I flip him off. Holy shit, he really is trying.
I wipe a pretend tear from my eye, grabbing hold of the distraction with both hands. I can think about my reaction to these guys later. “Oh, my little boy is growing up and making friends. I’m so proud of him.” The guys chuckle as Gio flips me off.
“Come on, we said we’d meet her at the fair. I told her to bring a swimsuit.” Tristan shoves his phone back into his pocket after sending his message before grabbing the pamphlets from my hand and shuffling through them. “Oh look, Gio, Glee Club. That could be fun, right?” He waggles his eyebrows, and Gio’s mouth drops open as he looks between the two of us.
“Did you put him up to that?” he asks, and I shake my head as he grimaces.
“It’s kind of scary that you two think alike. I thought I was getting away from the sarcasm and cutting remarks, yet I may have just swapped one devil for another.”
Tristan holds out his fist to me, and I bump it with mine. “So you will now be surrounded by super amazing times two,” Tristan tells him, and Gio rolls his eyes.
Gio and Xavier are at the door before either of us can get up.
“Oh, I see how it is. Got a new bro now.” Tristan stands up, offering me a hand before waving at Gio and Xavier. “No, it’s cool. I have a new friend too.” He puts an arm around my shoulders and escorts me after the others. He plays with my hair, brushing my ear with his finger, and a shudder flows down my spine that I can’t hide. When my eyes meet his, he’s smirking, but he wisely doesn’t mention it.
“Oh, this is going to be so much fun.” He laughs as the dorm door closes behind us, and I’m not sure if he means rooming with Gio or messing with me.
* * *
The extracurricular fair is filled with activity booths with many students milling about. The guys get a lot of looks, from both males and females, and then people look at me, and I can practically see them wondering why I’m with them. Gio joins the Krav Maga Club, but Xavier also tells him about the gym that’s available to students. Apparently, both he and Tristan are on the football team and use the football players’ gym, which is exclusive for sports teams’ use, but I zone out when they talk sports shit. I’m just not that into it.
We haven’t been here all that long when a pretty little pixie of a girl runs up to Tristan and Xavier and throws her arms around them.
“Casey, is everything okay?” Xavier holds the girl at arm’s length, and she nods even though her bottom lip wobbles and tears well in her eyes. Oh God, now I just want to wrap her in my arms and make everything all better.
“Yes, I’m okay, it’s just a bit much. There are all these new people, and I can already see the girls looking at me judgmentally.” She’s shorter than my five-five frame, and she has pretty blonde ringlets that frame her chin with a cute pixie nose and pointy chin. She’s slight, like a fairy, and she’s wearing a flowy tiered skirt, a shirt that says “Orcward” on it with the picture of an orca, and flip-flops with bells. She’s like the living embodiment of Tinkerbell. I examine how I feel about her, and unlike Stacey, there’s no sexual attraction, only a need to coddle her. I’m now wondering if the Stacey thing was completely drug induced.
“Why isn’t she staying in your dorm if it’s coed?” I ask at the same time Gio offers, “She can have my room and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
I turn to look at my brother, and he looks like he’s been hit over the head by a two-by-four, complete with little bluebirds flying around his head. My brother appears completely smitten by the pretty little pixie.
“Gio, Tori, this is our adopted cousin, Casey. Casey, this is our new roommate, Gio, and his sister, Tori.” Xavier does the introductions, keeping a wary side-eye on my brother. Casey turns her attention to us, but I might as well not exist. A matching enamored expression crosses her face as she locks eyes with my brother, and it’s like something from a movie. I can practically hear a romantic instrumental soundtrack playing as they fall instantly in love with each other. I just wave and say, “Hi,” to which she waves back, her eyes not leaving Gio’s.
She holds out her hand, and he cups it like it’s the most precious thing on earth. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gio.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” my smitten brother rumbles back.
“Okay, Romeo and Juliet, knock it off,” Tristan grumbles and steps between them, tucking Casey under his arm like he did to me earlier. “Let’s keep it PG.”
Gio is still staring, so I decide to take control. “How about I message you our address just in case you guys get lost following us back? We don’t have room for all of us in the Hellcat, so one of you will have to drive.”
Xavier hands me his phone, and I input my number and then send myself a message so I can text him our address.
“Great, so we’ll meet you there, yes?”
They quickly agree, and I grab my brother by the arm, dragging him back to his car.
ChapterTen
“What in the ever-loving fuck was that?” I ask him when we get in.
He sighs and turns to look at me, his eyes practically filled with cartoon hearts. “I think I’m in love,” he whispers reverently. “Dad always told me it would happen. It’s just like him and mom. Love at first sight. I didn’t believe him, but it’s true.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see. But let me tell you, you better not fuck up, because she’s got two big cousins who don’t look like they would have any trouble kicking your ass.” He doesn’t respond and still has this dreamy look on his face, so I smack him on the back of the head to bring his ass back to reality. That works.
“Hey, what the fuck?” He scowls at me, and I wave my hand in the direction of the steering wheel.
“Can we go already? They’ll beat us there.”
