Another moment passed between us. The things I wanted to say but didn’t know how clogged themselves in my throat. I couldn’t do it. It wouldn’t be fair to either one of us. I chose silence and Kenzie opted to stare at her screen. I would take what I could get.Ten more days of her being with me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kenzie
It was hard to miss someone I wasn’t not allowed to have. It was even harder to keep my spiraling emotions inside, locked up, because I had no one to talk to it about. My brother? I’d rather die. Greta and Callie? They’d tell their boyfriends, meaning I’d also rather die. That leftno onebecause the one person who’d wiggled their way into close-friend status was the guy I needed to talk about. Tanner Johnson. Dreamboat. Sex god.Off-limits.
My crush had morphed into something more, a totally new territory for me, and I was not handling the unknown well. Jeff’s room had been cleaned four times, the bathroom scrubbed, the kitchen reorganized and the floors mopped for what I assumed was the first time ever. That was just after the first day Tanner reported back to practice—not to play, but to be there.
Five more days.
He’d been walking better, not wincing going downstairs or when he’d gotten real creative in the shower with me that morning. My body heated up just thinking about his mouth on me, but I stopped it. Not only would he go back to baseball in five days, but we only had six more times allotted to do it.
Yeah, we were sex-crazed but the short timeline of our fling almost made it hotter, more frantic, more desperate. Fuck, it was going to be hard to say goodbye to that. The guys were at the field until seven on a Tuesday night, and that left me alone for another couple of hours.Great.Not what I needed. But by the luck of god, my phone went off from my future roommates and I got butterflies again.
Lorelei: Ladies! If you’re on campus, my brother and I are heading to Fritz Frenzy for dinner and games in an hour. I’d love to see you if you can make it!
Rachel: I’ll try and stop by!
Kenzie: See you there!
Thank god.I showered, spent some extra time on my hair, blow-drying it and straightening out the curls, and added some extra eyeliner and lip gloss. No glasses today for me. Throwing on my favorite ripped jeans and turquoise crop top, I texted Aaron to let him know I’d be out with my future roommates.
Iactuallycommunicated what I was doing with my life, unlike him. Well, besides the whole Tanner thing.That’s my secret to the grave.
The walk to Fritz wasn’t long and I recognized a couple of people on the way.How cool!I knew them from working the Lion and it made the huge campus seem a little less big. It comforted me in a way I hadn’t realized I needed and I had a huge smile.
“Kenzie! Over here!” Lorelei hollered at me and I found her and a stupidly handsome guy sitting across from her. He had her same coloring of olive skin, light gray eyes and black hair, but other than that, they had no similarities. She was beautiful, he was strikingly handsome.Woah, baby.
“Hey, Lorelei, this must be your twin brother?” I sat next to him, across from her, and held out my hand. “Kenzie Hill.”
“Logan Romano.”
Ugh, he spoke like he knew how hot he was, adding a little wink after he said his name. I chuckled, giving Lorelei a knowing glance. “Is your brother always this charming?”
“Yes, I hate it. Don’t like him.” Her eyes pleaded with me, and while she said it like a joke, I felt the vulnerability in her words. I got it. I really fucking did.
“He’s too pretty for me. Not my type. No offense, Logan.”
“What is your type then?”
Tanner Johnson.
I did not say that name—hell no—but I pursed my lips, thinking of what my type was. Huh. I had no idea. Just not guys who knew how good they looked. “Tall. I like a tall man with sexy eyes.”
“Girl, me too. You need to come see practice with me sometime then. The football team is stacked with tall dudes. You’ll get your pick with your cute face and blonde hair.” We shared a laugh and it felt like I’d known her months, not just a couple weeks, and there was even a sense of comfort with Logan.
“Logan, I gotta say, you remind me of my brother a lot. The charm, the athleticism, the looks—I take it you have no issues with the ladies.”
He had a real smug smile on his face when he said, “Zero issues.”
I pretended to gag, earning a laugh from his sister. Then Lorelei leaned over the table. “Kenzie, your brother plays on the baseball team, right?”
“Yup. He plays shortstop and he’s team captain. So trust me, Lorelei, I know what it’s like having someone like this”—I pointed to her brother—“as a sibling. We gotta watch out for cleat chasing friends, people who try to use us to get closer tothem. It’s tough but I’m so glad we got roomed together.”
Her face softened.
“Heyo!” Rachel said, joining us at our table, and the excitement about living with them almost burst through me. It was convenient how they were both from the area so we could meet like this before the year started. It was the best vibe, knowing we would have fun and adventures together. Rachel declared she hated most sports besides golf—a concept I didn’t get because it was so boring—and didn’t give Logan one look the entire conversation. That amused him and pleased Lorelei. At one point, she asked him what type of game he played.
