You and Everything After (Falling #2)(10)

I have no idea how he knows Rowe, and I also have no idea where the jealous pang deep in my chest is coming from. All I’m sure of is that I hate the way it’s making me feel, and I’ll be damned if I act out on it and add to my checklist of crazy. “Sure, sounds great,” I say, plastering on a fake smile to hide the twisting feeling in my gut over the thought that maybe Rowe took my place in line for Ty’s attention.

The elevator ride is…awkward. Rowe’s hands are fidgeting together like she’s nervous, and Ty…he’s still grinning. I catch his glance at me, and I keep trying to speak, but every time I open my mouth, my brain shuts down. I’m utterly void of anything clever, funny, or interesting. God, why did I even get up this morning?

By the time we get outside, Rowe’s grip on my arm is so tight, it’s turning into a tourniquet. “Hey, are you…okay?” I whisper in her ear.

“Sorry,” she says, letting go of my arm, realizing exactly how hard she was squeezing me. “Not good with strangers.”

“You don’t really know him?” I ask, my nerves inching up another tick. Ty is a few feet ahead of us on the main walkway, but I swear he’s trying to listen to our whispering. His head is tilted just enough—it’s the same tell I have when I’m dropping in on someone’s business.

“Just met him this morning,” Rowe says, her arms stretched out on either side, her face panicked. Now I’m really curious why he was talking to her in the first place, and I can’t help but wonder if he knew she was my roommate—goddamned stupid hope and heart. I grab her arm again and tug her forward with me so we can catch up.

“So, ladies, where are you from?” Ty asks, and I catch his eyes start at my legs and work their way up to my face. The attention is intense, but I like it. This is way better than that jealous feeling I had a few minutes ago.

“My sister and I are from Burbank,” I say, and immediately I can tell he’s trying to see the relationship between Rowe and me. Rowe clears it up quickly though, explaining we aren’t sisters. Then, they’re both looking at me a bit puzzled.

“My sister’s our other roommate. You met her last night, too. Paige?” It hits me suddenly that Paige and I never really mentioned this to Rowe, and her reaction is priceless. She stops short of calling my sister a bitch—not that it wouldn’t be accurate, or at least partially accurate—so I make her feel a little better by calling Paige’s bitchiness out for her.

“I’m from Louisiana originally,” Ty says, and suddenly the honey-glaze accent that smolders from his mouth comes together like a gorgeous puzzle. “I’m in grad school, but my brother’s a freshman. We thought it’d be cool to live together, so we both settled on the same school. They have a great business program here, and a hell of a baseball team, so it worked out.”

“Nate’s your brother,” Rowe says, and now I’m wondering who the hell Nate is. God, do I hope he’s not the guy Paige was all over last night…for Rowe’s sake.

“I think I saw him last night, too…” I say with a questioning face, just feeling him out on this. “My sister was all over him,” I say, and Ty quickly confirms it.

“I remember her. She’s cute,” he says, and I don’t know why it feels like such a massive punch to my ego that he thinks my sister’s attractive, but it does. “Not my brother’s type, though.”

Great. So does this mean she’s yours? I keep that conversation in my head, and do my best to look unaffected, letting my eyes take in the various buildings on either side of us, the trees, the other students—anything to keep me from frowning a big, fat-ass frumpy face.

When we get to the gym, Ty offers to find Nate for Rowe. I turn my focus to my friend and her bright pink face. I’m not sure when she met the man Paige called Mr. Dreamy Muscles half of the night, but it’s clear she’s into him. Her face grows even redder when he walks over, and when they talk she starts to stare at her feet. It sounds like they had plans this morning, and while she originally thought he stood her up, it turns out it was just miscommunication. When Rowe’s not paying attention, I let myself get a good look at Nate’s face—I can tell by the way he’s looking back at her that whatever is sparking between them goes both ways. Paige is going to be pissed. But she’ll get over it, and she’ll find herself a different poster boy to chase down. She always does.

And me…well, I had a nice round of flirting, but it looks like that’s as far as this train goes for Mr. Dreamy’s brother and me, since he’s fully engrossed in something on his phone, barely paying attention to me or his brother anymore.

“Rowe, I’ve got to go. I have an appointment with a personal trainer in ten,” I say, glad to have an excuse to leave Ty without looking desperate or uncomfortable. “I’ll see ya back at the dorm.”

I slip my watch from my wrist and tuck it into my workout bag, willing myself not to look at Ty, not to see if he noticed I was leaving. I give a small wave to Rowe and grant Nate a smile, then spin on my feet and head to the main doors to meet with my trainer. But I’m weak, and I turn at the last second, pushing through the door with my hip and looking up—and damn if he isn’t staring right back at me—smile, dimples and all.

Shit. I like this one. And he is going to play me.