What’s worse than learning you almost slept with your new roommate’s brother? Um, that would be him not remembering you.

I wait for the recognition, the look in his eyes that says, yes, I went down on you and lapped you up like a Slurpee, but it never comes. In fact, he barely glances in my direction. Finally, he yells, “Down in front, girls.”

Oh my God.

Was he that drunk last Saturday night? I swear he seemed fine. I was more buzzed than he was. So not only did he stop us from doing it—which is totally offensive now that I know he sleeps with a lot of girls—but then he ditched me. And now doesn’t remember me.

#Asshole

I would scream right now if I weren’t in a room full of people. Instead, I chug my beer, ignore the game, and try to busy myself in the kitchen with Jenna and Clem as they make lunch. But I can’t look at my roommate. If Clem finds out I screwed around with Jax, she’ll hate me. Isn’t that why I hated Ashley? Because she violated the roommate code. I’ve always honored those unspoken rules. Until now.

Damn it. Jenna just told me to stay away from Clem’s brother.

I fight back tears and excuse myself to run to the bathroom where I pull out my phone. There’s a message from Travis.

“Guess who I saw at the art lab? You’re going to die! And he asked about you…”

I ignore his question and start a mad flurry of texts. Two minutes later, my phone lights up.

“Oh! My! God! What are you going to do? Did you know he was Clem’s brother?”

I write back. “Of course I didn’t fucking know!”

Eventually I realize I can’t hide next to the toilet forever, and I open the door and peek down the hall. Everyone seems to be crowding in the living room. I step out slowly, wondering if I should bolt for the front door and never look back.

Someone’s arguing. I hear Clem’s voice. After a minute, I duck into the kitchen right as Clem races down the hallway to the back stairs. Jenna joins me, shaking her head.

She leans into me and lowers her voice. “One of the guys said shit to Clem about her ex-boyfriend Daren who plays football for BC and was just on TV, talking about his fiancée. If you read her book, you’ll learn the whole story.” She motions toward the now empty hallway. “Clem’s dying that a room full of people heard the whole thing.”

That sucks.

“Do you need to go talk to her?” I ask.

“No, she’ll want to hide in a cave for a little while.” Good to know I’m not the only one who runs for cover. “I’ll give her half an hour, but once lunch is ready, I’m going to haul her ass back up here. My guess is she’s doing laundry right now. Or killing someone’s pet.”

Jenna laughs. I think she’s joking. I hope.

- Jax -

How do I know this girl?

My sister’s roommate stares at me like we’ve met, like we’re friends. Hell, like we’re more than friends. But all I draw is a blank.

Her expression is a cross between excitement, fear and horror. Yes, that’s what I do to women.

In sweats and a black t-shirt that hugs her small frame, she looks like she’s sixteen, especially since she’s not wearing makeup. But she’s beautiful. Delicate.

I start to worry that I slept with her in some drunken state, but nothing about Dani makes me think that’s possible. First of all, her tits aren’t hanging out like Christmas ornaments. Strike one. Secondly, she lives with Clem. Strike two. Thirdly, she looks too innocent to be interested in me. Strike three.

Nothing in that equation puts her even remotely in the fuckable category.

So then why do I have an immediate boner? And why does she keep looking at me like that?

Fuck. I rub my temple, the pounding nearly unbearable.

Concussions suck. The doctor said the headaches should go away within a week, but a week has gone by, and I’m still miserable.

I had to fucking scale Hannah’s balcony to get into her apartment. Or at least that’s what I’m told since I don’t remember any of it.

I leapt over the railing, something I’ve done all the other times she got locked out. Except this time I slipped, slammed my head on her grill and blacked out. Good thing the building manager arrived to unlock the door.

Chloe saw the whole thing through the sliding glass door, me wiping out. It scared the shit out of her. I woke up to her screams.

As it turns out, the soup Hannah left on the stove had burned to a crisp, so even though my coach thinks I got a concussion because I was out partying on my birthday, I know the truth.

And I’d do it again. Chloe reminds me of Clementine. It’s the way she looks at me like I can fix anything. It’s been years since my sister looked at me like that, and it sucks that we’ve grown apart. It’s my fault. I can’t do anything about it now, but when I look at little Chloe, it makes me want to protect her.

Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. I’m on probation because I had to miss several practices. Coach says one more screwup and I’m off the team. Happy fucking birthday to me.