Page 54 of Vexatious Queen

We looked at each other and then started laughing.

“I couldn’t do that again if I tried,” Ivy said, wiping tears from her eyes.

It felt good to smile.

“Is it safe to come up here?”

Rory stepped into view, holding up the pen like a white flag, making us laugh harder.

“Yes, sorry, butterfingers,” Ivy said, getting up to take the pen.

“Is lacrosse practice over,” I asked Rory.

I didn’t know him well, but the guys trusted him, and he had been hanging around more often.

“Yeah, but Myles went to the dorms. Was he supposed to come here,” Rory asked as he walked over.

“No, it’s fine. We didn’t have plans to meet up. Do you want to join us?”

Lizzy made a little sound, and I glanced at her, not sure if she was choking on something. Her mouth was hanging open, eyes wide and focused on Rory. Her cheeks had turned a bright red, and she was utterly still, like the computer had glitched and she was frozen on the screen.

“Hi.” Rory raised his hand in greeting. “Are you okay?”

“I have to go,” Lizzy said.

Before I could respond or even say bye, she closed her laptop and disappeared.

Ivy and I shared a look before I snorted and then laughed.

“Did I offend her? I hope I didn’t,” Rory said, sitting down.

“No, you didn’t offend her,” I said, laughing harder.

“Are you sure, she looked offended.”

Ivy was laughing so hard that she had to cover her face, while I tried to pull myself together.

“I promise you. She was not offended.”

He didn’t look like he believed me, but dropped the topic.

Lizzy had experienced what I called a classic brain-fry moment.

At various points in our relationship, I’d endured the same with all my guys. You couldn’t function and stared stupidly, hoping a single coherent thought would come out to save you.

I’d mentioned Rory before, but he’d never been around when Lizzy was online. Now that I knew she thought he was hot…I was going to have to be the annoying best friend who made sure she got to see more of him. I smirked at the thought.

Rory was good-looking in a swarthy kind of way. Tanned skin, chocolate eyes, and hair that matched. He looked like he had stepped right off a beach photoshoot. He was built like Myles with broad shoulders and a tapered waist, but I hadn’t really paid that much attention. I smiled, thinking of how cute he and Lizzy would be together.

Rory pulled out his laptop and textbooks.

“What are you working on?”

“Creative writing. The assignment is to take old nursery rhymes and turn them into something new. Something that interests us,” he said, and the smile fell from my face.

“Did you say nursery rhymes?”

Rory nodded as he turned on his laptop.