Not Even Close (A New Generation) by Elizabeth Reyes (books to read in a lifetime txt) 📗

Drunken college boys out looking for just a good time, she coulddeal with. But Vannah meant it when she said Byron was a grown ass fine manway beyond her league. She’d humor her roommate for now and let her think she’dconsider approaching him eventually, but she knew better. That was never happening.

Five

Unexpected Rescue

Byron

The phone ringing just as Byron got out of the showerbroke him out of his inadvertent ongoing thoughts of the little college girl.Glad for the interruption he smiled when he saw it was Gus and he answered. “Sup?”

“You home?”

Grabbing a pair of briefs from a drawer, Byron dropped the towelto slip them on. “Yeah.”

“Dick. Then why aren’t you answering? We’ve been knockingfor a while.”

“I was in the shower. I just got out.”

After throwing on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt he hurried downthe stairs of his apartment that sat above the now closed auto shop. He openedup the shop doors and Gus and Nando walked in bearing gifts in the form of atwelve-pack and a pipe. He let them into the shop, took a beer but passed onthe weed. “Gives me the munchies,” he explained. “I’m in training right now.”

“To fight?” Gus asked wide eyed.

“Nah, just to get in shape.” Byron touched his abs over hisshirt. “I was getting kind of soft.” He lifted the beer bottle. “Even this I’mtrying to cut back on, but I haven’t had one in a while. One’s not gonna killme.”

“There you go.” Nando tossed his keys at Byron who reacted justin time to catch them. “We got ourselves our designated driver.”

“That’s right,” Gus said despite Byron already shaking his head.“Only reason we were just gonna kick it here tonight is ’cause we’re both tootight to spring for Ubers all night and we both felt like throwing some back.”

“So just stay here,” Byron said tossing Nando his keys back. “I’mnot going anywhere tonight.”

“C’mon, man. Don’t be like that,” Gus pointed at Byron. “Didn’tyou just say you needed to get laid the other day.”

Byron frowned remembering how he’d muttered the comment under hisbreath a little too loudly the day he’d gotten back to the shop after beingannoyed over the whole freshman chick with the meathead at the gym. “Maybe Ialready did.”

Not really, but these two idiots didn’t need to know the detailsof his sex life.

“So, do it again. You have been kind of an irritable asslately.”

Before Byron could retort to that, Nando chimed in. “Frat RowFriday.” He pointed at Byron then Gus. “Easiest way to get laid. Drunk collegegirls are a shoo-in.”

As the instant thoughts of the one random college girlwho’d invaded his mind so much lately assaulted him, Byron shook his head evenmore adamantly than he had earlier. “Hell no.”

“Why not?” Gus and Nando asked in unison.

Their comical expressions almost made Byron smile. Almost.“Because I’m too old for that shit.”

“You just graduated last year, ass.” Gus pointed out. “A lot ofthose girls might even be older than you if they’re working on their mastersand shit. It’s easy to tell which ones are fresh out of high school. Just stayaway from those and you’ll be fine.”

More assaulting thoughts of the one thing he hadn’t been able tostop thinking about since he walked into the fucking gym today hit him again.Still shaking his head, Nando lifted his beer in the air before Byron couldretort.

“I know, I know. If you’re gonna be all fun police about it, youcan just drop us off. All the parties at Frat Row are within walking distancefrom one another.” He turned to Gus who was already smiling big. “We’ll splitan Uber back and crash here tonight.”

“ESU?” Byron asked taking a swig of his beer.

“Yeah,” Nando said with a soured expression. “I ain’t Ubering allthe way back from SC.”

“I can do that.” Byron downed the last of his beer before adding.“I can drop you off but I ain’t doing frat parties.”

“Man, you’re wack!” Gus shook his head taking a drink from hisbottle then added. “I’ve seen losers way older than you lurk around at thoseparties.”

“Exactly,” Byron said standing up. “Losers.”

“Dick! I said way older than you.”

Once again thoughts of that chick were in his head. Already shelikely thought him a gawking creeper. Running into her at one of these thingswould for sure seal whatever first creepy impression he’d already made on her. Notthat it mattered really but fuck that. Not only was Byron older than most ofthe guys at those parties since it was mostly freshman and sophomores, but healso knew he looked older—at least a lot bigger—even back when he was still inschool. He knew he’d stand out like those losers Gus was talking about forsure. Besides not wanting to come across as an even bigger douche, he did havean image to uphold being Beast’s younger brother, and part owner of a shop thatgot so much media attention now.

Heading upstairs to his apartment, Byron let Gus and Nando knowhe’d be down in a few as soon as he changed into some jeans. A few minuteslater they were all in his car. Gus and Nando sat in the back seat as if Byron weretheir Uber driver.

Glancing up at the rearview mirror Byron smirked as his two eagerriders gawked out the window at the girls in the car next to theirs. By thetime they reached Frat Row, the parties were in full swing. Traffic was a bitch,but there’d been no shortage of wisecracks the whole way there, so Byron wasactually in a good mood instead of his usual temperamental one. It was a longstretch of frat houses and of course Gus and Nando wanted to hit one of theones furthest down. Despite the bumper-to-bumper traffic, mostly college kidscruising the frat parties and many making traffic worse as they zig-zaggedthrough the cars, didn’t stop Byron from laughing at some of Nando’s stupid cracks.

That is until Byron started doing double takes whenever hethought he saw her. In each case though it wasn’t even close. Justsomeone with a similar stature or highlighted long hair. It wasn’t until thethird or fourth one that