Just another reason I shouldn’t have gone upstairs with Parker.
One of many.
I know what he’s about, but there was the briefest moment when we were bantering back and forth and he offered to find me another bathroom, that I thought maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the guy I remembered.
You thought wrong.
I find my friends dancing near the beer pong table, and when I see Maddie’s brilliant smile, a pang of guilt pierces my chest.
The last thing I want to do is ruin her night, but I can’t stay here.
“Hey. Can we get out of here?” I ask, raising my voice so she can hear me over the thumping bass.
Before Maddie can answer, Brooke claps a hand on my shoulder. “Giiirl. Were you just upstairs with DJ Parker?”
“No.” The denial is swift and automatic.
Brooke’s eyes narrow and her pupils expand. “You wouldn’t lie to us, would you?” She turns to Maddie with an inquisitor’s hard stare. “Is she lying? You’re her roommate. You know her best.”
Maddie shrugs and sips her punch, but when her eyes meet mine over the top of her cup, it’s clear she knows I’m holding back.
Which only intensifies the guilt cocktail swirling in my belly.
“We saw you. Just now,” Brooke says, pointing over my shoulder. “You came down the stairs and he was right behind you.”
Was he?
Doesn’t matter.
I take a page out of Maddie’s book and shrug. “I didn’t see him.”
Truth. I was so focused on escape, it never occurred to me he might follow.
I prefer to be the one doing the chasing.
Parker’s words come back to me and I can almost hear his sexy rasp as flames lick across my skin.
“Did you hook up with him?” Soraya asks. “No judgment if you did. His body is a work of art.”
“Now who’s being gross and objectifying the opposite sex?” I ask, arching a brow.
A smile tugs at the corner of Soraya’s mouth. “Must be the alcohol talking.”
Maddie and Brooke burst into giggles. As much as I want to join them, I can’t.
“Seriously, Mads. I’m ready to go.”
“You can’t leave yet,” Brooke says, grabbing my hand. “Not until you tell us if you hooked up with Parker. And, to be clear, if you did, I want all the juicy details so I can live vicariously through you, mkay?”
No, it’s really not. But they’re buzzed and they have no way of knowing their questions are salt on an open wound.
So tell them.
I can’t. Not here. Not like this.
“Maybe she wants to keep him all to herself,” Soraya says, cocking her head thoughtfully.
The very suggestion is laughable. Sure, I’m physically attracted to Parker, but I don’t even like the guy. And I certainly don’t want him all for myself.
