Page 9 of Trusting Tanner
“It’s been six months, Jules. You’re never going to be able to move on if you don’t even try.”
“I’m not ready, okay?” Her tone was curt, and she crossed her arms, hoping he knew enough to let it drop. Zach had completely shattered her—emotionally and mentally. There was no way she was going to risk her heart again.
“Okay, so maybe it’s still too soon for you to date, but that doesn’t mean you can’t expand your social circle. I am literally your only friend.”
She flinched. “No, you’re not. I’m friends with Mariah.” She smiled sweetly. “And even if you were my only friend, you’re the only one I need.”
“You’re completely hopeless without me, aren’t you?” There was a spark in his eyes, a challenge to deny the truth of his words. “Okay, tell me about your new roommate. You never did answer me. Is she hot?”
He was relentless. Jules swatted at him. “You’re an ass.”
“Sorry.” He frowned. “But seriously, how is she?”
She shrugged and fidgeted with the decorative edge of the paper place mat. “I don’t know. She’s…outgoing. Definitely not someone I’d be friends with if I didn’t have to live with her. She’s boisterous and doesn’t seem to have a brain-to-mouth filter.”
“It might not be as bad as you think.”
“What makes you think I’m making it worse than it is?” She scowled.
“Because I know you, Jules, and you always do this. You jump to conclusions and formulate worst-case scenarios before you ever give anyone a chance. You’ve become so comfortable with being alone that you’re terrified of letting anyone in, so you find reasons to keep them out.”
“Okay, that’s not fair.” She pointed at him. “I always have reasons to keep people away, and before you even think about bringing my parents’ deaths or my shitty childhood into this, I’m declaring those topics off-limits right now.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, take it easy. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“As for my roommate… I left the room for an hour, and when I got back, she was giving one hell of a blow job to some guy. I ended up sitting in the lounge forhours.”
“Oh shit.”
“You’re telling me.”
He reached across the table and patted her hand. “Try to keep an open mind, okay? Maybe this chick will turn out to be a good friend. Not like me, of course. I’m the shit and no one can replace me.”
She shook her head and laughed. He was right about that. There was no one in the world who could—or would—ever replace Devon in her life.
The waitress returned with their drinks. “Your food will be out in a few minutes. Can I get you anything else while you wait?”
“No, we’re good,” Devon said with a wink, which caused her to blush.
Devon had a way of making girls trip over themselves in his presence, and that blush told her the waitress wasn’t immune to his charm. Juliana couldn’t deny he was handsome with his classic all-American, boy-next-door looks: blond hair; blue eyes; natural, sun-kissed tan courtesy of the Florida weather; and a body indicative of his many years on the lacrosse team. Too bad she didn’t feel any spark toward him. Her life would be so much easier if she were attracted to someone like him as opposed to a guy who turned out to be a douchebag, lying cheater.
He opened his straw and stuck it in his cup. “You and Collins seemed to be getting awful friendly today. What’s up with that?”
Her heart raced at the mention of Tanner. The side of her face still tingled from where his fingers had been. She shifted in her chair, praying Devon didn’t see how rattled she was. “Nothing. We’re in the same pre-med classes, and we were assigned as lab partners.” She gave a noncommittal shrug. “Besides. You just got done telling me I need more friends. What’s wrong with being friends with Tanner? Is there something I should know about him?” She took a sip of her drink, letting the ice-cold liquid cool the heat rising up her neck and face.
“I don’t really know him that well.”
“I thought he was in your frat?” Was she coming across cool and nonchalant? She didn’t want to let on she was way more interested than she was willing to admit.
“He is. But he doesn’t live in the house. He moved out a while ago so he could have more quiet to study. I think he lives in an apartment with another pre-med student. Jason Ambrose.”
“Oh.” She’d heard Jason’s name before, probably in some of her classes, but she couldn’t picture him. “Well, it’s not like it matters. I’m not in the market for a relationship, remember?”
“Not yet, but you will eventually, and when you are, I want to make sure you’re ready.” Devon folded his arms on the table and leaned forward. “I was there for the whole Zach thing. I know what he did to you.”
She cringed, wishing she could crawl under the table and hide. She knew Devon wasn’t saying that to be mean, but knowing she wasn’t good enough to satisfy the guy she’d given almost a year of her life to? No amount of time would lessen the blow her self-esteem had taken.
“You know everything that happened is on him, right? You’re not to blame. For any of it.” He gave a quick shake of his head to punctuate his words.
