"Then what does he want? Not me, obviously."

His brow curved up. "But you want him?"

"Well, obviously, I'm attracted to him, but I..." She wasn't going to lie. "Yeah, I do. I mean, I can't help how I feel." God, why had he gone and messed with her like that? "But I'm not going to be some hookup."

"And you shouldn't." He started walking. "Let's go back to the house."

As they found their way to the path, she rubbed her arms, the cool air finally getting to her.

"Listen," James said. "If there's anything I know about, it's wanting what you can't have."

"Please don't tell me I can't have him. I know that."

"He wants you. Of course he does. He just doesn't think he can have you."

"Oh, please." Hope popped like a prairie dog out of its hole.

"I see how he looks at you, and it's probably the same way I looked at Jason Rountree for about three years. The poor guy had to know how bad I wanted him. But he was straight." He shook his head. "I just couldn't stop the way I felt."

"And how did you feel?"

"I'm not attracted to the flamboyant guys. I like 'em manly. You know? The jocks. The alphas. And Jason was our school's hottest jock. That dude was fucking hot. But he wasn't gay. And I knew that, but I couldn't stop wanting him."

"Uh, Dylan can have me, obviously."

"Not in his head he can't. I don't know his demons, but I do know his mom is on him constantly."

"Yeah, either he's super popular or she calls and texts him a lot."

He nodded. "I'm pretty sure he supports her."

"Supports her? Seriously?" Oh, God, how awful. Dylan was right-she didn't know anything about his situation. She felt terrible. God, she'd lived with an alcoholic, but she'd never been responsible for her. "That's awful."

He blew out a breath. "Look, I don't know what all's going on, but we saw what his mom did that night. And I'm guessing from the way he handled it, it wasn't anything new to him. So...a guy grows up with embarrassing things like that...I'm guessing he doesn't feel too good about himself. And you? You're, like, this sweet, fresh-faced girl. You're, like, purity and shit."

"Pretty sure I'm not pure."

"And there's that naughty smile that makes men want to open your book and turn the pages. You sexy little surprise, you."

They came out onto the main road, and she felt a little better. "I guess I kind of overreacted."

"Maybe a little."

"I'll apologize."

"Might be best to leave it alone. He's gonna be pretty embarrassed tomorrow." He paused. "I'm just saying, if you're going drama-free this year, then your best bet is to stay away from a hot mess like Dylan McCaffrey."

He was right. She knew he was totally right.

If only her heart listened to logic.

With his drink order ready to go, Dylan turned away from the bar and started toward his table in the dimly lit, upscale restaurant in town where he'd scored a job as waiter. A hand rubbed over his ass and squeezed. He jerked hard, nearly toppling his tray.

Brittany, one of the waitresses, shot him a sexy smile. "Overreact much?"

Ignoring her, he brought the drinks to the small, corner booth and found the couple engrossed in their menus. "Would you like a few more minutes?"

The woman looked up. "We would like five minutes. Five minutes, and we'll be ready to order."

"You got it." Professor OCD. His gaze flicked over to Brittany. She looked up from taking an order to give him a seductive look. O-kay. He'd take his five minutes in the alley.

Pushing out the door, he breathed in the air-thick with moisture and a hint of mildew this close to the lake. He crouched, cradling his head in his hands.

His mom hadn't shown up for work, and she'd lost her job. Now what?

He had to get her back on track, but he wouldn't be home until Thanksgiving-two months away. Hard to look out for her when he wasn't physically there.

The door opened, light pooling beside him. Fingernails scraped across his scalp. "Hey."

Brittany stood over him, lighting up a cigarette. She took a drag, squinting against the smoke, and held it out to him.

He waved it away.

"Todd's having a party tonight. Want to go?"

And just like that the weight bearing down on him lifted. "Yeah, maybe." This was exactly what he needed-to make a life for himself away from the house. Away from Nicole.

Last night at the meteor shower...fuck, the way he'd touched her. No more. He was losing control and had to stay away from her. And Brittany had just given him an opportunity to make new friends.

What Nicole didn't get was that even if Caroline had been raised by nannies, her parents didn't steal cars. They didn't get in hair-pulling fights on the sidewalk in the middle of town or get hauled off by cops for running drug deals in the high school parking lot. Sure, everyone had problems, but he doubted the kids at Wilmington had his kind.

And he had a feeling Brittany was more like him. If he was going to have any kind of social life for the next four years, it'd be with her and her friends. He just had to be careful about the partying.

His grades had always been a handgrip in his clusterfuck of a life. Something he could latch onto so he wouldn't go down the wrong path with his friends. The way he'd partied with the Sigma Phis the night before? He hadn't done that since freshman year of high school.

And why had he done it? Because of Nicole. Because as pissed as he got when she talked about shit she didn't know anything about, he still liked what she said. A clean slate? Hell, yeah. The idea they were all starting out at the same point-the bottom-and they could build from there. He wanted to build. More than anything.

But how could he build when his mom kept screwing up? She'd lost her job. Did that mean he had to go back to Gun Powder? Go to CU and commute the hour and twenty minutes? He didn't want to do that. He wasn't ready to give up this opportunity yet.

His family had pulled the plug on her once again. His uncle had said flat-out they were done. So that meant it was up to Dylan to keep her safe.

So, what the hell did he do?

Brittany hip-chucked him, knocking him down on his ass, and then sat down beside him. She reached between his legs and rubbed him.

Oh, fuck. Sensation shot up his spine and down his legs. He'd been fighting a hard-on from the first night sleeping with Nicole in his bed, and he sure as shit didn't need to get worked up when he had an order to take in one minute and thirty seconds.

He looked at his new friend. She was hot, with her long blonde hair, big tits bursting out of a button-down top, and glossy lips. She could probably make him forget a lot of things.

"I think we're gonna get along real good." She took a drag, blew it out the side of her mouth, and smiled.

"Gotta take an order." He got up, reached for the door.

"Party after work?"

Holding the door open, he turned to look at her. "Definitely."

He couldn't think of a better way to put distance between him and Nicole.

CHAPTER SIX.

With his clothes reeking of roasting meat and beer, Dylan headed home for a shower instead of meeting up with Brittany and her friends. Just as he reached for the doorknob he heard someone call his name.

He turned to see Brittany jogging up the walkway to him. He was pretty sure she wanted him to see her tits bounce. He did-and he didn't. He did because he wanted to stop thinking about filling his hands with Nicole's sexy curves, but he didn't because next to Nicole, this girl just didn't compare.

"Thought you were gonna party with us?" Smiling, she nudged his chest.

A group of guys came up behind her. "Nice house," one of them said. "We can party here."

"No." His tone had them all going still. "Let me shower and I'll meet up with you guys."

Just then the door opened. "Hey." Some of his housemates and their friends slipped past him, while Brittany's group pushed in.

Dammit. He'd make this quick.

He was about to lead them up the stairs when he noticed a bunch of people standing around the granite island in the kitchen. In the center of it all was Nicole, her hands gesticulating, features flushed, as she told a story.

A rush of energy flashed through him, and he bypassed the stairs. "What's going on?" he asked James, who was dumping a tray of cupcakes onto the cooling rack.

"She had a bad day."

Why the hell were they laughing if she'd had a bad day? And suddenly he understood the flush. She'd been crying. He pushed through and reached her side, touching her shoulder to get her to turn to him.

"What happened?"

She held his gaze for a moment, and he could tell she hadn't forgiven him for the night at the observatory. It took a moment for her to make a decision, but when she did, he was relieved. He had her back. "I got sick in lab."

"What? Why?"

Tears pooled in her warm hazel eyes. "He made me touch monkfish liver."

He had no idea what that was, but it couldn't have been that big a deal. "Okay?"

"He said we were going to make something rich and creamy, velvety to the palate. He was looking at me the whole time he was talking, so I thought maybe he knew about our business, you know? And he asked me to come up and help him, so I thought that meant we'd be working with dough or custard-something he knew I'd be good at."

A tear spilled down her cheek, and he couldn't help but brush it away with his thumb. Christ, he loved that smooth, soft cheek.

"Like he even knows about my baking." She rolled her eyes. "Like anyone does. We're not even getting any jobs."

"We just put the article in the parent newsletter yesterday. It'll happen. Now, back to the monkfish."

"So, I get up there, and he hands me a bag and asks me to take the monkfish liver out of it. And I'm thinking liver? But everyone's staring at me, waiting, and I couldn't freak out so I reached in, and my hand closed around this slimy disgusting..." Her features pulled in, and tears brimmed. He pulled her against his chest, and she clung to him. She smelled like sunshine and honeysuckle, and he knew right then why he'd come home instead of going out with Brittany and her friends. Nicole was the only person in the world he'd ever truly wanted to be with.

He had to stop doing this. Holding her at arm's length, he bent his knees to look her in the eye. "Do you want to be in this program?"

"Of course I do. I want it more than anything."

"Then you have to suck it up. You can't get grossed out by this stuff."

"I know that. You think I don't know that? I made a fool of myself."

"It was one day. The next lab you won't freak out no matter what he throws at you."

Tears spilled down her ruddy cheeks, and she swiped them away. "He's such an asshole. After he saw my reaction, he goes, That comes from this. And he pulls this monkfish out from under the table."

"Nicole."

"Do you know what a monkfish looks like?"

"No."

"It's black and disgusting and it has sharp teeth."

"You sound like you're twelve."

She sucked in a breath. "Thanks, Dylan. Really." She turned away from him.

With his hands on her hips, he pulled her to him, and she resisted at first, but not with enough effort. So, he turned her to face him, and they had this disturbing moment when something sizzled between them. A sharp, crackling connection.

He wanted her so fucking badly. He didn't want Kelsi or Brittany or anybody. He just wanted Nicole. And he was a selfish prick because, while she was the best thing that had ever happened to him, he'd be her worst nightmare.

He let her go. "I might not be telling you what you want to hear, but I'm telling you to suck it up if you're going to make it in this minor."

"I know. And you're right. I am being immature. I've always gotten sick around raw meat or fish. I just...you don't understand. It's...stuff from my childhood. It makes me sick. But I've really tried. I haven't let him see how working with meat affects me until today. When he tricked me."

"You haven't let him see anything? Sunshine, you can't hide anything. Everything you feel is written all over your face." Like how she felt for him. He could see it, and it made him feel like the king of the world and sick to his stomach at the same time.

Because he knew the damage his mom could inflict if he let Nicole get close to him. And he wasn't hurting Nicole. Not for anything. "All right, so I'm going to go." The look in her eyes when she gazed up at him...Jesus, everything in him gave an answering cry to claim her right there and then. But he couldn't go there.