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door. I don’t need to take the sleeve off the coffee to know she’s written her number underneathit on the cup. I don’t even know that girl, but it’s obvious she’s heard of me.
    I’m about halfway across campus when my phone rings. Caller ID shows it’s Cade. “Hey, man.”
    “Hey, you busy?”
    “Nah, just walking to class. What’s up?”
    “Not much. Talked to Tessa last night.”
    “Yeah? She tell you about her week from hell?” He doesn’t say anything, and I pull the phone away to make sure I didn’t lose the connection. “Still there?”
    “Yeah.” He clears his throat. “She, ah, she said you’ve been coming by a lot since I left.”
    “Yeah, I guess,” I answer with a shrug.
    “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
    “Why didn’t I ever say anything about what?”
    “That you were seeing her so often.”
    “I . . . don’t know?” Except I do know. It’s because the thoughts I’ve been having about Tessa aren’t exactly the kind of thing you share with her big brother. Playing it off as nothing more than the favor he asked of me before he left, I say, “You told me to watch after her. Sorta figured you’d take it as a given that in order to watch after her, I’d have to, you know, physically see her.”
    He grunts, but doesn’t say anything more.
    “What’s that shit for?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Don’t bullshit me.”
    “Don’t fuck with her, okay?”
    I stop dead in my tracks. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” The tone in his voice suggests what I already know—thatif he knew . . . if he had any idea the kinds of thoughts I’ve had about his precious baby sister, he’d beat my ass so hard, I’d be lucky if I landed in the hospital instead of a graveyard. And I know the reason for his trepidation about me and her is because he knows exactly what kind of history I have. He knows the name of every single girl I’ve ever been with—not to mention detailed descriptions of what I’ve done with most of them—from tenth grade on, and the list is extensive.
    Proving me right, he says, “Look, man, I know how you are. And that’s fine. That’s cool. But it’s not cool with my baby sister.”
    “Fuck you, Cade.” I laugh it off, though his words sink into my chest. Despite figuring that’s what he’d think, hearing him confirm it . . . knowing he thinks so little of me fucking sucks.
    “I’m serious.”
    I clench my jaw. Voice hardened, I answer, “So am I.”
    Instead of hearing the steel in my voice and backing off, he presses. “You get an itch, go to one of your fuck buddies. Don’t scratch it with Tess. Am I making myself clear?”
    “Crystal,” I mumble. “I gotta run. I’ll talk to you later.”
    I hang up before he can say anything more, pissed off that he thought he even needed to have that conversation with me. I’d never use Tess like that. Despite the incessant thoughts about her that I can’t seem to get rid of, I’m well aware she’s not one of the dime-a-dozen girls who throw themselves at me every day. And it pisses me the fuck off that he thinks that’s how I see her.
    That’s never been how I’ve seen her.
    She’s always been someone more . . . someone different, even if there wasn’t anything between us. And this conversation just once again proves exactly what I’ve known all along.
    That she deserves a hell of a lot better than an asshole like me.

FIVE
    jason
    Even after an afternoon full of classes, I’m not any calmer after my phone call with Cade this morning. I’ve done nothing all day but stew over what he said, and little by little, I’ve just gotten more pissed off. I know I don’t have the best reputation with girls, and I own that. I’ve never had a problem with the way people view me.
    Or I didn’t until today.
    I’ve always thought of Cade like family—he and Adam both kept me sane when my parents threatened to drive me off the edge. They kept me sane after my grandpa passed away a few