Page 44 of Trusting Tanner
“You should invite her to come along today. We can make it a group date.” Jason grinned.
“You’re starting to sound desperate, man.”
Shaking his head, Jason flipped him off and left. Tanner turned his attention back to the movie and yawned again. His heavy lids started to close when his phone suddenly blared “Sexy and I Know It.” He grabbed his cell. “Dude, you need to get a life and stop calling just to hear my voice,” he said. “It’s getting weird.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, pretty boy. I need to know where you’re staying when you visit,” Xander said.
“Who said I was even coming? I haven’t made up my mind yet.” He lowered the volume on the TV, waiting for Xander’s exaggerated reaction.
He laughed. “The fuck you haven’t. We had this talk already, remember? Your ass will be here. If you want to stay at the frat house with me, I need to know.”
“Nah. I’m going to stay at the hotel.” There was a full-service hotel with a fantastic view of the beach, and it’s where he preferred to stay whenever he visited Xander. Normally, he’d share the room with Ryder, but Tanner had other plans this time.
“What the fuck for? All the action will be at the house.”
“I know, but I might be bringing someone with me.” He’d been dead serious when he’d tossed the idea out to Jules last night.
“Who?” There was a brief pause. “Do not tell me you gave in to that psycho chick from the party. The one who doesn’t seem to understand the word no.”
Tanner flinched. “No. Why the fuck would you even bring her up?” She was nothing more than an unpleasant encounter he wanted to forget.
“Because I know how desperate you can get.”
“Blow me.” Tanner laughed. “And you have no room to talk, bro. You’ve got your own clingy psycho chick. How is Lora, by the way?”
“Dude, you’re an asshole.” There was pure humor in his tone. “So, who’re you planning to bring, then?”
“I doubt she’ll even want to go.” And if she did say no, he was seriously considering staying here, too. That would royally piss off Xander, though.
“Whatever. Just don’t bail on me, or I’ll have to come up there and kick your ass.”
“Do me a favor. Reach around and remove the stick from your ass crack. I’ll be there.” His stomach twisted at the possibility he’d be four days without seeing Jules.
Ending the call, Tanner slid his phone onto the coffee table and turned up the TV volume. He’d finally managed to doze off when his phone rang. Again. What the fuck! He reached for his cell, expecting to see Jason or Ryder’s name. His eyes snapped fully open, and his heart raced. It was a message from Jules.Hey. Want to hang out?
He sat up.Do you even need to ask? I’ll pick you up in 20 min.
Before he was able to get up from the couch, she’d replied.If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were waiting around for me to call.
He stood and headed to his room to get changed.Am I that obvious?He set his phone on his bed and stripped off his sweatpants and T-shirt. He then put on a clean pair of shorts and a polo shirt.
Juliana:Yes. But you’re cute, so I forgive you.She followed that with a winky face emoji.
She called him cute, and he grinned like an idiot.I’m on my way.Getting his wallet from the dresser, he slipped it into his back pocket then reached for his car keys. It took him less than ten minutes to reach her residence hall. During their marathon phone call last night, she’d finally told him what room she was in, and then proceeded to make him swear he wouldn’t judge her based on what her roommate might be doing at any given time. He’d promised, repeatedly, that nothing anyone else did would change his opinion of her.
He stood in front of her door, took a deep breath, then knocked. A moment later, the door opened. His eyes widened, and he took a step back. “Rebecca?” He looked up and down the hallway, checking the room numbers around him. He was at the right room, wasn’t he?
She smiled seductively. “Well, this is a surprise.” She patted his chest. “I knew you’d come around eventually.”
He took another step back, out of her reach. “Uh, does Jules live here?” God, please let him be at the wrong room, because if Jules’s roommate was the same girl who had been stalking him… He shook his head. This had to be some sick, twisted joke.
Rebecca narrowed her eyes. “You’re the guy she’s been seeing?” He almost smiled because, well, Juliana had been telling people about him, which was a good thing, right? But Rebecca’s maniacal laugh jerked him back to the present, fucked-up scenario. “Can’t say I’m surprised. You two are perfect for each other.” That sounded like anything but a compliment. And her snicker of derision solidified her insincerity.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He wanted to smack himself. Engaging with her never ended well.
“Wait. You two know each other?” Jules appeared behind Rebecca, her gaze landing on Tanner.
Shit. He’d worked so hard to gain an ounce of Juliana’s trust, and now he had to explain her roommate was the girl who couldn’t seem to leave him alone? There was no way this couldn’t go wrong for him. He cleared his throat. “You ready to go?” he asked Jules, ignoring Rebecca completely.
