Co-Ed(22)

“I bet.” I shuddered. “Does she take out her dentures beforehand, or do you like them in better?”

He made a gagging noise. “Edna likes to talk. She keeps them in. We massage her a bit, tell her how wonderful she is — all true by the way — and she leaves completely satisfied.”

“Huh.” I couldn’t argue that; the woman had looked one second away from floating out of the room on an orgasm-fueled cloud. Gross.

“Want anything other than fries?” Knox looked over at me.

I got lost in those stupid blue eyes again, and that man bun that made him look like he was getting ready to try out for the next Marvel movie. He definitely had the muscle tone to give Chris Hemsworth a run for his money.

“Um…”

He just smiled, ignored me, and ordered me a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. Not diet. I almost kissed him right then and there.

“I can pay for—”

His hand shot out so fast I dropped my bag back by my feet.

“No. You never pay. Not for anything. Not with me, not with Leo, not with Finn, and if I ever hear you do, I’ll hand them their asses, all right? Those pieces of shit should know better anyway.”

Okay, so now it was personal? Women paying for stuff?

“I invited you here. I drove here. That means your money’s no good.” He shrugged, handed over a black credit card then grabbed the food and receipt.

The entire car filled with the smell of fast food. I inhaled greedily. I’d been trying to be really good lately with eating on campus, so basically fries smelled like crack to me right about now.

Knox drove us back to the dorms and pulled into a parking spot just as Slater parked his bike in a spot across from us.

It was one of those Suzuki bikes people race on.

Who knew the guy could ride?

He pulled off his helmet, leaving his caramel hair sticking out all over as he witnessed me getting out of Knox’s car and Knox carrying food.

“He’s my tutor,” I blurted like a child caught red-handed in some forbidden activity.

Knox’s lips twitched, while Slater looked less than pleased.

“Yeah?” Slater crossed his arms. “What kind?”

“The kind with books, dumbass.” Knox rolled his eyes. “Get your head out of your ass.”

Slater’s eyes narrowed at Knox, as he fell into step beside me. When we all got on the elevator, he stood between us like a chaperone, as though I needed protection from Knox.

The three of us walked into the suite to the sound of Leo and Finns loud laughter. , They were watching something in the communal living room on the flat screen I gulped as Leo muted the TV.

The entire room fell silent.

But electric.

Awkward was an understatement.

“Hey, man.” Finn, for the first time since I’d met him, looked sad. And Leo? Well, he looked like someone had just run over his puppy as he nodded to Slater as if he was guilty of something. But it wasn’t as bad as Knox’s face.

Which held complete devastation when Slater gave us his back, stomped straight into our room, and slammed the door.

I was still staring after him as Knox handed me my food and pointed toward my room. “You should get some sleep.”

He was excusing me.

Sending me away.

What did I expect though?

We weren’t anything.

Never would be.

“Thanks for the food.” I didn’t give them a backward glance as I followed Slater, but I did hear one of the guys groan, and I could have sworn someone got punched.

It made me smile.

Only until I saw Slater’s pale face.

And noticed his shaking hands.

“What’s wrong?” I dropped the food on the table and hesitantly walked over to him.

He squeezed the unicorn then tossed it across the room like it was offensive.

“Everything,” he whispered hoarsely. “And the fact that history has no choice but to repeat itself, right?” He didn’t look me in the eye, just laid down on his bed with all his clothes on and said, “Remember that I warned you, Shawn. This time, I did my part. This time, I’m not guilty.”

We didn’t speak for the rest of the night.





Chapter Fifteen


Knox

Every time I saw his face, I saw hers.

It was unfortunate.

I often wondered what he thought when he saw my face. Did he see the friendship that used to exist in the empty unspoken space between us? Or just death?

My fries tasted like sand in my mouth.

The burger, I ended up tossing to Finn, who couldn’t even stomach it enough to take one bite.

We were all quiet.

The three of us.

And for the first time in years, we had a free night.

Which meant we had nothing but our thoughts and fuck-ups to keep us company.

“Do you think he’ll ever get over it?” Finn asked, throwing a basketball in the air every few seconds and catching it, only to throw it again.

Leo shifted in his chair; it creaked under his weight as he looked to me then back at the cheap tan carpet. “If we’re not over it, he sure as shit isn’t over it.”

I sighed. “We should go to a party or something.”

Both guys looked at me as if I’d just grown a third nipple.