Shaking my head at how easy it is for him to win people over with little to no effort, I walk toward my room. “I’m gonna get changed.”

“Where are you going?” Sydney calls after me.

Nathan answers, “The Hideout. You guys wanna come?”

I can’t hear their response, but not a minute later, Sydney rushes into our room pulling out her ponytail and grabbing the dry shampoo from the top of her dresser.

“Coming with us, I presume?” I smile but a small part of me is annoyed at how Nathan was able to march into my dorm and make plans with my roommates. I know he’s doing it for me, but it still rankles that they like him better than me. I’m their teammate after all.

She nods. “Are any of his friends going to be there?”

I keep my back to her as I pull on fresh clothes and examine myself in the mirror. “I think Shaw is going.”

“Really?!” She squeals in obvious delight.

“Is Emily coming, too?”

“No, she’s waiting for Bri to get back. They’re going to Mallory’s apartment to hang tonight.”

There’s a knock on my door. “You guys about ready?” Nathan calls from the other side. “Shaw’s swinging by to pick us up.”

Sydney has already transformed herself for a night out and flings open the door. She passes Nathan, and he steps into my room, glancing around before his eyes lock on me.

“How did you pull this off so well?”

“Wasn’t really that hard. Shaw’s got game apparently.”

“She didn’t even know he was going. I think you’re the one with game.”

He shakes his head and runs a hand over his jaw. Now that I’m studying him closer, I think he cleaned up his facial hair, too. He still has the scruff, but it looks cleaner… like he put some effort into this fake date.

I glance down at what I’m wearing. Jeans and a black midriff tank top. I suddenly wish I’d put on a dress and added some eye makeup. “Am I dressed okay?”

“You look great,” he says, giving me a once over that makes my stomach flip and motions with his head. “Come on. They’re waiting for us.”

The Hideout is busy when we arrive. We grab a booth and Sydney and Shaw slide in opposite us without any prompting. I can’t help but notice they look more like a real couple than Nathan and I do—turned toward each other, laughing and talking—all smiles for one another.

Tanner Shaw is a good-looking guy. He’s not as tall or built as Nathan, but that’s true of basically every other guy I know. They’ve both got blue eyes and light hair, but nothing about Shaw makes me look twice. And everything about Nathan makes me want to never stop looking.