I nod.

“Well,” he continues, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Then this is probably his way of calling you on your bluff. You said you wanted Adam all along and maybe he knows that’s bullshit so he’s pulling the oldest trick in the book to see if you get jealous.”

I hadn’t thought of that, but it does make sense. Kip isn’t the kind of guy to take crap from anyone and it probably pissed him off that I claimed feelings for Adam when clearly I was into him. Maybe he is bluffing now.

“You might be onto something, Bear.”

He smiles. “I mean, I am a genius. You should know that by now.” I return his smile and take another small bite of my muffin. It’s not the most nutritional breakfast, but anything is better than nothing right now.

“So what about you? Anything new going on?”

Clinton shrugs. “Not really. We’re almost off probation, so I’m looking forward to that. Do you know how shitty it is to be in a fraternity that can’t drink or party? We’re going crazy trying to figure out new ways to sneak booze into the house.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I can’t imagine Stanksy or Baldwin going more than twenty-four hours without a beer.”

“Stansky is moody when he’s not drunk. It’s like living with a girl on her never-ending period.”

“Ha! That must be an entertaining spectacle. Well, at least Spring Break isn’t too far away. You’ll be off probation by then.”

“Yeah, I’m fucking stoked. I am pretty annoyed that Alpha Sig and DBG are going on the same cruise as us now, though.”

I choke on my juice. “What? They are?”

Clinton nods. “Yeah. Fucking lame, right? Whatever, it’ll just be a bigger party, I guess. I just hope there’s not too many fights. You know how my brothers are when we get in a room with another frat.”

I roll my eyes. “God, do I. Should we start taking bets on how many fights will break out now?”

“I’m calling six.”

“Oh no, I’m thinking at least double digits. I’ll say thirteen.”

“Wow, what faith you have in us, Sky,” he says, shaking his head and finishing the rest of his coffee. I smile, but my stomach falls at the realization that Kip will be on the same cruise as me for an entire week. I’ll most likely be with Erin at least eighty percent of the time, and that means I’ll be seeing him just as often. I swallow hard, willing my breaths to stay even.

“You okay?” Clinton asks.

I nod. “Yeah, fine.” Putting on my most convincing smile, we stand and walk our trays to the trash. “Thanks for asking me to meet this morning, Bear. I’ve missed you.”

“You know I had to check on my baby sister,” he says, smiling. Just like Cassie is my Little, Bear thinks of me as his. We aren’t related, but we might as well be. Now I feel even worse for not hanging out with him all semester until now. “Just stay away from pledges and maybe we can hang out more. I couldn’t have you cramping my style before.”

I punch him in the shoulder and wrap my scarf tighter around my neck as we file back out into the cold. “Trust me, I’m staying away from boys for a while.”

A loud laugh escapes his throat. “Good luck with that. I have a feeling you and Nerd Boy aren’t done causing drama in Greek world just yet.”

Tucking my hands into my pockets, I laugh, too, but the possible truth in his statement makes me shiver. “What’s college without a little drama?”

Six minutes before class starts, Kip walks in the classroom. My hands that were freezing just minutes ago outside are sweating now and I rub them on my jeans, wondering if I should avoid eye contact or act normal. Whatever I should do, it doesn’t matter because I can’t look away from him. He’s dressed in dark jeans and a gray pea coat over a white collared shirt. So simple, yet so enticing. And of course, he’s wearing his freaking glasses. Why those damn specks have such power over me, I’ll never understand.

When he spots me, he gives a lazy smile and my stomach tightens as he walks toward me. I shift in my chair as he sits down in the seat beside me just like he’s done every class since the beginning of the semester. He shrugs his messenger bag off his shoulder and I realize he’s holding two cups of coffee. He hands one to me before stripping off his jacket, which distracts me more than I care to admit.

I hate this.

I hate this so, so much.

“Take a sip. I think I got it this time,” he says, sitting down. For a moment I just stare at him. What the hell is he doing? Why is he even talking to me at all, let alone acting like everything is normal between us? Is this a joke? Am I in the Twilight Zone?

He lifts his brows, waiting, so I take a sip. It’s a sweet, caramel-flavored latte of some kind. It’s not half-bad, but definitely not my drink. I smile a little and shake my head. “Nope, sorry,” I say, the words just above a whisper.

“Ah.” he shrugs, retrieving his books and notepad from his bag. “Damn. I thought for sure you were a caramel girl. I’ll get it one day.” He winks and flips open his book to the chapters we were supposed to read this week. “So how has your week been? Any plans this weekend?”

I stare at him, my hands still clasped around the warm cup. When I don’t answer, he turns to face me and I really wish he hadn’t because now his electric blue eyes are fixed on mine and I can’t swallow.

“What?”

Gripping the cup tighter, I nervously chew my lip until the words finally make their way out. “Kip, why are you acting like nothing happened? I mean, this is weird, right?”

He smiles, shaking his head. “Listen, Skyler – I’m sorry. I blew up on Friday and I know that wasn’t fair to you. I was upset, okay? I was having fun with you and I wasn’t ready for it to end. Plus, Adam has kind of been a prick to me since we started hanging out, so that just added fuel to the fire. But hey, I’ve been there before. I know what it’s like to want an ex back,” he says, smiling a little at the last part. My chest tightens at the thought of Erin. What does that smile mean? “I just wish you would have told me. Hell, I could have put on a way better show if I would have known that was your aim this whole time.”

He laughs but I’m still staring like an idiot, trying to spot his tell – his giveaway that he’s bluffing. There’s no eye twitch, no nervous ticking, no licking of the lips or shifting of the eyes. He seems completely normal. Calm. Collected.

What the hell?

Kip sighs. “Listen, I really like hanging out with you. And I still want to help you train for the tournament in May. The casino downtown has a tournament next Friday. Have you thought about entering?”

I still can’t stop staring at him like he has three heads and neon blue skin. On Friday, the look in his eyes when I lied to him literally broke me. And now? He’s acting like we got in a tiff over who should do the dishes next. This is weird, and I can’t figure out what his angle is.

“I heard about it, but no, I haven’t entered yet.”

“You should,” he says as Dr. O’Neal walks in. “I’ll go with you. I think the buy-in is like eighty bucks, so it’s not a very big payout, but it would be good practice.”

“All right, class.” Dr. O’Neal starts writing frantically on the whiteboard. “Let’s discuss the chapters on character development from the assigned reading.”

Kip leans in close and whispers, “Come on. We can still be friends, right?”

Something deep in my gut tells me there’s something Kip’s not telling me, but the goofy smile on his face paired with those blue eyes that have haunted my thoughts for the past week are too much to handle. I can’t think straight, not when it comes to him.

“Yeah, of course. Friends.”

He smiles, giving a short nod before turning toward the front. “Guess I should break out the old friend zone crash helmet, then.”

I can’t help but smile and Kip gives me a sideways glance, his eyes playful. It feels easy between us, like nothing has changed, yet everything is completely different. I have no idea what this means or what we’re doing, but maybe I shouldn’t try so hard to dissect everything. I like being Kip’s friend. I can’t be with him, but that doesn’t mean I have to give him up altogether, right?