Better to Believe (Harrison Campus 4)

Coury stared at the ground. “That feels wrong.”

Mostly, Liam agreed. Mostly. Beckett would rail that no one listened to him, stomp about trying to convince them he was right, and ruin their weekend.

“We will,” Liam said. “Just not tomorrow.”

Pushing Slider toward the door, Pop rolled his eyes. “This is going to be fun to watch. You two are so not subtle.”

Fuck.

Chapter Nineteen

Coury

The table in Pop’s kitchen felt small and close. He barely tasted his food; it was good, like everything Pop served, but he was so stressed his tastebuds went on strike. Keeping his relationship with Liam a secret put an uncomfortable distance between him and Beckett. It robbed them of the spontaneity that made their friendship so special.

If Liam hadn’t been so adamant about not telling him right away, Coury would have insisted.

He got it. Beckett dominated a room just by being there. Liam didn’t want that intensity focused on him, especially if his older brother tried to talk him out of dating Coury. But sitting across from Liam and trying to pretend they were just sort of friends stole his appetite.

Pop, being himself, didn’t help.

“If I’d known that once Liam moved in, I’d see so much of you two, I’d have asked him in September.”

“Nah. It would’ve been just you and Liam,” Beckett said with a mouthful of pasta. “Coury didn’t need a tutor last semester, and Rayna and I had just started dating.”

Liam side eyed his grandfather. “Yeah. And I wouldn’t have said yes at the time.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” He broke a piece of bread and dunked it in the sauce. “Once you figured out the perks of living here, you’d have said yes.”

“There are times I wonder if those perks are worth living here right now.”

“Whoa, little bro.” Beckett frowned. “Why are you so hostile? I mean this is way better than the dorm, and Coury’s been making sure you get out so it’s a win/win.”

Coury usually liked Pop’s sense of humor, even when it was directed at him. This time, however, it made Liam uncomfortable.

“C’mon, Becks,” he said. “If you had the choice of living on campus or living here, would you leave the frat house?”

“Well, no, but Liam—”

“Didn’t leave totally by choice.” Coury silenced Beckett with a look. “Sure, it worked out great, but it started from a bad place. Why are we going there anyway?”

This last remark he directed to Pop. He knew it was meant as fun, but it got too close to the line.

“Wow, Liam,” Beckett said with a hint of snark. “How’d you get Coury to be your knight in armor?”

“Stop it!” Coury snapped. “Why does everyone pick on him?”

“Hey.” Beckett eyed him suspiciously. He glanced at his brother, and then back to Coury. “Why are you all Team Liam right now?”

Coury reined in his annoyance. If he didn’t stop, Beckett was going to figure it out. In the corner of his eye, Liam looked anxious. “I’m not, but we—you and I—need to stop picking on him like we did when he was kid. You remember how my sister treated us when we were ten?”

“Oh yeah. She was nasty. I think your nickname was Butt Wipe.”

“And yours was Dickhead.” He raised an eyebrow and couldn’t hold back the smirk. “I think we can agree we don’t need to hear her yell, ‘Here come Butt Wipe and Dickhead’ every time she sees us.”

Beckett snorted. “She was brutal.”

“In fairness, we were annoying as fuck in return.”

“Yeah, but she earned it.”

Coury smiled, glad he’d managed to move them away from the minefield. “She did.”

The conversation ebbed as everyone returned to their food. Liam’s foot touched his under the table, and Coury nearly gave it away. He looked up and saw the hint of a smile on Liam’s face as he pretended to be interested in his dinner.

“So,” Beckett said, breaking the silence. “What’s on the party plan for tonight?”

Coury rolled his eyes. What he really wanted to know was where he could find the hottest girls. “Start at my house, then follow the rumor circuit.”

“I think I’m going to pass on tonight,” Liam said.

“What?” Coury’s head snapped up. “Why?”

“Yeah, don’t bail because I was a jerk.” Beckett sounded as sincere as Coury could remember.

“It’s not that. Really.” He shifted his gaze between Coury and Beckett. “It’s been a long week. Professor Glover gave me a project, and it took a lot more time than I thought. I’m still not done, but I need to catch up on studying.”

“Are you sure?” Beckett asked.

“Totally. You two can hang out and see who gets lucky first.”

That last bit felt forced; Coury wondered if Beckett picked up on it.

“Ha, we both know Coury will win that.” He bumped his shoulder to Coury’s. “I’m like his good luck charm.”

“Yeah, some charm. Weren’t you with me when I met Hailey? That ended so well.”