Page 15 of Matched (LSU #5)

I laughed. “Did you get it to leave?”

“Eventually. A couple of my teammates and some of the teachers helped to chase it off the pitch. Of course, Nate found the whole thing hilarious. He still has photos, probably.”

“I’ll have to ask him to see them.”

“Please don’t.” She dipped her head to her drink, taking the straw between her fingers and angling it towards her mouth. It really was so similar to Nate’s…“What was that about Nate’s mouth?”

My gaze shot up to hers. Oh, fuck. “What?”

“You just mumbled something about Nate’s mouth.” Her brows lifted. “Any reason?”

I swallowed, gulping down several mouthfuls of Coke in an attempt to stall the conversation.

“You have similar features,” I said finally.

I could feel how hot my face was, and there was no way she hadn’t noticed it.

“Uh, when he first showed me a photo of you, I noticed you had the same mouth shape.”

Her shoulders relaxed. “Oh. Well, I can’t say anyone’s ever mentioned it to me before, but I suppose it makes sense, since we’re siblings.”

“Yeah. People say my brother looks like me, although I can’t really see it myself.”

“Do you have any photos?”

With a nod, I pulled my phone from my pocket, glad of the distraction. As Sophie scrolled through pictures of my siblings while I traced patterns in the condensation on my glass, my face cooled, and my tension slowly melted away.

The sounds of the coffee shop were muted now we’d stepped outside, and the street was quiet. I nodded in the direction of the uni campus and Sophie’s halls of residence. “C’mon, I’ll walk you back.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Nate would kill me if I didn’t.”

She laughed at that, falling into place next to me as we began walking towards campus.

“I suppose that’s true. He can be a bit overprotective.

It’s one of the reasons I strongly advocated for him to apply for his master’s at Plymouth uni.

It’ll do us good to have a bit of distance.

Who wants their brother cramping their style, after all? ”

I stared at her. “He’s going to Plymouth?”

“Yeah. I guess you wouldn’t know…it’s not like you hang out much, do you, being in different years?”

So I guessed that meant Nate hadn’t mentioned our “dates” to her. Which was a good thing, because it wasn’t exactly easy to explain, especially to his sister, and it was why I hadn’t brought up the subject with her.

“Uh. Plymouth?” I said again.

“He’s going to be doing his postgrad degree there in September.

I think he’s moving in the summer after he’s finished his degree.

I’ll miss him, but I always feel a bit weird seeing him on campus.

Or not weird…but say if I’m with you when he shows up, for example, I know he’s going to pull the overprotective big brother act, and I can’t relax when he does that.

” She paused, playing with the strap of her small crossbody bag.

“It can be a bit off-putting for boys I’m interested in, too. ”

“Oh. Yeah. I get your point. Not that you have to worry,” I rushed out when her face fell. Inside, I was still reeling from the shock of Nate moving to Plymouth. He’d never mentioned it to me in all the time we’d spent together. Not once.

I bit down on my lip, trying to compose myself.

Why should it bother me? I was aware that he wasn’t going to be at LSU after this semester finished, anyway, so it shouldn’t make a difference.

Maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t told me.

Then again, it wasn’t like we were friends.

Or we were, but our friendship was new, and we both had plenty of other friends we were closer to and had known for much longer.

We continued the walk to the student halls in silence, and while it had seemed awkward back in the coffee shop when we’d had long pauses in the conversation, now I was grateful for it.

By the time we came to a stop outside the entrance to the halls, I’d convinced myself that I’d overreacted to the news, and I gave Sophie a genuine smile as she fished her key card from her bag.

“Um…so…are you going to the student union with everyone next Friday night? I heard most of the football team were going, and I know you’re not technically on the team, but you’ve been training with them.” Sophie shifted on her feet, glancing up at me as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah. I don’t really have a choice since it’s supposed to be celebrating my final training session with the team. That’s the excuse for going, anyway.”

“I’ll see you there?” There was a question in her voice, and I nodded quickly.

“The more, the merrier. Bring your friends.” At my words, she smiled, swaying forwards, and before I knew what was happening, a slim hand was curling around the back of my neck, and her lips were on mine.

My hand went to her waist to steady her as we kissed, almost on autopilot, my heart hammering in my chest.

It probably only lasted a few seconds, and by the time my brain caught up with what was happening, the kiss was over.

Stepping back, Sophie released me, a small smile on her face, and with a soft “bye,” she left me alone.

My hand went to my mouth, my fingertips pressing at my lips, coming away slightly sticky with the residue of whatever glossy stuff she’d put on them.

“I am so fucked,” I mumbled aloud, slumping back against the wall and closing my eyes.