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Kelli glanced down at her hand linked with Colm’s as they walked along the quiet city streets. It wasn’t too late, only a little past nine, but the Collins Friendsgiving had ended earlier than usual.
She could only assume everyone was still recovering from Halloween two weeks earlier.
“I was surprised to see Ryder there,” Colm observed.
“Yeah. Me too. I know Darcy and Yvonne invite him to pretty much everything, but the guy is a serious workaholic, so…”
“Guess that made Darcy happy. She’s got a hell of a crush on the man.”
Kelli grinned. “She wouldn’t be happy to hear you refer to it as a crush.”
“The guy is ten years older than her, and her boss. She’s his babysitter, for God’s sake. That makes it a crush.”
Kelli shook her head. “Don’t think any of that matters to Darc. She’s got it for him bad.”
“Which is a shame, because I don’t think Ryder can see beyond the end of the cell phone that’s constantly in his hand long enough to realize.”
She stopped walking. “You’re joking, right? Were you not paying attention tonight?”
Colm gave her a confused look. “Paying attention to what?”
“Ryder was looking at Darcy like she was a chocolate cake. And he wasn’t sharing it with anybody.”
She instantly regretted her comment when Colm scowled. She dropped his hand and raised her own quickly. “Oh no you don’t.”
“Don’t what?” he asked, his tone a bit darker than it had been before.
“You and Paddy and those Neanderthal cousins of yours don’t need to start circling the wagons around sweet, innocent Darcy. She’s fine.”
And with that statement, she’d gone from sticking her foot in her mouth to swallowing all the way up to her knee.
“Innocent?” Colm sounded more curious.
She waved him off and started walking again. “Forget it.”
“She’s still a virgin, isn’t she? I have to admit, I always wondered. She’s never had a sleepover with a guy at the apartment, and she’s lived there nearly three years.”
“We’re not talking about that. I’m sure there’s a girlfriend code, and I’d rattle off the legal number to you if I knew it.”
Colm chuckled, then mercifully let the subject drop.
“Ollie and Gavin weren’t their usual loud, boisterous, frat-boy selves,” she observed, determined to make sure Colm dropped the Darcy conversation for good.
“Yeah. I noticed. They’ve been quiet the last couple of days. Ollie met a girl, and I think he really likes her. I get the impression Gavin is jealous.”
“He likes her too?”
Colm had reclaimed her hand, but this time, it was he who pulled them to a stop. “I think Gavin is jealous of the girl.”
Kelli let that sink in. “Ollie and Gavin? No. They’re just friends, brothers even.”
“You don’t live in the Collins Dorm full-time like I do. I’ve seen some things that make me think the ‘just friends’ line has been crossed a few times. I mean, it’s not like they’re a couple, but…I don’t know. There’s something there.”
“Wow. I had no idea. They both go out on dates with girls all the time.”
“Yeah, but look at how they were raised. Three parents. Sean and Chad are bi, and as much with each other as they are Aunt Lauren. If Ollie’s said it once, he’s said it a million times. He wants a marriage just like his parents have.”
“And he’s picked Gavin as part of that threesome?”
