Free Tangled by Em Wolf Page B

attending prestigious schools and girding herself with
wealthy people.
    Apparently
she was not without a proclivity for escapism as well.
    Tess
made it as far as her dorm before realizing she’d left her purse. No purse
meant no checkpoint. And no checkpoint meant she would
be standing outside until someone came out or went in.
    I am Jack’s utter lack
of surprise .
    ____________________

 
    Yawning,
Riley rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He squinted at the clock and scowled. If
there was anything he hated more than getting up at eight in the morning, it
had to be getting up at eight in the morning on a Saturday. As the only free
day in his hectic schedule, he treasured them. Between juggling a part time job
as a day laborer for a local construction company, attending swim practices and
meets, and staying up to speed with his engineering courses, he rarely had time
for himself.
    A
loud, grumbling noise threaded Riley to the present, reminding him of the
purpose. “I hear ya ,” he consoled his stomach and
made a beeline for the kitchen.
    He
set up a pot of coffee and opened the refrigerator. Chilled light glinted over
something shiny on the floor. He stooped down and grimaced when he came back up
with an empty condom wrapper and several buttons.  
    "You
couldn't make it to the room, lass?" Chuckling, Riley flipped the lid to
the rubbish bin and paused when he saw the remnants of a meal. No, not remnants, but an entire dinner course. So they
decided to ax dinner plans. Had it been anyone else’s thrown-away meal he
wouldn’t have blinked twice. But Tess was a stickler for not wasting food.
    A
cool draft whisked into the kitchen as the sliding glass door opened. Riley's
brows rose as his roommate stumbled in. "Rough night?" he asked,
taking in his disheveled appearance.
    “I’ve
had worse.” Cameron heaved the pane shut and sank into a chair. “What are you
doing up so early?”
    “I
could ask the same of you.” Riley raided the fridge and piled the ingredients
of a promising breakfast on the counter. "How was yesterday?"
    “I
crashed at Lance’s for a Call of Duty marathon.”
    Riley
gaze zeroed in on Cameron’s polo, all of the buttons still intact. “So you
didn’t drop by at all after meeting with your lab partner?”
    “Nah.
Why? Did I miss something good?”
    Riley’s
shoulders flattened as he toyed with the idea dumping the trash over his
friend’s head. But he wouldn’t do that to Tess. As much as he hated Cameron
giving her the run-a-round, it wasn’t any of his business. And he knew Tess
didn’t want to guilt the guy into a relationship.
    “Forget
it,” Riley said tightly and set about making his breakfast. He cracked the
egg’s shell against the counter and slung its contents into a bowl.
    His
uncharacteristic coldness began to piss Cameron off. “What’s your deal?”
    “My
deal? I don’t have bleedin ’ deal. It’s you who needs
to sort y’self out.”
    Cameron
pinched his sinuses. “It’s too early for this shit, Riles.”
    “Forget
about it.” He hacked off a chunk of butter. It sizzled and popped as it skated
across the hot skillet. “ Y’want in on this?”
    Baffled
by his mercuriality , Cameron waved him off. “No
thanks.”
    The
house creaked as footfalls slumped down the staircase. Adonis entered the
kitchen seconds later, clad only in drawstring sweatpants. “Hey,” he said, his
voice thick with residual sleep, and headed straight for the coffee maker.
    Cameron
eyed the cut on his lip and angry, red scratches welted across his chest. “Was
she trying to carve her name into your skin?”
    Adonis
glanced down and smirked. “Possibly.”
    They
stared at him, expecting elaboration that never came. “So, you
going to keep us waiting in suspense or what?”
    “I
don’t fuck and tell.” He retrieved a ceramic mug from the cabinet.
    “Since
when?” Hitching an elbow on the table, Cameron tipped his chair back on its
hind legs. “I thought you enjoyed giving us the