Page 15

“Thank you!” She claps her hands together, a wide smile tugging at her mouth when the doorbell rings.

“I wonder who that could be,” I deadpan.

“Hush,” she scolds, quickly jumping up from her seat. “I got it,” she announces, though Dalton is already heading in that direction.

I wait for a few beats, trying to talk myself out of what I’m about to do, but like I have no self-control at all, I stand, quickly crossing the room before slipping down the hallway in search of Charlotte. It might be the only chance I have to speak to her privately, so it’s best I take the opportunity now while my sister is distracted.

I reach the bathroom just as the door swings open and Charlotte steps out, damn near running right into me. Taking her by the shoulders, I gently guide her back into the bathroom before kicking the door closed behind me.

“What are you doing?” She hisses, a light blush kissing her cheeks.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were here, Red?” I ask, careful to keep my voice low.

“When would I have? You haven’t talked to me in weeks.”

“You still could have texted me. A little heads-up would have been nice.” I’m being an asshole, I know. It’s the only way I know to keep her at arm’s length when all I want to do is pull her closer.

“I didn’t realize Icouldtext you. Given that you haven’t answered any of the texts I’ve sent you, I assumed you had blocked me or something.”

“Blocked you? What am I, fifteen?”

“You tell me.” She crosses her arms in front of her chest defensively. “Your behavior would argue that you’re younger than you are.” She moves to step past me, but I cut off her only path of escape.

“I’ve been childish.” I can admit that much.

“If you didn’t want to be my friend anymore, all you had to do was say so.”

“I don’t want to be your friend.” I run a frustrated hand through my hair. “I want to be a fuck lot more than just your friend. That’s the problem.”

Her lips part, but no words immediately come out.

“Why is that a problem?” she finally asks.

“You know why.”

“Do I?”

“You’re too young for me. And you’re my sister’s best friend.”

“One, you’re only twenty-four. Don’t blame my age when we both know five years is nothing. Two, it’s not like I asked for your hand in marriage. And three, me being your sister’s best friend didn’t stop you from texting me formonths. I don’t understand why all of a sudden it’s an issue.”

“If you don’t understand, then you haven’t been paying attention,” I bite.

She smells like she did that night—lavender and vanilla—and I find myself taking a deep inhale, letting her scent overtake my senses. Fuck, how often have I closed my eyes and thought about that smell. Our bodies pressed together. The heavy beat of the music vibrating the floor beneath our feet. Her hips grinding into mine in a way that nearly had me coming the fuck undone right there in a room full of people.

Dropping her off at her dorm room without so much as kissing her was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But now that I’ve spent months getting to know her, I don’t know if I have the strength to resist her a second time. If she touches me, if she comes any closer, I can’t be held responsible for what I do next.

“Do you want me?” she asks unapologetically, and fuck me, so damn beautiful.

I bark out a laugh like it’s the most ridiculous question I’ve ever been asked, even if the answer is a resounding yes.

“You do. That’s why you flaked?” It’s a question, though it shouldn’t be given that the answer is staring right back at me in those bright green eyes of hers.

“You think a few months texting each other makes you some expert on my life? Besides, thewhyis irrelevant and doesn’t change the fact that this wouldn’t work. You’re in school in Virginia. My life is here in North Carolina. Your only concerns are passing classes and finding the perfect outfit for the next party. Meanwhile, I’m out here living in the real world. We aren’t in the same place, no matter how much I wish we were.”

“You think a few months texting each other makes you some expert onmylife?” She throws my words back at me. “Classes and outfits, really? You make me out to be some ditzy co-ed who only cares about getting drunk and hooking up with frat guys.”

“That’s not what I meant.”