Page 23 of Trusting Tanner
“It’s a good thing you ditched the party tonight.” Mariah quickly caught Jules’s eye before her gaze darted back to Tanner. “Your stalker was there looking for you.”
Tanner dropped his head to his arms and groaned. A moment later, he lifted his head, and his expression could only be described as horrified and pissed off. “I really hope you’re shitting me right now.”
She laughed. “Wish I was.”
“Wait, what?” Jules angled her body toward him while also trying to keep the hem of her dress pulled down. Spencer was still staring, and she considered throwing something at him. “You have a stalker?”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “There was this girl… I’d seen her around at the house before—she’s a regular at the parties—but for some reason one night she chose to talk to me. She was nice enough, but she wasn’t picking up what I was putting down, if you know what I mean.”
“No.” Jules shook her head. “I don’t know what you mean.” Spencer and Kyle snickered, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
Tanner shot them a dirty look. “She wanted to hook up. I didn’t.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. He’d said no to a random hookup?
“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “She kept making passes at me, and I tried to let her down easy, but she either wasn’t getting it or she chose to ignore it, hoping she could get me to change my mind. Even after the party, she’d see me on campus and hang all over me, still trying to get me to hook up with her. She’s been borderline stalking me ever since.”
Her stomach rolled with unease. Hadn’t Zach given her the same line of bullshit when she’d started to question him about Callie?Oh, her? She’s my crazy ex who’s pissed because I dumped her. She’s nothing, babe, don’t worry about her.Bile rose in her throat, and the air was stifling.
“She’s bat-shit crazy,” Lucas said.
Mariah nodded in agreement. “She really is. I don’t know why you guys even let her in the house.”
Juliana concentrated on breathing, fighting to wrap her mind around this new information, praying she wasn’t blindly walking into another bad situation.
“You okay?” Tanner reached over and gently squeezed her knee. The unexpected touch made her jump, but he didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he flattened his palm above her knee in a comforting gesture. Warmth radiated from him and seeped into her, and strangely, it had the desired effect. Her body relaxed, and she eased back in the chair.
“We can go if you want,” he offered.
“No, it’s okay.” She smiled. She didn’t want to sit in her room, alone, and torture herself with what-ifs, wondering if Tanner was another Zach or not.
“You sure?”
She nodded.
Tanner got sucked into a discussion about sports with Lucas, Spencer, and Kyle. Brittany and Mariah filled the void with chatter about the awesome costumes people were wearing—including Jules’s and Tanner’s—and the decorations and music.
“I seriously love that costume, Jules,” Mariah said.
“Thanks.”
Every few minutes, Tanner would glance at her. Sometimes he’d wink. Other times he’d smile. And every time her insides would turn to mush and heat would creep up her neck and face. She found her gaze wandering to him more often than not, and based on the way Mariah kept grinning like she had some huge secret, Juliana’s actions weren’t going unnoticed.
…
“Tonight was a lot of fun,” Juliana said as they came to a stop in front of her residence hall. “Thank you for inviting me.”
“Thank you for wearing the dress.” He grinned.
“You’re welcome.” The swarm of butterflies from earlier reappeared in her belly, and she took a slow breath. She’d never been on a non-date with a guy she liked as much as she liked Tanner, and she had no idea what was supposed to happen now. A hearty handshake and a good night? A pat on the back and a see ya later?
“When you get lost in your thoughts, your brows furrow.” He tilted his head, studying her intently. “Not a lot, but an adorable little pull right here.” He ran his finger between her eyebrows and down her nose. “Want to tell me what you were thinking about?”
“No.”Absolutely not. No way in hell.
“Hmm.” He pursed his lips thoughtfully. “It’s really a shame this isn’t a date.”
Don’t ask.“Why?” Seriously, what was the point of having a rational inner voice if she was never going to listen to it?
