Playing Hard to Get(16)

“See?” Cam nods. “Your dad is a smart guy.”

“That sounds like a bunch of horse shit.” Derek points a fry in my direction. “I love your dad, but that’s some bad advice.”

“He met my mother when he was nineteen,” I tell him.

Derek lets the fry fall, landing on the table with a plop. “Lucky him. Why would he tie himself down at nineteen? Sounds like he wasted all of his best years…”

His voice drifts the longer I scowl at him and Cam shoves at his shoulder.

“Don’t disrespect his mama, jackass.”

“Sorry.” Derek looks around, his eyes lighting up. “Oh damn, look at the tits on that one!”

Cam and I both lift our heads, checking the area out for a girl with an impressive rack. But the only female I spot is…

Oh, holy shit.

“God, you’re a moron.” Cam shakes his head, his face a mask of barely contained rage. “That’s his sister, for Christ’s sake.”

“No way.” Derek turns to me, his voice shaky, eyes wide. “I didn’t recognize her, man. I swear I didn’t!”

“Whatever.” I sit up straighter as Blair approaches, a friendly smile on her face. “Hey sis.”

“Hi, Knox.” Her gaze slides to my best friend, her smile small. “Camden.”

“Blair.” He nods, gathering up his trash in quick, efficient movements and shoving it in the small to-go bag it came in. At the same time, he rises to his feet, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Cam nods once and is gone, lightning fast.

“What’s his problem?” I ask once he’s out of hearing distance.

Blair takes the spot Cam vacated. “Who knows? He always acts like he has a stick up his ass around me.”

“Blair,” I chastise, making Derek chuckle.

He goes silent when I send him a death glare.

“I was hoping you could help me out.” Blair offers her best smile, the familiar one that always appears just before she asks for a favor.

“With what?” I ask warily.

“I need a new laptop. Like, yesterday, and Dad said the only way I could get one today is if you go shopping for one with me.”

I mentally go over today’s schedule. “I can’t leave campus this afternoon. I only have another—”

“Forty-five minutes until your next class. Mom sent me your schedule.”

I hate that everyone in my family keeps tabs on me. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s lying. Dad would never say she needs me to hold her hand while buying a new laptop. Blair is pretty damn independent. “Yeah, and that’s not enough time to go anywhere.”

“They sell Apple laptops at the campus bookstore,” she sing-songs, her smile growing. “Just come with me there, okay?”

Oh shit. The bookstore.

I wonder if bookstore girl is working this afternoon.





SEVEN





JOANNA





“I have something I need to tell you.”

I glance up from where I’m sitting at the desk in the office that’s in the back of the bookstore, frowning at Leon who’s standing in the doorway. I come back here and do homework before I start my shift because it’s nice and quiet and no one bothers me.

Usually.

“What do you need to tell me?” I note the distressed expression on Leon’s normally sunny face, my frown deepening, dread coating my stomach.

Uh oh. It can’t be good.

“Your baby daddy Knox Maguire is here—with another girl.”

The dread is gone, just like that, replaced with a faint hint of irritation. “Like I care. And my baby daddy? Come on.” I drop my gaze to my textbook, concentrating hard—or at least attempting to. I can feel Leon watching me, his intense gaze practically burning holes into the top of my head until I finally hear him growl in irritation.

“You’re hopeless.”

My head whips up, my gaze locking with his. “I don’t care about him.”

“You should.” He takes a step inside, cupping his hand around the side of his mouth like he’s going to tell me a secret. “You sat on his lap.”

He somehow whisper-yells that particular fact.

God, I wish I hadn’t told him about that.

“For like three seconds.”

“The best three seconds of your life.”

I think about Knox’s hard, muscular thighs beneath my butt. The way his hands settled on my waist, his palms burning through the fabric of my shirt.

“I don’t know about that.” I slam my textbook shut, making the flimsy desk rattle. Like how Knox rattles me. Ugh. “I have to clock in.”

“Your timing is impeccable.” Leon sniffs, watching as I rise to my feet.

“Please tell me he’s not in the calculator section.” I walk toward him, my steps slow. I kind of don’t want to go out there and see Knox.

And then again, I kind of do.

“Nope. He’s over on the Apple side, looking at laptops with the pretty girl with brownish-blonde hair.” Leon smiles pettily, if that’s a thing. “She’s beautiful.”

“If you think she’s so beautiful, why don’t you go for her then?” I lift my brows, secretly hating how catty I sound.