Page 30 of Trusting Tanner
“I’m sorry I assumed the worst.”
“Hey, you don’t have anything to apologize for. It’s fine.” He bent and picked up his books. “We’re good, though, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Good.” He grinned. “So, a bunch of us are going to a movie in the park Saturday night. It’s like a drive-in, but without the cars. You bring blankets and chairs instead. It’s a group thing, so totally within the friend zone.”
“Who’s going?”
“Jason and Holly. Lucas and Mariah. Brittany. Me. Maybe a few other guys from Alpha house.”
“Can I invite Devon?”
The muscle in his jaw clenched. “Sure.” He really didn’t want Devon to go—he had a feeling it would be impossible to get closer to her with her best friend/bodyguard hanging around all night.
“Then count me in.”
“Would you have said yes if I’d said no to inviting Devon?”Great way to piss her off, dumb-ass.He needed to carry around a roll of duct tape so he could stop himself from saying stupid shit.
“Yep.”
He shook his head, smiling. “Movie starts at dusk. Want me to pick you up? Or is that too much like a date?”
“I’ll meet you there,” she said, waving as she headed in the opposite direction.
…
Tanner stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wiped the steam from the mirror then gathered his razor and shaving cream from the cabinet. He’d texted Jules an hour ago to see if she wanted to hang out, but she hadn’t responded yet. Probably because she was in class.
He pressed the button to bring his phone screen to life, but before he could check his messages, LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” blared through the bathroom. It was his brother Xander’s ringtone. He’d gotten hold of Tanner’s phone one night and set this song as his unique ringtone, and Tanner hadn’t bothered to change it. He swiped to accept the call and put it on speaker. “Hey, Xan, what’s up?”
“I missed your voice, you sexy bitch.” He gave an overexaggerated, sexual moan.
“You’d better not be touching yourself right now or I’m hanging up.”
Xander’s laugh was loud and boisterous. “Only you would be thinking about my dick. I know it’s miles bigger than yours, but that’s fucking weird, man.”
“Dude, fuck you.” Tanner laughed. He sprayed shaving cream onto his hands and rubbed it on his face. “I know you didn’t call to sexually harass me, so what’s up?” He turned on the sink and swiped his razor down one side of his face, then rinsed it under the running water.
“When you bringing your ugly ass over here for a visit?”
“Don’t know. Hadn’t thought about it.”
“Ryder’s coming during fall break. Four-day weekend, baby!” He whooped with excitement. “You should visit then, too.”
Hanging out with his brothers for four days would be fun. Xander went to college in Miami, while Ryder attended a college near Jacksonville, and Tanner was a few miles outside of Tampa. All three of them being in the same state made it easier to stay in touch and hang out during breaks when they didn’t go back home.
“Yeah, I’ll think about it,” he said.
“Think about it? What the fuck? You got something better to do?” Xander asked.
What was Jules doing for fall break? There was no way he could convince her to spend a long weekend at the beach with him, but a sick feeling landed in the pit of his stomach at the thought of not seeing her for that long. On the other hand, if he didn’t visit his brothers during fall break, he wouldn’t get a chance to see them again until Thanksgiving.
“There might be some things going on around here. I’ll let you know, okay?” Tanner finished shaving and wiped his face with a clean towel.
“What’s her name?”
“What makes you think this has anything to do with a girl?” He lifted his phone from the sink and headed to his room to get dressed. For being the youngest Collins brother, Xander was highly perceptive and nothing got past him. He also got his way—all the damn time—so Tanner already knew where he’d be spending his break, no matter what he said to the contrary.
