Dear Diary Read Online Free PDF Page B

here?”
    “Uh-huh. Have you got anything else? Like an overnight bag or something?”
    She shook her head though there was a bag in the trunk along with her sleeping bag. “You’re dating Jenny Sumpter?”
    “Mmm-hmm. You sure you didn’t bring anything else?”
    “Nope.”
    “You really drove almost all the way across the state just to say hello? That’s crazy stuff.”
    “I could say the same of you. Did U-Dub run out of women or something? Jenny Sumpter? Piper Point’s cheerleader extraordinaire? Even you didn’t much like her in high school.”
    “Yes, I did.”
    “No. You didn’t.”
    “Well, I like her okay now.” He sent her a killer smile.
    Rory felt the wattage from that smile and tried not to let it affect her. Her mind went back to Ryan for a moment and she felt a ripple of pain. “You can’t help yourself, can you? Where there’s a woman, there’s a conquest.”
    “What?” He slid her a look as they headed for the front door. “I’m more discriminating than you give me credit for.”
    “Oh, sure.”
    “I am,” he insisted. “You don’t know everything about me, even though you think you do.”
    Rory could have argued the point, but she didn’t. She merely nodded. Nick glared at her in mock anger as they walked inside the house. It smelled musty, as if mildew had taken over in a big way, and the front hall was dusty with footprints. The furniture was ripped and worn; garage sale rejects.
    “Well?” Nick asked.
    “Nice.”
    He laughed.
    Around the corner to the kitchen, Rory could see another male body in silhouette. He moved from the window to stand in the archway, his dark eyes assessing Rory in unabashed head to toe appraisal.
    “What have we here, Shard?” he asked, grinning hugely. “Naughty, naughty. What will Jenny say?”
    “Drop dead, J.D.,” Nick answered without heat.
    J.D. remained very much alive, and Rory, with an inward grimace, couldn’t help remembering her own appearance. She’d tossed on a pair of ripped jeans, probably in desperate need of a trip to the wash, and a gray pullover sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail she’d scarcely looked at when she’d raced out. She’d run away from the evidence of Ryan’s last indiscretion without even bothering to think about what she looked like.
    She’d simply wanted to escape.
    Footsteps clattered on the steps. Nick’s shirtless blond roommate appeared, thrusting his arms through the sleeves of a wrinkled shirt. He gazed curiously at Rory.
    “Rory, this is Kevin,” Nick introduced. “And that’s J.D. Guys, this is Rory Camden. My friend.”
    “So you’re Rory.” Kevin’s freckled, almost homely, face broke into a grin. “Here we thought you were a figment of Nick’s imagination. We heard a lot about you, but we didn’t really believe you existed.”
    “She doesn’t,” Nick warned.
    “You didn’t tell us she was hot,” said J.D.
    Rory, who rarely ever blushed, felt heat invade her face. A by-product of Ryan’s desertion, she thought miserably, struggling to regain the cool control that had become her trademark throughout high school and the ugly nastiness of her parents’ divorce.
    Another car pulled into the drive, its horn honking loud and long. Rory could see at least three guys jammed inside the tiny Prius. “What is this place, a commune?” she asked.
    “Just some more Sig Eps.” Nick shrugged. “They don’t all live here.”
    “Coulda fooled me. Looks like you’re about to stage a revival meeting.”
    “Ha, ha. Come on, I’ll show you my room.”
    “Whoa,” J.D. said on a long whistle, his eyes alive with mischief. “Your room, Mr. Shard?”
    To Rory’s surprise, Nick turned so swiftly she nearly tripped on the bottom step and slammed into his broad chest. He didn’t say a word, just stared at J.D. in a way that made Rory’s stomach clench apprehensively.
    If J.D. got the message, he didn’t show it, but Rory’s blood turned to ice at the look of