She’d probably be my girlfriend by now if only I had the stomach to withstand her dislike. I could have pushed harder and showed her who I really am—that I’m not a dumb jock who only cares about football. These past few weeks with her have shown me that she likes the real person underneath my arrogant mask. She told me I’m one of the most interesting people she’s ever met.
Shedoesn’tfind me boring, damn it. Something is going on with her, and I’m going to find out what it is.
Serena bites her lip, and a crease forms between her brows. "I haven't talked to her much in the past few days.” Her expression clears, and she shoots me an accusing look. "Even if I had, I wouldn't tell you anything. It’s not my place. You should know better than to come to me for information."
"Please, Serena. I'm kind of…”God, I don’t want to say the word. I don’t want to reveal my fragility.
But there’s no other way.
“Terrified,” I finish. “I need to know why she’s angry with me.”
Her eyes soften. "You need to talk to Amy."
"She won't see me," I nearly shout. "I just came from her dorm."
She crosses her arms over her chest, and that familiar stubborn set of her jaw tells me this won't be easy. “It’s not fair for you to come to me when she doesn’t want to see you. But if you want to come in and vent, I can wake up Nick.”
A ragged groan is pulled from my chest. "What the fuck is he going to do?"
She frowns. "He's your best friend. When I'm in a bad place, I go to my friends."
I grit my teeth as I walk through the door and turn toward Serena’s bed. Only the top of Nick's brown head is visible under the blankets.
"Nick," I say. "Wake up."
His eyes pop open, staring vacantly ahead. After a moment, he frowns. "Tristan," he rasps. "What are you doing here?"
"I want your advice. Serena's too."
Advice is a pittance compared to what I really want. I need Amy back in my arms like I need to breathe.
But I'll take their advice.
I'll take anything.
Nick sits up in bed, his expression far from enthusiastic. He's clearly still pissed at me for telling him all those months ago that Serena was only using him, even though he’s clearly won her back. It wasn’t right for me to interfere, though. I should have just kept my damn mouth shut. If she was really only using him to further her acting career, he would have found out eventually. And if she wasn’t…
Hell, I’ve been pissed as fuck since he started interfering with my pursuit of Amy. I’m so damn insecure when it comes to her feelings that if he told me she didn’t really want me, I’d be crushed.
It wouldn’t stop me from trying, though. That’s one thing I have over him. He chose to give Serena up, and I would never choose to give Amy up. Still, I understand why he’s angry in a way I couldn’t comprehend before.
"I'm sorry," I say. "I'm sorry to both of you." I look at Serena, whose expression is suspicious. "Serena, I thought you were only going after Nick to get closer to my mom since she's a Hollywood agent."
Serena scowls. “What evidence did you have for that? That I asked for her email once?”
I let out a heavy breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Nick shouldn't have listened to you."
Nick's gaze falls to the blanket covering his lap. "No, I shouldn’t have."
Serena waves a hand. "It's alright. It’s between me and Nick, anyway. You came here to talk about Amy."
Despair grips my chest once again, and I shut my eyes for a moment. "Yes. I don't know what's going on with her. She's pissed at me for something."
Serena crosses her arms over her chest. "Well, you did bet your entire fraternity that you'd sleep with her."
My stomach plummets to the floor. "Does she know about that?”
