I have more important things to worry about than my best friend obsessing over Quinn’s best friend. However, someone should probably warn her.
Not it.
“Thanks, Jack,” Quinn says gratefully, wiping her brow with the back of her forearm. She turns to Kruz, a silent question in her eyes. Kruz nods, giving her friend a reassuring smile.
When the last box is finally placed in Quinn’s new room, we breathe a collective sigh of relief.
I clap Ezra on the back and thank him for his help.
He nods, his eyes still glued to Kruz. “Anytime.”
Quinn pulls Kruz in for a hug, signaling she’s just as ready for them to be gone as I am.
Ezra steps closer to the counter and fiddles with a bottle of sparkling wine that has mysteriously appeared from nowhere. There’s a mischievous glint in his eye that tells me I won’t be getting rid of him as soon as I’d like. “Up for a drink?” The question is for all of us.
Kruz meets his gaze as she pulls away from Quinn.
“Maybe another time,” she says, taking the bottle and making her way around the counter to stick it in the wine fridge, effectively making the decision for all of us. She seems to understand that saying yes would mean overstaying her welcome. I’ll have to buy her a thank you present for reading the room. “I’m exhausted.”
We say our goodbyes and Quinn walks Kruz out. She’s gone before Ezra even makes it back to the truck.
“Thanks again for dealing with that,” I dip my head toward the moving truck. I’m standing on the threshold of the door to see him off. Quinn comes back up the steps and sidles her way under my arm as Kruz’s headlights disappear out of the driveway.
“Not a problem,” he climbs in the truck, waving out the lowered window as he backs down the driveway and into the road.
Quinn rolls her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “He’s such a flirt. Unfortunately for him, unlike me, Kruz is uninterested in fraternizing with a professor. She’s actually extra annoyed because she had her sights set on him to TA for next year and he’s all but fallen all over himself for her all evening. Makes things awkward, to say the least.”
I snort. “I’ll make that abundantly clear to him.” I leave out the part where I don’t think he’ll give a fuck. “But if he catches wind of that, he will likely do everything in his power to make it happen for her.”
That’s actually an understatement. And it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Kruz, because it’s pretty uncommon to snag a TA position at the masters level at Cypress.
Ezracanremain professional. It’s just a matter of whether he will or not.
“Let’s get you settled,” I say, nudging her into the house and closing and locking the door behind us.
I set the alarm system. I feel a sense of anticipation and I’m not sure if it’s anxious dread or excitement or a mix of both.
The next few days will be full of unknowns, but one thing is certain—life is about to get a lot more interesting.
I plan to make the best of whatever that ends up looking like.
22
I SHOULD HAVE BLAMED THE GHOSTS
QUINN
The guest roomin Jack’s house is straight-up cozy.
Like,very.
But the truth is I want nothing more than to exit stage left out of this room and straight into Jack’s bedroom. Unfortunately, I am nothing if not a brat, so brat I must.
For tonight anyway.
Kronk is curled up on a massive doggie pillow Jack put on the floor at the foot of the bed. I thoroughly complained to him that I wanted Kronk to sleep in bed with me before kissing him goodnight and kicking him out of my room. I am no match for the giant poof. He is snoring his muffled little doggie snores and I am left to snuggle with my own pillow.
I hope he shreds it at some point in the night.
