Page 72 of Obligation
Beth let out a joyous squeal. “Thank you, Brad! You’re the best brother ever.”
He couldn’t stop from smiling. “One of these days, you’re going to owe me. Big time.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She sighed. “I’ll email you all the details, along with a complete itinerary.”
“Okay.” No use arguing; he’d tried that in the past, and there was no winning against his sister. “Not to be rude, but is that all? I really have to get to class.”
“Oh, now you worry about being rude?” She laughed again.
“Seriously, Bethy? You’re going to lecture me about my manners?” His nerves were frayed, thanks to not having any contact with Carissa for days, but he needed to check himself and not take his frustrations out on his sister. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
“No. I’ll let Mom do that.” Her tone was smug. “By the way, you need to call her. She misses you.”
He sighed. “I will. Promise. Talk to you later.” He stood and grabbed his bag from the table.
“Have fun in class. Love you,” she said in a sing-song voice.
Shaking his head with amusement, he said, “Love you, too.” He ended the call, then slung his backpack over his shoulder.
Class had officially started ten minutes ago. Should he walk in late and cause a disruption? Or should he skip? He wasn’t sure he’d be able to concentrate on the lecture when his mind was elsewhere. He hesitated, unsure what to do. Finally deciding to ditch class, he turned to head back to where he parked his car. Then he froze.
“Someone looks confused,” Carissa said with a teasing grin. “You lost?”
The sight of her standing there knocked the breath from his lungs. Dressed in denim shorts, a large white belt, a baby pink and white tank top that left her tanned stomach exposed, and chunky white sandals, she was stunning. He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying and failing to find words.
She tilted her head. “Seriously, are you okay?’
He snapped out of his stupid daze. “Yeah. Sorry. How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to hear you profess your love to someone.” Her tone was snarky, but her words were coated with jealousy. “All this time, I assumed you were single. Clearly, you’re just as much of a liar as I am.”
“I was talking to my sister,” he said. Though he couldn’t deny he was thrilled that she was jealous, because that meant she cared.
“Oh.” Carissa shifted on her feet. “Sorry.”
He nodded at the stack of papers she had clutched to her chest. “What’re you doing?”
“Making copies for Mallory. Sorority stuff,” she said. “The house has a copier, but running mindless errands like this is all part of the pledging process.”
“Sounds fun.” He hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder.
“It’s better than marching through the quad chanting.” She laughed.
“Speaking of… what happened to that shirt?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?” she asked slowly, drawing out the word.
Bradley lifted his shoulder in a lazy shrug. “I’m willing to pay a hefty price for it. Y’know, as a souvenir of our first kiss.”
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, her smile widening. “You’re an idiot.”
“Am I?” He raised a brow.
Tingles shot up his spine, across his shoulders, and down his arms. Bantering with her like this was a major turn-on, and he’d missed this. The past three days felt like a lifetime.
“Yes,” she said around a laugh.
“So, where is it?” he asked.
