Chapter 4

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Tiffany asked and peered out the windshield.

“This is the address Danny gave me, and according to my GPS, this is it.” Carissa pulled her BMW into the driveway and parked behind Danny’s beat-up SUV. She shut off the engine and glanced up at the house.

For being off-campus housing, the place was surprisingly nice—brand new white siding with what appeared to be a freshly painted front porch. The house was divided in half with two matching doors on either side that led to two separate apartments. Danny’s text had said to use the door on the left.

“Okay, let’s go.” Tiffany opened the door and climbed out of the car.

Carissa yawned and followed behind her friend, though with a lot less energy and enthusiasm. Not that she wasn’t excited to see Danny—she was—but her grand plan to sleep in that morning was thwarted when Mallory had called at 6:00 a.m. to wake them up. They’d spent all morning on post-party clean-up duty. She must’ve spent a solid four hours picking up trash and collecting empty cans and bottles, all while reciting the Greek alphabet. Loudly.

Her throat was hoarse, and she was bone-weary exhausted. After calling Danny and begging him to understand, she’d taken a shower then a quick nap. She’d promised Danny she’d spend the night with him tonight to make up for not coming over last night, and for not spending the entire day with him.

She grabbed her overnight back from the back of her car and then made her way toward the door, where Tiffany was waiting for her with a look of impatience.

“You okay?”

Carissa yawned again and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “Yeah, I’m just tired. I can’t believe you’re not.”

Tiffany laughed. “If this is how wiped out you are after only one night, are you sure pledging TOP is a good idea? You know your father will freak if your grades drop.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Carissa scrunched up her face. “And yes, we’re pledging. Now go.” She gently shoved her friend toward the door.

Tiffany knocked, and a second later, Garrett greeted them with a goofy smile. “About time,” he said with his lighthearted, contagious laugh. He hugged Tiffany, then Carissa.

She hugged him back, chuckling softly. “Hey, Garrett.”

Garrett was her twin brother’s best friend, and Carissa’s ex-high school sweetheart. They’d dated for four years, and everyone—her included—was convinced they’d be together forever. But then she chose to take a gap year and travel, and Garrett couldn’t handle the idea of being so far apart. Carissa refused to give up what she wanted, so they’d ended things.

Then she’d met Danny and never really thought about getting back together with Garrett. At first, things had been awkward between her and Garrett, but they’d eventually managed to fall into an easy friendship.

“I invited Cory,” Garrett said as he turned and welcomed her and Tiffany inside.

Carissa groaned. “My brother’s coming?” This day couldn’t possibly get any worse.

“He’s already here.” Garrett tossed an apologetic smile over his shoulder, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed.

Carissa followed Garrett inside, and her eyes widened with instant amazement. “Wow, look at this place.” Her gaze roamed, taking everything in.

She’d entered into a spacious kitchen, complete with an island and pan rack hanging above it, and fully furnished with shiny, stainless steel appliances. A small, round table sat in front of a window. Opposite the kitchen was the living room, already full of plush furniture and a flat screen TV. Unpacked boxes were stacked in one corner. From her vantage point, she could easily see three doors—all currently closed, and around the corner from the kitchen was a small flight of stairs.

“Bathroom.” Garrett pointed to the door nearest the stairs. “Bedrooms.” He nodded at the other two closed doors. “Upstairs is a small office along with my room and Danny’s room.”

“Impressive,” Tiffany said as she wandered around inspecting the place. “I expected something a little more… dumpy.” She laughed.

“Gee, thanks.” Garrett laughed. He leaned against the kitchen island and crossed his arms. “So, how was your first pledge meeting last night?”

“Fun,” Tiffany said. “They threw us a party and everything.”

Garrett whistled. “Lucky you.” He turned his attention to Carissa. “You’re being quiet. What’s wrong?”

“I’m tired.” She yawned yet again. “Sorry. Where’s Danny?”

“He ran to the store with Cory. They should be back any minute.”

Carissa nodded and fought against another yawn. “Mind showing me his room so I can put my stuff in there?” She held up her bag.

“Sure. Follow me.” Garrett led her upstairs, stopped in front of the first room to his right, and opened the door.

Carissa moved around him and into Danny’s room. His bed was unmade, the sheets and blankets tangled in a heap in the center of the mattress. But that was the only indication anyone was living in this room. Everything else was still packed away in boxes that were scattered across the floor.

She dropped her bag just inside the door and stepped back out, bumping into Garrett as she did. He reached out to steady her, his blue eyes filled with concern. She knew that look, and she held up her hand before he could say anything else.

“Don’t,” she warned. “I’m fine. I promise.”

He released his hold on her and held up in hands in surrender. “Okay, I get it.”

That was the thing about Garrett—he got her. She didn’t have to say a lot for him to understand. He knew her expressions, her moods, when to push and when to back off. If only Danny knew her that well, maybe they wouldn’t be in such an unsteady place right now.

Downstairs, loud voices sounded, followed by a door swinging shut. “Sounds like they’re back,” Garrett said.

Carissa took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. Time to face Danny. A big part of her was truly excited to see him again, but she didn’t have the energy to argue with him, so she hoped he’d let everything go and just have a good time tonight.

The second she rounded the corner into the kitchen, Danny met her gaze. His deep, chocolate brown eyes warmed, and he rushed toward here. “There’s my girl.” He wrapped her in a tight hug, his face buried against her neck.

She wrapped her arms around him. His embrace was warm and comforting in a familiar way, but that uncontrollable tingling she’d felt last year, before everything went to hell, was missing. No overwhelming spark, no butterflies, no burning desire to find any excuse to be alone with him.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you, too,” she said and meant it.

Danny eased back and captured her mouth in a kiss that was both insistent and sweet. Kissing him felt normal, as easy as breathing, but was that a good thing? She didn’t find herself moving closer for more. There was no dizzying effect, no fighting to catch her breath, no unsatiable craving to keep going.

“C’mon, you two. No one wants to see that,” Cory said, garnering laughs from Garrett and Tiffany.

Carissa used her brother’s ill-timed joke to pull away. She flipped him off, and Cory laughed, the sound filling the large space. “I definitely haven’t missed you,” she said, aiming her jab at her brother.

“Whatever.” Cory winked, and Carissa rolled her eyes.

Sometimes, having a twin was the worst.

“Hope you’re hungry. We grabbed pizza and enough snacks to feed twelve armies.” Danny took her hand, lacing their fingers.

“I’m starving,” Carissa said and rubbed her empty stomach. She hadn’t eaten much today. “So, what’re the plans for tonight?”

Garrett shrugged. “Our roommate has a massive collection of party games. We can play some of those or just chill and watch movies.”

“Where are these mysterious roommates of yours?” Tiffany took the paper plate Garrett held out to her, flipped open a pizza box, and flopped two slices onto her plate.

“Still sleeping.” Danny handed Carissa a plate.

“It’s after five,” Carissa said.

Danny shrugged. “I don’t know, but who cares. If they sleep all day, they’ll be easy to live with.” He gave Garrett a high five.

Carissa shook her head, grabbed three slices of gooey cheese and pepperoni pizza, and wiped her fingertips on her jeans. She could hear her mother’s voice in her head, scolding her for not using a napkin.

“Aw, thanks, sis.” Cory snatched the plate from her grasp.

“Hey!” She reached for him, but he dodged her hand and moved into the living room.

He picked up a slice of pizza and took a large bite, taunting her as he did. “Mmm, so good,” he said around a mouthful of food. “You should really get yourself some.”

“You know I’m going to kill you in your sleep, right?” she said and took another paper plate from the stack on the end of the kitchen island.

“Promises, promises.” He sank down into a chair and set his plate on the coffee table that he then proceeded to drag across the floor until it was closer to him. “Hey, waitress.” He snapped his fingers. “Drink.”

Carissa narrowed her eyes, but she silently went to the fridge and found a can of soda. She turned and hurled it at her brother. Tiffany gasped while Danny and Garrett laughed, their reaction only encouraging her more.

Cory caught the can and cursed. He set the can on the coffee table and gave her an incredulous look.

“Go on. Open it,” she taunted. “I dare you.”

“No, don’t,” Garrett said, eyes wide. “I am not cleaning up that mess.”

“Yeah, me either,” Danny said.

“Good one, sis. Better watch your back,” Cory said, a devilish glint in his expression.

Bantering and harassing her brother was so normal, and for the first time since arriving, she relaxed. Maybe tonight would be like old times with all of them hanging out, laughing and teasing one another. She longed for those simpler times, back before she and Danny both made mistakes that forever altered their relationship.

“Do you have any good movies to watch, or are they all shoot ‘em up car chases?” Tiffany asked. She loathed action movies, which was a running joke in their group of friends, especially when their group consisted of more guys than girls.

“If we’re watching chick flicks, I’m outta here,” Cory said.

Carissa sat on the couch and set her plate on the coffee table. Danny sat beside her, Garrett on his other side. Tiffany settled cross-legged on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table.

“I vote for The Notebook,” Carissa said, shooting her brother a mocking grin.

“Of course you do.” Cory rolled his eyes.

“What about a comedy?” Garrett suggested.

Carissa took a bite of her pizza and tuned out of the conversation for a moment. She ate an entire slice in record time, then reached for her second. Her stomach no longer felt like it would eat itself, and her mood improved a little more.

“We could always watch a scary movie,” Carissa said. She popped the top on her soda and took a sip.

Garrett groaned. “What is your obsession with horror?”

“I don’t have an obsession,” she said, taking another drink and setting the can back down. “It’s fun to turn off all the lights and get scared.”

“I have no idea how we’re related,” Cory grumbled. He hated scary movies almost as much as Tiffany hated action flicks.

Needless to say, movie night was a rare occurrence because they could never agree on what to watch. They’d spend too much time arguing about it, one of them would get frustrated, and then they’d give up on the idea. Looked like tonight wouldn’t be any different. That was disappointing. Carissa had been looking forward to curling up next to Danny and not doing much of anything.

One of the bedroom doors opened, and Carissa glanced up. A guy dressed in blue plaid pajama pants and a white T-shirt stood in the doorway. His dark, curly hair was messy from sleep, and the hint of a five o’clock shadow covered his chin.

“I smell food,” he said.

Garrett laughed. “Pizza’s on the counter. Help yourself.”

The guy nodded and shuffled into the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there were extra people in his house. Or he simply didn’t care. Carissa glanced at Danny, but he was too focused on his food to notice.

Plate piled with what had to be half a pizza, the guy joined them in the living room. “Hey, I’m Jeremy,” he said with a wave.

“Shit. Sorry.” Garrett shook his head. “That’s Jeremy, one of our roommates. Jeremy, this is Cory, Carissa, and Tiffany.” He pointed to each of them in turn. “They’re good friends of mine.”

Danny draped his arm around Carissa’s shoulder. “And she’s my girlfriend.” His tone was friendly, but the way he laid claim to her like that grated on her nerves.

She bit her tongue so she wouldn’t say anything that could cause an argument, then stood and gathered her now empty plate. Tiffany held out her empty plate, and Carissa took it. She dumped both into the kitchen trash before washing her hands in the sink.

Maybe she could convince Danny to go up to his room so they could watch TV alone and talk. Though she wasn’t really positive what she wanted to talk about. She sure as hell wasn’t going to come clean about what she’d done last night.

The fleeting thought of that had her heart fluttering. She ran her fingers over her lips, the memory of Bradley’s mouth on hers so vivid in her mind. The perfect amount of pressure, the warmth of his breath, the way his tongue tangled with hers…

“You seem a little out of it tonight.” Danny came up behind her, slipped his arms around her stomach, and nuzzled her neck. “Everything okay?”

She was already sick of people asking her that question. “Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long few days.”

“Tell me about it.” Danny gently spun her so she was facing him. “If you’re not up for hanging with everyone, we can do something else.”

Based on the way his voice dropped and his eyes darkened, she knew his definition of “something else” meant sex. Granted, she hadn’t been intimate with him—or anyone else—in months, but she really wasn’t in the mood tonight.

“I’m pretty sure our friends would be upset if we ditched them,” she said and rested her arms on his shoulders, her hands clasped behind his neck.

“They’d get over it.” He leaned over and teased her lips with an almost kiss.

That used to drive her wild, but right now, it just annoyed her. What was wrong with her tonight? Maybe there was something more than mere tiredness weighing on her. She had no idea what, though, and her ability for self-reflection was non-existent right now.

“Ah, he is alive,” Jeremy said.

Carissa peered around Danny to see who Jeremy was talking to, and her gaze collided with Bradley’s. Her heart dropped to her feet, and her stomach wasn’t far behind. Oh, shit.