Unfriended: A Geek and Stud Romance (Love in New Highland Book 1)

by Deana Farrady

  Breezy as I sounded, I had no expectations. Ever since my exile with Aura, we'd been out of touch. Not a word, not a call, not a text—a vast, humorless wasteland, my life without this girl.

  And it was late on a Sunday night. She'd say go fuck yourself, she had class tomorrow, she had a date, she wasn't in the mood. I'd have to humble myself and beg (which I would do. Yes, this was worth going down on my knees for).

  I paced until I got the return text from her.

  Pick up some Old Whisker's Blake for me dude.

  AT TEN TWENTY, I KNOCKED ON Charis's door with a bottle of port and another of Hudson Bay Bourbon I reserved for serious need.

  I leaned on the door post, gazing at the empty hallway with its plush gold carpet. Her apartment building was just off the original MCU campus, having been used as a dormitory way back when, before the university sold it and built fancy new residence halls closer to the quad. Now it just had somewhat pricey studios.

  I happened to know Charis's parents funded her rent; she was piss-poor at getting money, didn't care about her digs, and if it were up to her, she'd live in somebody's basement.

  Hell, if her parents ever fell through, she'd probably hit me up. I'd pay for her rent, too, no questions asked. Sometimes she whined about her parents so much, I wished she would ask.

  The door swung open and I was greeted with a yawn that turned into a broad smile. "Well hey, there, handsome stranger. What's up? It's late. I thought you'd be studying for exams."

  I looked into Charis's eyes. They weren't big, green and wide like Aura's. They were squinty, early Renee Zellweger eyes, the irises a light brown, with laughter lines already forming under them. Friendly eyes, warm and welcoming.

  I looked her up and down. She wore a humongous black night shirt, a tee that came down to just above her knees. I couldn't tell if she was wearing a bra. I wasn't even sure she wore the things. She was, in her own words, a boobless freak.

  Her neck, arms and legs were willowy, her calves pretty decent since she'd gotten into zumba last year. I liked to tease her about her bony knees. Her feet were bare. Her right little toe had a silver ring.

  She was Charis. Same old Charis. She looked like the geek she was.

  Fucking fantastic to see her.

  So fantastic I almost reached out and grabbed her for a hug. But I stopped myself—I don't know why.

  "I probably should be." I said, clearing my throat. I was nervous, for some reason. "If I need to, I'll call the profs for an extension."

  "Thinking you can wiggle out of things? Ha, I dare you to try, Norrell." She finally remembered to move aside to let me pass.

  "They'd agree to a retake," I assured her. I was confident there, having finagled it before, in my wilder drinking days.

  "You are such a politician sometimes," she laughed.

  I was just inside the door when I paused. I hadn't been exactly sure how I would break it to her, but this needed to be said. "Char…Aura and I just broke up."

  Charis froze into stone. Her mouth opened and stayed open. "You. Did. Not."

  That made me grin despite myself. "Did."

  "Impossible." Her tone was urgent. "No, no, this can't be. Asher, you and Aura are The Couple. People talk about the two of you in one breath, use you as a metaphor after Romeo and Juliet, Abelard and Heloise…"

  "It takes more than being invited together to parties to keep a couple going, Sloane."

  "An institution, that's what you are…"

  She was right. We had been a Marmot Canyon University institution, Aura and I. Everybody knew we were together. My professors asked after her. We received single, not double, invitations to social events. We were "the most tweeted couple on campus." For what it's worth.

  It was depressing, when you thought about it.

  While Sloane stood there in her doorway as if paralyzed, I reached into my sack and brought out a bottle. She lunged for it, holding it to her chest like a life jacket.

  "When did it happen?"

  "We fought this morning."

  Charis's mouth finally closed a bit, her lips pursing. She continued looking dazed as I attended to the business of getting glasses and pouring.

  "You guys always fight. I think of your fights as romantic, kind of Shakespearean. If I be waspish, best beware my sting and suchlike."

  "Yeah, well, this one was a dealbreaker."

  "Wow," she said, plopping down on her sofa next to me and putting her feet up on the coffee table. "Wow. I just can't believe it."

  "Believe it." I downed a couple of shots, leaned back, and closed my eyes.

  And relaxed for the first time in months.

  Finally.

  I was here. I was home. Everything would be fine now. The rush of relief actually made me smile.

  I glanced around, comforted by the pistachio wrappers, the clothing draped over furniture, mounds of batteries and electronics piled on surfaces. Charis's long feet rested between two precarious stacks of books. Her bachelor-style housekeeping reminded me of my two older brothers. The place smelled nice enough, so I don't think anything was actually rotting, but there was disarray galore. Nothing had changed. She was just the same.

  I felt more tension flowing out of me before I even took one sip of whiskey.

  "This really blows." She sounded subdued, like the air had gone out of her. For someone who wasn't a huge Aura fan, my bestie was taking this hard.

  "Maybe you'll make up with her," she went on. "Maybe whatever it is she'll forgive you for, or you'll forgive her, or…something."

  It was like she was trying to convince herself.

  I looked at her curiously. I was starting to wonder if there was something more to her dismay than the obvious. "No. We're done. Truth, Char? It's a relief. My dad always told us boys a good woman would enhance your life, make it better. Fill it up, not drain it dry."

  "You're saying Aura drains it dry?"

  My balls, for sure. Naturally, I didn't say that crassness aloud. I'm comfortable with Charis, but I try to tone down my dirty mouth some.

  I swallowed two more shots working up a more sociable answer. "Let's just say she didn't leave me a whole helluva lot for anything else."

  "Did something happen that sparked the fight?"

  I hesitated. Should I tell her the part she'd played? I was reluctant to go there, but on the other hand, I didn't want it there between us, unspoken.

  "Well?"

  "Nobody pulled any new shit," I hedged. "Things have been bad for a while."

  "Oh. I didn't know that. Well, how is she? Is she upset?"

  "She'll get over it."

  "Really. You think?"

  I held up one palm. "I hereby make a prediction. I predict Aura Renaldi's life will significantly improve starting now."

  As the liquor began to hit my system, it occurred to me how true I spoke. When Aura irritated me, I pulled away, which made her bonkers, which made me pull away, which made her insecure, which made her bonkers, which irritated me….

  Yeah, the whole situation had been majorly fucked up. They'd have loved tearing me down as an enabler on reality TV.

  "Um, so, I guess, do you want to talk about what happened?"

  I opened my eyes. "You really want a play by play, Sloane?"

  She shrugged, her cheeks a little pink. "It's up to you. We both know your girlfriend and I never really hit it off, but if you need to talk about it, I'm here for you. You know that."

  I hesitated. Historically, the topic of Aura has been do-not-enter for us. Sloane and I have some deep convos, but we avoid waxing eloquent on our love lives. She knew I was into Aura; I knew she dated the occasional loser, and we left it at that.

  She gave me space probably because she felt uncomfortable about getting between Aura and me. Or so I gathered from the way she left the room whenever Aura got extra wiggly in my lap.

  As for me…

  Aura had always made it clear that my relationship with Sloane was a problem. A big one. I didn't want Sloane w
orrying about that.

  But now that I think about it, with the perspective of hindsight, it does imply that Sloane has been between me and Aura from the beginning…

  CHAPTER 5

  Three Years Ago—The Hair

  Charis: Something's wrong. What's wrong?

  Asher: Nothing. Just girlfriend shit.

  Charis: Oh. I'm sorry.

  Asher: It'll blow over. So you up for some VelvetSky2?

  Charis: Uh, sure. Okay, sure.

  Asher: What about you, something wrong with you?

  Charis: No. No, I'm fine. What are you doing?

  Asher: Just calling Aura, give me a sec…hey, there. Are you? Yeah, I'm at Charis's. Want to come over, we're playing…great. She'll be here soon.

  Charis: Cool. What does she like, chips, tacos…oh, I have some pistachios—tell me she likes pistachios. These are good, they're not the dyed ones. What? What's wrong now?

  Asher: Shit. She might not want to play, she might just hang, that all right?

  Charis: That'll be fine. I'd like to get to know her better. You guys have been dating for, what is it, four months already. I need to see if she's treating you right, young whippersnapper.

  Asher: She's treating me fine, big sister.

  Charis: Hmm. You know what? You're in a weird mood.

  Asher: So are you. You don't usually wear your hair like that.

  Charis: Like—oh, you mean up like this? It's getting long. I've got to cut it.

  Asher: It looks good.

  Charis: It looks messy. Stop changing the subject. What's with the weird mood?

  Asher: I'm not in a weird mood, I'm just…anyway…Aura's great. She's amazing. She's what I need right now.

  Charis: You're really happy being with her, aren't you?

  Asher: Why do you say that?

  Charis: You miss her when she's not with you. You're always checking your phone. She'll be here soon, you know.

  Asher: Yeah, I know. You logged in? We'll play at least till she gets here.

  Charis: Okay.

  Asher

  AURA HAD A COW THE MOMENT SHE first learned of Sloane's existence, about a week into our relationship.

  At first her suspicions amused me. All I can say in my defense is, Charis just isn't the type of woman other females go into jealous fits about. She's everyone's friend, everyone's pal, and a bit oddball if you want the truth. Not that I give a fuck. As far as I'm concerned, she's just the way she should be.

  But this wasn't my first girlfriend rodeo, oh, no. With the female of the species, you don't ignore early signs of problems, you face them head-on to avoid looking the fool when the apocalypse comes.

  I insisted the two women meet ASAP. I even gave Charis a heads-up about the situation.

  She came through like a champ. No sooner had I introduced them than she was laying it all out with her usual good humor.

  "Obviously I'm a girl," she confided to Aura, "but you don't ever have to worry about fishy stuff between Asher and me. We're good buddies, that's all." She cuffed my scapula to prove it. "I mean look at the age gap. I'm way, way older than this guy."

  "You don't seem older. How much older are you exactly?" Aura demanded.

  "Four years. No, for real. We actually know each other because I'm friends with his big sister, Mel. It's almost as though we really are siblings, isn't it, Asher?"

  "You betcha, sis," I said, with an edge of something I wouldn't let myself think about. Whenever Charis talked about how we were like brother and sister, it never failed to get my goat.

  She held my gaze a moment, spacing out like she did sometimes, her soft brown eyes blinking. "So yeah, we just hang out and play games."

  "Four years is a lot older," Aura said sweetly. I looked at her in growing irritation.

  I'd hoped she'd let go of this shit once she saw Charis was not my type—a tomboy, a dude without the rude, an honorary fellow. Hell, Sloane used to practice soccer and baseball with us guys. I've seen her dripping with sweat. She laughs at penis jokes, for godssakes.

  But Aura was assessing her in one of those cool looks women give other women. "How did you two meet, exactly?" she demanded.

  And so, hugging her cute, knobby knees as she sat on the floor, Charis told her the story of our history together. She told about how, in my sixteenth year when her parents were abroad, she'd joined Mel at the Norrell family home for Christmas. In a nutshell: My family had all gone to bed, and Charis and I, both night owls, had stayed up in the kitchen together playing Mahjong and having an altogether holly, jolly time.

  "So you've been friends ever since then?" Aura sounded surprised.

  "Actually, no, I was attending college out of state and didn't make it home much," Charis said. "But then I came back to attend grad school at Marmot Canyon, ran across Asher on campus this fall, and we reconnected."

  Charis was being tactful. She didn't mention the crush I'd had on her at thirteen, and she didn't mention being a regular visitor at my family home or that everyone thought of her as honorary family.

  "So you see, for all intents and purposes, my friend here is a dude," I said, leaning in to kiss Aura's plump mouth. With my lips still attached to hers, I winked over at Charis, who jabbed my ribs and kicked me to boot—which I admit I fully deserved for the dude remark. Messing with Charis is hard to resist sometimes.

  Aura seemed convinced at the time.

  Turns out she wasn't. But I was. Fully, optimistically, blindly, then, and afterward.

  I believed Aura was flat-out wrong when she got into her jealous fits. I didn't have a secret boner for Char. As everyone's always drumming on about, she's way older. Practically my grandma, with the way she dresses, in those old-fashioned sweaters and baggy slacks.

  Sometimes we jabbed each other in the ribcage or exchanged a friendly tickle, sure. All of it was non-sexual. All Aura had to do was pay attention and she'd see we were not.

  Attracted.

  To each other.

  At all.

  My girlfriend, a law school student, wasn't swayed by the hard evidence before her. That hard evidence being literally my dick, which I stuck only in her. Kissing her, loving her, assuring her flat chests didn't do it for me, that I got hard for a woman's passion, not the ability to trounce me at games…nothing I did did any good.

  Of course not. I know now that moving to the fucking moon with Aura wouldn't have done any good. But I put up with her refusal to believe in me for three mind-fucking years, complete with bursts of temper and crazy shrieking episodes.

  Why? you ask. Because I was desperate. Because I couldn't control my cock. Because I had a platonic shutter bigger than a house hanging over my eyes.

  A shutter that came up every fucking time I looked at Charis.

  It slitted open every so often, but I always shut it fast. If my dick got hard for Sloane of all people, I must be missing Aura, and it was time to go. Was how my reasoning went.

  I know, you don't have to say it.

  Fool.

  Yeah, pretty much. Thicker than a tree trunk, that's me, forgetting that once upon a time, Charis Sloane had been utter perfection to my worshipful kid eyes. That in her own gamine way, with all her energy and enthusiasm for life, she'd supplied dozens of hard-ons and wet dreams to this growing boy.

  Forgetting I used to fantasize about the smell of her sweat, for fuck's sake.

  All this time, I never once put two and two together and thought, duh, Sloane is the person you'd pick to be stranded on a desert island with, no contest…

  Sitting here now with her cradled in my lap—fuck, she smells good—I'm just beginning to discover how much of a dumbass I've been.

  Now.

  But an hour ago?

  An hour ago, I still hadn't realized.

  An hour ago, I was still thinking Sloane and I were only friends.

  An hour ago, I didn't know she was getting married.

  Married. Married. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

  So an hour ago, when Sloane as
ked me if I wanted to talk about what happened with the breakup, precedent should have had me keeping my mouth shut.

  But this time, thanks to Aura's slander, she was directly involved. So I broke precedent for the second time that day.

  CHAPTER 6

  Three Years Ago—A Pointless Question

  Charis: Hey, Asher, question for you. Was Medusa the daughter of Typhon and Echidna?

  Asher: Listen, even if I knew, I'd refuse to answer, based on the fact that your question is A) pointless, and B) pointless.

  Charis: Pointless! But my prof challenged it in a paper and I have the nagging feeling he's right. And if he is…if he is…

  Asher: See? Still pointless.

  Charis: Ancient Greek mythology is important! It's important because…something. All right, I hate to do this, Norrell. I didn't want to bring out the big guns, but you've left me no choice. If you don't look it up for me at this very moment with that convenient tablet you have, I am prepared to…this time I'm the one who…I'll tickle. Yeah, you heard me. And I will have no mercy.

  Asher: Really? I call it. Right here, right now. You think you got what it takes? Do it. Bring it, Sloane. Look at this gut. I'm ready. I'm braced.

  Charis: Uh, I guess I can just go get my phone.

  Asher: I knew it! Chicken.

  Asher

  "MIGHT AS WELL TALK ABOUT it," I said slowly. "Aura came by and had one of her freakouts."

  "Freakouts? What do you mean? Is this a thing?" Charis sipped from her glass.

  "Yeah." I blew out a breath. "First, back up and tell me what happened when you saw Aura the other day."

  Charis looked confused, then her face cleared into a smile. "Oh, right, I did run into her, was it Monday? I totally nailed her, Asher. She saw me having lunch and sat down and we chatted for a while. Then when we stood up we literally crashed into each other and my chicken meal exploded all over her. Crumbs and coleslaw freaking everywhere! It was like this spectacular southern fried shower. I wanted to buy her a new dress, but she stomped off. Sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, but it was just soooo funny."