23. Jordan #2
“I have some of my best ideas when I’m wasted.” I circle my arms around her waist. “And I’m damn glad you’re here.”
“You have to say that now,” she mumbles, but I get a smile out of her.
“What else did I say?”
“Not much. You were pretty drunk and sad.”
I nod—no use in denying it. I miss Mark. He was my best friend. We shared so many good times together, and it’s fucking sad that he’s gone.
“I asked if you needed me to come take care of you.”
“I hope I said hell yeah.”
“Not exactly, but you did say something about wanting to see me in my white panties again.” She shakes her head. “I can’t tell if you really liked them or you’re mocking me.”
“I’m not mocking you.” I drop my hands down until I’m cupping her ass. “Are you wearing them now?”
“I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to wait and find out.”
“Damn. We need to hurry this up.”
She laughs as I pull her down the sidewalk. The library is closed, but we go in the study rooms in the engineering building, then the laundry room and lounge in Freddy. I’m fresh out of places to look for Liam and growing more distracted by the girl next to me every step.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “But I’m sure he’s okay.”
“Yeah.” I’m not sure but saying as much won’t help.
“Have we looked everywhere?” There’s a hopeful lift in her tone.
“Yeah. Fucking finally.” I stop. “Get it. Fucking, finally.”
Her eyes light up. “Finally!”
We jog toward the stairwell. I stall on the last set of stairs. So close to being inside of her.
“Why are we stopping?” The whine in her voice assures me she’s as excited as I am.
She stands on the step above me, making her a few inches taller.
Guilt claws at me. Liam likes her, and that should stop me, but everything with Daisy feels fleeting. Like as soon as we give in, whatever this crazy thing is going on between us will be over. She’ll wise up and move on. We’re a moment in time. And I’m starting to wonder if that’ll be enough.
“Just wanted to look at you.”
She holds my gaze in the quiet stairwell. When I can’t take it another second, I blaze past her, pulling her with me onto the fifth floor.
Halfway down the hall, I lift her into my arms so I can kiss her sooner rather than later.
She wraps her arms and legs around me and attacks my mouth with the same enthusiasm ripping through my body.
I fumble for the door handle and lose my grip.
She slides down my body, rubbing against the length of my dick.
Oh, damn, that feels good. I register that the living room is quiet, so I assume everyone took off and walk Daisy backward toward my room.
I peel her out of the coat, and it hits the floor. Her fingers fumble for the button of my jeans as I sneak both hands under her shirt to unhook her bra.
We make another stop against the doorjamb. I press into her until she moans.
Someone clears their throat, and lazily I move my mouth from Daisy’s to see Liam sitting on the couch with both brows raised.
He’s here. Good. Except he looks like shit. And oh fuck.
“Liam!” Daisy exclaims. Her arms shoot down to her sides, and she stands tall.
We tear apart. Liam’s still glancing between us with a curious expression.
“Where the hell have you been, man?” I ask, rubbing a hand over my mouth. “We looked everywhere for you.”
“Just with a friend,” he says.
I catch Daisy’s eye, and she nods as if she understands what I need. Actually, I’m starting to think she knows better than me most of the time.
“I should go home and unpack.” She picks up her coat and holds it against her chest.
“I’ll text you later,” I say. “Thanks.”
“Welcome.” She smiles slightly. “Bye, Liam.”
When she’s gone, I take a seat in the chair.
“When did that happen?” he asks.
I ignore his question to ask one of mine. “Where have you been? I was worried.”
“I should have told you already. I’ve been seeing someone, and I was with him tonight.”
I nod, letting that sink in. “Wait. Him?”
“Yeah. I’ve been seeing a guy.” He squares his shoulders like he’s ready to take on the world to defend himself.
“Relax. I don’t care who you fuck, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised to learn my best friend is gay when you’ve been hooking up with girls for the past few years.” I thought we were close enough that he’d share something like that.
“I’m bisexual. And it’s just been easier to date girls here because everyone assumes I’m straight. Hockey team parties aren’t exactly hopping with dudes looking for dudes.” He cracks the smallest smile.
“I guess not.” Still, it hurts a little that he didn’t trust me. I guess I’m in no position to talk. “So, you’ve been seeing someone?”
His head dips. “For a few months now.”
My mind reels. A few months?
He nods and lets his shoulders slump forward. “He isn’t out, so we’ve kept it quiet. I wanted to tell you, but it wasn’t just my secret to tell.”
“I get that.”
“My head is all over the place. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, and it’s like I can’t stop letting it screw with everything else.
I’m constantly letting the team down, but I’m just consumed.
” He rubs a hand over his chest. “He told me before break that he thought we should end things. I went over tonight to talk to him.”
“And?”
“And I convinced him otherwise.” He smirks, but it falls quickly. “For now.”
“What about…” I trail off. It seems so stupid now. “I thought you liked Daisy.”
“I do. I did. She’s great.”
“You know what I mean.”
“If the timing was different, maybe.”
“But you were going to ask her out.”
“When?”
“Last semester.”
“Oh right. Yeah, I almost did. Col—” He catches himself. “The guy I’ve been seeing thought we should see other people, slow things down. I tried.” He shrugs. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s a cool chick.”
“Cool?” That seems like such a weird way to describe Daisy.
She’s a lot of things, but cool isn’t anywhere in the top ten of adjectives I’d use.
The way he’s blowing off any feelings for her pisses me off, and I’m pissed that I’m pissed off.
Daisy isn’t mine to be going all He-Man to protect her honor or some shit.
And why do I care if he doesn’t like her? That should make me happy.
“Yeah, she’s cool, but it’s hard to seriously think about dating someone when you can’t stop thinking about someone else. Besides, it seems like you have a thing for Daisy.”
My first instinct is denial, but he just caught me with my tongue down her throat and five seconds away from having her naked and bent over the couch he’s sitting on. Of course, I have a thing for her.
“I know I should have talked to you first.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you were into her, and I know she was into you.” Some part of me wants to believe that I’m better for her—I’m the chaos she needs. But it doesn’t change the fact that I went behind his back. I know deep in my gut they would have gone out if I hadn’t interfered.
He leans forward, elbows resting on his thighs. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
I try to laugh him off, but he won’t let me.
“I’m not kidding,” he says. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You just walked all over campus looking for me. Sorry, by the way, I should have texted.”
“That was mostly Daisy. I was trying to get her naked, and she wanted to find you.”
“I’m ninety-nine percent sure she did that for you, not me.”
“Maybe.” Daisy is always doing stuff for other people. She took on tutoring me like it was no big deal. She worked around my schedule. She freaking taught herself statistics so she could help me.
“Are we good?” I ask.
“You’re worried I’m pissed because you messed around with a girl you thought I was into?”
“Yeah, I guess so. You did say you were going to ask her out. I talked you out of it, remember?”
He laughs. “You didn’t have to try very hard, if you remember. We’re good, all right? Finally, a chick I approve of you dating.”
“I’m not sure it’s that serious. We haven’t really talked about it.” A rough chuckle scrapes up my throat. “I mean, she’s barely dated anyone, and I’ve…”
“Dated everyone,” he finishes for me, smiling.
“Something like that.”
“She’s different. I can tell.”
“She is, but I’m still me.”
He shakes his head. “Uh-uh. I don’t buy it. If you messed around with her thinking I liked her, that only means one thing.”
“That I’m a shit friend?”
“Nope.”
“What’s it mean?”
He grins. “You really like her.”