“Miss Matthews, you look positively gorgeous,” he said to Talley, who was standing in the doorway with one hand balancing a box of pizza and the other clutched against her chest.
“Thanks,” she said with a nervous laugh. “And you are stunning, Joshua.”
His smile was the kind that stretched all the way across his face, rearranging his features to transform him into a whole new person. “I do try my hardest,” he said, sweeping past her and into the hall. “Good night, Jase Donovan. Sleep well. I may kill you in the morning.”
“See ya,” Jase said even though Joshua was already halfway down the hall. Once the door was completely closed he turned to Talley. “That guy gets weirder every single time I see him.”
“True, but then again, you only see him for five minutes every three days. As far as roommates go, it could be worse.”
Jase knew he didn’t have it bad in the roommate department, certainly not as bad as Talley’s she-woman-man-hater who left fingernail clippings all over the place and lectured anyone who would listen on how declining morals would be the downfall of America, but even Talley had to admit there was something off about Joshua. For one thing, the guy lived like a vampire. He only took evening classes, worked the midnight to eight shift sitting at the front desk in their dorm, and slept during the day while Jase was in class. Most of the time when the two of them were in the room at the same time, at least one of them was asleep. The rare moments they saw each other in the waking world, Jase felt like he had stepped into some bizarre comedy act. Joshua wasn’t so much flighty as distracted. He always seemed to be focusing on fifteen things at once, and none of those fifteen things were ever the conversation he was having at the moment. Jase figured it was either some sort of AD/HD or the result of abusing AD/HD medication.
“He has four iPads, Tal. Four. Who needs four iPads?”
Talley grabbed a towel off the floor and spread it across his bed, the only semi-clean space in the entire room. “Joshua?” she answered, sitting the pizza box on the towel.
“It’s just weird. And excessive. And he is, in many ways, excessively weird.”
“He’s not that bad.”
Jase flipped back the lid of the pizza box and grabbed a slice. “He’s a slob...”
“You do realize you’re worse than he is, right?”
“…And he likes Star Trek….”
“I like Star Trek.”
“…And he never goes anywhere or hangs out with friends. He sleeps, works, and goes to class. No social life whatsoever. Isn’t that the sign of a serial killer or something?”
Talley looked up from peeling the pepperonis off her slice of pizza. “He works a full time job and is taking twenty hours. He doesn’t have time to go anywhere or hang out with friends.”
“He’s got the weekends.”
“To study,” she said. “And how do you know he doesn’t party all weekend? He might be hitting every frat house in the Six Pack on Saturday nights when you’re not around.”
She had a point. Jase and Talley hadn’t spent a weekend in town since school began. Instead, every Friday after Talley’s last class they made the three hour drive to Nashville to see Charlie. While other college students tested their alcohol tolerance, Jase and Talley fastidiously watched monitors and checked progress reports. When their classmates were crashing in the bed of their latest one night stand, they took turns sleeping in the medieval torture device the hospital tried to pass off as a recliner.
Jase folded up his second slice of pizza and devoured half of it in one bite. “Quit trying to defend the weirdo, Tal,” he said around a mouthful of greasy goodness. When Talley didn’t immediately jump to Joshua’s aide, he glanced over at her for the first time since she’d entered the room. Not looking at Talley was a new habit of his, and when his eyes found her, he was reminded why. Just one glance in her direction and unwelcome images flashed in his head…
Talley’s back pressed against the wall, her too-blue eyes widening with pleasure as he covered her mouth with his.
Talley leaning over him close enough that her shoulder length black hair brushes his cheek as she licks her kiss-swollen lips.
Talley gasping out his name as he nibbles the shell of her ear.
Not that any of those things had ever or would ever happen. Jase felt like a molester for even thinking about it, but he just couldn’t stop the scenes from playing through his head over and over again, especially when she was standing in front of him in a shirt that matched her eyes and showed off a tempting glimpse of cleavage. Revealing clothing wasn’t the norm for her, nor was the make-up lining her eyes and drawing attention to her perfectly shaped lips.
“Why are you dressed up?” It came out sounding a little choked. Jase grabbed a can of soda and guzzled, hoping the fizzy goodness would dislodge the awkward lodged in his throat.
Talley was oblivious to his discomfort since she was completely and totally focused on the slice of pizza in her hand. “I’m not dressed up.”
“You’re wearing heels, Tal.”
“Lots of girls wear heels. You wear heels.”
Jase’s face flushed red even though it was an old joke between friends. Some humiliations refuse to die no matter how much time passes.
“You aren’t one of those heel-wearing girls, and you know it,” he said.
Talley pushed her hair behind her ear before telling the floor, “I have a date.”
“I’m sorry. A what?”
Clear blue eyes met his own. “A date. I’m going to get coffee at eight.”
“Coffee?”
“Coffee. A drink made from filtering water through crushed beans. Usually served warm. I like mine with milk and caramel syrup.”
“I know what coffee is,” Jase said through clenched teeth. “Who on earth is taking you out for coffee?”
“Really, Jase, what does—”
“Who?” It shouldn’t have mattered. She was, after all, eighteen years old and in no way his, but he had to know. He needed a name so that he could hunt the guy down and break all of his fingers should he attempt to touch her.
“Why do you care?”
“A name, Talley.”
“Walker,” she said. “Walker Helkamp.”
It took Jase a minute to realize why the name sounded familiar.