The next morning, I’m still lying in bed when Jesse exits the bathroom. He’s showered and is dressed in solid black basketball shorts and a white tee. When his eyes lock on mine, I know that all of my prayers have gone unanswered, because he remembers.

His eyes silently communicate the question, “Are we going to talk about it?”

But I’m a coward—a big, fat coward—so I paste a false smile on my face and change the subject. “When’s breakfast? I’m starving.”

His smile slips, eyes linger a moment longer before he nods. “Ready when you are.”

I’m grateful—and terrified—that Lucas refuses the offer to join us. In fact, I’m downright jealous that he’s still nestled in bed with the covers pulled overhead. That he sleeps peacefully and doesn’t have to have awkward conversations about best friends who blur the lines of their friendship.

Jesse and I need time alone to sort out what went down last night, but my inner child wants to bury her head in the sand and pretend that nothing happened.

The walk across the greenway is slow and quiet. Is he going to bring up last night? Or will he make me? Maybe this morning I was just being paranoid. A few yards away from the Student Union Building, when he still hasn’t said anything, I bite the bullet.

“Jes.” I pause outside the double doors. “About last night…”

“Yeah.” His expression turns guarded, like he’s not sure how to feel, like he’s not sure if he wants me to know how he feels. Welcome to the club.

I decide to shoulder the blame, although we’re both equally at fault. “I’m sorry things got out of control... I should have…”

He closes his eyes, shakes his head, and when he speaks his voice is cold, if not a touch annoyed. “Should have what, Ry?”

I take a step backward and wrap my arms around myself. “You know what.” I trace a small circle on the pavement, keeping my head bent down. “You’re my best friend. Things got a little crazy for a minute, but you know…” I take a deep breath to calm my nerves, at the same time cursing the tears that pool in my eyes. “I don’t want to lose what we have. You’re like a brother to me.”

“Right. A brother.” He nods his head once and takes a step back. “Got it.”

“Jes.” I reach for him, but he shrugs me off, not in an obvious way, but I catch the gesture, nonetheless. “Are we okay?”

He spins to face me, a smile plastered on his face. “Yeah, Ry. We’re good.”

“Yeah?”

His eyes are clear, calm, resigned, and for a moment I wonder if I’m making more out of this situation than necessary.

“Come on.” He holds the door open wide. “I’m hungry.”

We take the stairs rather than the elevator. The third floor cafeteria hums with surprising buzz for a Sunday morning. I glance at the clock on the wall. Eleven thirty-nine. I guess it’s not that early.

As I push my scrambled eggs around my plate, two girls approach our table. “Jesse,” the taller one coos. “How’ve ya been?”

Jesse’s smile widens. “Good. And you lovely ladies?” Gag me.

He continues, “I didn’t see you at Epsilon Phi last night.”

Because we were hanging together last night, asshole. The anger seeps into my veins, a slow simmer at first, but increases to a raging boil the longer he ignores me. I’m not sure what has me madder, the fact that he had his hands on me last night and is now openly flirty with these, these floozies, or the fact that he can turn off his emotions so quickly.

He ups his charm as he gestures to the two available seats. “Wanna join us?”

“Sure,” the shorter blond girl says, and plops down her tray.

Another twinge of annoyance surfaces. We only have a few hours left before my bus leaves. This is supposed to be my weekend.

“I’m Paola,” the blond girl says and then gestures to the brunette who is still chatting with Jesse. “She’s Lily.”

Lily. Alarm bells sound in my head. Didn’t Lucas mention something about a Lily?

Even though I know I shouldn’t, especially after what happened between us last night, I push for his attention. “Jes.” When he doesn’t answer, even though I know he heard me, I clear my throat. “Jesse. We should get going. My bus leaves soon.”

He turns away from Lily and nods. “Yeah.”

Finally, she looks at me. She’s very pretty, in an I-could-be-a-model sort of way. Her face is long and angular, and her nose is a bit too pointy, a bit too sharp, but somehow it works. Her eyes are wide set, the color of honey, but lack any warmth as she says, “I’m Lily.” She wraps her hand around Jesse’s bicep. A possessive growl surges through me. She’s staking her claim, only furthering my suspicions that they’ve hooked up, when she asks, not so subtly, “How do you know Jesse?”

Jesse’s cool eyes dart to mine, and his voice is direct when he answers. “Riley’s a childhood friend.” He smiles at Lily for a moment then glances back to me. “She’s like a sister to me.”

“Oh.” Lily’s body visibly relaxes and her smile widens. “You’re only here for the weekend, then?”

“Yep.” I nod, wanting to throw the remaining half of my orange juice in her face. Or Jesse’s.

He’s mocking me. Or at the very least, trying to get a reaction. I don’t know what to think or how to feel. I’m hurt and confused, but I know without a shadow of doubt that stopping us last night was the right thing to do.

Sure, Jesse is gorgeous. His striking blue eyes are enough to melt panties (not my panties obviously), but it’s so much more than that. He’s so much more than that.

His caramel skin is flawless and has always reminded me of rich coffee splashed with the perfect amount of cream. He’s muscular and strong, not because he cares about things like working out, but because he’s an athlete and his body was built to move. Watching him run up and down the court dribbling a basketball is nothing short of beautiful. In my intro to psych class, we learned about Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and how each person possesses all seven intelligences but are stronger in certain areas than others. Without a shadow of a doubt, Jesse is gifted in bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. The way his body moves through space, the way he is just so aware—it’s art in motion.

But on the flip side, this is Jesse. My Jesse, and despite all of his amazing physical attributes, despite his caring attitude and wicked sense of humor, I don’t think of him in that way. Do I?

“Ry?” My name sounds like it’s being called from far away. “Riley?” My eyes squint into focus. Jesse and Lily both look at me expectantly. “Are you okay?” Jesse questions with more concern in his voice. “You look a little—”

“Pale?” the blonde girl, Paola, I think she said her name was, offers.

I shrug off their concern. “I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess. It was a long night.”

Jesse’s eyes widen at my innuendo, but I continue. “I think I’m gonna head back. I have to pack up my stuff.” I snatch my tray from the table, and Jesse stands as well. I turn to face him. “Don’t leave on my account. I’m sure Lucas can let me in. My gaze shifts between Lily and the Paola girl. “Stay with your friends.”

His eyes narrow, and a muscle ticks in his jaw. “I don’t mind.” He reaches for my tray. “I’ll walk you back.”

“Such a gentleman,” I say, my voice falsely sweet. “Nice meeting you—”

Jesse takes my hand and pulls me away before I can finish my statement. Oh, well, no love lost, because I’ll probably never see either one of those girls again.

“Come on.” He stalks toward the door so fast that I’m forced to jog to keep pace with him. “You’ve got a bus to catch.”