Page 3 of No One Else

“Samantha,” Levi says gently, “she broke up with her long-term boyfriend literally fifteen minutes ago. Maybe give her a little time to grieve?”

“But he’s a scumbag!” She rests her hand on my arm. “No offense.”

I dab away the last of my tears with the sleeve of my thin sweater. A pity party never got anyone anywhere.

Carter wants us to have real college experiences? I’ll show him how real I can get.

“I’m in.”

***

THE LARGE ROOM IS DARK, bursts of colored lights from overhead briefly illuminating the crowd of people wildly dancing to some techno-pop song I don’t recognize.

I’ve been to Empire, the local club, once before at the beginning of my freshman year. But I wasn’t a single woman then. There wasn’t this sense of freedom, of... possibility.

A part of me feels guilty that I’m not sadder. Shouldn’t I be, I don’t know, mourning or something? Yes, I’m mad and a little blindsided by Carter’s declaration, but the strongest emotion that’s been coursing through me all day has been one of relief.

Things between us have been bad for a while, but I was too stubborn to face it. Breaking up would mean... failing. And my military father has always strongly asserted that failure is not an option. Not for the Miller family.

Samantha hooks her arm through mine, her long curls tickling my bare shoulder. At nearly six feet tall, she dwarfs me by over half a foot. On her other side, Levi tops her by a few inches.

“I’m gonna hang out with Audrey,” he says, leaning in to give her a quick kiss before heading over to the bar where his cousin is bartending tonight. Audrey’s violet-streaked hair is like a beacon in the darkness and she gives us a wave as I catch her eye.

“I invited someone else,” Samantha says, leading me into the crowd. “I got his number from Luke.” I work with her cousin, Luke, at the campus gym where I’m in charge of the front desk and he’s a personal trainer. He’s one of those guys that easily makes friends with lots of different groups of people, so she could literally be talking about... anyone.

“Who is it?” I scan the dance floor, recognizing more than a few faces from Suncoast, but no one she would specifically invite. The pounding beat creeps under my skin, making my hips wiggle. I’ve been taking so many cardio dance classes at the gym, my body automatically wants to move in time with any kind of rhythmic sound.

“Evan.”

“Evan?” I turn sharply toward her. “Why?”

“For moral support,” she answers slyly, a mischievous grin spreading over her face. She’s been hinting for months she thinks he’s into me, even though I’ve repeatedly said we’re just friends.

He works at the campus gym too as a personal trainer, so we naturally see a lot of each other there. Plus, we had a class together last semester. We’ve never hung out outside of class or work, but we’ve always been friendly. Samantha seems to think just because I have a guy friend, he must automatically have the hots for me.

“I’ve told you before, it’s not like that. We’re friends.”

“Mmm hmm,” she drawls. “Now come dance with me.”

She grabs my hand and leads me out among the throng of bodies. I’ve made her a Zumba convert of late, so the two of us practice our moves, laughing ourselves silly at the odd stares we’re getting from the surrounding people.

After about ten minutes she straightens, noticing someone at the bar. “Evan’s here,” she smiles. I jump in place to try and see over the crowd, but I can’t match her height and have to take her word for it, following her to the polished steel counter.

He’s turned away from me talking to Levi, but I recognize his short dark hair and broad back, thick biceps, powerful thighs... my thoughts trail off gazing at him. If he turns around, I’ll find those warm, hazel eyes, the slightly crooked grin.

Has he always looked this good?

Oh God, Samantha’s got in my brain, making me see things I’ve never noticed. He’s a trainer, of course he has a muscular body. And millions of people have hazel eyes. And smiles that light up when they see you, like his is doing now as he turns around and spots me. And kissable lips and bodies that look like they know how to use them...

I bite my lip, giving him a once-over. His long-sleeved gray henley is more fitted than the clothes he normally wears, revealing his muscular physique. It clings to his torso, his pecs defined enough that I really want to run my hands over them for some reason. And then wrap them around his neck, pulling him down to kiss his-

Wait, stop. Evan’s my friend. Not someone to be checking out. He’s never shown any sexual interest in me before. And besides, we work together.

Did this breakup put some kind of horny spell over me?

Or was it the shots we did at Samantha’s house before we came here?

Or maybe just the fact that I’m still mad as hell at Carter about everything and a small part of me is looking to seek revenge?

---