Free Every Which Way (Sloan Brothers) by Calia Read

before letting loose. “That was an epic disaster.”
    “Maybe for you; Ben and I were entertained.”
    “He wasn’t even supposed to show up,” Severine muttered. They didn’t have much further to go until they reached their dorm. She didn’t care and uncoiled her legs to rest on the dashboard. Her mind felt worn. It had just been down the most twisted, warped hole. All it wanted was a break.
    Lily drummed her fingers loudly on her steering wheel. “Okay. You wanna know something?”
    “If it goes along the lines of ‘Thayer’s transferring schools,’ then sure!”
    When Lily bit her lip, Severine knew it wasn’t good. That was Lily’s sign that she was going to admit something she didn’t want to share.
    “IknewThayerwascoming.” Her words came out as one word. Severine still heard it loud and clear.
    “Ahh!” Severine groaned. “Why?”
    “I know you don’t like the dude!” Lily held her hands briefly in the air to show her innocence. “But he asked Ben if he could come. Besides, weren’t you the one that said nothing bad can happen in a library?”
    That was when she was certain he and Macsen wouldn’t show up. Leave it to the Sloan brothers to tarnish the one place Severine never thought they could. Everything was up for grabs now. Was she next? “Well, I’m a compulsive liar. You should never listen to me.”
    Lily rolled her eyes but grinned at the same time. “If you really wanna know, I-”
    “I don’t,” Severine chimed in dryly.
    “Watching you guys is kind of...” Lily appeared out of words.
    “Hellish, wrong. Something a friend shouldn’t do?” Severine provided.
    They parked near their dorm. The engine shut off, and Lily finally looked at Severine. “It’s fun to watch.”
    “Lily! My pain is fun to watch?”
    “I can’t help it!” Lily said delightfully. “I like that he dares you with practically everything.”
    Of course Lily could like that he dared Severine; she wasn’t the one being challenged.
    “People that are too much alike? Yeah, they usually blow up around each other,” Severine finally admitted. They were the same. Severine was sure he knew the truth too.
    “Where did you and Macsen flounce off to?” She moved her eyebrows up and down.
    Severine was beginning to loosen up over the change of subject. “We just talked in some corner.”
    “Sounds so romantic.” Lily fluttered her eyes repeatedly. Severine whacked her shoulder and opened her door.
    “It was better than sitting at the table of torture.”
    Lily slammed her door and hopped up onto the sidewalk. “If you call that torture, then I’m game.”

 
    Chapter Six
     
    Every day had a theme song, each one different from the last. Lily swore upon it. Most times, Severine thought it was crap, but today she was starting to think that her friend might be right.
    Sometimes, the shit that came out of Lily’s mouth made sense. Severine trudged up the stairs humming, “Bad Day.” Although, her day was far past bad; it sucked.
    “Annneeee,” Severine dragged out. She was too lazy to even talk right.
    “Yes?”
    “You look like you could be a really fast typist...” Severine trailed off and wiggled her eyebrows.
    “I’m not typing your paper.”
    “I’ll pay you a thousand dollars,” Severine said as she dug for her keys.
    Anne smiled and walked over to Severine. “Bad day?”
    “Yeah. I have decided that I truly am going to drop out and become one of those crazy coupon ladies. I could make a killing off that.”
    “But you’d also be the world’s most organized hoarder...”
    “Thanks for the encouragement. I saw a three-legged cat outdoors, maybe you can steal its cat food later.”
    Anne barely smirked at Severine’s barb. “Change. We’re going to the gym.”
    “Why would I start going now? I don’t even know where the campus gym is located.”
    “Get rid of some steam.” Anne made herself at home and dug through Severine’s closet. “I’m not saying that you have to