Page 68 of The Hardest Fall

That tight feeling that had suddenly appeared in my stomach like I’d been gut-punched when I saw her touching the dick face loosened at her words. I shouldn’t have been happy to hear that; it should’ve made no difference, but it still did. I wasn’t prepared to see her get close to another guy. Knowing about it was evidently different than seeing it with my own eyes. Any other time, maybe it would’ve been all right, but that night, I didn’t like it.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Her berry scent was going to kill me from that close. That first night, when her towel did me a favor and unwound itself, she had smelled like berries, too, and since I was her roommate, I had the privilege—or perhaps the burden—of knowing that it was her body wash and not her shampoo. The smell always lingered after she took a shower, reaching to my room and distracting me to no end.

I’d known from the very beginning that she couldn’t just be my friend, even if I’d let her think she could, and seeing her with another guy had just cemented that.

Zoe cleared her throat and pulled back from our little private bubble. Only then did I notice the touch of color on her cheeks. When she spoke, her voice was thick. She was affected by me, by having me close. I knew she was—the sparkle in her eyes, the color on her cheeks, the way she tried to hold her breath gave her away. If not, if I was wrong, I was screwed.

“You look beautiful,” I said honestly. “You always look beautiful, but tonight you look happier. I like your smile tonight. I always like it when you smile, Flash,” I said sincerely.

At my words, her eyes jumped to mine, surprised, unsure. Her lips twitched then finally tipped up in a shy but beautiful smile. “I like your smile, too…really like it.”

Drawing farther back, I let go of her arm and looked at her face. Of course, she looked anywhere but my eyes.

“Say hi to your friends for me then. Maybe introduce us before you guys leave? It should slow down here soon enough.”

She swallowed and nibbled on her bottom lip. “Are you okay, Dylan? I haven’t seen you around lately. We’re good, right?”

I had no idea how to behave around her anymore, but we were good. “It’s always like this during football season, all the practice hours, training, classes, plus midterms. I was swamped, but things should calm down for a week at least. I’m here at night since it’s bye week, but you’ll see me around.”

“Okay.” She smiled and nodded. Just before she attempted to get down, she looked over shoulder at her friends for a few seconds then faced me again. “Later, we can watch a movie maybe? Netflix and chill like the cool kids are doing?”

My brows almost reached my hairline. “Netflix and chill?”

When she realized what she’d said, she looked horrified. “No! I mean, I know what that means, and I didn’t mean it that way. I meant literally. We could pick a movie and chill out, not pick a movie and have sex while said movie is playing, not chill in that way, not Netflix and—” She let out a little growl. “Forget about Netflix. Fuck Netflix. The last time we tried, your friends came over and we couldn’t, so maybe when you come home tonight we can watch a movie?”

I gave her a small smile, thinking maybe it was wrong of me to enjoy yanking her chain so much. “I’m sorry, Zoe. My shift ends pretty late tonight. Maybe we can do that another time?”

Her smile disappeared from her face. “Yeah, sure. Of course. You’re probably meeting up with your friends after this anyway.”

I touched her arm again before she could slip away, because apparently I couldn’t help myself. “Only because it’s Pint Night here, and I’m afraid I’m not going anywhere until last call, which is at two AM.”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s late. Like you said, maybe another time. See you back at the apartment then?”

“I’ll see you at home.” I liked it better when we called it home, like she had a few seconds before. “I’d love to meet your friends,” I repeated before she could leave.

Her smile came back. “Sure. Actually, I think you already know Kayla—you guys kinda dated—and Jared is a fan, so he’d like that too. We’ll come over”—she looked around—“when it’s not so crowded. I already took too much of your time, I’m sorry.”

What the fuck?

“Wait a second—what did you say? You think I dated your friend?”

“I don’t think—I mean, she said you guys…”

I glanced back at the booth with a frown. The one she called Jared was openly staring at us, but this time the girl across from him smiled and waved at me a little sheepishly. I narrowed my eyes, looked at her a little closer, and…yeah, maybe she looked familiar, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t dated her.