Chapter 5

Bradley stood in his bedroom doorway and stared at the strangers occupying his living room. Well, not all of them were strangers. He knew Garrett and Jeremy, obviously. And the girl sitting on the floor looked vaguely familiar—and then realization slapped him in the face. That was the girl from last night, Carissa’s friend. What the hell was her name?

If she was here, did that mean Carissa was here as well? His gaze darted around the room and landed on Danny, who stood in the kitchen with his arms around someone. No, not just someone. Carissa. Without realizing what he was doing, Bradley curled his hands into fists by his sides.

Carissa’s gaze connected with his, and she looked more terrified than a deer caught in the crosshairs. He narrowed his eyes, and she dropped her head to rest on Danny’s shoulder. Of course she had a boyfriend. He should’ve known. How someone like Danny landed an amazing girl like Carissa was beyond him, but then again, the universe had a twisted sense of humor, and Bradley was the punch line.

“Either I’m not invited to this little party, or my invitation got lost in the mail,” he said, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

Garrett laughed. “Sorry, man. This is my lifelong friend, Cory.” He pointed to the guy sitting in the armchair. “That over there is his sister and my friend, Carissa.” He motioned toward the kitchen. “And Danny’s girlfriend, if you couldn’t tell.” He laughed again. “And this is my other friend, Tiffany. Guys, this is my roommate, Bradley.”

Tiffany stared at him, a look of recognition crossing her face. “Uh, hi. Nice to meet you,” she said. Her attention darted toward Carissa, then back to Bradley.

So, that’s how they were going to play this—like they hadn’t met last night? Alright, he could do that, too. He nodded at Tiffany and Cory. “Hey.”

“There’s pizza in the kitchen,” Jeremy said.

Bradley wandered into the kitchen and peeked inside the pizza boxes. He intentionally didn’t acknowledge Carissa, but he felt her eyes on him. What was he supposed to make of that?

Turning, he leaned against the island counter and once again crossed his arms over his chest. He glanced over his shoulder at Cory, then back at Carissa. “You know, if you put long hair on him,” he hooked his thumb at Cory, “you two would look identical.”

“Are you saying I look like a guy with long hair?” Carissa asked, her tone biting. She stepped out from in front of Danny and faced Bradley.

Bradley laughed. He’d wanted to get a rise out of her, and he’d succeeded.

“They’re twins,” Danny offered, standing next to Carissa and wrapping his arm around her waist.

She remained stiff, though, not leaning into his embrace. Nothing at all like the eager, pliant girl she’d been with him last night.

“Well, that explains it, I guess.” Bradley shrugged.

A cell phone rang, and Danny yanked his cell from his pocket. He frowned. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed Carissa’s cheek, then disappeared upstairs.

She narrowed her eyes, her gaze following him. Her expression was full of suspicion. Was there trouble in paradise? A guy could certainly hope. Another glance over his shoulder proved that everyone else was engaged in conversations, oblivious to him and Carissa.

He shoved away from the island and sauntered toward her. She didn’t so much as flinch. He squeezed by her so he could get to the cupboard with the glasses, his chest brushing against her arm. Her sharp intake of breath was the only clue he had that the chemistry they’d had last night wasn’t all in his head.

“I think you forgot to tell me something,” he said so only she could hear him.

Carissa moved out of his way, and her back hit the edge of the sink. She stopped and met his gaze. The fire in her eyes set his insides ablaze. The way her irises shifted from brown to green was downright mesmerizing. And sexy as hell.

“I didn’t think it mattered,” she said, keeping her voice low, too.

He arched a brow in disbelief. “Didn’t matter?”

She shrugged. “It was a silly sorority thing. Nothing more.” But the heat in her tone belied her words.

“Right.” He nodded. “That’s why, and I quote, ‘the pleasure was mutual,’ right?”

Carissa rolled her eyes, her attention bouncing from him to her friends in the living room. When she turned back to face him, her eyes were sad, and her expression bordered on fearful. “Please don’t say anything,” she pleaded.

He shifted on his feet, propped one hand on the counter and the other on his hip. “Seems like information your boyfriend would want to know.”

She mimicked his stance. “Please, Bradley.” Her frantic gaze shifted to the stairs and back to him. “Last night was fun, but it didn’t mean anything.”

Bradley narrowed his eyes and studied her. Didn’t mean anything? He was ready to call bullshit, but before he could, Danny reappeared.

Carissa straightened and moved away from Bradley. “Everything okay?” she asked Danny.

He nodded. “Yeah, just some family stuff.” He draped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

Just like before, she didn’t lean into him or return his affection. Talk about an odd relationship. As badly as he wanted Carissa for himself, he wasn’t the type of guy to break up a relationship.

“So, what’s everyone doing tonight?” Bradley asked, turning his focus to the group of people in the living room.

“Movie night,” Jeremy said. “If anyone can agree on what type of movie to watch.” He laughed.

“I’ve heard that new horror movie, 'Slash and Burn,' is pretty good,” Bradley said.

Collective groans rippled through the house. “Please don’t tell me you’re a scary movie junkie, too,” Cory grumbled.

Carissa laughed. “Good to know I’m not the only one in this house with good taste in movies.” As she walked by him into the living room, she caught his gaze and gave him the same flirty smile he’d seen from her last night.

It didn’t mean anything, my ass. He smiled back, and her cheeks flushed. She clearly liked kissing him, but why not tell him she had a boyfriend? Better yet, why was she kissing other guys while in a relationship?

“I’m cool with scary movies,” Jeremy said. “So, that’s three in favor. Anyone else?”

“I’ll watch whatever Carissa wants.” Danny walked to the couch where Carissa was sitting, pulled her to her feet, then took her spot. A second later, he tugged her down to sit on his lap.

“Okay, four in favor.” Jeremy looked expectantly at the rest of the group. “What’s everyone else want to watch?”

“I’ll make the majority vote.” Tiffany stood and stretched. “Scary movie it is.”

Cory muttered something unintelligible, and Garrett laughed in response. “Don’t worry, man. I promise not to let anything happen to you,” Garrett said.

Cory punched Garrett’s arm. “Don’t be a dick.”

“Don’t be such a scared cat,” Carissa said. “Want us to keep a light on for you?”

Cory peeled a slice of pepperoni from his pizza and flung it at Carissa. She squealed and jumped off Danny’s lap. The pepperoni landed on the floor, and she laughed.

“You always did suck at sports.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

He lunged for her, and she raced into the kitchen, giggling. Bradley watched the siblings with amusement. The two of them reminded him of him and his older brother. They were constantly poking fun at each other. That was the only regret he had about leaving Texas—not being able to see his brother as often.

“We should make this more fun.” Jeremy stood and stretched his arms above his head. “Every time someone does something stupid in the movie, we drink.”

“We don’t have any alcohol,” Garrett said.

“I’ll make a quick beer run.” Jeremy shrugged, grabbed his empty plate, and tossed it into the trash.

“Mind if I tag along?” Danny asked.

“Sure,” Jeremy said.

Carissa turned to Danny. “Why do you need to go?” She sounded almost panicked.

Danny positioned his mouth near her ear and whispered something Bradley couldn’t hear. Carissa’s face reddened, and she nodded as if in a trance. What could Danny have possibly said to garner that reaction from her?

Tiffany got to her feet. “Carissa and I will make popcorn and get the snacks ready.” She looped her arm through Carissa’s and all but dragged her away from the group.

“I’ll find the movie,” Garrett offered.

“I’m going to put a shirt on.” Bradley didn’t care that he was shirtless, but he figured putting on a few more clothes was the polite thing to do.

“And I’ll just sit here and look pretty,” Cory said.

“Good luck with that,” Carissa called from the kitchen.

Bradley laughed as he walked into his room. He closed the door, mostly so he could have a few moments alone to collect himself. What were the chances that the girl he couldn’t stop thinking about just happened to be his roommate’s girlfriend? Or that she just happened to find him of all people and kiss him? He wasn’t a huge believer in coincidences, especially not that many.

He rummaged around in his dresser for a T-shirt. Yanking the cotton material over his head, he shoved his arms into the sleeves. How could she have kissed him with so much passion, so much heat, and claim it meant nothing? No one could fake that kind of emotion.

Dropping his basketball shorts to his ankles, he kicked them off, then slipped into a pair of gray sweatpants. He sank down onto his bed and jerked socks onto his feet. The more he thought about the instant connection they’d had, the angrier and more annoyed he became. He refused to be “the other man,” but he also refused to walk away from Carissa.

After things went south with his ex, he hadn’t been looking for a new relationship. Hell, he’d been actively avoiding getting involved with anyone, but then Carissa barreled into his life, and now… He blew out a breath and combed his fingers through his hair. Before he made any decisions about anything, he needed more information. And tonight, one way or another, he’d get some answers from her.