The girl stopped her tirade when she saw Jackson walking up. He could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. Jackson looked between the two of them, Drake shaking his head no and the girl taking a couple steps back. Dark, smoldering eyes met mine as Jackson talked to Drake. His gaze was so intense as he did a quick scan down my body, his eyes turning even darker as they lingered on my legs, which only served to piss off the blonde he had been arguing with moments before even more. She stomped off in a huff, leaving Drake and Jackson standing at the door.
They talked for a few more minutes while I waited. I couldn’t hear what was being said as they spoke in hushed tones. Drake turned so he was facing me while they talked. He kept glancing my way as though he was having a hard time concentrating on his conversation with Jackson. He had a strong face with high cheekbones and full lips that made me think of kissing. Every once in a while, a dimple peeped out on the left side of his face, making him even more adorable.
He looked back at me again and smiled a sexy grin with one side of his mouth tilted up. Jackson shook his head, and Drake’s body language changed completely. He wasn’t the relaxed frat brother chatting with a friend anymore, but a man who looked like he was ready to strike out in anger. His fists clenched at his sides, and the cords of his neck stood out. Jackson reached out to him, but Drake took a step back and glared at me.
When Jackson came back over, he didn’t offer to introduce us. I figured that meant he didn’t trust Drake around me. With the death stare Drake was aiming my way, I didn’t want him near me anyway. Then again, Jackson didn’t really trust anyone around me since he seemed to think I wasn’t capable of handling guys after the debacle with my ex-boyfriend in high school. As grateful as I was for him stepping in and ending the problem with Brad, I really wished he would get over the idea that I wasn’t ready to date again. Sometimes it seemed like he felt so bad about introducing me to Brad that he would never be ready to see me with someone in my life again.
“Ready to hang out? Or do you want to join Aubrey?” Jackson asked.
“Ha, ha! Like that’s even a question you need to ask me. You know I’d rather escape upstairs to hang out and get away from the madness of the party for a while without having Aubrey jump all over me for never going out. But don’t you need to stay down here longer since it’s your fraternity party?”
“Nope, the party’s covered. My bros have everything under control. They knew I would bail early tonight,” Jackson replied.
“And how many girls are going to want to kill me when they realize you left the party early because of me?” I asked, only half joking. I hadn’t been on campus that much over the last two years other than to be at class or in the library, but the time I had spent hanging out with Jackson and Aubrey had shown me that most girls who were into Jackson liked hating me for my relationship with him. Nobody seemed to understand that we were like brother and sister, sometimes even more so than he and Aubrey appeared to be.
“If anyone has a problem with you, come to me. Nobody here has any say over what I do with my time—certainly not any of the chicks,” Jackson said as we walked up the stairs after waving to Aubrey from across the room. “The only thing you need to worry about tonight is what movie you want to watch with me. I grabbed a few of your favorite action flicks. You can pick one and show me why you and your dad watch these so often.”
chapter 3
“Ugh, my head,” I heard Aubrey moan from under the covers. Jackson and I had hauled her home around three o’clock in the morning. “Why did you let me drink so much last night? I don’t think I am going to be able to make it out of our room all day today.”
“Let you? When have I ever let you do anything? You were on a roll last night. There was no stopping you and Mr. Hot Pants from chugging away. Not sure he’s going to be the best boyfriend material for you if he’s trying to get you drunk all the time.”
“Why do you think every guy I hang out with has to be boyfriend material? Can’t I just have a little fun every once in a while without getting too serious?” Aubrey snapped back at me.
“Well—” I started to reply before she quickly interrupted me.
“Okay, I know, I know. Odds are he’ll end up being my next boyfriend. I get it. I date a lot. Nothing wrong with that. This is the age where we are supposed to date around, experiment a little. Besides, one of us has to do the boyfriend thing. When are you going to stop using my brother as a shield from every opportunity for you to meet guys? Don’t think I didn’t notice that you two escaped the party for hours last night to hang out.”