When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill Read Free Book Online

ironic that he’s the one who cheated on you, don’t you think?”
    â€œYeah, I guess it is.” I frowned down at a scab on my knee. I’d nicked myself shaving. “Asshat.”
    Matt let out a surprised bark of laughter. “My great-grandmother was from Ireland, and when she really wanted to insult someone she called them a muppet.”
    I squinted at him. “Did she mean, like …?” I made my hand into a poor imitation of a puppet in action.
    â€œNo, but when I was a kid, I thought she did, and it made me wonder what she had against Kermit.”
    I laughed. “Then Ben’s a muppet.”
    â€œI take it you haven’t found a conscious frat guy yet?” he asked.
    â€œShut up.” I shoved at him and he laughed. “I haven’t. Not that it’s any of your business.”
    â€œSo, you’re still looking for a Sorbet Guy?”
    My cheeks flushed and I looked away. “Yeah.”
    He shifted to scratch at the peeling adhesive of his horns, and his fingers brushed my arm again on the way down, so I turned to look at him.
    â€œIt shouldn’t be someone I know, should it? I mean, shouldn’t it be …?” What? A cheap one-night stand?
    â€œI still say you run the risk of needing more Sorbet Sex if you go with a stranger. You don’t know what you’re going to get.”
    â€œBut if it’s someone I know, there’s bound to be weirdness between us afterward.” My heart downshifted and revved its engines.
    He shrugged. “Maybe. But maybe not if he knows what you’re after from the beginning.”
    â€œAnd what would he get out of this arrangement?”
    â€œA chance to sleep with a cute girl, no strings attached.”
    â€œThat sounds a little cheap.” My stomach got in on the act, stirring with guilt and nerves. I tried to settle it with nothing but will. After all, I hadn’t done anything.
    â€œI may be a nice guy, but I’m still a guy. Trust me, sex is its own reward.”
    I laughed, looking up at his horns again before letting myself look into his eyes. He met my gaze without hesitation.
    â€œSo … are you volunteering?” I asked.
    His eyebrows lifted. “I am merely discussing a hypothetical situation with you.”
    My heart did a Tokyo drift maneuver into my throat, making it hard to swallow. Was I seriously considering this? Was he really offering, or was it truly a hypothetical situation? On the other hand, what did I have to lose? I could probably get back my original, wobbly lab stool from that guy if I wanted to. I licked my lips. “Are you sure it won’t be weird?”
    â€œIt won’t be weird. We need each other to pass chem.”
    Relief quelled my stomach, but my pulse was happy to have a reason to stay in overdrive. “I thought you were merely discussing a hypothetical situation.”
    â€œOops.” He grinned. “Right.”
    The date rape pamphlets didn’t have any information about how to get a guy into your pants. Damn him and his keep-your-hands-where-I-can-see-’em nice guy ways. He was going to make me do all the hard work, wasn’t he?
    â€œWould … what …” I paused. It was harder than I thought.
    He smiled and looked down at my hands.
    â€œI don’t know how …” I tried to catch my breath, suddenly absent, “… how to ask …”
    â€œIt’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to.”

Chapter Six
    Seven Years Earlier … First Semester Freshman Year
    He rested his hand on my leg, tracing a circle around my kneecap with one finger. My skin was so cold from the walk home I could barely feel him touching me. The beer may have contributed to the numbness, for that matter. I concentrated on his hand until I could feel every cell that connected us. Nearly hypnotized, I raised my head and looked at him.
    He leaned in and