Free Jersey Girl (Sticks & Hearts #1) by Rhonda James

nearly three hours, but I'm still restless. I don't want to stay here, but I also don't feel like heading back to the dorms. I have my notes with me, so I decide to head over to the coffee house to study for my calculus test.
    My phone vibrates as I'm walking out the door, and when I look down I see Justin's text.
    I miss u, baby.
    His words send chills up my spine. God, I hate his need to control everything. I quickly delete it, feeling a great sense of satisfaction as I watch it disappear, then text Roni to let her know I won't be joining her for dinner. I'm not sure where she is, but I don't want her to worry. Her response comes quickly.
    Thnx. I'll grab dinner with Josh.
    ***
    The coffee house is fairly quiet for a Sunday evening, so finding a cozy spot in the back is easy. Pulling my laptop, notes, and headphones out of my bag, I line everything up and press play on my favorite playlist. I'm so engrossed in my notes that I fail to see Brantley enter the room until it's too late. He spots me and offers up a half wave, which I return. When he makes a move to come my way I actually hold my breath. He reaches the booth and hesitates for a moment before sliding in across from me.
    "Hey." It's not much, but it's all I can manage at the moment. It's a simple word, but it comes out sounding breathy, like I'm totally into him or something. Which I totally am, but I can't let him know that.
    "Hey, yourself. Looks like you were really engrossed there. What are you studying?" He reaches for my notes, but I pull them protectively against my chest. If he sees what I'm studying, he may put two and two together. After all, he is a calculus god . A voice screams from deep inside my head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."
    "No. I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just something personal. So, how have you been?"
    "You mean since we talked last night?" He laughs, and it's this deep, sexy sound that goes straight to my lady bits. "I'm good, I guess. Just here, looking for someone. What about you?"
    There's a part of me that wonders just who it is he's looking for, and I have to remind myself I have no right to be jealous. "Oh, I'm just passing time. I just left one of the rehearsal rooms and didn't feel like going back to an empty dorm."
    "Is your roommate gone a lot?" As he asks this, he pulls out his phone and looks down. The frown on his face tells me he's not happy with what he sees. A pang of jealousy shoots straight through me as I picture him holding that redhead I saw at the bar. I wonder if she's been lucky enough to wake up in his arms. The way she looked at him that night tells me I already know the answer to that question. He's not even mine and I'm already feeling possessive. That can't be a good thing. Can it?
    "Lately she is, but that's only because she's met her latest conquest," I laugh, and a snorting sound shoots out my nose, causing me to blush. "Sorry."
    "Don't be sorry. It was..."
    "Disgusting."
    "Cute." We say simultaneously.
    I quirk my brow at him, and he flashes me a quick wink. I knew it! I knew he'd been flirting with me last night.
    We continue talking and enjoying one another's company. Although he frequently checks his phone, he seems to be engrossed in our conversation. At one point I see him typing and assume he's talking with another girl, or maybe Scotty. When my phone vibrates with a text, I casually glance to the right and see a text from him. Thankfully, he doesn't seem to notice, because he's too busy typing again. My phone vibrates again and I move my hand to slide it my way when another text comes through. This time, he's staring right at me, and when he glances down at my screen his eyes go wide with recognition.
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    BRANTLEY
     
     
    When her phone vibrates, I think nothing of it. Girls text one another all the time. No big deal. And when she doesn't bother checking, I assume it's either her roommate or her brother. But when I fire off the next two texts, and her phone