Page 27 of His Daring Girl

That’s hard to believe. The guy couldn’t hurt a fly. It’s hard for me to believe he did anything wrong.

“What the fuck could you have done? You’re a saint.”

He drops his head back on his pillow, staring up at our dirty ceiling, which is covered in glow-in-the-dark stars from whatever frat brothers had this room before us. “I practically begged Sienna to fuck me, then I turned around and told her to fuck off.”

“You slept with her?” I sit up, turning to face him. He is talking about the bitch from his school, right? The one he dreaded having to go on a double date with.

“No. I just put the moves on her. Then when she offered to go further, I told her it was never going to happen because she was a bitch in high school.”

“Dude. What the hell?” I shake my head. That’s a player’s move right there. “Is Hunter rubbing off on you?”

“And the fucked-up thing is, Chase…” He turns his head, looking like his guilt is hitting him harder than mine. “In spite of how she behaved back in high school, I still like her.”

Well, shit. I didn’t see that coming.

“Okay, well, damn. Way to steal the show. You were more of a dick than me tonight. But you know what, Matt? People change. My Ruby was the shyest girl I’d ever met but look at her now.” I smile at the thought of my girl who’s no longer shy about anything. “She’s come out of her shell and can dirty talk me into a fucking frenzy.”

“Dude! Too much!” He waves his hand, shaking his head. I chuckle at his prudish ways. All the guys back home used to live for the juicy details. But Matt’s virginal ears can’t handle them.

“But I’m serious, man.” My voice grows serious. “Now that she’s out of that place, she could be different.”

“Doesn’t matter if she is.” He looks back up at the ceiling. “Hunter still had her first, and she rejected his ass. There’s no way he’d be okay with me dating her.”

That sounds like a sorry excuse. I’m not sure what Matt sees in the girl, but if he really wants her, he should go after her.

“Are you really going to let Hunter stand in your way of love?”

His head turns to face me again. “Are you?”

He’s right. I let Hunter back me up against the fucking wall, and then I went behind my girl’s back. I’m the last one who should be giving him advice.

“Touché, dipshit,” I state, looking up at the ceiling. But never again. Hunter can go fuck himself.

CHAPTER 20

Ruby

College Lesson #3: Stop reading into things when everything is okay.

“Hey, baby,” Chase says, but the smile still isn’t hitting his eyes. He’s been off lately, almost distant. And it’s making me sick to my stomach. I don’t understand what’s going on with him. When I ask if everything’s okay, he always says yes, but I can tell something’s wrong.

“How was your day?” I ask, taking a seat on my bed.

“It was fine.” He shrugs. “Nothing to report.”

And that’s another thing. He used to tell me every detail of his day, making me feel like I didn’t miss a moment of his life. He’d tell me funny stories about the guys in his frat house, filling me in on Hunter and all his jerky rules and the stupid things hesays, but now, he barely talks. The conversation has become very one-sided.

“How was your day?”

See? This is exactly what I’m talking about.

“It was fine. Nothing to report.” I don’t even feel like talking right now. His mood shift has me worried.

“Really? That’s all you’re going to give me? No updates on Charity or your tutoring?”

“You’re not talking, so why should I?”

He breathes out a low sigh. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just getting really hard not being with you.”

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