Just a Little Crush(19)

“Last night. He’d helped me with some homework and I said we could do dinner as friends.”

“Why the hell didn’t I hear about any of this?” Mason’s eyebrows slanted over his eyes as he studied me.

“I wasn’t hiding it. I just, I dunno, didn’t mention it.” I shrugged as he stood and walked over to his desk. He leaned against it as I finished. “Well, I went to his suite to meet him and found Ryder. He told me he lived there—we ended up all hanging out.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.” Mason tapped his fingers along the edge of the desk. “Do you like him?”

My face burned. No way could I talk about Ryder with Mason in that way.

“Seriously? You do.” He shook his head. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in Noah.”

“Wait. Noah? No, I’m not interested in him.”

Mason pushed his sleeves up and crossed his arms. “I don’t understand. Then what ar—” His eyes widened. “Ryder. No fucking way. Please tell me you do not like him.”

I remained quiet.

“Brinley?” He stared into my eyes. “Please tell me you don’t like Ryder.”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. Which was the truth. I was definitely attracted to him, but liking him seemed premature. Of course, did a part of me want to get know him a whole lot better? Absolutely.

With a slow blink, Mason turned away and stared out his dorm window. “He’s going to fuck you over. You know he will.”

“You don’t know that.” It was a defensive knee-jerk reaction to contradict him because, honestly, even I couldn’t be sure of it.

He laughed humorlessly. “Really? Since when did Ryder become anything more than an asshole? For three years, he saw you every day at school, and how many times did he actually try to apologize for being a jerk to you at that party? You were basically invisible to him. Granted, it was probably hard for him to see past his gigantic ego, so you know, maybe I should cut him some slack.”

His words oozed sarcasm, and the chastising way he looked at me made me feel like an idiot. I chewed on the inside of my cheek, hating that he was right.

“Come on, Brinley, up until the other night, the guy forgot you even existed.” He gestured toward my body, which had developed later than most girls’, but, as Mason liked to point out, had made up for lost time. “It’s convenient that now he notices you.”

I stood and crossed my arms. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing. So what if I have a little crush? It’s not like he’s interested in me. Just forget I said anything.”

“Not interested? Please. Not only are you beautiful, you’re so goddamn sweet and innocent…Dammit, Brinley, to a guy like Ryder, you’re a fucking wet dream come true.”

My mouth hung open. Sweet? Innocent? More like an idiot to think there could ever be more.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” Mason stared at the floor.

“I’ve got to go.”

“Brinley, wait.”

I glanced over my shoulder from the doorway.

Mason’s dark eyes bore into me. “Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you—I hope Ryder knows that.”

I slipped out and quietly shut the door behind me. Part of me was angry that he assumed the worst of Ryder and thought I couldn’t take care of myself. Especially since a part of me really wanted to believe that Ryder saw me as something more than a virginal conquest.

When I got back to my room, Fallon was sitting in bed working on her laptop.

“Well, you’re still upright, so I’m guessing you haven’t seen the boy yet.”

I laughed. After my conversation with Mason, Fallon’s craziness was welcome.

“No, but I did talk to Mason. I gave him my blessing. Now it’s up to you to persuade him to sleep with you.”

“Not worried.” She focused back on her computer. “So what do you have planned for this weekend?”

“Nothing.” Seeing as it was Valentine’s Day it would be nice to have plans, but considering the only interest had been from Noah, I’d rather pass.

“The Box is throwing a singles party. Want to check it out with me?”

In the six months we’d been roommates, Fallon had never invited me to hang with her. “Um, sure. You want me to bring Mason?”

She shrugged. “If you want, but there will be lots of single hot guys there, so don’t do it on account of me.”

Wow. No ulterior motive. “Oh, okay.”

“It’s going to be epic. These parties are always huge.” She closed her laptop. “Plus, I just got an email that I scored an interview for a summer internship. I think that warrants a celebration. And by celebration, I mean a night of hot guys and dancing.”