“Do you want a beer?” she called out.
“No thanks, I’m fine.”
“That’s right, I forgot you don’t like beer. How about something else? I’ve got vodka, tequila… I think I’ve got some whiskey around here somewhere,” she said, rummaging through her cabinets.
Jesus, was she trying to get me drunk? “No thank you, I’m fine,” I said again, not bothering to mask the annoyance in my voice.
She came out into the living room, holding a glass of vodka. “Are you sure?”
I nodded.
She set her glass on the coffee table and plopped down next to me, a bit too close for my comfort. Turning so her breasts brushed against my arm, she grazed her fingers over the ends of my hair. “I like your hair longer like this,” she murmured.
I tensed. “Cassandra…”
She started tracing lazy circles along my thigh. “Hmm?”
I carefully extricated myself from her and stood. “I thought we talked about this.”
Her face instantly soured. “No, you talked, and all you said was that you didn’t think it’d be a good idea.”
She stood up and walked over to me. I backed up until I was against the wall. Leaning into me, her hands wandered under my shirt, rubbing my stomach and chest as she kissed my neck. “It doesn’t have to change anything,” she whispered.
“Cassandra, stop.” I wrapped my hands around her arms and gently pushed her away from me.
She looked up at me, confused. “I thought you were afraid I’d try to force you into a mating. I’m telling you I won’t. This can just be about sex, okay?”
I stepped several feet away. “It’s not about that, Cass. I’m just not–” I paused and stepped back a few more feet, just to be safe. Cass had a tendency to start swinging when she got mad. “I’m just not into you like that.” She was like a carbon copy of Matt–same green eyes, same shade of brown hair, only a little shorter and less bulky. Sleeping with her would be like sleeping with Matt. So thank you, but hell fucking no.
She looked at me like I was trying to explain quantum physics in a foreign language. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t get me wrong, we’re friends, but…that’s all we’ll ever be.”
“You don’t want me?” Her eyes grew wide as understanding finally crossed her face. “Oh… I am such an idiot.”
I stepped closer and put my hand on her shoulder. “No, you’re not.” Thank God she finally got it. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. “I should’ve been honest with you from the beginning. I’m sorry.”
She smiled ruefully and shook her head. “It all makes sense now… You’re gay.”
“Yeah, well–” My eyes bulged as I froze. “What?”
“It’s okay, Thomas. I get it now.”
“I– I’m not gay, I just like someone else.”
Wait–I do?
It hit me then with absolute clarity. All the dreams, the obsessing–I liked Emily. It took me this long to figure it out because I’d never really liked a girl before. Well, not like this, anyway.
Cassandra’s big green eyes narrowed on me. “Who?”
“You don’t know her,” I mumbled, realizing this wasn’t helping my case.
She put her hand on my arm again. “Thomas, it’s okay–”
“I should go.” I shrugged out of her touch and left the living room, heading in the direction of the foyer.
She trailed after me through her house. “Really, Thomas, it’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” I flung the front door open and dug my keys out of my pocket, walking briskly to my car.
It’s really, really not.
Chapter Fourteen
Friday, August 28th
That morning, I came out of my house to find Matt leaning against my car. I frowned and cut across the yard. “What do you want?”
“I’m catching a ride to school with you.”
I froze beside my car, the driver’s door half-open.
He smirked. “Aren’t you gonna let me in?” he asked, tapping on the window.
Alarms started ringing inside my head. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re looking at the newest undergraduate of Potomac Ridge University.”
I glared at him across the roof of my car. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, I most certainly did.” He tapped his finger on his chin, looking thoughtful. “As did Mel, although I’m not a hundred percent–”
“What the fuck?” I slammed my door shut. “Why?”
He sobered. “Mel’s adamant about keeping you in her life. Whether you like it or not.”