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T he inside of the university coffee shop was jam-packed with students. Some were studying at one of the sparse tables set out along the patio, while others stood impatiently in line, waiting for the one cashier at the counter to hurry along. A couple of months ago, that had been Roxi. The manager of the campus coffee shop seemed to think that one cashier per shift was all they ever needed. She had been and was still currently wrong. Thankfully, Roxi had quit working there and gotten a much better gig within the theater department. The less bitching about her underpaid job, the better. Besides, she was moving on to bigger and better things.

I headed for the line before I heard a voice call out to me. I turned and saw Roxi waving at me from just a few steps to the front of the line. Her dark brown hair was swept up in a ponytail, leaving the base of her neck bare to show off the small hint of a tattoo at her neckline. Ignoring the scathing glares that several others still waiting in line sent me, I moved towards her.

"Hey," I called as I got closer.

"You're late," she said, pushing her lower lip out into an exaggerated pout.

I sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I got distracted."

Her pout dried up almost immediately. "Cody told me," she said, offering a smile instead. "It's no big deal. Here, give me your order and money and I'll get the drinks. You go find us somewhere to hang. I don't want to get stuck standing around or walking while we chat."

"Good idea." I handed her my card and told her my order before scooting past the less than pleased customers waiting their turn.

The inside was a madhouse. There was barely any room to breathe let alone sit down. Outside wasn't much better. I circled the seating area and just as I was ready to give up, a small study group called it quits and began getting up from their corner table. As soon as they were clear, I bolted for the table. I slammed my bag down on the tabletop just as another student came running up.

"Hey! I was here first!" the tall, skinny, blonde snapped.

I looked pointedly down at my bag and then at her feet which were stopped several feet away. I cocked my head to the side. "I don't think so. I'm sorry, but I definitely claimed the table first."

She glared at me before turning her back. Just as she was leaving, I thought I heard her mutter, "Fucking bitch."

Shocked by her vehement reaction over losing a stupid seating place, I watched her as she left. I didn't even notice Roxi until she set two clear frappe cups, with the coffee shop's logo on the front, on the table and sat down.

"Nice spot," she complimented.

"Huh?" I looked down. "Oh, yeah. Thanks." I sat down and reached across the table for my green tea Frappuccino. Roxi eyeballed it with something akin to confusion.

"Are you on a diet or something?" she inquired. "You usually get the chocolate caramel, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah—I'm trying to cut back on all the sugar." I sipped from the protruding straw. "I won't ever be able to keep up with the guys if I keep going at the rate I'm going. Even if Dex isn't on the team anymore because of his injury, he still works out with the team and Ho-ly shiiitttt," I confessed. "It makes me feel like a slacker. So no more coffee-stuffs for me."

Roxi snorted. "Your damn chocolate caramel drink wasn't coffee. You're right, though, it was like sugar on meth."

"It's a Frappuccino." I set the cup back on the table. "It has some coffee in it."

She laughed. "Let's be honest, Sweetie. Frappuccinos are glorified milkshakes. The only reason we buy them is because they make us feel like we have our shit together."

I feigned insult, tilting my head to the side and placing a delicate hand over my chest. "Are you saying I don't have my life together?"

Roxi arched one delicate, dark-golden brow. "Am I wrong?"

I laughed and reached for the Frappuccino again. "Maybe not. But at least I have some regular sex."

Her lips popped open in mock shock and insult. "So. Not. Fair."

I grinned, sipping from my drink. "You snooze, you lose," I said.

"Well, we can't all have four guys at our beck and call all the freaking time," she said before turning to the side and muttering, "I can't even get two to look at me like I have a vagina between my legs."

Roxi knew all about my relationship with the guys. She was, quite honestly, the first real friend I had made at Winthrope. After the awful fiasco of my first year, concerning Victoria and Stacey, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find a girlfriend I could just hang with. I was so focused on studying, and the guys had pushed me to start tutoring. Fortunately for me, Roxi needed an English tutor and we had clicked almost immediately. We had been fast friends ever since. I couldn’t believe that this time next year, I’d be graduated with my degree in hand. It was like these last few years had just flown by.

"Are Bastien and Oliver still not taking the bait?" I asked lightly.

"Of course not," she grumbled. "If I could be getting as much dick as you, I'd probably be smiling all the time." Using her straw, she poked at the random chunks of chocolate in her cup while she avoided my gaze.

"Have you told them how you feel?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes, jamming the straw against one chunk with more gusto than before. "They barely even know I exist," she snapped. "Or worse, they see me as some sort of kid sister. Ugh. It's so frustrating."

"I'm sure they don't see you as a kid sister," I said.

Roxi stopped stabbing for a moment and looked at me over the rim of her cup. "I told Bas I was going out with Joel from improv and you know what he told me?" She leans forward, her face flushing an angry red. "He told me to—and I quote—'have a good time.'"

I waited for the big reveal, but when she looked at me expectantly, I realized that was it. "Oh." I blinked and then cleared my throat. Unsure what to say, I glanced to the side and winced. "What an asshole?"

She groaned. "You don't have to force it," she said. "I'm just irritated because he said it like it was nothing. No big deal." She huffed and sat back again. "I thought … you know since we've all been friends for the last few years, we hang out all of the time, I've seen the two of them in their underwear—which I must say is a good fifty percent of the reason I'm so attracted to them. Those two are stacked. And I've tried, really I have. To see if they're into me. I've worn short skirts. I've hinted at wanting a date to some of my friend's performances. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I even wore a bikini to that party they held a while back. Bastien threw a hoodie over my head so fucking fast, and every time I tried to say I wanted to go for a dip in the pool, he distracted me. He obviously finds me repulsive and considering how Oliver helped him, he must too. Trust me. They're not interested."

I frowned. From what she was saying, it sounded like the opposite was true, but I wasn't quite sure how to say that. So, I settled on the only thing I could think of. "I'm sorry, babe..."

Roxi stared down into her cup and flicked the end of the straw. "Do you really think it's me?" she asked suddenly, looking up. "I mean, we've been friends since like our first day here, but it's always just that. Just friends. They've dated and nothing changes. We hang out. We go to the movies together. I’ve even met their mom. She loves me. Every time I go on dates, I feel like they get irritated and after one conversation with the guy I'm going out with, they pull this whole big brother act, and then poof, suddenly the guy’s not interested anymore. It's like they can fuck around, but I can't. That's bullshit."

Or they were two incredibly jealous guys who didn't know how to pull their heads out of their asses, and as sweet and smart as Roxi was, she was blind when it came to them.

“Can girls even get friendzoned?” I asked. "Are you sure they're not just—

"Of course they can," she said, cutting me off. "Usually, though, it's by guys that are already involved with someone. I'm just unlucky enough to repel all guys no matter the status of their romantic involvement."

I winced, reaching over and patting her hand with sincere sympathy. "I honestly don't think they're—"

"They're cock blocking me," she snapped. "Do you know when the last time I had sex was? I can't even freaking remember!"

I sighed. It didn't matter what I tried to say, she'd obviously made up her mind. A part of me felt a little bad for Bastien and Oliver, but at the same time, they had brought this upon themselves. God, I hoped the three of them would just come out and say it—they were into each other. It'd save me a headache and would probably chill out my one and only friend because homegirl needed to get laid and get laid hard .

"It's just not fair," Roxi continued to complain. "I mean, if we're going to be just friends then that's what they need to decide. If I'm out with them and a guy is checking me out, do they tell me? No!" Roxi swung her gaze my way and leveled me with an outraged look. "Do you know what those assholes do?" she demanded.

Slowly, I extracted my hand and leaned back—eyes wide. "Um, no?"

"They pretend to be my boyfriends!"

"At the same time?" I asked curiously. Maybe they were smarter than I thought. Maybe they were just trying to ease her into the idea. I mean, it was probably weird to most people—the idea of dating multiple men. I was an exception, not a rule.

"Well, no." She simmered down. "I mean, not usually."

"Wait, what do you mean by ‘not usually ?'" I leaned towards her.

"There was this one guy who was really getting on my case when we went to Champion’s last weekend to celebrate Bastien's birthday. And when Oliver came to rescue me, claiming to be my boyfriend—the dude became a total douchenozzle. He said that Oliver couldn't handle me. I've never seen Oliver get so flustered. He's so anti-violence. But I thought he was going to pound the guy into the ground, he was so mad."

I leaned forward. "What happened?"

"Bas came by and didn't realize that Oliver had already claimed boyfriend status. So there I was, both of them professing to be my boyfriend, and when the guy called them out on it, they didn't even fucking blink." Her cheeks were becoming more flushed as she spoke. “Bas got all growly and was just like ‘Yeah? She’s dating both of us. What’s the issue?’ and I. About. Died.”

“From embarrassment?” I clarified.

“From my panties exploding!” she snapped. “Do you know what Bas is like when he gets all growly? It’s the sexiest damn growl I’ve ever fucking heard.”

“Oliver doesn’t growl?”

“I’ve never heard him growl,” she admitted with a sigh as she sat back. “He’s quieter than Bas, and he’s so focused on his studies. Bas has always just been more vocal and such a damn caveman—it drives me crazy.” She huffed, fanning herself. “In the best and worst way possible, if you know what I mean.”

“Sounds like a real problem,” I managed to say without giving in to the urge to laugh. Still, my lips curled up. When I looked up again, my eyes spotted Darren striding towards us.

“It is a real problem, especially if they keep treating me like a girlfriend when we’re out, but like a buddy when we’re alone,” she snapped dourly. "I'm just so fucking horny all the time. I need someone to sex me. Just fuck my brains out and get it over with already."

I released a snort as Darren froze on the sidewalk, no more than five feet back. His eyes widened with panic and horror. I ruined his secret approach as I burst out laughing when he looked behind him as if deciding if he should flee or not.

"What?" Roxi followed the direction of my gaze as I kept laughing and looking up at his expression. She paused when she realized that he'd heard her. Red streaked across her cheeks and slowly rose from her neckline.

"Maybe we shouldn't..." I choked out. "Talk about this kind of stuff in public ."

Realizing he'd been caught, Darren rubbed the back of his neck and avoided Roxi's horrified gaze as she looked up at him in pure embarrassment. "I HAVE CLASS!" she practically screamed as she jerked up and grabbed her stuff. She didn't even bother taking her now empty coffee cup to throw it away before she dashed across the sidewalk.

Darren groaned as he moved closer to me, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of my head before sliding into Roxi's abandoned seat. "Didn't realize what I'd be walking in on," he said with no small amount of his own mortification as he looked towards where Roxi had gone.

"I'm surprised," I said, my giggles trailing off.

"Oh?" Darren returned his gaze to mine.

I leaned close, sidling up to his side as I moved my lips to his ear. "With everything you've done to me, I'm surprised you can get embarrassed by hearing Roxi admit she's horny."

Darren's eyes flashed with heat as he grabbed my arms to keep me from pulling back. "I don't see Roxi like that," he replied lowly. "She's a kid sister. You—" Darren moved closer until his lips brushed against my jawline, "are mine ."

Suddenly flushed, I clenched my thighs together as a wave of heat assailed me in a different place. I glanced down at his lips when he pulled back and smirked at me. Sucking in a breath, I moved my hand so that it rested on his upper thigh. I wasn't quite touching him where I wanted, but I was oh so close. "I'm yours?" I repeated breathily. "Why don't you take me back to the apartment and show me how much I’m yours?"

Darren stood up so quickly I nearly fell face-forward out of my chair. I blinked when I realized he was a few feet away, his gaze so fiery that it was already lighting me aflame. "Throw your trash away, Jamie," he said gruffly. "We're going home."