Page 65 of Darkness Defined

“But don’t they think it’s odd that none of their residents are ever accepted at the university?”

Rubio gave me a sidelong look. “Who says they’re not? You should know as well as anyone that supernaturals are everywhere. Not to mention you don’t have to look like a supernatural to be one. Unless, of course, you took one look at me and knew I was an incubus.” He lifted an eyebrow and my jaw fell.

“You’re taking the piss.”

“Nope. Granted, I’m not exactly a high-level Carnal class, but I’m one hundred percent sex demon.”

I laughed so hard my shoulder shook, which in no way encouraged him to let go.

“What’s so funny? I’m serious.”

“No, no, I believe you. But that explains sooo much.”

“Not sure what the hell that’s supposed to mean,” he grumbled to himself.

I looped an arm around his waist and squeezed lightly. “It means you’re incredibly charismatic and clearly have a way with people. You’re also a pretty great friend, though now I’m a little worried I’ve wounded your Incubus pride by not being interested in being more than friends.”

“Don’t be. I’m all about the casual, and I strongly suspect you are not.”

“You would be correct. It might sound a little silly, but I really do believe in true love and soul mates and all that other mushy stuff.”

Rubio graced me with a soft smile, gave my shoulders a last squeeze, and released me. “Not at all.”

Chapter 19

Roommate Trouble

M

Forasupposedholein the wall, the still unnamed pool hall Lucas and Sam frequented was incredibly well kept. Everything was clean. No one was abnormally surly. Even the food was decent. I shoved my hands in my pockets and brought my attention back to where Lucas was currently beating Sam’s ass in a game of Nine Ball. He missed the seven and waved for a scowling Sam to take his shot.

Lucas glanced over at me, not remotely concerned about whether Sam could make the shot—we both knew he couldn’t, not with the nine so perfectly boxed. “You’ve been awful quiet tonight. Not that you’re much of a chatter. Is something up?”

I flashed to the image of Rubio’s arm thrown around Alex’s shoulders and Alex’s wrapped around his waist. The anger I’d been fighting all day seethed in my stomach. Sure, I’d fucked up. Maybe I should have made more of an effort to talk about the drunken kiss, but actively blowing me off for that guy? And it wasn’t like I could look at it any other way either. When class let out, I’d made a beeline to grab Alex for lunch, eager to regain some normalcy in our friendship, but he’d been nowhere to be found. It had taken thirty minutes of wandering around the building and getting lost—twice—before I’d stumbled across the pair of them.

“Matt. You still with us?”

I blinked away the memory to find Lucas and Sam both staring at me with concern. “Huh?”

They glanced at each other, then Sam spoke up. “Lucas was asking if you were alright, and you sort of… spaced.”

“Shit.” I wiped a hand over my face like it could somehow scrub away any of the millions of thoughts that refused to leave me alone. “Sorry, guys. My head’s not really in it.”

Lucas shrugged and rested his cue stick against the high-top to grab his beer. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“Not really, just roommate trouble.”

Sam slammed into a chair, nearly toppling it and himself to the ground. “Tell me about it. Mine is a total slob, and he eats all my food. Never replaces any of it either. Does yours do that?”

“Uh, no… Alex and I share pretty much everything and take turns replenishing the fridge. Though we eat at the dining hall more often than not.” Now that I said it out loud, I couldn’t help but wonder if that was normal.

Lucas downed the last of his beer and wiped the froth from his mouth. “Lucky bastard. I’m like eighty-five percent positive my roommate is a supe of the aquatic variety.”

“Like a mermaid?” I frowned as I tried to make sense of that.

“Maybe, but there are a lot more aquatic supernaturals than merfolk. Could be any of them. But whatever they are, they clearly prefer their air more wet than not. I swear the humidity in our dorm room gets so bad, it’s like walking through soup. And it’s murder on my hair. I have to keep an extra fan in my room just so I can sleep.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “You could try talking to them. I don’t know, ask what they are. Maybe if you knew, you could find better middle ground.”