Page 55 of Caught Up

“You made it after all,” someone said.

I pivoted, still holding Lauren, to see one of her roommates, the tall, androgynous blond who’d turned absolutely scarlet when they’d caught us in the stairwell. They wore a blackmid-lengthskirt and matching tank top, their hair piled in a messy bun atop their head, light blue eyes rimmed in dark liner.

I set Lauren down, keeping her in front of me to hide my obvious arousal. This was...not what I’d expected. I’d thought she was leading us to a room where we could be alone, not surrounded by more people.

“Junior, this is Ryan,” she said. “They’re one of my roommates.”

Politeness didn’t come easy to me at the best of times, let alone now when all I wanted to do was get Lauren naked, but it was clear that Ryan was important to her, so I shoved my frustration aside and tried to make a better second impression than my first.

I stuck my hand past Lauren toward them. “We’ve...” I cocked my head sideways and grinned, one eyebrow rising in question. “Met?”

Ryan let out an awkward laugh and slipped their hand into mine. “That’s one way to put it.”

“Sorry for being a dick that night,” I said as we shook.

They released me and stepped back. “Understandable, given the circumstances.”

“Right,” Lauren said. “The staircase.”

“Great documentary,” Lauren’s other roommate chimed in. “He totally fucking did it.”

I shook my head and held her gaze with monumental effort, trying not to think about the fact that I’d watched her riding someone’s cock the last time I was in this room. “I don’t know. There might be something to the owl theory.”

She smiled and glanced at Lauren. “I like him. He can stay.” With that, she turned and flounced back into the crowd.

Lauren shook her head, looking amused. “That was Taylor.”

“I’m going to take my seat,” Ryan said. “Nice to officially meet you, Junior.”

I tipped my head up. “You, too.”

They turned, and Lauren dragged me away from the door to a pair of unoccupied seats in the far corner. I took the one closest to the wall, and when Lauren made to sit next to me, I wrapped my arms around her waist and tugged her onto my lap instead, happy for the shadows on this side of the room.

“I’m sorry I was late,” I said.

She might have kissed me downstairs, but I could tell from the stiffness in her shoulders and the guarded look on her face that she was still wary. “I thought you stood me up.”

I tugged her close, brushing our cheeks together, barely managing to hold my lower body still against the urge to grind against her. “I would never willingly do that.”

“Then where were you?” she asked.

“At an absolute trainwreck of a family dinner.”

She pulled back, looking surprised. “Seriously?”

I nodded, holding her gaze, letting her eyes drink me in as she studied my expression, no doubt looking for lies.

“We have them once a month,” I told her. “My dad called this one last minute.”

“Oh.” A little line formed between her brows. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“Idid, which you would have seen if you hadn’t been so quick to turn your goddamn phone off.”

She glanced away, cheeks pinking. “I was in another room and the show was about to start.”

I gripped her chin and turned her back to me. “Bullshit.” She tried to pull away, but I held her firm. “Why’d you really do it, Lo? The truth this time.”

Her response was so quiet I barely caught it. “I thought you were doing the same thing to me now that you did back then.”

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