Just a Little Crush (Crush #1) (4 page)

“Do you even realize we went to high school together?” I blurted.

“I know exactly who you are.”

“Oh.” I sipped coffee.

“So you didn’t answer. Long night?”

“No. I just like strong coffee.”

“Good answer. I’m not going to lie. Thinking about what might have kept you up at night both irritated and intrigued me.”

I sputtered coffee.

He raised an eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Fine. Um, I think I need to go.”

“Do I make you nervous, Brinley?”

Nervous? That was putting it lightly. His nearness raked my body with about a hundred different emotions.

“I don’t want to—although, I do find it adorable. Actually, that’s not the right word.” He leaned forward. “When your cheeks get red like that, I start thinking about other ways I could make them flush. Then I start thinking about keeping you up at night, which leads to thoughts about the way you kissed me. If that was fifteen, I can only imagine what a little time and experience can do. But then I see the way you get when you’re around me and it makes me wonder how much experience you’ve had since then.”

Anger squashed all those other emotions. “That’s none of your business,” I snapped.

“You’re right. It isn’t.” His voice went all low and husky. “But trust me when I say, I want to make it my business. But girls like you and guys like me don’t work. I’d ruin you and I don’t want to do that.” He stood, placed both palms on the table and leaned dangerously close to me. “Though I will tell you, you ruined me. I’ve held a lot of girls I kissed to your standard and I’ve been sorely disappointed.”

My pulse pounded so hard I could barely hear the words coming out of his mouth. This was not happening. He did not just say I’d ruined him at fifteen. I hadn’t even known what the hell I was doing.

He stared down at my lips and I held my breath. If I moved a fraction of an inch our lips would touch.

He closed the distance and brushed his lips against mine. When the metal ring made contact with my mouth, I shivered.

“Fuck,” he whispered, then spun around and left without another word.

I glanced around, wondering if anyone had noticed our exchange, but no one seemed to be paying attention. The few people there had their heads buried in their laptops or were engrossed in conversation. I was grateful, because Ryder had left me all sorts of flustered.

The next evening my phone chimed with a text.

Noah:
Chem lab ran late. Jumping in shower now. Meet me at my room? Roommate will let you in.

We were supposed to meet in front of his dorm but now that wasn’t happening. I debated what to do. After yesterday, I thought of Noah as a lot more harmless.

I called Fallon. She wasn’t exactly my first choice, but she’d have to do at the moment. I needed to tell someone where I was.

“Would you do me a favor?”

“Depends.”

“Will you text me in ten minutes, and if I don’t respond call Mason and tell him I’m at Noah’s?”

“Mason, huh? Will you finally let me hook up with that fine piece of ass you keep all to yourself?”

“You and Mason are adults; you can do what you want.” Bitter jealousy coursed through me. I didn’t care who Mason had sex with, but I didn’t want my bed-hopping roommate to steal my best friend.

“Please. He will never sleep with me until you tell him it’s okay.”

“Do this for me and I’ll tell him I don’t care if he sleeps with you. But I can’t make him do anything, you know?”

“I know. That’s my job. You just need to give consent.”

“Whatever. Ten minutes.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The call ended.

I made my way to Noah’s suite and knocked.

Ryder opened the door and eyed me from head to toe. A small smile played around his lips.

“What are you doing here?” I blurted.

His smile faded. “I live here. And since you clearly didn’t know that, there can only be one reason you’re here.” He dropped onto the couch.

I closed the door behind me and I stared in disbelief. How in the world did I not know they were roommates?

“He’s in the shower.”

“Yeah. That’s why he told me to meet him here.”

He nodded slowly.

I could fit my entire room into this living and dining area. The suite felt huge, especially now that it wasn’t full of people, yet when I was sharing the space with Ryder, it shrank. His presence sucked all the air out of it and there was a good chance I might faint.

“Sit,” he said.

“I’m okay.”

“Why are you going out with him?”

That was none of his business, yet my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own. “He helped me with calculus. This is my thanks. We’re just friends.”

“That’s not what he thinks.” The muscle in his jaw clenched. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the couch.

A door popped open.

“Good. You’re here.” Noah stepped out in nothing but jeans. To my surprise he had a bit of muscle going on. Nothing like Ryder seemed to be packing, but nice enough. “Let me get dressed. Go ahead and sit. Won’t take long, I promise.”

Noah walked off and I glanced at a scowling Ryder as I eased onto the couch. He wouldn’t stop staring so I stared back. He was really starting to tick me off and I could give the evil eye just as good as he could.

Noah walked into the living room and broke the stare-down.

Ryder turned to him. “Cassidy’s on her way over and she’s bringing pizza. I didn’t realize you were going out so I had her get way too much. Want some before you head out? We have beer too.”

“What do you want to do?” Noah asked me.

Part of me wanted to run from this place but another part wanted to stay. “I’m good either way.”

He glanced at Ryder. “You sure we wouldn’t be imposing on your
alone
time?” Noah’s tone was teasing, but in some ways, it seemed a legitimate question and concern. One I didn’t like. A mental image I could have lived without.

Ryder typed something on his phone as if too preoccupied to even really justify an answer. “Nah, man, it’s cool.”

Noah turned to me. “Well, I guess if we stay, we don’t have to argue about who gets to pay.”

“True,” I answered.

Noah sat on the arm of the couch, next to me. “So you want to stay in?”

Ryder glanced up, his eyes briefly making contact with mine.

“Sure.”

Noah shrugged. “Okay.” He slid down from where he sat, wedging himself beside me, and rested his arm on the back of the couch, which pretty much meant around me.

Ryder lowered his phone and stared, like he was trying to burn holes through us. His phone beeped; he read the screen then typed a reply.

I hopped up. “May I use the bathroom?”

“Yeah, it’s the first door on your right,” said Noah.

“Thanks.” I stepped inside and shut the door. With my palms against the counter, I leaned forward and tried to catch my breath. Every part of my body wanted to be near Ryder but my logical side was in panic mode.

In. Out. In. Out. My breathing slowly leveled.

My stomach fluttered as I remembered our conversation in the coffee shop. I brushed my fingers over the spot where the cool metal of his lip ring had grazed the corner of my mouth. God, I wanted to kiss him. Which was dumb. Some other girl was on her way over to see him.

With a deep breath, I stepped out of the bathroom. A girl’s voice drifted down the hall. I expected Cassidy to be the cute blonde whose mouth benefited from the onslaught of Ryder’s tongue, but it wasn’t. This girl was still cute. And blond. He must have a thing for them. Too bad I was a brunette.

“Hi.” She smiled and stuck out her hand. “I’m Cassidy.”

I wanted to hate her because she’d probably have Ryder’s tongue in her mouth later too, but she was nice.

“Brinley. Nice to meet you.”

“Cheese or pepperoni?” Noah called from the kitchen.

“Cheese.”

Cassidy and I sat at the small four-person table tucked between the living room and kitchen, while the guys ate sitting on the couch.

She made small talk, and I halfheartedly listened while trying to overhear what the guys were saying.

It was hard to make out most of it, but Ryder said something to Noah, who laughed in response.

“Works for me, man.” Noah wandered into the kitchen, opened the fridge and started passing out beer cans.

Ryder’s gaze flicked to me and I looked away. “Drinking game time,” he announced.

Cassidy made a little hooting sound as she pumped her fist.

“I don’t really drink.” God, that sounded lame.

“Don’t worry. If you’re good at it, you won’t be drinking much.” Ryder’s smirk looked teasing but something about his green eyes conveyed sincerity.

“I don’t know how to play any drinking games,” I added.

“You’ll do fine,” he assured me.

I looked at him and he nodded once quickly, like he could guarantee it.

Wish he could. I’d have to find an excuse to leave early and avoid making an ass of myself.

The guys joined us at the table.

My phone chimed.

Fallon:
U alive?

It had been closer to thirty minutes. Thankfully, I wasn’t hogtied in a trunk somewhere.

Me:
Yeah, thanks.

Ryder’s gaze burned into me as I’d typed a response. Maybe he thought it was rude to text when hanging out with other people. Which it kind of was, but everyone did it. He probably texted on dates. Ugh. Why did I care what he did on dates?

Fallon:
Tell your little boy toy I’m going to fuck his brains out.

Disgusted, I rolled my eyes.

Ryder slouched back in his chair and strummed his fingers on the table. “Ready?”

I slid my phone into my pocket and nodded. “How do I play?”

Noah twirled a quarter between two fingers. “You take this quarter and bounce it off the table. Your goal is to get it into the shot glass. You miss, you drink. You land it, you choose someone else to drink.”

He demonstrated. The quarter bounced from the table, tapped the edge of the shot glass then teetered out.

“Drink,” Cassidy ordered with a laugh. “My turn.” She missed, cursed and took a drink.

Ryder grabbed the quarter and, with a ridiculous amount of ease, dunked the coin into the shot glass. “Drink up, Cassidy.”

With a flirtatious grin, she took a swig then licked her lips slowly. If he was trying to get her drunk in order to get lucky, he was wasting his time. She looked ready to pounce into his lap.

I fished the quarter out of the cup. Noah had tossed it too hard. Cassidy had just flung it, but Ryder had held it flat and aimed about two inches in front of the glass. I mimicked what he’d done as best I could. It tapped against the front of the glass but didn’t make it in.

“Drink,” Noah said with a grin.

We went through another round with the same results except Ryder made Noah drink this time. On our third round, Ryder made eye contact with me prior to his toss. He lifted the quarter, demonstrating where he placed his fingers, and tossed it. It landed in with ease.

“Noah,” he said as he pulled out the quarter. He slid it toward me, a few inches in front of the glass. With his finger, he tapped the quarter and nodded.

I glanced at Noah as he walked to the fridge to fetch Cassidy and himself another beer. They hadn’t noticed what Ryder had done.

With the coin between two fingers, I aimed for the spot he’d pointed out. The quarter bounced, flipped twice, then landed perfectly in the shot glass.

“I did it!”

Ryder leaned back with an approving smile. “Pick someone to drink.”

“Oh, yeah. Um, Noah.”

As we played, Ryder continued to land them in and assign the drinking to Cassidy and Noah. I missed only a few of my shots. Occasionally the other two would get one in, but for the most part I was spared from drinking since they seemed to want to get back at Ryder. My beer had grown warm as Noah and Cassidy started on their fifth or sixth beer each.

I excused myself and went to the bathroom. When I stepped out, Ryder was there.

“Cassidy wants to play
I never.
I’m assuming you won’t have to drink much, but if I’m wrong, and I hope I’m not, just pretend to drink. At this point they won’t notice.”

He took off, leaving me completely baffled. When I sat, Cassidy laughed at something Ryder had said.

“You’re so funny. No one makes me laugh like you do.” She placed her hand over his while she totally stroked his ego.

Ryder pulled his hand free and took a swig of beer.

Unfazed, Cassidy looked at me. “You ready? This game always gets fun. If you want to know any deep, dark secrets, now’s your chance.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and grinned at Ryder.

His face remained expressionless. Other than the personal amusement I seemed to provide him, I had yet to see this humor she spoke of. He was so hot and cold. It made no sense. One minute he looked ready to kick someone’s ass, then the next he was looking at me like he knew a secret he didn’t plan on sharing. It drove me insane.

“Ready?” Noah clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

“Wait,” Cassidy shouted. She held up one finger. “Bathroom first.” She darted from the table and down the hall.

Noah turned to me. “You ever played?”

I shook my head.

“It’s pretty simple. When it’s your turn, you say ‘I’ve never,’ followed by something you haven’t done. If anyone at the table
has
done it, they drink. Like, if we were all playing, I’d say: ‘I’ve never kissed anyone in this room.’ Ryder and Cassidy would drink, but you and I wouldn’t.”

My face warmed and I stole a peek in Ryder’s direction.

He slouched back and raised an eyebrow. “You sure she wouldn’t need to drink too?”

Was he seriously going there? I turned to Noah, convinced he’d read through Ryder’s comment.

Noah narrowed his eyes slightly, as if to say quit being a jerk, and answered Ryder. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

“Well, just to clarify…” Ryder glanced at me and my heart raced, “…Cassidy wouldn’t need to drink either.”

“Oh, huh.” Noah shrugged. “Okay, bad example, but you get the point.”

“Yeah.” I nodded and stared at the table. I sensed Ryder watching me and was glad when Cassidy reappeared.

“I’ll go first,” Noah said, starting the game. “I’ve never cheated on my girlfriend.” He smiled at me, almost proud. Then looked at Cassidy and Ryder.

“Hey, I’ve never cheated on a girlfriend. Never had one.” Cassidy broke into a fit of laughter. Noah rolled his eyes then shot a glance at Ryder.

Ryder didn’t move.

“Really?” Noah asked. “You have to be truthful.”

I stared at Ryder. It wouldn’t surprise me that a guy like him would cheat, girls probably threw themselves at him, but it would disappoint me.

“Have no reason to lie.” When Noah didn’t stop staring, Ryder glared. “I don’t do
girlfriend.
” He made it sound like a dirty word.

I gaped at him and his gaze flicked toward me. The hard edge in his eyes softened a tad before he stared down at his beer can.

Noah scoffed, “Technicalities. Fine. Go, Cassidy.”

She dove right in. “I’ve never given road head.”

My mouth dropped and Cassidy giggled.

“Oops, guess I got myself on that one.” She grinned at Ryder and I clenched my jaw.

Why would she share that? Shit, she didn’t just share, she was proud…of a blowjob. Seriously? Was
this
the kind of girl Ryder found attractive? Classy.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” she asked me, looking genuinely confused.

“I have no reason to.”

Ryder held a small smirk, seemingly amused by my obvious irritation.

He went next and said, “I’ve never gone skinny-dipping.” Everyone drank but me.

“You’re shitting me,” Cassidy said, deadpan.

I shrugged. It was my turn and I was incredibly out of my league. I blurted the first thing to come to mind. “I’ve never gotten a tattoo.”

Ryder drank but no one else did.

My gaze dipped over his chest. Where were his tattoos? His eyebrow quirked up and I abruptly looked away.

Noah spoke directly to Ryder. “I’ve never had sex in a public restroom.”

Ryder grunted and took a drink. Public bathroom? It was gross, so why did the thought get me all sorts of flustered?

“Go, Cassidy,” he grumbled.

She tapped her fingers on the table. “There has to be something I can get Little Miss Perfect with here.”

Though her tone was playful, being called that annoyed me.

“How about, I’ve never…made out with someone drunk?” She made it sound like a question.