Still Jaded

  He threw his phone back on the nightstand and smothered his face with the pillow.

  Really not good.

  I held my breath but asked after a beat, "Was that your mother?"

  "Worse," he groaned.

  I ran my fingers down his back and marveled how he was sculpted like a god.

  "Sheldon."

  I snatched my hand away. "What?"

  "That was my agent."

  "Oh." Then I remembered the weasel. "Oh."

  Bryce sighed as he flipped onto his back and gazed up at me. His frustration was obvious. He slid his hand over my knee and caressed me there. "Mathias is not happy about our adventure last night." He grimaced as he sat up to rest against the headboard. "Apparently, he was under the impression that we had broken up. He wants us to do that now. He caught our thing on television and doesn't think you've changed."

  "What?"

  He grimaced. "Look, can you try and be nice to people? I don't want to give Mat the satisfaction of being right. He thinks you're the devil incarnate and wants us to break up."

  "Break up?" That ass.

  Bryce nodded. His gaze was hooded. I couldn't see what he felt anymore. "You heard what I said to him. I won't discuss you with him, but this is my warning—he won't go away."

  I gulped. "Meaning what?"

  "Meaning that things could get ugly. Let's try not to give him any more ammunition against us. He's a great agent, but he's not a great guy. And he doesn't know how to have a healthy relationship to save the life of him." He took another deep breath. "I'm already going to apologize in advance for whatever he has up his sleeve."

  My heart sank. This didn't sound good at all. "Why can't you fire him?"

  "Because I have a contract with him and he got me on the Suns. He got me back to L.A." His finger touched under my chin and lifted my face to his. "He brought me back to you. I'm thankful to him for that."

  Oh. Well, when he put it that way, I groaned. I didn't care if he brought Bryce back to me. Mathias was a little weasel of a man and I knew he was up to no good. He had hated me from the start and now I knew that hatred hadn't diminished over the last six months.

  I vowed not to let him hurt us.

  When I got to campus that morning, I wasn't in the best of moods. I had to be nice, even if it killed me. I wouldn't give Mathias what he wanted, even if it meant I had to become a new Sheldon. A nice Sheldon. A friendly Sheldon.

  I only hoped that I didn't kill myself in the process.

  The first person I ran into was Leah. Of course. Instead of the scantily clad Leah, I was surprised to find her fully clothed this time. She was dressed in a tight pink cardigan, long sleeves, and snug jeans with jeweled back pockets. Her hair was swept back in a high ponytail that actually looked classy.

  Shocker.

  As she turned from her mailbox, she froze in place.

  I sighed. Maybe she'd ignore my presence as I went to my own mailbox. That would've been the smart thing to do.

  "Are you going to do the usual and call me a slut?"

  Nope. Not smart.

  I plastered a smile on my face. "You look very nice today."

  "Liar," Leah snorted.

  "You do." I kept it simple. It was the truth.

  "What's wrong with you? You always call me a slut or something like that."

  "Sniff, sniff, Miss Overly-Suspicious." I began to think she wanted me to insult her.

  She frowned. "That makes no sense."

  "It shouldn't have to. I gave you a compliment. Accept it and walk away." I bit back the 'bitch' part. I would've enjoyed that part.

  She narrowed her eyes and ran a hand through her ponytail. "What's wrong with you? You're being odd."

  I forced another smile. "I'm trying here." This girl was killing me.

  She glanced around. "Is this one of those shows where you're tricking me? Are there cameras? I don't get it."

  "Really?!" I couldn't believe her stupidity. "Walk away."

  Leah froze, still confused.

  And I realized my own stupidity. "Never mind. I'll leave."

  When I tried to get by, Leah stepped in front of me. I reared back. I so wanted to unsheathe my claws, but I said to myself 'nice Sheldon, nice Sheldon, nice Sheldon' in my head. I could almost feel Bryce watching me.

  Leah must've sensed my internal conflict because she cracked a smile. Then we both jumped as two blondes in tight red polo shirts and blue miniskirts appeared in front of us. They flashed blindingly white teeth, and their cheeks sparkled with glitter. "Sheldon, right? You're Sheldon Jeneve, girlfriend of Bryce Scout and friend of Corrigan Raimler?"

  I almost fell backwards from their energy. It oozed out of their breast implants. "Excuse me?"

  Leah scowled beside me. "Shoo away little flies. You're nothing but pests."

  The taller blonde frowned but plastered a smile on her face as she hurried to restore her carefully crafted façade. "We can be civil to each other. Just because you've maneuvered yourself inside of Alpha Mu doesn't mean that we're enemies."

  "Speak for yourself," Leah snorted. "You guys didn't want me as a sister, and Theta Delta did. You're just pissed because you missed a good opportunity."

  The shorter blonde's nostrils flared. "We didn't know you'd be as close to the guys as you are."

  "Natalie!" The taller one looked aghast. "We don't air those grievances in front of outsiders."

  Excuse me.

  Leah laughed outright and shook her head. "You guys are so stupid."

  "I mean," the tall one sputtered. She looked at me and gushed, "I didn't mean—Sheldon, you're not the outsider. I meant Leah because she deferred to a different house."

  I shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not a part of this. Nor do I want to be. I've got a counselor to hunt down."

  Before I left for school, Bryce had asked if I would check in with Miss Connors. He thought she could help me in my quest to become a new and nicer Sheldon. I wanted to growl at the thought of how much work that was going to take.

  "No, wait!" Natalie planted herself in front of me. I shuffled two steps to the side and she shuffled with me. She was smack dab in front of me. When her chin tightened, I knew she wasn't going anywhere.

  "Move," I glared.

  "My name is Cadence, and this is Natalie," the taller one introduced herself. Finally. She extended a golden hand for me to shake.

  I didn't.

  With a slight twitch to her eyelid, she pulled her hand back. "I apologize for starting off on the wrong foot. It's just that some people are not in my personal good graces—"

  "Personal good graces? You're crazy. I'm not anything personal to you at all. You guys didn't want me as a sister—" Leah bristled.

  "Moving on." Cadence rushed forward, "I wanted to formally introduce myself and invite you to a house social."

  "They're super fun." Natalie bounced closer. "We start by getting ready for the night and drinking together. And then we all go out as a house, usually to a frat party or a bar. It's a great way of bonding, especially with the new sisters."

  Cadence nudged her aside. She opened her mouth but closed it as Leah interrupted, "They want to be invited to your party tonight. And they really want to use you because you're best friends with Corrigan and boning Bryce Scout."

  Both sisters gasped.

  I hated to admit it, but I felt a weird kinship with Leah.

  "What do you want?"

  Natalie looked entranced, but Cadence skimmed me up and down with a shrewd eye. I matched her, eye to eye, as she tried to get a better read on how to handle me. And then she snapped to her decision and drew upright to her fullest height. "We want to come to your party, but not because of your best friend or boyfriend. We want to come because you're hosting it and you're connected in ways that could benefit our house."

  "So you want to use me?"

  Leah rolled her eyes and huffed beside me.

  Cadence narrowed her eyes. "We were hoping it could benefit both of us."

  "An
d how could you benefit me?"

  "You don't have girlfriends. We could be your friends."

  "I don't have female friends for a reason."

  "I can't hurt a girl if she hurts you. I don't like those rules."

  I shivered as I remembered Bryce's words, but it didn't matter. My girlfriends weren't his problem. They were mine.

  I focused back on Cadence. "No offense, but girls are catty and I don't have time for that in my life. I'm friends with people I trust. And I'm not going to trust a houseful of sorority girls."

  "None taken, but let us prove you wrong."

  Natalie piped in, "You can trust us. We're not like other sororities."

  "Oh please," Leah groaned.

  "Whatever. I don't care to be your friend, but you can come to the party. I have to go." And I did. I needed to track down Miss Connors. I turned on my heel and strode away, but I didn't miss Natalie's squeal or Leah's outburst of curses. When I rounded the corner, I looked back and was struck by Cadence's surreal stillness. She looked triumphant, like she'd won a battle and was on her way to winning a war.

  Weird. And whatever. I had more important things to figure out.

  I made it to the science building in record time and found Miss Connors alone in her office. When I knocked on the door, she looked up from her computer. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Sheldon? We don't have class until next Tuesday."

  I shut the door and plopped down across from her. I ignored the mess of papers spread out on her desk and really ignored something that looked like an exam. "I need you to counsel me again."

  "What?" She fell against her plush chair and ran a hand through her hair. It was her thing. She did that when she was scrambling.

  "Bryce's agent hates me. He thinks I'm a bad influence, so I need to learn how to be nice. I trust you. And I want you to help me with this."

  "Oh." She pushed her glasses higher up her nose and blinked again.

  "Say something." It shouldn't be surprising.

  "I'm just surprised, I guess."

  I narrowed my eyes and leaned forward. "You don't want to counsel me? You don't want to hear about my mess of a life?"

  "No. No! No, Sheldon. It's not that. But this is sudden. What brought this on?"

  I snorted. "Why the questions? Do you or don't you want to be my counselor?"

  "Sheldon," Miss Connors fought back a smile, "you realize that you need to put up with questions if I'm going to be your counselor. It's what we do. We ask questions. We ask hard ones."

  I waved a hand to the side. "Oh come on. Just talk to me about my anger. That's all you need to ask about. I figure if I get rid of my anger, I'll be a nicer person. Simple, right?"

  "Sheldon," Miss Connors shook her head and stood up. "I don't think you're ready for this, at least maybe not with me."

  Wha—huh? I stood up as she rounded the desk. "What are you talking about? You don't want to counsel me?"

  "I don't think I'm the best fit for you anymore."

  I was dumbfounded.

  "I think you need someone new, someone who has a fresh set of eyes and can hear what I can't anymore. I'm too emotionally invested in you. I can't trust myself to be objective. I'm blind to things that someone else could help you with."

  "That makes no sense," I sputtered out. Was it me? Did she not want to help me anymore?

  "I want to help you, Sheldon. And I think it's great that you are seeking further counseling, even if you're a bit coerced. That's good. You need it. You went through an awful thing, and I know it's still affecting you. Bryce is right. He's good for you, Sheldon. He's very, very good for you."

  I frowned. "I already know that. It's why I love him. But I need someone to help me with this anger stuff. If you can't, who then? I trust you."

  "And you'll trust someone else. There are plenty of great counselors out there."

  "Who are all idiots! I know you."

  Miss Connors patted me on the shoulder as she smiled. "I will find someone that is a good fit for you. I promise. And this is a good thing, Sheldon. I'm proud of you."

  "I feel like a two year old. Put a star next to my name."

  Miss Connors ignored me as she opened her office door. "I will have a name for you by Tuesday. I promise. And it'll be someone who you'll trust and who I'll trust."

  I started past her but turned back around. "Are you moving? Is that why you don't want to be my counselor?"

  "I'm not moving. It really is because I feel you need someone new."

  New could go to hell. I didn't want someone new.

  "Fine," I growled. I stepped out into the hallway and stalked away. As I neared the bathroom, I looked back once and was surprised to see that Miss Connors had already closed her door. That was new. In the past she would have waited until I looked back and then given me a reassuring smile, but her door was closed now.

  I didn't like it. That was new.

  "Hey."

  I turned around and gasped in relief when I saw Corrigan. I smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't do that to me."

  Corrigan caught my hand and squeezed it before he let it go. Then he chuckled. "Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you and to ask if everything's okay."

  "What?"

  "You and me. Are we okay?"

  "Why wouldn't we be?"

  Corrigan's face twisted in frustration. "I don't know, Sheldon. Maybe because I dealt you a low blow last night and you physically attacked me. Maybe that's why." He rolled his eyes. "I have no idea."

  I drew upright. "We're not going to be okay if you keep that attitude."

  He rolled his eyes. "Look. I didn't get to say what I wanted last night. We had an audience, you know."

  Oh boy, did I know.

  I stiffened as I waited.

  He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about Grace. I really am. I did think I had feelings for her when I slept with her, but afterwards I knew it wasn't right. I did it because things were screwed up with my girlfriend at that time. And it's no excuse. I was a dickhead."

  "That apology isn't for me. You should say that to Grace."

  "I know." Corrigan hung his head and stuffed his hands in his front pockets. Right then and there he wasn't the playboy that an entire campus already loved. He was my best friend, and I saw his vulnerability. He wasn't apologizing for what he really wanted to apologize for. He looked back up. His green eyes were pierced with sadness and regret. "I'm sorry, okay? We haven't been cool for a while, and I hope we are again."

  A knot formed in my throat. I tightened my hold on my purse and fought back the tears because I knew he meant more than just this summer. "Are you coming to my party tonight?"

  Corrigan cupped my shoulder and held it for a moment. We stood there like that for another second, neither of us spoke, but then