I looked back at Luke and he mumbled something. I forced a smile and looked at Will. “Hey y’all. Um … Zach, this is my brother, Will and next to Will is my best friend, Alex.” Zach reached out and shook Will’s hand and then Alex’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’ve heard so much about the both of you.”
Smiling, I turned to Grace. “This is my other best friend, Grace.”
“Grace, it’s a real pleasure. Lib has talked a lot about you.”
I immediately saw Luke tense up. He looked pissed. Luke had been the first person to start calling me Lib. He was the only guy who ever called me that, besides Will.
Swallowing hard, I turned to face Luke. “Um … Zach, this is, um … Luke. Luke and Grace are brother and sister.”
Luke reached out his hand and shook Zach’s. Zach was about to talk when Luke started talking.
“Hey there, Zach. So, how long have y’all been dating?”
My mouth dropped open and I shot Luke a dirty look. Zach looked at me and I quickly smiled. “What? About two weeks now?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, almost three.”
Zach pulled my chair out and I sat. The guys all sat after I did.
Luke glared at Zach. “What year are you, Zach?”
Will shot Luke a look of warning. Smirking, Luke looked back at Zach.
“I’m in my sophomore year,” Zach replied with a smile.
“Where are you from?” Luke asked as Will cleared his throat.
I’m going to kick Luke’s ass. I glanced at Grace and Alex as they just stared at Luke.
“With the twenty questions, I’d think Luke was the brother,” Zach said with a laugh. Will and Luke both looked at Zach.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Grace and I both let out a nervous chuckle as I said, “Zach, one thing you need to know is we are all very close. We grew up together. Will, Luke, and Alex’s brother, Colt, have always been a bit … overprotective? Let’s chill out on the questions, Luke. Okay?”
With the way Luke was staring at Zach, Zach should have dropped over in his chair. He slowly turned and looked at me as he barely said, “Fine.”
Zach cleared his throat. “Well, to answer your question, I’m from Colorado Springs.” I smiled as I looked at Zach.
“I love Colorado,” I said.
Turning to me, Zach smiled and winked.
“So, what? No good schools in Colorado? You had to come to Texas?” Luke asked with sarcasm oozing from his lips. My mouth dropped open slightly as I glared at Luke. I couldn’t believe how he was acting.
Zach glanced back over to look at Luke, his smile lessening a bit. “No. We have plenty of good schools. My father lives in Austin. I wanted to be close to him while I attended school. My mother passed away during my senior year of high school.”
I sucked in a breath of air as did Grace and Alex. “I’m so sorry,” the three of us said at the same time.
Looking at Luke, I saw him look down and then back up. “I’m really sorry to hear that.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Zach,” Will said.
Zach smiled. “No worries. Thank you though. It’s much appreciated.”
Zach and I spent the rest of dinner mostly talking to Will and Alex. Luke’s voice was driving me insane as I tried to focus on Zach and what he was talking to Will about.
“I’ll show you around campus tomorrow, Sweat Pea, if you want,” Luke said with a smile and wink to Grace.
Grace nodded her head. “Oh gosh, yes! I want to see everything Texas A&M has to offer.
I peeked over and watched Luke take a drink of his tea. I licked my lips instinctively and quickly looked away when he looked at me. Zach had reached for my hand that was sitting on the table. I quickly moved it down to my lap. I hated that I was trying to hide it from Luke. The feelings I was feeling now confused the hell out of me. It seemed like Luke was jealous. Why would he be jealous?
He didn’t want me. He made that clear on more than one occasion. I closed my eyes and saw Luke’s green eyes looking into my blue eyes.
“I love you, Libby. I’ve always loved you.”
Quickly opening my eyes I saw Luke was watching me. My breathing increased as I remembered the night he told me he loved me. I needed away from him. Looking toward Zach, I asked, “Are we ready to head out?”
He turned and nodded his head. “Sure, if you are, Lib?”
Quickly standing up, I nodded my head. “Yep.”
We walked out to the parking lot and I watched Luke kiss Grace and Alex good-bye. I longed for his lips to be on my body.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Stop this Libby. Stop this right now. You’re with Zach.
Luke walked up to Zach and reached his hand out. They shook hands while Luke said, “It was nice meeting you, Zach.”
“Same here, Luke.”
Turning to me, Luke captured my eyes. They looked sad. Heartbroken. I so desperately wanted him to beg me not to leave with Zach. I wanted him to take me in his arms and tell me he loved me. That he needed me.
“Lib, I’ll see you around.”
My eyes filled with tears as I nodded my head. I couldn’t even say anything for fear of crying. I watched as Luke turned and walked off toward his truck. He pulled out his phone and began texting someone.
Abigail. He was probably going to Abigail. Looking away, I saw Alex staring at me. I gave her a weak smile before taking Zach’s arm. “I’m not ready to end the night. Let’s go dancing.”
Alex and Will both shook their heads. “I’m tired, so I’m going to have to pass,” Alex said with a smile.
Grace did a little jump. “I’ll go with y’all!”
I smiled and gave Grace a high five. “Perfect! Let’s go have some fun!”
I SAT ON the sofa and let out a sigh. Will and I had moved into the house our parents all chipped in for this past weekend. Libby declined to move in and I knew it was because of that fucker she was dating. My phone went off and I looked at it sitting on the coffee table. Abigail’s name flashed across the screen. I rolled my eyes as I picked up the phone.
Abigail: Hey baby. It’s been a few weeks. I want a repeat.
Hitting delete, I tossed my phone back down onto the coffee table. I hadn’t been back to Abigail’s house since the night I had dinner with Libby and her new boyfriend Zach. As soon as I left the restaurant, I sent Abigail a text and spent much of the night screwing her and trying to get Libby’s face erased from my mind.