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been spotted making a move on Orlando ever since they got back from winter break. Perhaps he could see all of that. He is kind of an old soul. No wonder he won’t hang out with anyone but me, Payton, and Nia. Not like she’s a prime example of humanity, because I’m pretty sure she’s nuts. Something about her makes her worthy of his time, though, so I should respect that. Nia didn’t enter the picture until after the breakup, so Tait’s firsthand experience with her was limited to a lot of glares and rude comments.
    Speaking of… Tait watched Nia stalk over.
    â€œAre you serious? This? Again?” Nia glared at her, like usual.
    Yeah, she hates my guts. Sitting up, Tait raised her gaze to meet Nia’s. “What? He can’t have other female friends?”
    â€œSure, but I’m not convinced you’re one of them,” Nia snapped. She turned on her heel and stomped away, not even bothering to attempt making nice and getting to know Tait.
    Her loss. Somehow she’d win the girl over, if only to make Orlando’s life easier.
    He chuckled. “She’s a good guard dog. I’ve trained her well. Gotta make sure she gets treats for trying.”
    â€œGee, thanks.” Tait pouted, stung a lot more than she let on. He wants her to be mean to me? Didn’t he just say he was going to forgive me and work on moving forward?
    When he grabbed her hand, the negative feelings faded—slightly. “She’s only reacting so strongly because she knows how badly I got hurt. Eventually she’ll come around.”
    â€œGot it.” Though she would prefer he not be friends with Nia at all. Something about the girl rubbed her the wrong way. No, not something, a lot of things. Over all of the years she’d known Nia through school, she’d only seen the girl be rude, selfish, and morbid. How could any of those things be healthy for him to be around?
    Orlando kept hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze. The warmth of his grasp calmed her. “Relax, she’s not my type.”
    â€œNot worried. Just don’t like her.”
    He rolled his eyes. “She’s different, and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”
    â€œDifferent doesn’t bother me, but she does.”
    â€œSo then you are jealous,” he said with a small smirk. He let go of her so he could start eating.
    She started to dig into her own lunch. “There is nothing to be jealous of. I know you’re not interested in her, and I’m confident that I’m a lot better-looking than her too.”
    â€œAh, your cocky side is coming out. Yes, I definitely missed that.” He was teasing her, but she knew he was also telling her the truth too. Orlando exuded confidence, so it made sense he would be interested in someone with the same quality.
    Shrugging innocently, Tait dipped one of her tots into some ketchup. The truth was, she wasn’t as sure of herself as she pretended. Nia could be cute when she tried. She definitely had the petite curvy thing going for her. Guys liked that, and the dark come-hither bedroom eyes. Nia’s spunk made her interesting, and since she dressed like Orlando and held his interest, they obviously had some things in common. But he’s attracted to me. I know he thinks I’m better-looking. I just need to remember that. He’s picking me, not her, and I’m sure he’s had a lot of opportunities to rebound with her if he wanted to. Still, I don’t trust her . The girl is bad news. Tait wished she could explain her issues with Nia better. Something else was nagging on the back of her mind. If only I could remember.

Chapter Four
    Waiting for his charges to finish with school was always the longest part of Alan’s day. Most of his comrades on his ship had duties to perform—chores, maintenance, data entry, and other seemingly trivial things. Duties Alan used to have to perform himself, and then some. Slowly,