{18+ COLLEGE ROMANCE COMPLETED}
What sucks more than being rejected by the girl of your dreams? Finding out afterward that she's moving in with you.
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The night that Beau Martin spends with Collins Bryant is the best one of his life. He wants to...
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SPRING SEMESTER WAS NEARLY OVER, and worry continued to pile onto my shoulders.
It felt good to put the nightmare of spring break behind me, to come clean to my friends about Cato and introduce them to Mama Martin, who embarrassed me by guessing everyone's names before I even had a chance to tell them to her.
But returning to OSU after the ashes had cleared hadn't proved easy. Things hadn't magically gone back to normal, not that I'd expected them to.
"What's up?"
Cato's voice was muffled and dragging a bit, making me wonder if I'd woken him up even though it was fucking dinner time.
One of those things that hadn't returned to normal? Cato—he wasn't ghosting everyone anymore. Imagine that.
"A question has been swirling in my brain."
A heavy sigh came through my phone. "Yeah?"
"Did you know?"
I'd taken a lot of time to think about what Collins had said, about knowing when to cut people off when it was for the best.
She was right, to an extent. But I couldn't do it to Cato. Not yet. Not when he was just starting to redeem himself. For over a year, he did everything he could to avoid my parents for, and when he finally caved, he did it for me. But if he pulled anything else—anything—I'd reconsider. I'd have to. He sure as hell wasn't getting any more money out of me.
"Did I know what?"
"That I was about to fork over millions to the Baileys? That we were both fighting the same goddamn enemy?"
"No." He sounded genuinely confused why I'd even ask. "Why would I be on your ass about money if I'd known you were just as fucked as I was?"
I paused, wondering if I dared to be honest. But fuck it. "It did cross my mind that maybe you and Denver were fucking me over together."
"What?" There was a bunch of rustling on the other end of the line, confirming my suspicions that he'd been in bed. "I hate that asshole. I'm guessing he knew what he was doing with the two of us, but I sure as hell didn't. Why would I do something like that?"
I shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "You always seemed to resent me for...I don't know, being..."
"The golden boy?"
I wrinkled my nose. "I didn't want to say it."
"Maybe a little bit," he said. "But not bad enough to actually fucking do anything about it. Besides, if you go broke, who am I supposed to go to when I need money?"
He laughed, and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm kidding, Beau."
"You're not," I chuckled. "But I do appreciate the self-awareness."
