The Hardest Fall

I got up again and stalked toward her as I watched her hide her hands behind her back. “You don’t have to explain your reasoning to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate it. Your answer tells a lot about you. Thank you for humoring me and answering my questions. It looks like we’re stuck together for the next few months if I can’t find another place, and I should tell you I’m surprised as fuck that you’re the new roommate. Shit, Zoe, I wouldn’t have guessed it in a million years.”

Keeping her eyes around my chest area, she nodded. “Good night, then, Dylan.”

After a quick hair tuck behind her ear and giving me a small smile, she started walking.

I let her take a few more steps toward her room while I stayed put in my spot. “Flash.” She faced me but kept taking small steps backward.

“Yes?”

I tucked my hands in my front pockets. “This is the strangest thing, but I think you’re going to be my best friend, Zoe Clarke.”

When she fled to her room and was no longer anywhere near me, I sat my ass down and leaned back against the couch. Now that I was alone, I looked up at the ceiling and grinned. She had no idea what kind of trouble she was in with me.

Chapter Six

Zoe

“I think at some point, I said skedaddle. Who says that?” I heaved a sigh and face-palmed myself for probably the hundredth time since meeting up with Jared and Kayla. I’d forced them out of bed at an ungodly hour for coffee and a rundown of the events of the day before. Because I had never mentioned meeting Dylan that first time two years ago, I spent a good thirty minutes telling them all about it. Sucky friend? I didn’t think so. I’d always been good at keeping secrets. When I was nine, I’d kept my first secret from my dad for an entire week before blurting out that Nathaniel from my class had kissed me at recess then told me to keep it a secret. Evidently, I had gotten better with time.

After Jared gave me hell for about five minutes as Kayla kept shaking her head at me as if she was disappointed, they finally gave me a break.

“This is just a thought, gorgeous—don’t give me that look—but I think saying skedaddle is the last thing you should worry about, here. You actually attacked him with a rolling pin? Why the hell were you hiding a rolling pin in the bathroom to begin with? I’m still stuck on that, and I wish you had taken a picture of the actual attack, or maybe a selfie while you were jumping him. Could’ve been pure art. I can already see it—vividly.” For good measure, he closed his eyes and hummed softly. “I’m gonna have to sketch that for you. You’re welcome, of course.”

I lightly smacked his shoulder with the back of my hand and shook my head. “Don’t you dare. I wasn’t hiding it in the bathroom, and that’s not even the worst part of the story here, so can we please focus?” I’d met Jared at the end of my freshman year after we kept bumping into each other in the same classes since we were both majoring in art. He always said it was fate that brought us together and that was that. I couldn’t imagine what I would’ve done if he hadn’t sat next to me in that Art History 201 class, and whenever I needed his friendship the most, he always came through.

He sat next to me, rubbing his shoulder and chuckling lightly. He had his black hair styled into a messy bedhead look that always worked wonders for him when he was in the mood for making new friends. I would’ve called them lovers, but he didn’t like the pressure of the word. Since he wasn’t interested in having a serious relationship in college, just friends worked fine. He was only slightly taller than me, probably around five foot nine, tops. The dark brown of his eyes and his plump lips only added to his bad boy rocker looks. If he had any interest in girls at all, I’m pretty sure I’d have been a blubbering mess around him just as much as I seemed to be around Dylan. The day the professor had kicked us out of class for talking too much had marked the first day of our friendship.

“I didn’t attack him just for fun. I thought he was a thief. What was I supposed to do, welcome him with open arms? While I was naked? I was trying to incapacitate him so I could get out. Anyway, I don’t even remember half the things I said later on, but I do remember skedaddle. Ask me how many times I’ve used that word in my life—zero. I don’t know if you guys understand the extent of how bad and painful the entire thing was.”

“I think we got it,” Jared deadpanned, bugging his eyes out to Kayla.

I ignored their looks and kept going. “Every time I opened my mouth, I dug a deeper hole for myself. From now on, I’m gonna need to keep my mouth shut when I’m around him. I’ll use nods and as few words as possible.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, but believing is half the battle, I guess,” Kayla said wryly.

I forced the fakest smile I could muster. “Har har. Aren’t you guys just rays of sunshine today? I can’t get enough of you two.”

Jared just smiled and kept breaking up pieces of his toast then popping them into his mouth. “As you shouldn’t. Plus, you know I’m always moody before the clock hits twelve, so feel free to ignore me and focus on your second best friend.”

I watched a piece of brownie fly toward Jared, which he caught in his mouth.

“You’re the actual worst,” muttered Kayla before fixing her gaze on me.

“So? Any advice? Real advice? The kind friends give each other?” I asked Kayla. “What the hell am I gonna do? How am I gonna go back there tonight?”

Her perfectly filled thick eyebrows rose higher on her forehead and she gave me an innocent look. “Walk, maybe?”

I returned her look with my most bored stare.

“Okay, okay. Sheesh. Save that face for someone else. I think trying to keep a bit more quiet instead of going off on an endless rant might be a better idea. I support you on that.”

While Jared was the most easygoing and confident one out of the three of us, Kayla—AKA KayKay, as Jared had dubbed her—was our mama bear. She was just the person you wanted to open up to, so nurturing, sweet, quiet, and everything I was not around guys. However, when it came to her actual relationships, her choices were a little skewed. Case in point, her on-again, off-again prick of a boyfriend Keith gave me the creepy chills almost every time he was around. I just wished—actually, both Jared and I wished—that one of the times when they broke up, it would actually be for good. There was always hope.

“Any other ideas? We’re going to be living in the same apartment and I’m quietly freaking out about it. It’s not like I can stay in my room and never come out, and trying to act all casual when he is around is a no-go because we all know how I get around guys I think are good-looking.”

“How about you go with being casual and normal instead of acting?”

“I’m too itchy and nervous around him, Kayla. If you’d seen me last night, you would’ve winced every time I opened my mouth. He was being so nice, and I think I’d love to be his friend. I think I could maybe handle that.”

“You can definitely do that. Just think of him as already taken. That should make it easier.”

“He actually just broke up with his girlfriend.”

“Dang it, you don’t say.” Jared whistled. “Maybe I should give you a visit one of these days, just to check things out, you know.”