I want to tell him the reason isn’t the plants, it’s the peaches and caramel smell that invades all my senses twenty-four seven.
It’s only once I hang up with him that what he said hits me square in the chest.
I reckon something did happen, but you know how she can be. I’m assuming something happened while she was still living here, probably the same thing that made her changeher mind at the last minute and move across the country for school.
Irepeat his words to myself.
Imade her change.
I did more than just embarrass her when I freaked out after that kiss. I made her change her entire personality, and not for the better.
Chapter 9
I hate Mondays. Not only are Mondays my longest days at the university—I have one class to attend and I teach two classes—but I also have office hours. The office hours are the worst. They just never seem to end.
Thankfully, Jade and I have worked out a system. Since Mondays are my busy days, she makes sure to stop by around one p.m. with a caffeine pick-me-up. And on Thursdays—her busiest days—I return the favor. Which explains why she’s sitting in front of me, waiting for me to answer her.
“Sloane!” she says loudly, pulling me out of my thoughts. “I asked you how living with Liam was going—how sleeping with him every night was going? Also, you never showed me a picture of the guy! You changed the topic way too fast the last time I brought him up.”
“If I’m being honest, it’s weird, especially after we last talked about him,” I start, taking another sip of coffee, trying to decide what I want to tell her. “I don’t know how to feel about living with him. Part of me likes it, but I don’t know if it’s having Liam around or just the fact that I’mnot living alone. I’ll admit I enjoy it more than I expected to.” I decide to tell her the truth. “But at the same time, I hate it because I can feel myself falling for him again, and we both know how that turned out the last time.”
If I’m beingreallyhonest with myself, I never fell out of love with Liam. I just hid those feelings away in the furthest corner of my heart. But I knew I was still in love with him even after what happened because my heart would skip a beat or my breath would catch every time Ronan brought him up. Not to mention, I haven’t found myself interested in any other man, or had any desire to invest in a relationship with anyone since him.
He doesn’t even have to do anything for these feelings to resurface. He just has to breathe the same air as me and hold on to me like I’m his only lifeline when he sleeps and I’m right back to where I was when I was sixteen. For some unknown, very unfair reason, Liam Jones is my kryptonite, and I’m just his best friend’s annoying little sister, and always will be.
“Will it be like last time though? You’re both older and he doesn’t know you anymore,” Jade pushes back.
“I’m still his best friend’s little sister. He brought up my first period the other day because, yes, he was there for that and witnessed the meltdown that was twelve-year-old me, convinced I was dying,” I say, covering my face with my hands. “Why does it have to be him!” I whine through my hands.
“It doesn’t have to be. Don’t sit there and tell me you believe in fate.”
I might not be looking at her, but I can hear her eyes roll. She might be where I got all the eye-rolling from. I really need to stop doing that—it can’t be good for my eyes. Dropping my hands down from my face and grabbing my coffee cup, I ask, “What do you mean it doesn’t have to be him?”
“It might just be a proximity thing, or the fact that he’s your older brother’s best friend—the first unrelated male you were ever exposed to. Go on a date! It might help you clear your head. It’ll either take your mind off Liam, or confirm why he’s always on your mind. There’s three weeks before the exam rush. You have time, and you don’t have much to do now that midterms are over. I know for a fact that you’re already ahead for next semester, so takeonenight off and go on a date.”
“And who do you expect me to go on a date with?” I ask her, entertaining the idea. She knows I don’t know any men or potential dates, and there’s no way I’m joining a dating app only to get murdered.
“I might know a guy,” she answers cryptically before taking out her phone and sending out a text. I don’t have time to ask her what she’s doing before she puts her phone away.
“Be ready for dinner at six forty-five Friday night. He’s going to pick you up at your place. I’m leaving for my parents’ cabin Thursday night so I won’t be able to help you get ready butplease,for the love of God, shave and wear a dress!” she instructs.
Unlike me, her thesis supervisor thought it would be best for her to settle into her PhD during her firstsemester. Mine thought it was best to hit the ground running, hence all the teaching and office hours. So she can leave in the middle of the semester to go park her cute little butt in the middle of nowhere, because all she has to do is work on developing her thesis pitch.
And unlike me, who lives in pants and sweaters, with the occasional blazer, Jade is always dressed to the nines. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear anything but heels, hair always perfectly done, and eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man, as Taylor Swift would say. So her comment about wearing a dress wasn’t really misplaced.
“Who. Is. This. Guy,” I ask again, feeling my hackles rise. I don’t do strangers or surprises.
“A very cute professor from the language department.” Sensing my discomfort, she pulls out her phone again. “Oh stop being dramatic, here’s a picture of him,” she says, thrusting her phone in my face.
He’s not ugly, but he’s also not really my type. At five foot ten myself, I prefer a bulkier man. And I don’t think I’ve ever found a blond man attractive before, and this guy certainly isn’t the first. I’m definitely more attracted to dark brown hair and green eyes, and men who don’t smile as freely as this one is doing in the photo I’m still looking at.
Before I can stop myself, Liam’s frown and deep green eyes make an appearance in my mind. Ever since he’s moved in—and since I’ve caught him being nice to Gigi—he’s been making more and more appearances in my mind. Definitely more than I’m comfortable with.Maybe Jade is right and I need to go out on a date and see what’s out there.
“Fine. I’ll go out on a date with this guy. I’ll even shave and wear that sweater dress and those thigh-high boots you made me buy the last time you dragged me out shopping,” I promise her.
At the very least, it’ll get me out of the house and meeting someone new. The only exploring of the city I’ve done since moving here is with Jade—she’s really the only person I know here. Besides, I’ve always pictured myself married with a couple of kids one day. I can’t accomplish that alone, at home.
Chapter 10
