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“Sorry, one second,” I say to Matt. I pick it up and read the text.
Lincoln
Call me.
I frown, my heart pounding in my chest.Why would he want me to call him unless something’s wrong?
I look up at Matt, who’s watching me intently. “Is everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, my friend is just having boyfriend trouble,” I lie, hoping he can’t read me like he used to. “I’ll be right back.”
I jump up and walk outside so I’m sure Matt can’t overhear my conversation before I hit the button to call Lincoln. He answers immediately.
“Sunshine,” he says, the timbre in his voice eliciting goosebumps down my arms. He sounds unhappy.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, trying to keep the panic from my voice.
“What’s wrong?” he parrots. His tone suggests I should know exactly what’s going through his mind. “What’s wrong is you’re having coffee withthat prick.”
My mouth drops open, and anger radiates through my chest. “And how would you know that? Is Damon your little spy now?”
“I called him to see how closing went and it just…came up,” he says defensively.
“Uh-huh.” My voice rises. “Well, last I checked, you’re not my keeper, Link, so I can have coffee with whoever I want.”
“Anyone but him, sure.”
“Anyone. Period,” I grind out through clenched teeth.
“Charlie, he’s not a nice guy. He’s dangerous.”
My heart stutters when I hear my first name on his lips.
Even though I can’t see his face, his voice is thick with emotions. I don’t know what to do with this new side of him. I can handle him being an emotionally distant asshole and even a lust-driven idiot. But the vulnerability saturating his voice is bleeding me dry.
“Link,” I say softly as I listen to his uneven breaths through the phone. “I’m fine. We’re in a public coffee shop.”
“I know,” he says just as softly, and then he’s so quiet that for a panicked moment, I look at my phone screen to see if he hung up. But then I hear him take a deep breath, and when he speaks again, he sounds more like himself. “Trey keeps telling me to trust you, and I do, so I won’t come running back to campus like the obsessed asshole you think I am and use Matt Johnson’s face as a punching bag.”
“I appreciate that.” My voice is heavy with sarcasm. “It’s surprisingly good advice—you should listen to him.”
He grunts doubtfully. “But we’re going to talk about this when we get back. I’m not going to lie—the thought of you with other guys makes me rage, but you with Matt? Makes me downright murderous.”
“And why is that, Link?” I ask, not caring that I’m pushing his buttons.
“You know why,” he snaps.
“Actually, I don’t. Now I’m going back to my coffee date.” I emphasize the word “date” to antagonize him just a little more.
“Charlie.” Link’s voice laced with warning.
“See you Sunday,” I say sweetly before ending the call with a satisfied smirk. Then I power down my phone so he can’t call me back and walk back into the coffee shop.
Matt and I talk for another hour until the employees start putting up chairs. We leave, walking out onto Main Street andmaking our way back to campus. I can feel his hand grazing the small of my back as we walk, and I fight the urge to walk faster so he can’t touch me. I stop in the middle of the quad, not wanting Matt to know which dorm I’m in.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you to your place?” Matt asks. “It’s pretty late.”
“No, that’s okay,” I say. “I’m going to swing by the dining hall for a late-night snack before I head back.”
