“Definitely not,” she snorts. “I refuse to be in that kind of situation again.”
The situation she’s referring to is Colton Montgomery.
Neither of us say anything more on the topic.
I nibble my lower lip as we swing into the apartment parking lot.
Freshman and sophomore year, Alyssa and I shared a dorm room. Wesley has a strict policy about first-and-second-year students living on campus. Junior year, I rented a house with a bunch of girls I met in the dorms. It worked out well and was fun. Although there were always people coming and going, and that got old after a while.
When I was sure Alyssa would return for senior year, I found us a two-bedroom apartment a few blocks from campus. It’s on the third floor and has a tiny balcony. The building is centrally located, so we can easily walk to a few restaurants and a small grocery store. I moved my stuff in on the first of August and have been living there for a couple of weeks. Alyssa’s parents brought over her bedroom set, and we were able to piece together enough furniture to fill the apartment.
Alyssa beams as we pull into a parking space near the front entrance of the building. “I love this place! I’m so pumped you could get us an apartment here!”
“Yeah, it’s super convenient. We can walk to campus and the parties…” my voice trails off. There’s only one tiny problem, and I’m kind of afraid of how she’ll react when she finds out.
So, I put it off.
And off some more.
And now I’ve run out of time. I have to come clean before it’s too late.
“So,” I clear my throat and turn off the engine, “there’s something I need—”
Before I can force out the sentence, Alyssa jumps out of the Jeep and walks around to the back. Reluctantly, I follow, knowing I need to get this over with. Maybe it would be better if I wait until we’re inside the apartment. Once she sees how awesome it looks, she’ll fall in love with it. Then, hopefully, what I have to tell her won’t be such a big deal.
We grab the smaller suitcases and set them on the sidewalk before pulling out the behemoth that feels like it weighs at least two hundred pounds.
Seriously, what’s in here?
As we drag her luggage to the lobby door, it swings open and two guys stroll out.
Alyssa grinds to a halt and grabs my arm. Her nails bite into my flesh. “What the hell is he doing here?”
Crap.
I glance at Colton and Beck, who return our stare with interest. “Right. I, ah, meant to tell you about that.”
Her eyes narrow to slits as she frowns. “About what?”
“They also live here.”
“I really hope you’re joking,” she says flatly, clearly displeased by the news.
It would be so much easier if I was. By the steam coming out of Alyssa’s ears, she’s more pissed off than I imagined she would be.
“Sorry, Lys. When I signed the rental agreement, I had no idea they lived here or that we’re neighbors.”
“What?” she growls.
I wince. Maybe I should have held off on the whole neighbors part.
“Hey, Lys,” Colton murmurs, swallowing up the distance between them. If he knew what was good for him, he’d give his ex a wide berth. Alyssa looks like a rabid dog who could attack at any moment.
Instead of biting his head off the way I expect, she pointedly ignores him. “Did you hear that?” With wide eyes, she makes a big production about glancing around as if looking for something. “It almost sounds like a ghost from boyfriends’ past.”
This isn’t good.
After more than a year and countless relationships, I had assumed Alyssa moved on, but her reaction is proving that’s not the case. During the year she was away, she gave me a play-by-play on the boy situation in London. She definitely got a taste of what England had to offer in the guy department. Every time I spoke with her, she was talking about someone new.
And then there was Jack.
Not once did she mention Colton. And since she wasn’t asking questions or digging for information, I avoided the topic of her ex as well. I knew she wouldn’t be pleased about this, but I didn’t expect her to go off the deep end.
Big mistake on my part.
Beck glances at me and I shrug in response.
Not dissuaded by Alyssa’s cold demeanor, Colton tries again. “It’s really good to see you, Lys.” When she continues to avoid eye contact, he pulls her in for a hug.
She bares her teeth and growls before fighting her way out of his arms.
Alyssa dismisses him by turning her attention to Beck. “Hello, Beckett. It’s lovely to see you.” She flashes a mega-watt smile at him. “Did Mia happen to mention the welcome home party I’m having this Saturday at Bang Bang? If you’re free, definitely stop by.”