False Start (Virginia Valley University Book 3) Read online

  “Ziz, knock that shit off. The only way you’ll ruin my time is if you won’t hang out.” Running into her had been a stroke of luck. I always had a good time, but now I could have a great time.

  “What about your friends?”

  I shrugged. “If they want to stay, then fine. The two of us can have fun.” I spent plenty of time with my teammates. But I hadn’t seen enough of Zizzo recently. We used to hang out way more. I didn’t know why that had changed.

  I tapped Jimmy on the shoulder. “Are you okay with going back to my place? Or do you want to say here?”

  He shrugged. “I’m up for whatever.”

  I looked at… shit… Nicole. Nicole, Nicole, Nicole. I needed to remember that. “How about you?”

  She cast a sly look at Jimmy before responding. “Sure.”

  I grinned. “See, Ziz? It’s settled.” I draped my arm around her shoulders. “Who looks out for you?” Even when you think you don’t need it. It didn’t matter, though. I would always have Ziz’s back, whether it meant kicking some guy’s ass for ogling her or forcing her to unwind.

  She sighed. Her exasperation was just a show, though, because she was fighting a smile. “You.”

  “Damn straight.”

  CHAPTER 2

  Becca

  “TELL ME ABOUT Jimmy,” I said.

  Ignoring or not hearing my question, Carson frowned while he surveyed the spread on his kitchen counter. “Do you think this is enough?” He’d insisted on stopping at Kroger on the way home, and he’d picked up every kind of mixer imaginable—orange juice, soda, cranberry juice, sweet and sour mix, and even grenadine. He’d also bought snacks—fruit and cheese platters, chips and dip, and cheesecake, of all things. I’d waited in the car, and the sight of him strutting out of the store with a shopping cart full of groceries was comical.

  “This is a ridiculous amount of food,” I told him. “There are only four of us. And it’s not like it’s mealtime.”

  “Yeah, but at the bar, they had a full menu. If anyone is hungry, I want to make sure there’s something they like.” That was Carson logic.

  “I don’t think cheesecake is on the bar menu,” I pointed out.

  He grinned. “Upgrade, right?”

  He was so pleased with himself, I couldn’t help but smile and agree. “Upgrade. Back to my earlier question—tell me about Jimmy.”

  Carson picked at the plastic seal on the cheese platter. “What do you want to know?”

  “Well…” I leaned around the wall so I could see into the living room, where Jimmy and Nicole were sitting. Carson’s place was a townhouse instead of an apartment. His dad had bought it, saying it made more financial sense to own rather than rent while Carson was at school. His roommate had moved out at the end of last year, so now it was just him. “Nicole seems into him, so I was just wondering about him.”

  “He’s an okay guy.”

  That told me nothing. I pursed my lips. “Would you be okay if I dated him?”

  “Hell no.” His response was immediate and firm.

  I crossed my arms. “If he’s not acceptable for me, then he’s not acceptable for Nicole.”

  Carson leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “He’s acceptable.”

  “You just said he wasn’t.”

  “For you. But for her, he’s probably fine.”

  “Probably fine?” I gaped at him. “Don’t be an ass. Nicole is my friend.”

  “I don’t know him all that well, but I don’t have anything bad to say about him.”

  “Then why wouldn’t he be acceptable for me to date?”

  Carson’s jaw clenched. “Are you saying you want to date him?”

  I threw my hands up. “No! Haven’t you been paying attention? Nicole seems into him. I don’t understand your standards. If I shouldn’t date him, then neither should my friend.”

  He looked at me like I was the one talking in circles and being asinine. “He’s an okay guy, so I won’t cockblock him. But I won’t let you date him because I don’t know him well enough.”

  Closing my eyes, I rubbed my fingertips in circular motions over my temples. “You don’t get to let me date or not date someone.”

  “Uh, yeah, I do.”

  My eyes snapped open. “No, you don’t.”

  “Remember Brody?”

  “Oh… my… God.” I rolled my shoulders and let my head fall back so I was staring at the ceiling. “That was junior year of high school.” Besides the fact that he was referring to something that had happened nearly five years ago, it wasn’t some horrible experience. Brody had been a senior in my calculus class. When his girlfriend broke up with him a week before prom, I agreed to go with him. At the dance, he made up with his ex-girlfriend and ended up leaving with her, stranding me at the hotel. It wasn’t that big of a deal—more annoying than anything. I should have known better than to call Roman to pick me up. He and Carson had swooped into the Marriott to save me like my life had been in peril. I was pretty sure they had words with Brody afterward because he’d moved his seat away from mine in calculus after that.

  “No one ever mistreated you again.”

  “Yeah, because you and Roman scared away any guy that got within five feet of me.” Even back in high school, Carson had been intimidating. Well over six feet tall, he’d already had biceps bigger than my head. Though my brother wasn’t as bulky as Carson, he was no slouch either. The two of them made a formidable pair.

  “I don’t see the problem.”

  Of course he doesn’t. To be fair, I’d never complained. For the most part, I hadn’t minded. Even in high school, my studies had taken up most of my time, not to mention all the extracurriculars I’d been involved in. It had all paid off, though, in the form of scholarships. And that was a good thing because out-of-state tuition wasn’t cheap. Anyway, I hadn’t bothered to develop my own extensive social networks. It was easier—and more fun—to hang out with Carson and Roman.

  “Forget it,” I muttered.

  “Are you?” Carson countered. “What’s going on with you, Ziz?”

  “It’s Becca.” I didn’t know why I bothered correcting him because I’d long ago stopped trying to change that. He’d started calling me by my last name freshman year. I guessed since my brother wasn’t there, I’d become the Zizzo of VVU.

  “Hey.” Carson’s voice was soft as he stepped closer. “What’s wrong?”

  I smiled tightly. “Nothing that a drink won’t fix.”

  Unfortunately, there wasn’t a drink in the world strong enough to make me forget Carson. What Nicole had said about us being seniors resonated with me but not in the way she’d intended. I had wasted the first three years of college watching Carson hook up with random girls while I secretly pined for him. He loved me—I knew he did—but I couldn’t wait around forever for him to see me as more than a little sister. To quote the wise words of my father, it was time to shit or get off the pot.

  Carson clapped his hands together and rubbed them. “What can I make you? Rum and Coke? Screwdriver? Sex on the Beach?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Uh, yes, please. That was the thing with Carson—most of the time, he treated me like a little sister, but every once in a while, he made flirtatious comments. “Do you even know how to make that?”

  “No, but Google does.”

  “Sure, I’ll take one, then.”

  “Coming right up.” Carson started tapping on his phone, and I stared at the muscles in his tanned forearms as they flexed from the minute movement. As he read the recipe, he chewed on his lip, something he’d done as long as I’d known him. It was a good thing he wasn’t an avid reader, or his lips would be shredded.

  But God, it was a sexy habit, and I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he did it at other times as well.

  “Better make it a double,” I said.

  ***

  Carson

  I EYED ZIZ as she held her cards close to her face. “Bullshit.”

  She gr
inned. “Nope.”

  “Shit.” I flipped over the discard pile, and sure enough, she’d laid down three queens. I grumbled as I picked up nearly the whole damn deck and added the cards to my hand. “Since when did you become a good liar?” It was just my luck she’d developed a poker face in time to hose me.

  She giggled. “Since wouldn’t you like to know?”

  Jesus. She’s wasted. I’d been keeping pace with her, but I was barely buzzed. Maybe I shouldn’t have made her drinks doubles. Eh. She was safe there with me, and besides, it was nice to see her cut loose. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be sorry the next morning.

  “I would,” I said evenly. “That’s why I asked.”

  “I’ll never tell…” she sang in an eerie tone that sent shivers down my spine. I seemed to remember that line from an old thriller movie.

  Beside her, Nicole shuddered. “Stop it. You’re giving me the creeps.”

  Ziz leaned closer and sang the line in her friend’s ear.

  Nicole pushed her away. “I’m serious! You’re going to give me nightmares.”

  “That’s right,” Ziz said, not sounding sorry. “I forgot you can’t watch scary movies.”

  Jimmy shot Nicole a pitying look. “You’re missing out.”

  Nicole shook her head. “Oh, trust me. I’m not. The only thing I’ll miss out on if I watch those movies is sleep.”

  “She’s a scaredy-cat,” Ziz said matter-of-factly.

  “One hundred percent, yes. I’ll own that. Is it my turn?” Once we nodded, Nicole laid down a card. “One king.”

  “Hang on.” I shuffled through the dozens of cards I was holding. “I’m going to call bullshit on that one.”

  Nicole scooped up the card. “Damn.”

  “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter,” I told her. Although holding half the deck in my hand helped.

  Ziz snorted. “Didn’t I just do that?”

  I shook my head. “No. You actually told the truth.”

  She scrunched up her nose, causing cute little wrinkles to form on her forehead. But I was smart enough never to call attention to a woman’s wrinkles. “So I truthed you?”

  I grinned. “Even I know ‘truth’ isn’t a verb.”

  “Then what’s it called?”

  Nicole’s mouth twisted to one side. “Hon, I don’t think that’s a thing.”

  “Well, it should be. I’m good at truthing.”

  Nicole patted Ziz’s knee. “Again, it’s not a thing.”

  “It’s not like ‘fetch.’ I’m so going to make this happen. For real.” The girls convulsed into a giggle fit.

  Jimmy looked at me with a question in his eyes.

  I shook my head. “Yeah, I don’t know what they’re talking about.”

  “Mean Girls!” Ziz exclaimed. “Obviously.”

  “Okay,” I said, still clueless. Ziz was all about the movie references tonight.

  Ziz slapped a hand on my knee, gripping it with her fingers. “Oh… my… God. You’ve never seen Mean Girls?”

  “Isn’t that a chick movie?” Jimmy chimed in.

  “Movies are genderless,” Zizzo said.

  “Rambo,” I challenged.

  Nicole pointed at me. “Dude movie. He’s got you there, Bec.”

  Zizzo cocked her head to the side. “Isn’t it actually called First Blood?”

  “Yeah,” I confirmed, surprised she knew that. Then again, Becca seemed to know everything and not in a bad way. The girl had a curious mind. She always had. It was how she’d ended up getting a full scholarship. Of course, being female in a male-dominated major helped.

  It didn’t take long for me to lose that round of Bullshit. I didn’t care, though. The only thing I was really competitive about was football. No sense getting your panties in a twist unless you knew you could win. Either way, Bullshit had gotten old.

  “Let’s switch it up,” I suggested. “How about Spades?”

  Beside me, Zizzo swayed. “Is that the one with books?” She dragged out the s in books, making it sound like she was hissing the word.

  I leaned close. “Are you okay?” Damn. I really shouldn’t have made her those doubles.

  She turned her head in slow motion. Her eyes were wide. “I’m fine. Are you okay?”

  “I’m always okay,” I replied. It was more or less true. Not much rattled me. But at the moment, I was a little worried about Zizzo and glad we were at my place instead of at a bar. However, if we’d stayed at a bar, she would be sober. Actually, she would be at home because she’d been getting ready to leave.

  Nicole stood. “Does anyone need a refill?”

  Zizzo raised her hand. I wanted to nix her request, but I didn’t want to be that guy.

  Jimmy got to his feet. “I’ll help you.”

  Once they’d gone to the kitchen, Ziz leaned her head on my shoulder. “I really did save you, you know. And I’m going to keep saving you every time I see you with a random girl.”

  I bit back a laugh. “Oh, really?” Ziz had saved my ass countless times when it came to writing papers, but it was comical to think of her saving me from a girl. If anything, they needed to be saved from me. I wasn’t a bad guy, but I definitely wasn’t relationship material. At least I never led anyone on.

  “Yeah. You deserve someone nice.”

  “She might have been nice. But I guess I’ll never know.” Except I’d seen that girl out before, so chances were our paths would cross again. It didn’t matter, though. I’d much rather hang out with Ziz than hook up with a random chick.

  Her face lit up. “Hey, let’s call Roman.” She had her phone out before I could comment and held it out so we could video-chat with him.

  He answered after the third ring, and his face broke into an easy smile when he saw us. “Hey.”

  Roman was the dude version of Zizzo. Though they weren’t actual twins—and couldn’t be identical even if they were because of the whole guy-girl thing—they looked a hell of a lot alike in the face. But the similarities ended there. Roman was more like me—not stupid but definitely not academic. He’d been a running back on our high school football team, but he’d never had any shot at playing in college. So while Ziz and I had gone off to VVU, he’d enlisted in the navy and was currently stationed in Norfolk.

  “Roman!” Becca exclaimed.

  He frowned. “Are you drunk?”

  She nodded emphatically. “Yes. Yes, I am. Carson has been making me drinks.”

  I grimaced as Roman gave me a cold stare. “Dude.”

  “Oh, knock it off,” Zizzo said. “I’m twenty, a grown-ass woman.”

  I hated to break it to her, but she would always have little-sister status, including all the rights and privileges that came with the territory. Roman’s protective streak was ridiculous when it came to her. For that matter, mine was too. Zizzo had always been this cute little thing. Looking out for her was as instinctual as breathing.

  “Okay, grown-ass woman,” Roman said. “Are you behaving yourself?”

  Zizzo grinned. “Always. But Carson isn’t. Carson never does. Tell him he needs to stop hooking up with random girls.”

  So we’d circled back to this again. She seemed fixated on it, which was weird because she’d never said anything about it before.

  “Uh… stop hooking up with random girls?” Roman said it as a question, which didn’t make a convincing argument. He had no room to talk anyway.

  “Zizzo,” I started, and both of them looked at me expectantly. “Shit,” I muttered.

  “Ha!” Zizzo exclaimed. “This is why you should call me Becca. My name is Becca. Say it with me. Bec-cah.”

  A smile stretched across my face. “Maybe I’ll start calling you Little Zizzo to differentiate.”

  Roman laughed. “I’ve got people over, so I should go.”

  “Aww.” Zizzo—Little Zizzo—pouted. “I miss you.”

  “Miss you too. Be good. Don’t do anything I would do.”

  “Ha.” Zizzo blew her brother a kiss and put th
e phone facedown on the table.

  Nicole came back with a drink in one hand and a plate holding a slice of cheesecake in the other. Jimmy followed, carrying a bag of chips and a tub of dip.

  “Ooh.” Zizzo’s eyes locked on the cheesecake. “I forgot we had that.”

  Her friend grinned. “I got two forks.”

  Zizzo happily took the fork Nicole offered. “And that’s why I love you.”

  “What about me?” I asked. “You laughed at me when I bought the cheesecake.”

  She swiped her finger through the creamy confection and dabbed a glob of it on my nose. “I love you too, Carson. You should know that by now.”

  “Thanks, LZ.” I wiped the cheesecake off my nose and licked it off my finger.

  She stared at me with a dazed expression, like it was taking her brain extra time to figure out what LZ stood for. “Um, that’s a negative. I told you—Bec-cah. If you want to be fancy, you can call me Re-bec-cah.”

  “Okay, Re-bec-cah,” Nicole said. “Is it you and me for Spades?”

  She nodded. “Deal ’em.”

  Before Nicole could finish dealing the cards, Zizzo muttered an excuse and shut herself in the hall bathroom. When she didn’t return in five minutes, Nicole went to check on her.

  I heard her knock on the bathroom door. “Hey, Bec, are you okay?” Silence followed. “Bec?” She jiggled the doorknob.

  A moment later, she returned to the living room. “The door is locked, and she isn’t responding.”

  Jimmy laughed. “She’s probably passed out in there.”

  I frowned at him. He was probably right, and while it might have been funny with some other girl, this was Zizzo. I went to the bathroom door and repeated exactly what Nicole had done, which was idiotic. I took a credit card out of my wallet and slipped it between the door and the frame. After two jiggles, the lock clicked.

  “Damn,” Nicole commented. “That was fast.”

  It wasn’t a skill I was necessarily proud of, but it came in handy every once in a while.

  I slowly opened the door, and when I caught sight of Ziz on the floor, I swung it open. My heart pounded wildly. Her little body was curled around the bottom of the toilet, and she rested her head on the seat. Her eyes were closed, and she breathed deeply.