All the guys walked past except Ryder. He just stood there and glared at Aaron.”
“Please tell me the poor kid didn’t piss himself.”
“Practically,” I mutter.
“Yeah, Ryder is…massive. In a couple different areas, so I hear.”
“Anyway,” I say, ignoring the last comment. “Aaron pretty much took off down the hall to get away from us. The next time I see him, I’ll have to let him know that a romantic relationship isn’t in the cards for us.”
“Probably for the best,” Carina says, agreeing with my assessment.
Just as I open my mouth to tell her how much I’m not looking forward to the conversation, music is cranked up from the apartment next door. It’s so loud that the wall we share with Ford, Wolf, and Madden practically vibrates.
“Looks like the guys are having another get-together,” Carina says, flicking a glance at the wall as if she can see through it. “Maybe we should head over and be social. I could definitely use a cocktail.”
“Hard pass.” I nix the idea and rise from the chair in one swift movement. “Since I’m home early, might as well hit the books and get ahead in bio stats.”
Carina shakes her head. “You realize that you’re going to burn yourself out before you even get accepted to med school, right?”
Probably, but what other choice is there?
Western is an academically rigorous school, and the pre-med program is even more so. The department is known for weeding out students who aren’t able to hack it. And that’s always been my biggest fear.
Failure.
The last thing I want to do is let my parents down.
Or myself.
“You know, it’s okay to loosen up and have a little bit of fun every once in a while. Ever since we met freshman year, your nose has been buried in a book. And not the fun kind where you learn a new sexual position or how to give a better blowie.”
A gurgle of laughter escapes from me. “There are actually books for that?”
“Oh, yeah.” She wiggles her brows. “I have a whole shelf of them. I’m going to find one for you to borrow. It’s senior year, for goodness’ sake. Your last chance to cut loose and have some fun before the real world encroaches. You need to take advantage of the freedom before it’s too late. Trust me, in a couple years, you’ll regret that you spent so much time at the library instead of cutting loose.”
I give her a placating smile. If I don’t, she’ll only continue to hammer home her point. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll give it some thought.” I jerk a thumb toward my bedroom. “After I study for bio stats.”
Carina rolls her blue-gray hazel eyes as I make my escape before she gets it in her mind to drag me next door. After what happened in the hallway with Ryder, he’s the last person I want to spend time with. And I have zero desire to see all the puck bunnies that will inevitably be clinging to him. I get enough of that when we run into each other on campus.
