The Game That Breaks Us (Us 3)

She shakes her head and laughs. “My sister is the same way. She hates messes.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah, and a brother. What about you?”

“Two brothers.”

“Bless you.” She laughs, drying the ends of her hair with the towel. She drops the damp towel onto her bed and pulls her hair back in a messy topknot.

My phone buzzes again and I look down. “Ryland says he’s outside our dorm and he has coffee.”

“Tell him I love him,” she deadpans.

I shake my head and respond back. “Are you ready to go?” I ask.

She nods and picks up a jean jacket. “Ready.”

We head down the hall—which is nothing but bare cinderblock walls painted a drab yellow color—and to the elevator since we’re too lazy to take the stairs.

The elevator door opens, and I can already see Ryland sitting on the front steps with his back to us.

When the door whooshes open, he looks back and smiles when he sees us. “Hey.” He stands and holds out the two cups of coffee.

“Thank you, you’re a saint.” I take one from him and slurp greedily at it. I nearly moan in ecstasy. Now this is coffee. “Please tell me a stop at the coffee shop that makes this is on your tour.”

He laughs, his eyes shining. “Sure.” He looks at Elle. “I don’t think we were properly introduced last night. I’m Ryland.”

“Elle.” She does this shy little dip with her legs. I press my lips together so I don’t laugh. Elle, shy? Oh, this is interesting.

“Nice to meet you, Elle.” Ryland smiles, and the dimples in his cheeks pop out. He’s kind of adorable in a dorky way, not ruggedly handsome like Bennett.

Bennett.

Why am I even thinking about him? We didn’t exchange numbers and the chances of me running into him again on a campus this size are slim to none. Plus, he said he’s not a student, so whatever reason he was here yesterday might not apply today. I hate that I feel forlorn at the thought of never seeing him again. I barely even know him.

“I thought we could head this way first.” Ryland nods to our left.

“Sure,” I say. “You’re the one that knows your way around, not us.”

He laughs. “Right.” He glances at Elle again with a slight smile, and I swear I think she bats her eyes. “Those are dorms and those are dorms too.” He points as he begins his tour. “Administrative building there. That’s the astronomy building. They have a tower on top with telescopes that anyone can use. Cool, huh?”

“Very.” I nod, impressed.

“Gym is there. Coffee shop—that one sucks, FYI. Football stadium is over that way.” He points, and I can see the shape of it in the distance. “The hockey arena is in that building, and let me tell you, Addams University loves their hockey.”

“So does the whole state.” Elle snorts.

Ryland continues on, unaffected. By the end of his tour, my head is spinning. There are so many buildings that I barely remember any of the ones he pointed out.

Enough time has passed that we’re all hungry and stop off for lunch at one of the cafés that dot campus.

“This is one of my favorites,” Ryland says as we get in line. “They have some of the best sandwiches and they’re fast so that’s always a plus when you’re in a hurry in between classes.”

We each place our order and they give us a card with a number. We choose a table in the back corner. There’s one other guy sitting at a table, typing away on his laptop.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Elle asks Ryland.

I laugh and shake my head.