Page 27 of Trusting Tanner
“Fine. As long as I get one day each weekend where I can have the room to myself.”
“You can take Saturdays.” She waved her hand dismissively. “That’s when all the good parties are anyway, so I’ll be at them.”
“Good, okay. Thank you.” This was going better than she thought it would. “Could you please not make a mess on my side of the room? And if you’re going to use my stuff, ask first.”
“Fine, whatever,” Rebecca grumbled.
Jules nodded and stood. If Rebecca followed through with their new rules, living here would be bearable, and the fact she agreed so easily, Juliana was confident this was a turning point in the right direction.
“I’m heading out to meet Devon for dinner. Want to come along?”
“No, I’m going to go catch up with my friends you tossed out.” She grinned. “After I pick up all your stuff I touched.”
“Thank you.” Jules collected her wallet and cell phone from her backpack. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” She left and headed outside.
Devon was already there, waiting for her. He waved.
“You’re early for once,” she said.
“You’d better stick to med school because you suck as a comedian.” He laughed. “I figured we could go to the dining hall tonight. Unless you want to go off-campus.”
“No, the dining hall is fine.” She walked beside him. “So, I talked to my roommate, and we worked things out. Hopefully there won’t be any more problems.”
“Good. I’m glad…”
But she didn’t hear the rest of his sentence because movement from the corner of her eye drew her attention. She turned to see Tanner walking out of Glaster res hall. He was smiling and laughing, and there was a tall, curvy blonde with him. They looked happy together.Oh God!She’d told him to stop asking her out, that she wanted only his friendship, and now there he was, with another girl.
Juliana faltered. She swore her heart dropped out of her chest, shattered all over the sidewalk, and then she stepped on the jagged pieces, breaking them even more. A debilitating pain gripped her chest, like a rusty knife had been shoved into her rib cage. She couldn’t breathe, and the threat of tears burned her eyes.
“Seriously, what the hell? Did you hear anything I said?” Devon walked back to where she stood.
She hadn’t even realized she’d stopped walking.
“Jules? Are you okay?”
She couldn’t stop staring at Tanner and the blonde. They were walking away, together, much too closely. And then he put his hand on the small of her back. Juliana whimpered. Or maybe she gasped. She wasn’t entirely sure.
“Okay, stop it.” Devon took hold of her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Don’tdo that.”
“Do what?” Her voice was hoarse.
“You’re jumping to conclusions, and I’d bet my car you’ve already constructed a million different worst-case scenarios in your mind.”
He had her there.
“You have no idea what that was.” He nodded toward where Tanner and the girl had been.
Wrong. She did know. She’d pushed Tanner away, and he’d turned to someone else. What had she expected? For him to wait around for her? She almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought.
“Juliana. Listen to me.” His tone was firm, bordering on authoritative. “You have to talk to him. Tell him what you saw and give him a chance to explain before you assume he’s sleeping with someone.”
Hearing her greatest fear voiced aloud was a punch to the gut. She clutched her mid-section and nodded. But the possibility she was right was enough to keep her from doing as Devon insisted. Fear was a real bitch.
“What’s with you? This morning you told me not to get involved with him, and now you’re telling me to give him the benefit of the doubt? Which is it, Dev?” Her anger was misplaced, but she didn’t know what else to do or say.
“Don’t go putting words into my mouth. I never said you shouldn’t get involved with Tanner. I said you needed to be careful.” He loosened his hold on her shoulders. “Whether you want to admit it or not, I know you like him, and I don’t want you to give up before you ever give it a chance.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Fine. I’ll talk to him.”
