Page 68 of Broken Romeo

My fucking father. The King of Criticism.

The waitress set the tequila shot down in front of me and I stared at it. One shot wouldn’t hurt. I played a good game tonight, I deserved it, right? I tipped my head back and swallowed it down. It burned in all the best ways. Even though I hadn’t planned on drinking too much tonight, one… or two, wouldn’t hurt.

“Isn’t that your roommate, dude?” Sam asked Chris.

“Hell, yeah it is,” Chris said. “And he’s on a date.”

Addison snorted. “With her? Seriously? Never thought he’d be the type to slum it with a freshman.”

I glanced up to find Dave, Chris’s roommate walking into Magic Mushroom with his arm draped casually around Katherine.

My Katherine.

“Uh-oh,” Duncan groaned.

The temperature of the restaurant went up by at least five degrees, and even though I’d just showered, my shirt felt damp and sweaty.

The room went empty and nothing else existed except her. Not the crowds of people eating pizza, not the servers bustling around us, not even Dave, touching her arm. All I saw was her.

She was beautiful… but that wasn’t anything new. She’d been beautiful since the moment I laid eyes on her the first day of classes. But in a sea of undergrads, being beautiful wasn’t exactly unique.

No, there was something different about Kate… especially tonight. Her denim skirt was short, falling halfway down her muscled thighs.

I’d seen that skirt earlier. Hiked up around her waist in the panty photo she’d sent me.

My mouth went dry.

That fucking sexy black thong was put on for Dave?!

Heat seared my chest as I skimmed my gaze up over her low-cut tank top, revealing a swell of breasts that made my jeans tight and my mouth dry. My gaze followed the slope of her ribs and the curve of her waist, studying the form-fitting outfit way too closely as it hugged against her toned abs. It was a far cry from the t-shirt and jeans she usually wore.

Before I could object, Chris cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “Dave! Hey, Dave! Over here!”

I groaned as he waved them over.

She abruptly stopped in front of our table, her eyes landing first on me, then on Addison.

It’s not what you think, I wanted to say.

But what good would that do?

Dave high-fived Chris and Sam.

“What’s up, guys? Great game tonight, huh?” he said.

Seriously? She couldn’t possibly be on a date with Dave. The guy’s a total tool.

Then Dave added, “Oh, this is Kate.”

Just like that—oh, this is Kate—like she was an afterthought. Kate should never be an afterthought.

Across from me, Chris kicked out the two chairs beside him.

“Join us,” he said.

Duncan cleared his throat, stealing a quick look at me before he said, “I’m sure they want their own tab—”

He didn’t even finish his sentence before Dave was sliding into the chair beside Chris, holding out the seat next to him for Kate. The seat next to him… that was directly across from me.

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