Page 3 of Trusting Tanner
Her gaze was drawn to a group of guys standing not too far from her. They were all attractive, but the tallest of the three was downright sexy. Dark hair. Dark eyes. He flung his head back and laughed. Whoa. Those dimples. They were like craters on either side of his full lips. His T-shirt was either a size too small or his muscles were too big to be contained. His cargo shorts looked like they were made specifically for his body, hugging all the right places. She’d seen him around before, in some of her classes and at Devon’s frat, but she didn’t know his name. And that was probably for the best. After what happened with her ex, she’d sworn off men for the foreseeable future.
“Hey, Jules!” Mariah waved.
“Hey!”
Mariah was Lucas’s long-time girlfriend, and Jules knew Lucas because he was part of Devon’s frat. She wouldn’t call them good friends, not like her and Devon, but they were strong acquaintances who were always nice to her. It was calming to see a friendly face among the chaos of move-in day.
Mariah walked over and smiled. “Where’s your sidekick?”
“Devon? He’s taking his sweet-ass time getting back to campus.” She laughed. “What’re you up to?”
Mariah held up a shopping bag that had the bookstore logo on it. “Trying to beat the rush.”
“Did it work?”
“Not really.” Mariah grinned. “This whole damn place is crazy today.”
Juliana glanced around again. “No kidding.”
“Well, I still have a lot to unpack. I’ll see you around Alpha house though, right?”
“Yeah, of course.” She smiled tightly. The mere mention of frat parties had her appetite vanishing and a knot tightening in her chest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something she could avoid. Devon wouldn’t let her. Him and his stupid “get back up on the horse” cliché advice.
“Great. See ya later then.” Mariah gave another wave and walked off, her long ponytail swishing behind her.
Juliana tossed her half-eaten apple in the trash and then walked back to her res hall, enjoying the afternoon sunshine.
When she arrived back at her room, she unlocked the door and walked in, but the sound of a man’s voice cursing caused her to look up. Juliana’s eyes widened, and her heart slammed against her chest so hard, she took a step back.Oh. My. God.Rebecca was naked—again—and this time she was on her knees, blowing some guy. Some big guy with dark, smooth skin whose muscles had muscles, and it was hard to miss the fact his head wasn’t the only bald thing on him.
Holy shit!
Juliana’s face heated with embarrassment. She quickly backed out of the room and slammed the door. She leaned against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the images she’d worked so hard to bury. But it was useless. The too-vivid memory of walking into Zach’s room, finding him with his pants around his ankles and the redhead on her knees with a mouthful of his cock filled her mind. That was the first time she’d caught him cheating on her. She’d been so stupid back then. Naïve. Blinded by what she thought was love. The threat of tears burned her throat, and she swallowed hard. She sucked in a deep breath, counted to five, then blew out slowly, repeating the process until her racing heart slowed. Then she turned and headed for the lounge at the end of the hall.
…
“Mondays should be illegal,” Devon complained as he drove around one of the campus parking lots, searching for an empty space.
“You say that every Monday morning. You’d think by now you’d be used to it.” Juliana stifled a yawn.
“Yeah, you’d think.” He finally found a spot and pulled into it.
“Your car seems to be running better,” she said. He’d had engine trouble on the way back to campus and hadn’t arrived until after ten p.m. As a result, they hadn’t been able to hang out, which is why she’d been stuck sitting in the lounge like a loser for five hours while Rebecca entertained her friend.
“It should after the money I dumped into it yesterday.”
The car was a classic and the reason she’d become friends with him in the first place—their mutual love of cars. One of her many foster dads, the only one she ever actually liked, had taught her everything she knew about cars. But she often wondered if Devon was overcompensating for something with the Hemi engine. Not that she’d ever ask him because it would lead to him making some perverted joke about showing her his dick. He was so proud of his ’68 Road Runner. It was a graduation gift from his parents, and she swore he cared more for this car than any human being.
Shutting off the engine, he got out, and she did the same. She adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. Her bag was mostly empty, which made trying to carry it awkward, but she’d be going to the bookstore later and would need it. They walked toward the quad together in silence.
“We’re still on for lunch, right?” Devon asked. He opened the door to Fallon Hall and nodded for her to go first.
“Yup. And you’d better not ditch me, either.” She bumped his hip with hers and stopped outside the door to room 112. “This is my class.”
“You know I didn’t ditch you on purpose.” He subtly jutted his chin out toward someone behind her.
“Who’re you looking at?” She twisted and glanced over her shoulder. Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome from the other day lifted his hand in a half wave. His gaze landed on her, and a thrill raced up her spine. She quickly turned back to Devon.
“Tanner. He’s a frat brother,” Devon said.
