Chapter 25
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 left no one because 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.
I actually communicated 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.”
“Dean 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, Dean.”
“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 Dean.
“Dean, 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 to them. 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.
We ordered pizza and sodas, already forming plans on how we would decorate our trio dorm—where we each had a small room for just a bed and would share a kitchen, living area, and bathroom.
Logan had been placed in the same dorm, just three floors above us.
We were halfway done eating when someone thought it would be a good idea to drop by.
And by someone, I meant fucking Aaron, Tanner and Zade.
My weird massive bodyguards. Fuck.
Lorelei missed her mouth with her pizza, Rachel froze and stared and Logan sat up straighter at their approach. “Aaron, why are you here?”
“You texted me you’d be out. We felt like going out.”
“You felt like going out? To the exact place where I told you I would be?”
“Fine. I wanted to meet your roommates to see if they were batshit crazy or not.”
Oh my god. I cringed and made the awkward introduction. “Lorelei, Rachel, this is my obnoxious brother Aaron. I apologize in advance for his attitude. This is Zade Willows and Tanner Johnson. They are overbearing baseball idiots.”
“Kenzie, that is no way to speak about us. We’re more than idiots.”
“Shut up, Zade.”
He winked at me before shaking their hands. When he got to Dean, he said, “Who are you?”
“Her twin brother.”
“Interesting.” Zade put a hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Why does he look familiar?”
I answered. “He’s on the football team.”
“Oh, that’s it. Nice to meet you, dude.” Zade didn’t wait before sitting on the other side of the table, right next to Rachel.
The poor girl turned beet red when Zade helped himself to some fries and it was weird to see my two worlds colliding.
Aaron sat next to me and Tanner—who hadn’t said a word yet—sat across from me.
“You all excited to move in? I remember how fun it was freshmen year.” Zade pointed to Tanner. “Dude, do you remember all the dumb shit we did?”
“Yeah, but not as dumb as Hilly, here.”
“We don’t need to rehash the past.” Aaron flagged down a waitress and ordered a beer—prompting TJ and Zade to do so as well. Apparently, they were staying.
“Um, guys, I love that you assumed you can stay, but can we see if it’s all right with my roommates?”
“I don’t mind,” Lorelei said way too quickly, her gaze lingering on each one of them. Even Rachel squeaked that she was okay with it. I sighed, accepting defeat.
“Fine. Stay and embarrass me, you hooligans.”
“Tell us your best Kenzie story, Aaron,” Lorelei said, the traitorous bitch, and I elbowed my brother in the side, prompting everyone to laugh.
“Don’t you dare.”
“This one time, she was like three or so, she didn’t know how to go to the bathroom by herself and—”
“No! No, fucking shut your whore mouth!”
They all cackled, but Aaron didn’t care. He continued, trying to embarrass me to death. “She was upstairs alone at our aunt’s house and couldn’t wipe her own ass. Instead of yelling for help, she slid down the stairs, butt-naked, leaving evidence all down the carpet. We still talk about it today.”
“Oh, my god. Kill me.”
Dean really liked the story, laughing hard and hitting his fist against the table.
I dared to look through my fingers covering my face and found Tanner smiling at me with a little too much heat in his eyes.
I sucked in a breath at his warm expression and forced myself to remember Aaron was right there.
“Fuck you, Aaron. How about the time you stuck your hand in the toilet and—”
“Now, now, Kenny, shh. I have a reputation to uphold. You don’t. So, Lorelei, tell me about yourself…”
The evening went on, my brother embarrassing the shit out of me and my new roommates eating up every word. It was incredible to experience it—new friends and my brother’s friends and Tanner all together laughing and joking around.
We all said goodbyes, hugging one another and making plans to hang out again, and even Logan gave me a hug.
Tanner stiffened, but I refused to think about it.
Five days flashed in my mind on the walk back and my momentary high from dinner turned to an anguished knowledge of my running timeline with Tanner.
“I approve of them. Your roommates, I mean,” Aaron announced on our trek to the house. He led with Zade, leaving Tanner and me to walk arm to arm. It was hard not touching him—something I really wanted to do—but I managed to contain myself.
“Thanks, Aaron. I mean, what would you do if you didn’t?”
“I don’t know. Scare them. Logan worries me, though. Why’s a dude hanging out with all chicks?”
“Because he’s a good brother and hangs with his sister? Don’t be a dick.”
“Don’t get involved with him.”
“Here we go again. Jesus,” I scoffed, hoping to find Tanner smiling with me. But he wasn’t. His face was tight, almost pained, and my stomach dropped. Oh no.