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“Yeah, I can email you a copy to print.” She slipped off the sandals she still wore from when they were out and crossed the floor toward the bedroom area where her computer was. She thanked her lucky stars whoever broke in didn’t destroy that. “Why didn’t you just text?”

She stopped before she reached her desk and looked back when he said nothing.

Aiden and Noah now stood in front of each other, speaking too low for her to hear. Aiden shook his head and narrowed his eyes at something Noah said. Noah threw his hands up and turned, jerking back at seeing her staring at them.

“Sent that email?”

“No,” she said, drawing out the word. “I asked you a question. What are y’all arguing about?” Her arms crossed beneath her chest. “Better yet, does anyone wanna tell me why y’all seem to hate each other? You just met.”

Noah held his arms out to his side. “No argument.” He stepped forward, smiling. “I don’t hate him. I don’t even know him.”

Maybe she was reading too much into things. The paranoia that accompanied someone stalking her made her wary of every situation and interaction.

Aiden kept his eyes on Noah, but he didn’t refute his statement. Which further backed her suspicion that paranoia fueled her reaction to the two of them together.

It probably was little more than Aiden being protective.

She needed to get the email sent to Noah and send him on his way.

The air felt too tense for her liking with both guys in her home. Besides, she and Aiden needed to unpack their shopping bags, discuss sleeping arrangements, her class schedule, and any other important things he might need to know for his stay with her.

Noah approached, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her away from Aiden. “I wanted to ask you something. It’s why I didn’t text you about the paper,” he said when they were at the edge of the kitchen tile.

“What’s up?”

“I wanted to see if you’d go out to dinner with me tonight.” His head tilted as he looked down at her. “Just us. No Rachel or the others.”

“I thought you understood.”

“No, I do. I’m not rushing you.” He looked up as Aiden approached. “I just wanted to spend some time with you alone.”

Aiden stopped, looking between them, before entering the bathroom and shutting the door harder than he probably intended. She flinched at the sound.

Noah met her gaze again. “Maybe if you get to know me better, you might find yourself open to the idea of more. If not, we enjoyed the time as friends. No expectations.”

It seemed a little pushy for him to ask her out, knowing she wasn’t open to dating anyone while sorting her life out. He didn’t even know how much she needed to sort. Maybe that was the entire problem. He only saw her apprehension about her major and remaining in Athens as the hangup. The reality was much more complicated.

She crossed her arms and stepped around him to go to her computer. He followed, glancing over at the unmade bed behind her. She’d had more men in her room in the last twelve hours than her whole life. At least her underwear wasn’t hanging on display like when the officers were here.

She focused on emailing as she responded. “I can’t tonight.”

“Tomorrow then?”

“Probably not.” Her lips flattened, and she took a steadying breath as she pressed send on the email, turning to him. “Look, you’re a nice guy. I like you, I do. Just… not like that.”

“It’s him, isn’t it?” He rested a hand on her desk, leaning a little to the side. The stiffness in his posture gave away his thoughts on the matter, even if he appeared to try for a casual demeanor.

“Who? Aiden?” She shook her head. “It’s more than that. I’ve told you.”

“You’re right. I apologize.” He straightened. “I really like you, and I’m sorry if I came on too strong.”

“Friends?”

“Of course,” he said, but he failed to mask the disappointment in his voice. “If you’ve sent that, I’m gonna get out of here. See you in class tomorrow?”

“Yep.” She stood and led him to the front door.

He turned to her, and his signature smile was back on his face as if nothing had happened. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Turning before she could say anything, he disappeared down the hall.