The Deal (Off-Campus #1)(51)

“You don’t even know me,” I say softly. “You haven’t tried to get to know me.”

“That’s not true,” she objects, her scowl dissolving into a worried frown.

I let out a troubled breath. “We’ve never even had a real conversation, Kendall, and we’ve seen each other dozens of times since the summer. You haven’t asked me a single question about my childhood, or my family, or my classes. My teammates, my interests—hell, you don’t even know my favorite color, and that’s the kind of thing you find out in Getting to Know You 101.”

“Yes, I do,” she insists.

I sigh again. “Yeah? What is it then?”

She hesitates for a beat, then says, “Blue.”

“Actually, it’s black,” another voice pipes up, and then Hannah appears at my side, and I’m so fucking relieved that I almost give her a bear hug.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she chirps, “but…dude, where’s our beer? Did you get lost on your way to the kitchen or something?”

“I got sidetracked.”

Hannah glances at Kendall. “Hi. I’m Hannah. Sorry, but I need to steal him away for a second. Thirst calls.”

The fact that Kendall doesn’t object tells me that my point has hit home, and Kendall’s expression is a mixture of shame and guilt as Hannah takes my arm and drags me into the hallway.

Once we’re out of sight, I lower my voice and say, “Thanks for the save. She was either about to burst into tears, or kick me in the balls.”

“I’m sure the latter would’ve been well-deserved,” Hannah replies with a sigh. “Let me guess—you broke her heart.”

“No.” Annoyance rises in my throat. “But it turns out our amicable parting wasn’t as amicable as I thought it was.”

“Ah. I see.”

I narrow my eyes. “So my favorite color is black, huh? What makes you think that?”

“Because every frickin’ shirt you own is black.” She shoots a pointed look at my sweater.

“Maybe that’s because black goes with everything—did you ever think about that?” I smirk. “Doesn’t mean it’s my favorite color.”

“Fine, I’ll bite. What’s your favorite color then?”

I let out a sigh. “It’s black.”

“Ha! I knew it.” Hannah sighs, too. “So, what, do we have to hide in the hall for the rest of the night now to avoid that girl?”

“Yup. Unless you want to take off?” I say hopefully. I’ve lost all enthusiasm for this party, especially now that Kohl has arrived. Before she can answer, I strengthen my case by adding, “Kohl took the bait, by the way. So if we take off now, you’ll leave him wanting more, which was the plan, right?”

Hesitation digs a line into her forehead. “Yeah, I guess. But…”

“But what?”

“I was enjoying talking to him.”

Damned if that doesn’t feel like a knife to the heart. But why? I’m not interested in Hannah. Or at least I hadn’t been before. All I’d wanted was her tutoring services, but now…now I don’t know what I want.

“What did you guys talk about?” I ask, and hope she doesn’t hear the edge in my voice.

Hannah shrugs. “Class. Football. The showcase. He asked me if I want to have coffee sometime and study for Ethics together.”

Uh, what?

“Are you shitting me?” I burst out. “He’s macking on my date right in front of me?”

Amusement dances in her eyes. “We’re not actually together, Garrett.”

“He doesn’t know that.” I can’t control the anger simmering in my gut. “You don’t hit on another man’s date. Period. That’s a dick move.”

A frown touches her lips.

I eye her. “Would you want to go out with a guy who does something that shady?”

“No,” she admits after a long beat. “But…” She appears to be thinking it over. “There wasn’t anything overtly sexual about the invitation. If he was hitting on me, he would’ve asked me to dinner. Coffee and studying can be construed as a friend thing.”

She could be right, but I know how guys think. That son of a bitch was hitting on her in plain sight of the guy she came to the party with.

Dick. Move.

“Garrett…” Her voice becomes wary. “You know that kiss didn’t mean anything, right?”

The question catches me off guard. “Uh. Yeah. Of course I know that.”

“Because we’re just friends…right?”

The pointed note in her tone irks, but I know now is not the time to argue about this. Whatever this is.

So I nod and say, “Right.”

Relief floats through her eyes. “Good. Okay, well, maybe we should go. I think we’ve done enough mingling.”

“Sure. Whatever you want.”

“Let’s just say bye to Beau first. You know, I really like that guy. He’s not at all what I expected…”

She continues to chatter my ear off as we go back to the living room, but I don’t hear a single word. I’m too busy dealing with the truth bomb that’s just been dropped on my head.