Page 6 of The Downside of Love
She turns completely toward me, her tits thrust forward, swelling out of the V-neck of her sweater, her blonde hair dancing across her shoulders. The girl is hot, but Jesus Christ, I can’t seem to muster any interest.
“You seem like your mind is somewhere else, so am I boring you?”
My mindissomewhere else, but I’m not about to reveal that little piece of information. Pretty sure telling a girl you’re lusting after her friend is not the way to start a conversation. “Nah.” I shake my head and take a sip of my beer. “Just trying to get back into civilian life, that’s all. The Academy is tough, and you have to be in a different frame of mind to succeed.”
And that’s the honest truth, because even though I’m a first-year cadet, and I’m not routinely checked for demerits, I still need to set a good example and make sure I’m getting all my work doneandsucceeding at it. You can’t drop the ball at school, so letting loose when on a break is sometimes harder than one would expect.
“I can’t even imagine.” She presses her hand to my arm, her shirt falling open, giving me the perfect view down her plentiful cleavage.
She’s offering, man.Take it.
Biting my bottom lip, willing myself to make a move, I turn toward her just as I see an angry flash of muscle bolt in my direction. Oh hell. Strutting toward me, looking none too happy, Colby stretches his hand out and barks, “Keys. I’m going to the car.”
I look around him to see if Rory is anywhere near him, but when I don’t see her, I ask, “Where’s Rory?”
He shrugs his shoulders and says, “Keys.”
“Colby.”
Narrowing his eyes, he repeats, “Keys,” through gritted teeth.
Relenting, knowing he’s too far gone for saving, I reach into my front pocket and hand him the keys. “Don’t leave without me.”
“Whatever.” He takes off, without another word, leaving an angry wake in his path.
Jesus, what the hell happened?
Knowing him as well as I do, I can make two guesses: Rory touched upon a sensitive topic; or he’s so fucking fearful of letting her into his world that he’s taking off before anythingcanhappen.
Given Rory’s seemingly gentle personality, I’m going to guess it’s the latter. He’s putting distance between them before anything can even happen.
This should make me fucking ecstatic . . . but it doesn’t, because I’ve seen the pain in my friend’s eyes, and it guts me knowing once again, he’s not allowing himself tolive.
“He doesn’t seem like he’s in a great mood,” Ryan says, watching Colby make his way through the crowd.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Scanning past everyone, Ryan stands on her toes, “Do you see Rory?”
Searching, I spot her brown hair coming down the stairs of the massive house and quickly make her way to the back. Keeping my eyes on her, I say, “She’s on her way over here.”
Trying to act casual despite the thundering beat of my heart as she walks toward us, her hips swaying, her hair gathered to one side of her bare shoulders, she steals Ryan’s beer and downs a large gulp before talking.
“Everything okay?” Ryan asks, concerned.
She nods, swallowing another gulp of beer. “Yeah, just peachy.”
Shit, that’s almost as bad when a girl says “fine” and they don’t really mean “fine.” What the hell did Colby say to her?
Even though I barely know this girl, I feel this need to make her feel better, to put that gorgeous smile back on her face, so even though I don’t necessarily want to smooth things over with Colby, I say, “You have to cut him a break. He’s a good guy.”
“I’m sure he is. I’m just . . . frustrated.” Rory joins me on the rail and leans against it, her feminine scent making its way to my nose, making me feel drunk on her instead of on the little beer I’ve had. “Why are men so frustrating?”
She turns toward me, looking for an answer.
Joking, I say, “Hey, I’m easy. Don’t lump me in with Colby.”
I’m really easy. All Rory has to do is give me one look and I’ll be hers for the night. Easily. Hell, not just for the night.I’ve talked to her for less than five minutes in total, and yet my want for her is something enormous.
