We arrive back at the massive couch and find Becks and Penny blissfully distracted. "This is Mark, Liam, and Graham," Becks exclaims, pointing to each guy separately as she says their name.

I watch them squirm uncomfortably in their chairs as I sit down next to Luca. The one wearing our schools University of North Texas fraternity jacket kinks his brow in my direction.

"Yes, they were nice enough to keep us company." Penny's nose crinkles over the rim of her drink. "You know, since Luca had to go looking for you, and my brother decided to take his turn on the campus bicycle."

I cut my eyes to the dance floor, when I notice Ethan and Hallie are in fact missing. Then turn back and flash the guys a meek smile, choosing to ignore Penny's blatant attempt at getting a rise out of me, when a petite waitress turns her attention toward our group. Her arms precariously holding a tray of drinks.

"Hey, y'all!" she greets us. Her heavy twang and wrist tattoo that reads "Made in Texas" makes me smile. She splits the tray between the two cube tables, cautiously making sure to set each drink as close to the center as possible. "I hope you're thirsty. Mr. Wescott asked me to send these over to you guys."

"Wesc—wait. Wescott?" Becks shifts her weight and slides to the edge of her seat.

Without question, I take a drink from the table in front of me. The pink-and-orange one that smells tropical, a nice reprieve from all the blue, and raise it to my lips. The fruity concoction tastes delicious on my tongue as I gulp down almost half the glass. I don't even try to hide the massive stamp on my hand that's meant to indicate that I'm not twenty-one. Twenty is close enough—at least, it is tonight.

"Um, thanks," Becks mutters to the girl, narrowing her eyes as she shoots me a look of concern. I can tell that she wants to ask me what the hell she must have missed, but, thankfully, she lets it go. For now, which is good since I'm not even sure what I think myself at the moment—only that, my stress levels have officially peaked.

The waitress nods her head, then walks off when I hear Becks gasp. Her hand darts under the table to take hold of mine as she leans into my side. I turn my eyes in the direction that she's staring in and find a tall guy, with a muscular frame and broad shoulders standing next to our table. His tangled mess of blond hair hangs down, covering most of his face as he works to smooth it back.

"And you'll tell your father how much we appreciate him stopping by," he tells the couple he's with. We can't see their faces, but by the way this guy is talking to them, they have to be important.

Beck's jaw practically drops to the floor the longer she watches him, and it takes all I have not to burst out laughing. I think she's found her new plaything. When I hear the name Russo, I lean in further trying to get look, when I notice the other guy he's standing beside. Theo. And he's not alone.

Adorned with a tall, gorgeous woman tucked under his arm, I try not to let it bother me but it does.

What the hell is wrong with me?

As if just noticing him, Becks twists to the side. The knots in my stomach twist to an uncomfortable state.

"Can you believe that asshole?" Luca groans, then adjusts himself so that his arm now drapes behind me.

"Hold on. So you do know Wesley?" Penny chuckles from her seat. The three guys she'd been entertaining suddenly appear to look awkward without her constant attention. When we don't answer her, she motions with the hand that's carefully holding her drink back at the guy with the blond hair.

"No, but if he's anything like the guy standing next to him, I'm good," Luca says automatically.

I lick my lips and taste remnants of my cocktail. I take another sip, purposefully ignoring the guilty feeling that's building in the pit of my stomach. It's clear I need to talk to Luca about what happened between Theo and him, but seeing the way he's reacting, I'm not sure if tonight is the right time to do it.

"Wait, hold on! Theo? How the hell do you know him?" Penny asks as I watch her eyes grow to the size of large grapes, while she shoves her drink at one of the guys. It spills on his lap but she could care less.

"Of course we know him." Becks rolls her eyes in the typical Becks sort of way. She reaches for her own drink, pinched between her legs, and takes a small sip. As if feeding off Penny's curiosity, she continues, "The man basically lived with Brielle for a whole year after his mother died. He's like the big brother we never wanted. Or at least he was. . . before Mason. . ."

I cut my eyes to the floor, when I feel everyone looking

at me.

"What? Before what?" Penny nudges Becks to continue.

I inhale in a quick breath and tuck my hands tightly in my lap. The sequin material of Becks' skirt digs into my skin. "She was going to say before my brother died. Five years ago. His name was Mason."

Looking up at Penny I ready myself for whatever she's about to say. She doesn't exactly strike me as the sympathetic type.

"Oh. My. God. This is fucking awesome!" Penny laughs. She looks over her shoulder and eyes Theo, who's momentarily watching us. "Oh Ethan is going to be so pissed when he hears what he missed!"

"When he hears what? That we know him?" Luca chimes in beside me. His tone sounding as if he was readying himself to come to my defense.

"Well, yes! But mostly that she does," Penny says, then glances back at Theo again. "And . . . from the looks of it, that it definitely seems like someone's down for some major reminiscing," she says. A smug smile slowly spreads across her mouth. Her tawny eyes slide back to look at me. "He hasn't taken his eyes off of you. Apparently, you are his type."

"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Becks is quick to come to my defense.

"God, chill out, would ya? All I'm saying is that—" "No, seriously—" Luca jolts upward—"just drop it.

Brielle would never go for him."

Penny's smug smile fades as she takes her drink back. It's clear that she doesn't agree. But she's thankfully taken the hint. Flexing his arm, Luca pulls me into his chest.

"I think I'm going to need another drink," he whispers into my hair.

I wrinkle my nose and shoot him a warning glance.

Unlike Becks and me, who only managed to get drinksbecause Theo had them sent over, Luca is twenty-one. "I thought you weren't drinking tonight?" I tease him. He doesn't answer me, but rather sits there, silently appraising my every move. I feel my cheeks begin to heat in an uncomfortable way. "What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking." His tone is so natural and light, that I almost believe him. But knowing Luca, I know it's so much more than that. I turn forward and shuffle my feet while I think of what to say. I can feel Becks glaring at me.

This is it. This is your chance, I silently tell myself. It's the chance to tell him the truth about how I really feel. But the only word my mouth can form is "Oh."

All right. "I'll be back. I'm going to run and grab a beer. I'm not much of a cocktail kind of guy." Luca stands up from the couch. He works his way around the far side, leaning back at the last second to shout, "You want anything?"

I shake my head and he disappears. I know I'm being a coward, but I keep my eyes glued to the floor. I don't dare look at Becks for fear of what she might say. I know whatever lecture she's got in store for me, she'll be right. What I'm doing with Luca is selfish and unfair but I'm scared. If I tell him the truth about how I feel, he may leave, and I don't know if I'm ready to take that chance. I don't know if I'm ready to lose another person I care about.

We stay for two more rounds of drinks, until I've sufficiently had my fill of Penny's I'm better than you attitude. On the way out, I keep my eyes laser-locked to the floor just to avoid any possibility of seeing Theo again. Throughout the night I managed to see enough . . . of him and the girl he has superglued to his arm to last a lifetime.

The next morning, I find myself lying in bed, juststaring up at the ceiling. Thanks to all the sugar in those cocktails I drank,I tossed and turned for hours after Luca dropped us off. Memories haunting my mind as I think about Theo and this new, darker side of him that I'm not sure I really like. This isn't a playground for kids. Theo's obnoxious voice plays in my head. The fact that he still views me as a "kid" pisses me off more than I'd like to admit.

An hour later, my stomach growls alerting me that it's time to get up. I roll from my bed and throw my dirty blonde hair up into its usual messy bun. I can feel the knots pull in my neck as I wrap the bun twice with the rubber band, too tired to care. I pass a mirror, but I don't bother looking. I know I'll hate what I see.

"Morning," I say in between a yawn, when I turn the corner into our kitchen and find Becks, seated and helping herself to a bowl of cereal.

"Ah, sleeping beauty finally wakes!" She laughs and sets down the book she'd been reading.

My eyes shift to the clock on the stove, widening when I notice it's already close to one o'clock in the afternoon!

"So, is it just me, or are you kind of freaking out too?" "Freaking out?" I lean against the counter. My mind is

still sifting through random thoughts from last night. "About what?"

"Oh I don't know." She smiles, spooning milk into her

mouth as fast as she can. "You don't think it's strange that after all this time, Theo just randomly shows up. And on the one night you actually agree to come out with me."

Tilting her bowl, Becks lets the milk pool against the opposite side before she makes quick work of finishing off the tiny pieces of cereal. When she finishes, she wipes her mouth.

"Wait. You don't think he's going to want to hang out again, do you?"

"Yeah, no. That's not going to happen!" I nervously bite at my bottom lip. I think Theo was just as surprised to see us as we were to see him. In fact, I don't think he has any interest in hanging out with us, ever. At least, I didn't until she just mentioned it.

"Hey, so, whatever happened with Wes?" I try to move the conversation along, remembering how—at the last minute— Penny called him over to the table to introduce us. But when Luca and I left, to stop by the bathrooms, Becks had stayed behind to talk to him.

"Oh yeah!" She shoots forward in her seat and pushes the book further up the table, as she leans her elbows along either side of her bowl. "I can't believe I forgot."

"So? What happened?"

"What happened is I found out that man is perfection!

He's sweet and handsome. And he asked me to come back tonight to hang out with him. Well . . . he asked both of us to."

"Both of us?" I say, and she nods her head. "No. Becks, I can't."

"Oh please. I need you."

I arch my brow as I watch Becks silently plead. She crosses her hands in front of her chest. "Please! Please!

Pleeeeease! I'll love you forever and ever."

"No can do. I really need to study. If I fail this exam, my father will lose it. It's worth half of my grade."

"Oh, come on. You never fail, and your father can learn to loosen the reins a little." Becks rocks side to side excessively. The wooden chair creaks under her every time she leans to one side.

Because I know she won't relent, I give in and say, "Fine. But we're not staying out long."

"Yay!" She jumps up from her seat and wraps her thin arms around me. "I told him we'd be there around ten, so you'll still have plenty of time to study before we go."

"Oh you did, did you?"

"Yup. And before you try to worm your way out of it, just know, I'm picking out your outfit tonight."

"What? No. No!"

"Yes! You desperately need to find a man, Bree. You've been single for too long. And nothing in that closet of yours is going to help."

A man?

When the hell did this turn into operation get Brielle a boyfriend?

"I don't need a man, Becks. I'm fine." "No, you're really not."

I arch a brow at her across the room like excuse me?

"All I'm saying is that Mr. Darcy may be steamy when it comes to those classic literary novels of yours, but it's not your legs he's burying himself into. . . it's Elizabeth's."

I turn around and busy myself cleaning the few items we have in our sink, trying to erase the image her words provoked. When I finish, I go to the refrigerator and pour myself a glass of juice.

"Look! At the very least, maybe meeting a guy might would help you relieve some of the stress you put yourself through. You know, by letting someone else do all the work for once."

I lean back letting her words sink in before bursting out loud in a fit of laughter. "Did you seriously just insinuate that I—"

"Flick your bean to Pride and Prejudice. . . yes."

"Oh my God, Becks!"

I close my eyes. The blood under my cheeks ignites as I feel my jaw drop. Great. Now I'll never look at Jane Austen the same way ever again.

"I don't do that!" I tell her.

I could never. Have never. Nor do I plan to start now. "Okay! Okay!" Her face twists with an uneasy look.

"Geez, and y'all say I'm the unusual one."