Page 14 of Trusting Tanner
“Hey, Tanner!”
He turned at the sound of his name. Jason jogged up to him. His face was red, and his eyes were dark. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Holly fucking dumped me.” The words were so angry, Tanner half expected them to come out of his mouth in a blast of fire.
He frowned. This wasn’t the first time they’d broken up, but this was the most upset Jason had ever been about it. “Give her a few days. She’ll come back around. She always does.”
“Not this time.” Jason shook his head. “She told me this was it. We’re over for good.”
Tanner sighed. She’d said the same thing last time, too. “You know she doesn’t mean it.”
“You didn’t see her face.” Jason dragged a shaky hand through his hair.
“Did she say why?”
“No, and I was too fucking pissed to ask.” He flexed his hand and then shook it out. “Shit. I need to know if she’s seeing someone else.” Jason’s knuckles were red and semi-swollen.
“Did you hit something?” Last time this happened, Jason had taken out his anger on the bathroom door, which Tanner ended up paying to replace. How much would this breakup cost him?
“The wall in the English building.”
At least it wasn’t a wall in their apartment. “Why don’t we get out of here for a while?” Maybe getting Jason off campus for a couple hours would help him calm down and clear his head. “Let’s head home, and you can kick my ass in some Call of Duty.”
“Yeah, there’s no fucking way I’m going back to classes today.”
Tanner slapped him on the back then gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Come on.”
“I’m gonna make a beer run. I’ll meet you at home, okay?” Jason veered off in the opposite direction before Tanner could say anything. It was barely ten in the morning and Jason was already planning to get drunk? It was going to be a long-ass week—or however long it would take for Holly and Jason to get back together.
On the way to his car, he sent Jules a text.Hope you have a good nap.
He’d barely gotten his phone in his pocket when it chimed. No shit. Had she responded? He jerked the phone back out and swiped his thumb across the screen. Sure enough, there was a message from her.It would be better if you weren’t interrupting me.
He laughed.No, it would be better if I was there with you.He hadn’t realized he’d stopped in his tracks until a group of students walked around him, muttering something about rudeness and moving out of the way.
Juliana:lol. You’d hate it. I snore like a banshee.
His cheeks ached with how hard he was smiling.Prove it.
Juliana:Ha! Nice try. Not gonna happen.
He stepped out of the way to let a few people pass as he sent a reply.Can’t blame me for trying.He continued toward his car.
Juliana:I don’t blame you.There was a smiley face emoji.But if you don’t let me sleep, I’ll miss clinical labs & it will be all your fault.
“Yes,” he said to himself, punching his fist in the air.I have that class, too. See you there.
Juliana:Fantastic.This time there was a winking emoji.
He didn’t know whether she was being sincere or sarcastic, but he found it hard to care too much. She was totally text flirting with him, and he was going to see her again in a few hours. Slipping his phone away, he got into his car. He needed to go home and help Jason through his most recent breakup.
Chapter Five
Juliana groaned and rolled over. She stretched her arms above her head and wiggled her toes. The alarm she’d set on her phone beeped obnoxiously. She grabbed it and shut it off, and that’s when she realized she had a text from Devon. Yawning, she read it.Sorry to bail on lunch today but I need to meet with my advisor and this is the only appointment I could get.
She scrunched up her face and typed a response.You suck.She hit send then immediately sent a second one.You owe me.
Devon:Name your price.
