Page 17 of Trusting Tanner
“Call him. Right now! Ask him to go out, and we can double.”
Juliana’s heart lodged in her throat, and she swore she was going to break out in a cold sweat any second. “Oh, no, I can’t.” Not after she’d gone out of her way to tell him they could only be friends.
“Please tell me he knows you like him.” She stared hard at Jules, almost like she expected the intense look to reveal something more. “Wait.” She held up her hand. “Does he know you exist?”
“Of course,” she snapped, then rubbed her hands over her face. Just because she was tired and cranky didn’t mean she had to take it out on Rebecca. “He asked me to go to the roller-skating party at the Student Union on Friday, and I said yes.”
“Oh my God.” Rebecca busted out laughing. “Those things aresolame. Do yourself a favor and go to the frat party with me instead. I promise you’ll have way more fun.”
Jules flopped down on her bed, the mattress cradling her tired, aching body.
“Think about it, okay?” Rebecca grabbed her cell phone and dropped it into her purse. “I gotta go, but we’ll talk about this later.” She blew a kiss as she walked out the door.
Juliana let out a loud, pent-up breath. That girl was a handful. One minute she’s inconsiderate and rude and the next she’s acting like they’re best friends. Reluctantly getting out of bed, she collected her books and took advantage of the quiet to get some studying done.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and she’d managed to finish all the reading for Dr. Shaw’s class. She reached for her cardiology book when the door swung open. Rebecca stumbled in with two—two—guys trailing behind her. She stopped, looked at Jules like she wasn’t supposed to be there, then giggled uncontrollably.
“Jules!” she squealed.
Great, she was drunk.
“This is my yummy honey Garrett.” She planted a kiss on the guy with the black, wavy hair. “And this”—she grabbed the other guy’s shirt and jerked him toward her—“is the guy I told you about. Ian.”
“Evan,” he corrected, giving Juliana an apologetic smile.
“I thought you were going out.” Jules closed her book and stood, arms crossed. She had been tired before, but after an hour of reading, her eyes burned and her head ached. A sharp pain stabbed behind her eyes, and she rubbed her forehead. Was it really too much to ask for a single night in her own room without Rebecca bringing home people Jules didn’t know?
“We did. But now we’re back. I wanted you to meet Evan.”
She shoved her feet into her shoes. “Evan, I’m sure you’re a really nice guy, but I’m not interested.” His face fell, and his expression was full of embarrassment and disappointment. Guilt nagged at her. He was an innocent victim in all of this, too. “It’s nothing personal. I’m not interested in dating anyone.” She slipped her key card into her wallet and clutched her cell phone tightly in her hand.
“It’s not like you have to marry the guy.” Rebecca laughed loudly. “Just hang out and talk. Or whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively as she sat on her bed and pulled Garrett down with her.
Jules put her backpack over her shoulder. “I’m going to the library.” She left the room without another word, but as she passed by the lounge, a bubble of anger erupted inside of her. Her temperature spiked a few degrees, and her heart thumped erratically. She did not want to spend the night sitting in the library. Besides, why should she be kicked out of her own room again so Rebecca could entertain her friends?
She opened her messages and sent one to Tanner.Hey. Want to go costume shopping?Her fingers trembled as she hit send. And when her phone vibrated, she jumped and almost dropped it.
Tanner:You bet your ass I do!!! Where do you want me to pick you up?
She smiled.Mckenzie hall. I’ll be outside waiting.
Blowing out a breath, she headed downstairs.
Chapter Six
The smile hadn’t left Tanner’s face since he’d gotten the text from Juliana. He had no idea why she suddenly changed her mind about costume shopping, but he wasn’t complaining. He buckled the belt attached to the bell-bottom pants and then adjusted the collar of the black patterned shirt so it was resting over the white vest. He kept the first three buttons undone and made sure the top of the shirt was open. Grabbing the matching white suit jacket, he slipped it on and then checked his reflection in the full-length mirror.
“Any day now, Tanner,” Jules called from outside the dressing room door.
Laughing, he stepped out. She stood near a rack of shirts, arms crossed and one hip cocked to the side. His gaze started at her beautiful face, which was still rosy from how hard she’d laughed at his last costume, and moved down. She was dressed in a one-piece polyester suit with a V-neck that showcased her breasts. An oversize belt sat perfectly at her waist, and the pants flared at the bottom. Every enticing curve was on display, and his gaze lingered a little too long on her hips—hips begging to be grabbed. By him.
“What do you think?” She spun around.
He whistled with appreciation. “Damn, Jules.” He motioned with his finger for her to make another turn. “Do that again.”
She turned around again, slower. His gaze was drawn to her ass. With how tight the outfit was, there was no way she could be wearing panties, could she? The thought she might not be had him getting hard, which was not a good thing when he was wearing very thin, very tight white pants. There would be no hiding his excitement.
“There’s one more costume I want to try on,” she said, snapping him from his thoughts. “But I really like this one.”
