At home, during the semesters I went to community college, my life felt a little like a ghost town. Once I had secured my scholarship, I was excited to go to college. And honestly, Austin being in this city had glamorized it for me.

All Austin’s social media was eye-catching and cool. I know now it was how he framed things that made them that way. On your own in this city was somehow the loneliest, most crowded place to be. When I had conversed with Roberta before the dorms, I thought she and I would be a great fit.

Obviously, we were not. She didn't share space well.

I watched Austin out of my peripheral vision as he pushed the rest of his food around. Endgame was wrong for him. Like super wrong. It reminded me of how I felt around Roberta. Outside, uncomfortable and self-conscious.

And it was hard to see a guy that wore a skirt on occasion and pretty much always had some sort of guyliner and nail polish on to be anything other than boss-level confident.

I met Parker’s eyes. He was a good-looking guy, but I knew that his real attractiveness peeked under a camera. For whatever reason, a lens just magnified him in a way that made you want to look.

“You ever model?” He twirled a coin in his fingers.

“Me? No. I even suck at taking selfies.” I left my coffee at the girls’ table when I crossed the tops of the tables to get to Austin. I had nothing for my hands to play with.

Austin perked up. “You always look cute in pictures with Teddi.”

I tried not to let the word “cute” make me feel like I was sitting in a high chair. It barely worked.

“She coming to the shoot today?” Parker flipped his phone up and thumbed at the screen.

“I’m sure she has work to do. She’s in school full-time. Very dedicated,” Austin responded before I could give a response.

“Yeah. Makes sense.”

The table closest to ours dragged us into their conversation about music, but I had a nagging feeling that Austin had put a stop to something before it started. I’m sure it was wishful thinking, but it seemed a little like jealousy.

* * *

AUSTIN

Freaking Parker hitting on Taylor right in front of me. Sure, he knew we were only pretending to date, but still. I wasn’t sure why I snipped at him. He had noticed the same thing that I did. Taylor’s face and body would most likely really bring lovely things to the shoot.

I was protective of her. She was Teddi’s bestie that I had stolen from her dorm room. Draping her in clothing and setting her up with Parker for a sexy shoot just felt wrong.