My 5 Bosses

“She showed up for a visit unexpectedly.” I wince, avoiding Anthony’s question.

He isn’t willing to let it drop. “You didn’t tell your best friend that you’re seeing us?”

“I…” I shake my head. Seeing them? Dating them? Is that what we’re doing? I can’t quite bring myself to ask, though, because I’m afraid of what their answer might be. “Nita’s pretty straight-laced. And she knows I’m a virgin. She’d freak out if she learned that my first time… That I’m seeing two guys at once right now. It’s strange, okay, you have to admit that much.” I bite my lip.

But the guys’ frowns only deepen. “Are you embarrassed by us?” Anthony scowls.

Vin, for his part, just watches us silently, processing. The pained look on his face sends an arrow straight to my heart. But what can I do? The situation isn’t normal. And Nita would freak out if she knew…

“It’s not that,” I protest. “I just… I need to give her some time. Before I spring something like this.”

“Give her some time,” Vin repeats. “Right.”

I grimace, closing my eyes so I don’t need to watch their faces anymore. “Is that okay?”

“For now,” Vin replies.

When I open my eyes again, both guys are gone, and I wonder with a sinking sensation in my chest if I’ve lost them both.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” I ask innocently. Nita sits across from me in the dimly-lit library, brow furrowed as she studies my face rather than the textbook open between us.

“You’re drifting. Did you even hear the last question I asked you?”

“Um… Something about cell structure?” I force a wide smile.

She rolls her eyes. “Cass, this isn’t like you. Normally you’re totally focused. Normally you’re the one making me pay attention. What’s really going on?”

“Nothing,” I reply, too fast and too nervously.

Those wide brown eyes of hers narrow. “Is it the guy you told me about?”

My face flushes. Nita saw Anthony in my room—hell, Anthony let her in. Plus, she’s observant—she probably noticed the photos Vin hung around his bed, of him in lacrosse gear or the picture of him and his little sister posing for the camera. Has she guessed that my complaints about the guy who wouldn’t bang a virgin were about Anthony or Vin? Or that the two guys I was choosing between are my roommates?

“It’s not exactly that…”

She rolls her eyes. “Cass, I told you, he’s an asshole, whoever he is. Get over him. And hey, weren’t there two guys chasing you for a while? Who’s the other one?”

“The virgin thing was a misunderstanding—” I start to say, but then Nita’s eyes flash over my head, and I pause mid-sentence.

“Anthony!” Nita’s smile widens and she pats the seat beside her. “Come join us. We’re just discussing Cass’s love life having her in a tizzy.”

“Is that so?” he asks, eyes boring into me as he accepts the chair beside Nita.

My face was already hot; now it burns so bright I’m surprised the fire alarm doesn’t start going off. “It does not,” I mumble.

“Right, you’re just distracted by all this biology homework.” Nita nudges Anthony, grinning sideways at him, expecting him to share in the joke.

Something unpleasant curls in my stomach. But that’s not fair. She doesn’t know Anthony is one of the guys—or even that there are two guys I’m seeing at once. And I have no one to blame for that but myself.

Anthony smiles at Nita, polite, restrained, but she leaves her elbow nudged against his and carries on, joking about my distracted state, my inability to concentrate.

I can’t reply. My throat is too tight at the sight of her and Anthony touching. I push back my chair suddenly and surge to my feet. “Sorry. I need… bathroom,” I stammer, before bolting out of the library.

I should’ve known that move wouldn’t work. Before I even make it to the hallway, Nita is on me, tugging my arm to her side. “What’s wrong?” she asks, her eyes wide and sincere as she trails me into the bathroom.

“Nothing is wrong!” I snap so loud that Nita blinks in shock.