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  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so much like a dick tonight.” He turned onto the street before mine. “Cameron caught me off guard, and I hated the fact he’d been standing with you on my porch, making you laugh like that. I got jealous. Can you forgive me?” I glanced at him. His bottom lip was poking out. He shifted his eyes from the road to me for a split-second, just long enough for me to see that they were wide and innocent. “Please?”

  I laughed. “I guess…but you were being an ass tonight.”

  “I know. You can teach me a lesson for being such a bad boy another night, promise.” A mischievous smirk stretched across his face.

  “Oh, really?” I teased.

  He glanced at me, raising one eyebrow. “Really.”

  “I think I like the sound of that.”

  Craig turned into the Calmount Apartments entrance and slowed his Explorer. I scanned the parking lot for Blaire’s little Mazda. It was parked in its usual spot and right beside it was her boyfriend Jason’s blue Jeep. I frowned, wondering if I should send her a text to see if they were busy or something.

  “What time did you say you were meeting with your parents tomorrow?” Craig asked. He pulled into a parking space and shifted into park. Letting the engine idle, he then placed his hand back on my thigh.

  “About ten, why?”

  “Just wondering, I’d like to have dinner or something with you afterward.”

  I shifted in my seat to face him better. “Actually, I’m supposed to go out for dinner with Lauren and Blaire tomorrow night.” Craig pressed his lips together and I felt my stomach twist. I hated seeing him disappointed. “We haven’t gotten to hang out just the three of us since Blaire’s incident. Lauren and I both think she needs a good dose of girl time to slip a little farther out of her depression.” I wasn’t sure what possessed me to explain myself, but I had, with the hopes it would curb his mood a little.

  “I thought she was doing better.” The dimple in his chin became more apparent as his lips twisted into a frown.

  “She is, but she’s still in a funk about it all. Jason seems to be the only thing making her happy lately, and Lauren and I want to make sure it’s not because she feels like she has to put on a façade for his sake about it all. I mean, she’s not severely depressed or anything…she’s just having a hard time bouncing back, but I think that’s understandable.”

  He ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. “It is.”

  I shifted closer to him. “But, I think Monday night we should all go out to dinner together for a group date. Maybe dinner and a movie? What do you think?”

  “All of us, as in?” He raised an eyebrow and flashed me a tiny smirk.

  “Me, you, Blaire, Jason, Lauren, and her boyfriend, Jimmy. I think you’ve met him once before.” I placed my hand on his.

  “The guy with the long hair and hard to understand accent?”

  I nodded. “Yep.”

  “Oh, babe, I don’t know. That guy sort of irks me. He walks around like he’s some sort of sex god or something, always flinging his hair.” He shook his head and scrunched up his eyebrows.

  My insides warmed. I loved it when Craig called me babe. I’d always wanted a boyfriend who used names like that in a relationship. It was cute. I smiled at him and batted my eyelashes. “Please, for me?”

  He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. This guy is not my favorite person.”

  “You’ve only met him twice. How do you know?” I leaned into him and kissed his cheek. “Please? Come on, it could be fun.”

  A downcast expression pinched at his face and he rubbed his chin. “I’ll think about it and get back to you tomorrow.”

  I kissed his cheek again and smiled. “Thanks.”

  “That wasn’t a yes, you know. It’s more along the lines of a maybe.” He chuckled.

  “It’s close enough for me.” I pressed my lips to his, and felt his hand move from my thigh to my hip.

  His fingers dug into my skin as he deepened our kiss. His tongue slipped across my bottom lip and begged for entrance into the recess of my mouth. I parted my lips, granting him what he wanted. His mouth tasted of stout beer, but his pillow-like lips and the tender stroke of his tongue made up for it. He slowed our kiss, just as he’d done to me many times before, and slipped his tongue along mine gently. I could make out with him for hours. In fact, I had before on previous occasions.

  I climbed over the center console and straddled his lap. His hands roamed up my sides, along my ribs, past my shoulders, and then cupped my face. Sucking my bottom lip into his mouth, he caused an explosion of tingles to spread through my lower stomach. My hands fisted the front of his shirt, and I attempted to intensify the kiss the way I wanted it to be, but he refused to let me. Instead, he kept the pace tortuously slow. His fingers slid beneath the fabric of my shirt and brushed lightly across my stomach. Leaning my head back, I gasped at the sensation that spiraled through me. Craig trailed his soft lips across my jaw and down my throat, pausing once he reached my shoulder.

  “I want to stay, but I need to get back to the others and make sure Cameron hasn’t run them off,” he whispered against my skin.

  “No,” I breathed. “I don’t want you to go.”

  His lips made their way back up toward mine. “I know, but I need to. We can pick this back up tomorrow sometime or maybe Monday night, after we go out on that horrendous group date you ladies have planned for us all.”

  I pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I knew you’d say yes.”

  His lips twisted into the hint of a smile. “You had me pegged, huh?”

  “Sure did.” I grinned.

  “And here I thought I had this elusive thing going for me when it came to you.”

  “Not in the least.” I laughed and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “Call me tomorrow?”

  “I will.” He opened his driver-side door and I slipped off his lap. I smirked at him as I watched him adjust himself. It was clear he’d been as riled up as I was, and I liked the thought.

  I stepped onto the sidewalk and made my way toward my apartment. Glancing behind me, I waved to Craig as he drove away. Even though tonight hadn’t been the best night I’d ever had, it had ended well. And that was a plus.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CAMERON

  There were only a few numbers in my phone for people from Norhurst or Coldcreek, but of the few I did have, they all knew exactly how hard I liked to throw down and would be spreading the word. Because Craig’s parents’ place was technically smack dab between both towns, this party was going to be epic. Craig would flip when he came back and found half of the college campus at his house along with a big fucking keg sitting in his living room.

  My lips twisted into a wicked grin.

  Out of all the people I knew were sure to come, there was only one person I couldn’t wait to see—Eva. She’d been the first person I called when contemplating who to invite. Eva was like Paige in the sense that she had that innocent angel look about her. She had brown hair past her shoulders, and a shapely little body that made my mouth water just thinking about it. With a set of killer long legs and eyes the color of the ocean, Eva was my dream girl breathed to life.

  I’d met her at Shooter’s, a little bar near Norhurst University, one night when I was hammered all to hell. I’d noticed her as soon as she’d walked into the room. She’d been wearing this cute little strappy dress and a pair of high heels. I’d sent her three drinks during the course of an hour and she’d refused them all. Frustrated, I’d finally managed to drag my drunken ass off my stool, and walk over to find out what drink she preferred, because the ones I’d picked out for her didn’t seem to be it. She’d laughed and said she wasn’t drinking, that she was her friend’s D.D. for the night, so unless I was buying her a soda, she didn’t want it.

  We’d sat and talked for a while. There was something about her I couldn’t get enough of. I couldn’t pinpoint it either, and it drove me mad. I stopped drinking and resorted to water
only, thinking this would make me sober up quick enough to realize what that thing was. It didn’t. I was shitfaced. We’d talked some more. I’d mentioned the fact that she had a sexy, yet innocent face, but her eyes gave away her inner freak. It had been a ballsy move, but Eva had taken it in stride. She’d cocked her head to the side and quoted Ernest Hemingway. I’ll never forget that moment—or her words—until the day that I die.

  “All things truly wicked start from an innocence.”

  She’d added honey on to the end, but it was the Hemingway quote that caught my attention and held it. In that moment, I knew we were meant to cross paths. Hemingway had been my all-time favorite American writer and short-story novelist since the seventh grade, when a teacher had opened my eyes to his words. I’d flashed her the tattoo I’d gotten after my parents died, and it was as though a rite of passage to a lifelong friendship between us had been born right there in the middle of a college bar.

  A smile twisted at my lips from the memories. I tipped back the remainder of the third beer I’d brought outside with me and glanced up through the wooden pergola beams above my head at the stars. They were sparse; the clouds covered them. Closing my eyes, I listened to the crickets surrounding me. Something about the night always made me feel insignificant and small. Maybe it was being surrounded by darkness, maybe it was not being able to see more than a step ahead of me, or maybe it was not being in control of my surroundings. I didn’t like surprises, and in the dark, everything was a surprise, because you could never see anything coming until it was too late.

  A door opened behind me, and the sound of high heels floated through the silky night to my ears. The scent of coconut found its way to my nose along a gentle breeze. I smiled, knowing who it was, and opened my eyes before she reached me.

  “Eva,” I said.

  “Cam.” Her voice was so much better in person than it was on the phone. She walked to my side and placed a soft kiss against my cheek.

  The urge to reach out, grab her, and pull her into my lap was almost too much to bear. However, that wasn’t how we worked. This was strictly a platonic relationship. Always had been, even though I thought she was gorgeous. There are people in life you meet who you’re instantly attracted to, and then realize that’s not the reason you’re drawn together. The reason is because you’re the same. Deep down you’re the same; you get one another in a way that’s inconceivable. That was how we were, regardless of how hot I thought she was.

  “You’re a little early this quarter, aren’t you?” she asked.

  I nodded my head. “A day or two.”

  “Did you run out of money or is there another reason?” She moved to sit in the chair beside me.

  I chuckled. “You and I both know I didn’t run out of money.” That would never be an issue for me. Every deposit I’d gotten over the last two years I’d left in the bank to gain interest. Some months were good for me and I lived off the interest, and others were a little freer and I’d spend a few grand in a single afternoon.

  “I just got that tingling sensation that I wanted to come home early.” I shrugged and grinned like a fool, hoping she wouldn’t filter through the words too much and realize I wasn’t joking around.

  Every now and then, the fact I was all alone in the world, without a single person to call my own, got to me. Now was one of those times. Eva understood that better than anyone. Her mom had been a junky who’d overdosed when she was six, and she never knew her father. She’d been deposited in the foster system and bounced around a lot growing up.

  “Home, huh? The last time you were here, home wasn’t the word you used to describe this place.” She leaned her head back and glanced at the few stars visible.

  “Give me another day and I’m sure I’ll use the same term I used to describe it then again.”

  Music from inside the house suddenly blasted to my ears. It definitely wasn’t elevator music playing anymore.

  “Sounds like your welcome home party is in full swing now.” Eva laughed. “Wanna head on in?”

  “After you, sexy.”

  She sat up and smacked me on the chest. “Hey, you know I don’t like it when you call me those pet names you love to use on women.”

  “And you know how much I love to see you smile.” I grinned. Even in the dark, I could see her eyes roll and a smile twist at her lips.

  “Whatever.”

  “Are you drinking tonight?” I asked. Eva drunk was the best thing ever. She knew how to dance and shit talk like the best of them. She was the female version of me. “If so, you can crash in my bed with me tonight.”

  “Can you behave?”

  “Don’t I always when it comes to you?” I countered. “Not that I want to. I mean, I’ve already asked you a million times to be with me, but I can respect a woman when she says no.”

  “Don’t start your shit. You know I won’t be with you because we’re too much alike. It would never—” I cut her off. This was the same answer she always gave me, and I knew it by heart.

  “It would never work and you don’t want to ruin the amazing friendship that we have. I know.” I set my empty beer bottle on the ground beside my others, and scooted to the edge of my chair. “Doesn’t hurt to ask though. Sometimes persistence pays off.”

  “Not in this case, Romeo.” She stood and took my hands in hers. “Now come on. Get your ass up and let’s go party together.”

  I let her help me up, and then interlaced my fingers with hers as we walked toward the French doors. The house was crammed full of people, the music was deafening, and there was a keg getting tapped right in the center of the living room. This was exactly what I needed.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  PAIGE

  Pressing the “next” button on my phone to skip the current song playing, I frowned as the station played another I didn’t care for. After flipping through a few more, You and I by Lady Gaga came on, and I went back to changing my nail polish from its current chipped pale pink to bright orange. Regardless of how controversial Lady Gaga’s clothing choices could sometimes be, the girl had a voice.

  After my nails dried, I braided my hair into a side braid, and then slid a few chunky bracelets on my wrists. My eyes skimmed over my reflection in the mirror, and I twisted my lips together in disgust, mentally listing all the flaws my mother would be sure to point out upon seeing me. After dabbing a few more dots of concealer beneath my eyes, I smeared it around, and then headed to the catchall area in the kitchen for my purse. Blaire was leaning against the counter, sipping a cup of coffee, when I walked in.

  “You’re up early.” She eyed me.

  “I have that brunch thing with my parents this morning.”

  Her blue eyes widened. “Oh, right. I forgot about that! Are you planning on telling them what we talked about?”

  I licked my lips and leaned my hip against the counter. The desire to flat-out tell my parents of my new idea to drop out of school and open up a clothing store was compelling, but I wasn’t sure if I’d actually be able to go through with it. My parents were extremely critical of me, and any decisions I made. They had little faith in the things that I did, and there would be no way they’d agree to me dropping out and using the remaining money for college to open up a clothing store. Their first line of defense would be to point out my current track record for holding a job.

  Yeah, going up against the two with this idea would not be easy.

  “I’m not sure. I want to, because continuing to go to school is pointless. It really has been since the beginning. I mean, I never knew what I wanted to major in.” Saying this reminded me of Craig’s words from last night; maybe he had a point. I crossed the kitchen to make myself a quick cup of coffee in the hot pink travel mug I’d bought the other day specifically for this car ride home. “I don’t know if I’ll have the guts to go through with it though. You know how my parents can be.”

  “You can do this, Paige. I know you want to. Treat this brunch as an opportunity to pitch your idea to them. You w
atch Shark Tank all the time, talk to your parents like they’re your investors,” Blaire insisted.

  I stirred creamer into my coffee and glared at her. “They are my investors.”

  “Then pitch the idea to them like those people always do on that show. I know you’ve got some speech planned out in your head, right?”

  I bit my bottom lip. I hadn’t even thought of a single thing to say, because I couldn’t decide on how to begin. “Sort of.”

  “Spill it to them and be sure to offer a portion of the company, if you think it will sway them into letting you do this. A clothing store would be your niche, seriously. There’s no one who knows more about fashion than you. I can really see you becoming passionate about this and being a huge success.” She smiled.

  Her enthusiasm was infectious. I should sit down and lay it all out for them. There was nearly a forty-minute drive to plan a speech in my head. I could do this. “Okay.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “Okay, I’ll pitch the idea to them.” I smiled, the entire idea exciting me like nothing work-related ever had before. “I’d better go. I don’t want to be late.”

  “Good luck!” she called as I scooped up my purse and headed for the door. “Oh, are we still on for dinner tonight?”

  “Yep, Lauren and I have the perfect place picked out.” I winked at her from over my shoulder and closed the door.

  Lauren Myers was another close friend of ours. Blaire and I had met her during our freshman year at Norhurst University. She’d been a complete freaking riot, and there was no way we couldn’t be friends.

  For our girls’ night out dinner tonight, she and I had found this great little restaurant on the corner of Ispen and Clyde. It was a tiny Italian place we both thought Blaire would love.

  Climbing into my Honda Civic, I cranked the engine and turned on some motivational music. I needed to get this speech going in my head and word it perfectly, because my parents were both known for interrupting and then taking over the entire conversation. Pulling out of my parking space, I shifted into drive and headed home.