Page 28 of Off Limits

I roll my eyes, knowing she would have. “What time?”

She claps her hands and bounces on my bed, giddy. “Eight.”

“Why so late? You’ll be tired by ten.”

“I can make it until midnight, at least.”

“New Year's Eve begs to differ.” Not that I’m complaining; that was the best night of my life.

“Yeah, but that wasn’tfun. This will be.”

“Okay, I guess I’ll be there at eight.” Thankfully, she’s hosting. One year, she tried to convince me to throw a party atmyhouse. That was a big fatno.

“Let’s get your outfit picked out now.”

“My outfit? Can’t I just wear what I’m wearing?” A quick glance down reminds me I’m wearing my ratty jeans and a holey sweater. Maybe not.

She gives me a once-over, making me shrink a bit. “You’re joking, right?”

“Just pick something,” I grumble as I wave her toward my closet, turning my attention back to my books.

We’re supposed to be studying for a test we have coming up in our English class. She’s set most of her schedule around Brendan this semester. It works for me. I’ve been able to meet a few new people and still see Eve every so often.

The alone time is the worst. It’s when I miss Lochlyn the most. I loaded my schedule with five courses, filling the rest of my days with studying or at the store with Mom. My long days of classes are the opposite of Brendan’s, which means on my less busy days, Chelsea and I get to hang out. But I still get far too much time to myself to miss Lochlyn. Especially at night as I climb into bed.

Some nights I’m kept up with worry. Am I over the top with my longing for him? Is his absence affecting me too much? Having never been in a relationship, I can’t say for certain. But all I know is that my body and my heart miss his terribly.

“Here.” An outfit lands with a thud a few inches from me. A pair of dark wash skinny jeans and a fitted teal sweater.

I glance up at her. “What about the shirt for under the sweater?” It has a relatively deep V for the neckline.

“You won’t be wearing one.”

“Why?”

“To attract any single guys.”

“Are you inviting any single guys?” Not that it matters. I don’t want anybody else.

“Brendan was going to bring a few friends.”

“And you think a low-cut shirt is the way to go? That’s the first impression I should make?” Clearly, our clothing choices are incredibly different. I wouldn’t say she dresses provocatively. Lochlyn would lose his mind and throw all her clothes away, but I definitely dress more modestly than she does.

“It’salwaysthe first impression you should make. You’re hot, Shay. Embrace it.”

There’s no point in arguing with her. I’ll just grab a cami to throw on underneath when I change.

Plopping herself back on the bed, she picks up her phone. A quick scroll through must give her nothing of interest and she throws it back down, reaching for mine.

“Hey!” I lunge at her.

Her brow knits together. “Wow, since when can I not see your phone?”

“Just ask first.” I have to check to make sure I don’t have any new messages from Lochlyn. Knowing she’d be looking at my phone regularly, I wasn’t sure what to put as his contact. Currently, he’s in there as a musical note since we’ve always bonded over music.

A brief glance tells me there’s nothing from him. “Here.” Defeat steals the air from my lungs as I hand the phone over.

“Alright, spill. You met a guy, didn’t you?”

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