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And yet I can’t stay away.

“What up, Char?” Casey grabs her around the neck and pulls her into him.

“Casey, seriously.” She shrugs him off, but there is a playful smile on her face.

I know how happy she is to be near him. Hell, they’re both happy. They are the kind of twins you read about. They finish each other’s sentences. Communicate without words most of the time too.

“You hungry? Beck and I are gonna grab some food.”

“No, I just ate. I was checking the boards to see if there were any potentials for housing. In case a room doesn’t become available in the sorority house this semester.”

What the fuck? She’s not leaving the house.

Casey must see my expression because he asks, “Why would you want to move out? We’re the best roommates you’ll ever have. Come on. Admit it. We’re a good time.”

He grabs her shoulder and pushes her back and forth, making her laugh, and then she pushes his hand away.

“Ideally, I would like to move into the sorority house, and just thinking of moving my stuff multiple times gives me heart palps, but I can’t stay in Beckham’s room for the whole year.”

Casey barks out a laugh. “Char, I think he’s fine with you staying in his room. Indefinitely.”

“Dude, what the fuck?” I glare at him.

She looks at me with a dejection on her face. I try to fix it so I don’t sound like a complete asshole.

Clearing my throat, I say, “It’s really no problem at all. Our schedules coordinate well, so it’s fine, really.” I’m not making this any better, but I can’t come out and tell her she’s not leaving.

Charlie nods at me, then looks at Casey. She brings her hand up and points her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m gonna head out, so I’ll see you guys back at the house.”

“Later.” Casey waves, then starts to walk over to the food line.

I watch her walk away, and just as I start to follow Casey, I see her turn to look at me. Our eyes meet, and I nod my head and smile.

Later that night, as I walk into my bedroom, Charlie comes out of the bathroom—with only a towel wrapped around her body. I want to walk over and grab ahold of the knot keeping it together and yank it off her body. But I don’t.

Instead, I politely look away. “Sorry. Do you want me to come back in a few minutes?”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’ll just get my PJs and go back in there to change.” She’s talking fast, like she tends to do when she’s feeling awkward.

While she grabs her clothes, I walk over to my desk, pull out the chair, and drop my backpack onto it. I take out my laptop and plug it in on my desk to charge. After we ate, instead of riding back with Casey, I stopped at the library on my way home. I needed to get in a little study time without interruptions in the house.

Charlie comes out of the bathroom, dressed in her little shorts and T-shirt, which she calls PJs. She’s so fucking gorgeous.

She settles on the cot and picks up a book from the floor next to it.

“What are you reading?” I ask.

Looking up from her book, she blushes a little. “Oh, um, just a book about the Mafia.”

“Mafia? What about the Mafia? Like a biography or something? Is it for class?”

Clearing her throat, she says, “Well, no. It’s a Mafia romance.”

“Hmm.”

I’m sure my mouth is hanging open a little because she then says, “Don’t judge me, Beckham. I’m looking at it as research for my Understanding Romantic Literature class.”

“Why would you need to take a class in that? You’ve been reading those dirty books since we were, like, twelve.”