“It’s not an insult. You’re too pretty for the name Alex.” I clamp my lips shut. Being near her, I somehow say the stupidest shit ever. Like I’m interested in her.

Her cheeks flush pink and she drops her gaze from mine. “Well, it’s my nickname.”

“It’s a bad one.”

She lifts her head, eyes a blazin’ like she’s seriously pissed. “You’re incredibly rude.”

“So are you.”

She rests her hands on her hips. “You should go.”

“Trust me, I’m leaving.” I don’t move. My feet feel like they’re cemented to the damn floor.

“I’m going to shut the door in your face,” she threatens, gesturing like she’s going to slam it.

Reaching out, I stop the door’s progress, pressing my palm flat against the thick wood. “Now who’s the rude one?” I raise a brow.

“You’re infuriating.” She makes this sexy sort of growling noise and I tell myself to ignore it. Ignore her. She’s pissed at me. This has zero chance of going anywhere and all I want is to get in her panties.

“You should go out with me.” The words blast out of my mouth like I have no control. I’m an idiot. “Friday night. I’ll take you to dinner.”

The smile that appears on her face is nothing short of smug. “Sorry. I already have plans. A date. With Steven.”

Steven? Oh. Fuck. Steven. The dude from the bar. Really? She can get someone so much better.

Like me.

We stare at each other silently for at least a minute. Maybe even two. Finally I turn and head down the sidewalk toward my car, walking slowly like no big deal. I don’t care that the rain is soaking through my clothes. Fuck it.

“Your loss,” I yell at her from over my shoulder.

“You’re an asshole!” she screams back.

I catch a glimpse of her angry face just before she shuts the door and I unlock my car, climbing inside and breathing in her lingering scent. Why is this girl so damn hard to resist?

Punching the steering wheel, I exhale loudly. Stare at my dashboard as I grit my teeth. I shouldn’t let her bother me. I don’t care if she’s going on a date with some nice guy who probably has no clue how to treat her. He’s probably so fucking overwhelmed that a beautiful girl actually wants to go out with him he’ll end up kissing her ass the entire night.

And she’ll walk all over him. They deserve each other.

I reach over and start the car, getting the hell out of there before I do something even more stupid.

Like chase after her and tell her to forget that Steven guy.

She should go out with me.

The restaurant Steven takes me to is nice without being too over the top expensive, and the food is delicious. Our conversation flows easily, he’s made me laugh more than once and he’s so incredibly sweet. Considerate. Truly interested in what I have to say and I’m returning the favor as best I can.

I sit there and nod and smile and laugh in all the right places, but my mind keeps straying to Tristan. Which is awful and unfair to Steven because he’s nice. Cute in an unassuming way. A bit of a nerd who loves video games—he actually knew Conrad when he came to pick me up for our date and they promised to get together some other time to play the latest version of Call of Duty.

Guys and their video games, I get it. But I swear Steven seemed more excited to discover that I live with his friend versus going on a date with me. At least with Tristan, I know he’d be into me—to the point where I’d probably want to push him off and tell him to take a chill pill.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

“Do you like to gamble?” Steven asks after the waiter takes away our dinner plates.

“I don’t like making risky moves with my money.” And that was the God’s honest truth. After everything I’ve been through, I’ve become thrifty. A word I didn’t even know existed until recently.

Steven’s face falls a little, like my answer totally disappointed him. “Ah, there’s this illegal gambling house not too far from campus.” He pauses.

“I’ve heard of it,” I tell him. Who hasn’t? There are whispers about it everywhere but I’ve never been there.

“My friends and I like to go there on occasion and I just got paid so…” He smiles. “I thought you might want to go. But if you don’t, it’s cool. We can do something else. Maybe go to the movies or go have a drink. You do drink right? I mean, we met at a bar so I assumed you like to drink and we can—”

I settle my hand over his and he goes mute, his eyes widening as he glances down at our connected hands. I only touched him to shut him up. The guy rambles when he gets nervous. “Let’s go gamble your paycheck away,” I suggest.

He laughs but it sounds forced. I think I freaked him out with my remark. “Not my entire paycheck. I have about one hundred dollars to play with tonight.”

That’s it? Alex of old would laugh at him. The Alex of old would’ve spent one hundred dollars on an appetizer and not blinked twice.

The new Alex wouldn’t toss one hundred dollars away playing blackjack or whatever. I can buy a week of groceries with that kind of money, maybe even two if I really stretch it.

“Let’s go. Sounds fun.” I smile at him and release his hand, settling mine in my lap.

He studies me as he gnaws on his lower lip. That looks painful. “Can I admit something to you?”

Uh oh. I mentally brace myself. “Sure. Go for it.”

“The other night at the bar? My friend dared me to talk to you.” His cheeks turn ruddy and he drops his gaze to the table. “I kept going on about how gorgeous you were and he got sick of it so he told me if I thought you were so hot, I should just go ask you out.”

My cheeks warm too. Poor, sweet Steve and his asshole friend. “I’m glad you approached me. I’ve had a good time tonight.”

He lifts his head, his gaze meeting mine as he smiles. “You have?”

Poor dude. He sounds surprised. “Totally.” I nod. “You’re fun.”

“I am?” He sits up straighter. “I mean, yeah. So are you. Fun, that is. And pretty. Shit. I sound like an idiot.”

I start to laugh, but not at him. “Stop while you’re ahead. And you’re adorable when you’re flustered.”

The pleased look on his face was worth the compliment. And Steven is cute when he’s flustered. Not Tristan gorgeous but cute.

Ugh. Quit thinking about Tristan.

Pushing him firmly out of my thoughts, I focus on the guy in front of me. He’s got his wallet out as he looks over the check and I automatically grab my purse. “Do you want me to help?” I ask.

Steven glances up, a scowl on his face. “No way. I invited you, Alex. I’ll pay the bill.”

“Thank you,” I say softly. I’ve gone on exactly one date since I arrived here at school and we split the dinner bill. I paid for my own movie ticket. He also wanted me to help pay for popcorn but I didn’t want any so I refused. That pissed him off.

I never saw him again. Good riddance.

Would Tristan actually take me on a date? Or would he just drag me into his bedroom and fuck me? I’m going with the latter. He doesn’t seem like one who’d buy me dinner in order to get me naked. Not that I would get naked with him on the first date. No way.

“You ready to go?”

Steven’s voice bursts through my thoughts and I nod, rising to my feet, totally irritated with myself. It’s not fair of me to constantly think of Tristan while on a date with another guy. A really nice guy who seems to like me versus just using me. How often does that come along? I need to focus on Steven. He’s easy to talk to. Seems fun. Has good taste in clothes—he’s dressed nicely in a dark green and black checked flannel shirt and jeans. Polite and a gentleman, he holds the door open for me as we exit the restaurant and walk out into the cold night.