“I’m not trying to help her get laid,” I grumbled. “I just want her to get over her ex.”
“The best way to get over someone…”
“Is to get under someone else. Yeah, I know.”
“And you’re still not admitting that you wouldn’t mind being that guy?”
“Campbell would kill me,” I snarled.
“If he found out.”
I laughed hoarsely. “My brother, the rule follower, is telling me to break the rules.”
“Every rule follower knows when to break the rules to their advantage.”
“Nah,” I said with a shake of my head. “I couldn’t do that to Nora. Let alone fuck things up with Campbell. Could you imagine if he found out I’d slept with his sister? He’s given me everything.”
“That’s fair,” Whitton agreed. “Then, you should find some other local girl to channel your energy into, so you stop thinking about your off-limits roommate.”
I huffed. “Yeah, sure. Like Eve?”
Whitt went silent for a few seconds. “How the hell did you know?”
“I’m your twin brother, asshole.”
I’d noticed them talking briefly at Campbell’s party. I hadn’t said anything then because I knew Whitt would automatically go on the defensive. As he was right now.
“She doesn’t seem interested,” Whitt said flatly. “But I see how you pivoted this to be about me. When you’re the one pining after Nora.”
I groaned. “I am not pining.”
“You should hope that she fucks that guy tonight, so you can move on already and not screw everything up that you’ve worked for. If LA is your dream, then doing anything to jeopardize that would be stupid, even for you.”
“Thanks, Whitt,” I muttered. “Always so helpful.”
Thinking of Nora fucking someone else tonight made me see red. I was glad that I’d already pulled into the garage and killed the engine. It didn’t help that every word he’d uttered was true.
I couldn’t have Nora Abbey.
And I needed to forget about her.
11
Nora
“Thanks for the ride, Jana,” I said.
“Anytime. It was good seeing you out, girl. We should do it again!”
“Definitely.”
I waved at her as she drove away. Apprehension still rippled through my gut. I should have called West. He’d said I could call him for anything. I should have stuffed down my pride and given him a call. But I felt like a failure and also like I wanted to kill Bryan. What a douche.
The house was dark on the inside and I blew out a breath. West must have gone to sleep already. It was only just after midnight. I’d planned to be there until bar close. If only Bryan had been as nice as he’d first appeared. This was the part of dating I hadn’t been looking forward to. Why did a guy have to seem nice and then turn out to be a prick? Could save me all the time and trouble by revealing who they were at the beginning.
I stomped up the front walk and stuck the key into the front door. The handle turned easily. He must have left it open for me. I closed the door behind me and kicked off my heels. I squeaked when I found Weston seated on the couch, the light from his phone illuminating his face.
“You’re awake! Why are you sitting in here in the dark?”
“Couldn’t sleep and decided to wait for you to get home.” He checked the time. “It’s early.”
“Yeah, well, the night wasn’t exactly a Disney movie.”
Weston came to his feet, stretching to his full height. “How so?”
I shook my head. “It’s stupid. I don’t want to get into it.”
“Nora?” he said, stopping me before I could escape. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Did he hurt you?”
“No. He just…” I sighed and crossed my arms. But he waited right there for an explanation. “He’s friends with August.”
Weston frowned. “Ah.”
“Yeah. And I guess there was some kind of…bet.” I rolled my eyes. “I can’t even finish that sentence. Some of his so-called friends were trying to see who could bag me first.”
“He told you about this?”
“Well, no. He pressured me to go home with him and didn’t exactly take kindly to me saying no.”
Weston’s eyes went flinty. “I’ll kill him.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Just leave it. It’s stupid. It’s so fucking stupid and childish. Jana was the one who confessed to the bet. She’d thought they’d all forgotten about it since it’d happened right after the breakup. But I guess not.”
“What a fucking douche bag.”
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“Why didn’t you call me? I could have come to get you. I could have handled Bryan.”
I waved him off. “I don’t know. I wanted to be able to handle it myself. Jana drove me home.” I bit my lip. “I should have called. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, don’t apologize to me,” he said at once. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I know. I just thought I’d succeeded at this next coaching session. And it turned out, I was someone’s stupid bet,” I ground out. “He felt entitled to sleep with me because he’d bought me a few drinks.”
“Fuck,” he growled. “No guy is entitled to anything from you, Nora. And any guy who believes he is, isn’t the guy you want to sleep with. He’d end up being a selfish prick in bed.”
I shrugged with a sigh. “Wouldn’t matter anyway.”
Weston tilted his head to the side. “What does that mean?”
“I’m difficult.” The words came out on barely a breath. I couldn’t even meet his gaze as I said them. I was so embarrassed by the admission.
“What does that mean?” West prodded.
But I didn’t want to say it. I didn’t want to confess this to him, too. I was broken up enough about what had happened tonight. At the fact that I even needed someone to teach me how to flirt or how to date. I should have known these things. It would be worse if he knew this about me, too.
“Nothing. Forget I mentioned it.”
“Nora, you’re not difficult,” he said plainly. “That’s bullshit language used by guys who are trying to control women. It’s fucked up.”
“Not…not difficult like that,” I whispered.
“Then, what?”
“You know…” I looked up at him, begging for him to understand what I was saying. But he just stared back at me in confusion. “I don’t…I don’t orgasm with a guy. It’s, like…impossible.”
Weston stared at me for a few seconds, as if waiting for me to throw in a punch line. Because that couldn’t possibly be what I’d just said. My cheeks flushed at that look.
“What?” he croaked.
“Forget it,” I muttered.
“Do you come when you masturbate?”
My mouth opened and closed. My blush moving from my cheeks to my ears and neck. Mutely, I nodded.