I’m glad. You free tomorrow afternoon? 3:30?
Sure!I imagine the excitement on her face, and my heart thumps at the idea of making her happy—making anyone happy.
Great. I’ll pick you up at Prescott.
And how do you know where I live?
A smile comes and goes. I can practically see her flirting.
I’m a proficient stalker. Goodnight, Annie.
Goodnight, Blake.
Perfect. I’ll pick her up right after work. I know just the place to take her—that is if the weather behaves.
“Daniels!” A swift kick to my thigh rouses my attention as I get up off the floor. Barkley helps me up the rest of the way. “Sorry about your balls, dude.” He shakes his head. “But you gotta go. It’s university policy, no squatters allowed. I would have let you stay if you didn’t start shit.”
I’d let him know I didn’t technically start shit, but I’m pretty sure it’s not a fight I’m going to win, so I raise my hands in surrender and give.
“I’ll be gone come morning.”
“No can do. I need you gone right now.”
“Where am I supposed to go?” It’s dropping down to the thirties tonight. I hate sleeping in the truck. I’ve done it a time or two, and I’m not in the mood to assume the neck cricking position.
“Not my problem.” He heads for the stairs. “I’m sure you’ll have no trouble finding some girl to share a bed with. Alpha Chi is fucking generous this time of year.”
“Alpha Chi.” I groan as I think of hauling all my crap down from the attic. I don’t want to share a bed with anyone from Alpha Chi tonight or any other night. Annie blinks through my mind, those ruby lips, that wild hair, those lucent eyes that I wish I could stare into all night long. I think I know who I want to share a bed with, and I’m pretty sure she deserves someone way better than me. Maybe that preppy. I’m betting he’s not a homeless dropout with a kid on the way.
I collect my things and start the long drive over to Jepson.
The light is on in Wyatt’s ranch house. Those cowboy boots Annie wore tonight come to mind and hit me like another kick in the balls. Wyatt has more than a few horses I can teach her to ride.
I head up the porch and give a brisk knock to the door. It takes a good five minutes for it to swing open. Wyatt appears in nothing but his sweats. A girl stands behind him with his dress shirt wrapped around her body like a robe.
Great.
“What’s going on?” He squints past me into the night. He’s my spitting image minus the rough edge and tats—same dark hair, same God-breathed eyes our mother used to say.
“You said you wanted to talk.” I plunk my duffle bag onto the porch. “Here I am.”
Silent Kisses
Annie
Saturday morningI wake up with the sun—reeling off the excitement of seeing Blake later on today. Marley and I head to Hallowed Grounds for breakfast before Holt picks me up for a lunch date with my mother. I’ve been heading home almost every Friday night and staying through the weekend, but as soon as I learned that Blake would be at Regency House last night, I knew I wanted to stay.
So how are things with William?I tap the screen on my phone playfully. Marley has her hair up in a messy bun. Her eye makeup is slightly smudged, and she’s still unreasonably gorgeous.
“Great.” Her brows rise, but she doesn’t smile like she usually does when she gushes about him. She types into her phone.I miss him more than I thought I would. I’m beginning to wonder if I made a mistake by coming to Whitney.
Now I feel bad.Don’t say that. Things happen for a reason. I’m sure everything will work out. You just need to get used to everything. How did things work out with the velvet handcuffs? I bet he was thrilled to do a little research with you.
She makes a face.Never did use them. His stomach was upset, and he ended up leaving early. I don’t know why, but I got the feeling it was just an excuse.
I’m not sure what to say now.Is he coming down again soon?
She lets out an exasperated breath.He was supposed to come down today, but he has a big paper due on Monday. He’ll be down next weekend for sure.I think I’m going to surprise him and drive up. It’s only fair if we take turns.She strums her nails, getting lost in thought for a moment. “And what about you? Where do you think Blake is taking you later today?” She mouths the words carefully to me.
