“What?”

“Dating. Is that what you’re doing?”

“No.” I shook my head, maybe a bit too quickly. “No way. We’re friends. That’s it, but wouldn’t that be awkward for you and Marcus? Unless that’s the intention? You really would be dating again then?”

She groaned, pressing her fingers to her temples. “I don’t know if I can handle dating Marcus again.” She dropped her hands and true agony shone back at me.

My heart clenched.

“He broke me last time. He says he didn’t start seeing Maggie until a couple months later, but I’ve always felt like he dropped me for her. Obviously it’s not something she and I talk about.”

I surged forward, grabbing her hands. I squeezed them. “Then it’s a friend thing. I’ll mention it to Caden, but I’m sure he’ll be fine with it. And just friends.” I raised her hands between us. “I mean it. Just friends. Just focus on that. Don’t get ahead of yourself with Marcus, not unless you really want to go there.”

“Okay.” She nodded to herself, closing her eyes. “Okay. You’re right. I’ll just focus on being friends with Marcus first. First friends, my new motto.”

I nodded with her. “Thatta girl.”

Her grin became crooked. “Well, the benefits are there too, but nothing more. I won’t focus on anything more.”

“What?” My head went the other way, left to right. “No, no, no. First friends, only friends. Say it with me.”

She laughed and repeated with me, but it was bullshit. We both knew it.

I had assumed Avery and I would drive together to the bowling alley, but she had other plans. She said she was coming with Marcus because they were doing something else before they met us. She’d launched into a long explanation, but it was too complicated. The truth was that she wanted to spend more time with him, have an opportunity to be alone.

The bowling alley wasn’t too far away, so I walked from campus.

I was crossing the street as Caden pulled into the parking lot. He slowed and leaned forward to see me better as he turned in. I waited for him. He was shaking his head as he pocketed his keys, coming toward me.

I tried to ignore the little heart flip I always felt at the sight of him. He wore a black leather jacket over a white T-shirt and jeans. I almost missed seeing the snake. He looked like a mean, sexual being, but with muscles, and a jawline that made me want to melt. I sighed. I kept waiting for this attraction to go away, but it’d been almost a month and a half of friendship, and it was still going strong.

In fact…

No. I wasn’t going there. I wasn’t more attracted to him. Not possible. One of these days, something would happen and he’d settle into the brother zone, wouldn’t he? All the more reason to enjoy him now.

When he stopped in front of me, smiling down, a delicious thrill zinged me. I cracked a grin, feeling the breath knocked out of me for a second. “What’s up?”

“When are you going to stop walking places and just call me for a ride?”

“Never. I’m badass like that.”

He rolled his eyes and reached for the door. Holding it open with a hand above my head, he tapped my chin with the other. “I’m just going to start coming to give you a ride everywhere from now on.”

“That’d be awkward.” I moved ahead of him, enjoying his presence as he let the door go and stepped close behind me. I could feel his heat. It added to that thrill, making me feel buzzed. “That’s something you’d do for a girlfriend. I’m not your girlfriend.”

“That’s something you’d do for a friend, and you are my friend.”

“Yeah.” A secretive smile tugged at my lips. “How’d that ever happen again?”

He chuckled, stepping up to the desk first. He motioned to me. “One lane.”

The attendant asked, “How many games?”

“Reserve three, but my brother sucks. He’ll probably quit after two.”

“I heard that.”

Marcus and Avery came up behind us, and Marcus removed his hand from her back and pretended to pound his brother in the shoulder.

“You’re already starting the shit-talking, huh?”

Caden gave his shoe size to the clerk, then said to his brother, “It’s not shit-talking when it’s the truth.”

The two did the man thing where they hit each other’s biceps while Avery and I stood and grinned at each other. I’d seen her a few hours earlier, so I didn’t feel a hug was necessary, and I eyed Marcus, not sure what to do there. I remained convinced he wasn’t a big fan of me. And sure enough, his grin fell away when he saw me. “You, huh?”

I could get behind that. I bobbed my head. “You too, huh?”

Avery’s laugh squeaked a bit. “Look at us, already off to a great start.”

Caden picked up his bowling shoes. “And there’s my brother, showing off his moody-asshole side once again.” He shook his head as he passed him. “She’s my friend, dipshit. Be nice.”

Caden led the way to our assigned lane and sat down to put his bowling shoes on. The rest of us followed, and Avery went with me to pick out a bowling ball.

I tried a hot pink one, but my thumb would’ve been crushed. I set it back and picked up a yellow one. The finger holes made a smiling face.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Avery said.