Page 29 of Get Even

Wow. He’d really pulled out the F word. I smiled tightly at her and she beamed back, immediately coming over and pressing a kiss to my cheek and I stood there, confused and a little surprised. Maybe slightly aroused too, which was annoying because I couldn’t even blame Ryan for liking her. Bryn was gorgeous in a very put-together way.Liv would like her,I mused.

“Nice to meet you,” she said, stepping back and kissing Ryan on the cheek too. “Thanks for meeting me, Ry. I’m going to go in and find Kit.”

Ry nodded and she headed inside. Nick cleared his throat awkwardly and turned to me, “Um, yeah so I’ve really got to get going.” He nodded at Ryan and then practically ran away. I narrowed my eyes at Nick’s retreating figure. Coward.

“Yeah I should probably let you get back to Bryn,” I said into the silence as I brushed past Ryan, gasping when one large hand closed around my bicep and tugged me to a stop. He peered into my face, brows furrowed before smoothing as he grinned.

“Benjamin Silver, are youjealous?”

I spluttered, “Jealous? I–No, why would I be jealous? I’m just Jamie, yourfriend.” I wasn’t jealous. Not really. I was just… annoyed that he’d been on at me about this date he wanted me to go on, when really he was already pursuing something else. Or maybe he was never that interested and Bryn was just his latest fixation.

Ryan laughed and the deep sound made me blush, “Youarejealous.” Then he laughed some more until I tugged on my arm furiously, trying to leave, and he cut himself off abruptly. “Bryn is Kit’s sister.”

“Cool, keeping it in the family, huh? Sweet.” Fucking Kit, he hadn’t thought to mention this oh, ten minutes ago?

“Kit’svery gaysister,” Ryan grinned. “She’s more inclined to date you than me.”

I blinked, ceasing any attempt to pull my arm free. “Then why were you meeting her?”

“I was just walking her here to meet Kit, there’s someone on her course bothering her or something so I agreed to meet her after her lecture and walk her here.”

Oh. So not only was he not interested in Bryn, he was a fucking saint now too?

“Oh,” was all I said and he smirked.

“Yeah,” he replied and dropped my arm. I immediately missed his warmth and shivered a little as my eyes dropped to his mouth. “It’s good to know you care, though,” Ryan said and immediately ruined the moment.

I bristled, “I never said I didn’t care.”

“You also never said you did,” he pointed out and my mouth dropped open.

“Oh my god, what are you? Four?”

“That might have been better for you – more familiar if Aaron is anything to go by – you might even have been able to walk properly the next day.” Ry fought off a smile, finally giving in at the look of horror I was likely wearing. Iwasn’tlimping. Sure, he had a big dick. Yay for him, but did he think I couldn’t handle it? Was this his idea of flirting? If so, it was only working about ten percent. Maybe fifteen.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that,” I smiled sweetly as I tried not to grind my teeth and instead changed the subject. “My department is hosting a mixer on Friday that I was conveniently left off of the invite chain for. I need a date.” Nick was right, Davis wasn’t going to go gently and I needed all the help I could get if I wanted to stay on the course – which I did. There wasn’t anything more important to me.

“Are you asking or demanding?” Ryan raised an eyebrow imperiously but the heat in his eyes said he wouldn’t mind if I were being a little bossy.

“Both,” I smirked. “Will you come or not?”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he grinned and I shook my head as I turned away to head home.

“So fucking cheesy,” I muttered and he laughed.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

SO HIGH - DOJA CAT X HIGH ENOUGH K.FLAY

One of thethings I loved the most about music was the ability to take a song and make it new. The way everyone could hear something slightly different in the sounds or interpret the lyrics in a different way.

It was one of the reasons I’d started doing open mic nights. At first I’d just watched, cheering on the people brave enough to get on the stage. Then, after much prodding from Taylor of all people, I’d decided to do it myself. What did I have to lose really? I mean, there was always the chance of getting booed off the stage, but that hadn’t happened to me yet and I was a regular atThe Boxon open mic night. Sometimes I brought my guitar to accompany me, sometimes one of the guys who ran the evening would accompany me on piano, I’d used backing tracks in the past but I hated how tinny they sounded – plus, if I was doing an original arrangement then it made it hard to use a recorded track I hadn’t made myself.

Liv had insisted on coming with me tonight, she’d said she’d never been to an open mic before and plus, she’d said, “I can’t really imagine what your singing voice is like, so no way am I missing this.” To be honest, I wasn’t sure why I’d kept my love for singing from her. It wasn’t a secret, really, but it did feel like I was letting someone see into the heart of me – everything from the song I chose to the way I sang it… it was vulnerable. Oddly enough, it felt easier to be that way in a room full of strangers than with people I actually knew and liked.

In the end I’d just rolled my eyes at her and invited her along. It was sweet that she wanted to come, but she could easily just keep an ear out when I was in the shower. My best performances were done on high heat with my shampoo bottle mic.

Kat was working tonight which wasn’t unusual, they often got her to fill in on a Wednesday as it was one of their more popular nights and I knew she needed the extra cash. Kat’s living situation was the only thing shedidn’tlike to gossip about and I knew better than to ask after the first time she’d bit my head off. Stubborn and proud, if I so much as covered the bill for her at dinner she glared.

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