Okay, as weird as this might seem, I kind of like that he did—I did the same to him.
Not that I like like him or anything like that.
“You looked my times up, huh?” I can’t stop a smile from touching my lips at how squirmy he’s gotten.
“I wanted to see what kind of training you needed,” he stresses. “I kind of had to.”
“Or you could’ve just asked me. Or were you too shy?” I tease, nudging his foot with mine.
He shakes his head but struggles not to smile. “Well, maybe I would have if you’d texted me.”
“All right, fair enough.” I’m smiling now, which is odd, considering only minutes ago, some guy tried to drag me down the hallway.
That reminder sends my mood plummeting and also reminds me that I need to check and see if Lily messaged me back.
“Your times are good,” he tells me while I’m digging out my phone from my pocket. “And I’m guessing you ran them without a personal coach.”
I snort a laugh. “No, no personal coaches ever. And my high school coach was the gym teacher who couldn’t even run himself, so I basically trained myself.”
Lily has sent me a message.
Lily: If you’re ready to leave, that’s totally fine with me. But can you wait like twenty minutes or so? This guy that I like so much is finally talking to me!
“What’s up?” River asks.
I pocket my phone. “I’m kind of ready to leave this little shindig, but I don’t think your sister is. And I don’t have Wren’s number.” I briefly pause. “Is there like a way back to campus where I don’t have to walk through the woods?”
“Are you thinking about walking back by yourself?” He doesn’t seem to like this idea.
“Maybe, if I don’t have to walk through the woods.” I yawn. “I’m exhausted, honestly. I don’t drink a lot, either, so my body’s not used to this.”
He rubs his lips together. “I can walk you back to your dorm.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ve already ruined too much of your night.”
“Trust me; you haven’t ruined anything. Like I said, this isn’t really my scene.”
“Why are you here then?”
“Appearances,” he says flatly. “I’m obligated to because of my last name.”
I wrap my jacket tighter around myself as the wind picks up even more. “Are you in the frat?”
“Technically. But I barely associate with it unless I have to.” He dazes off momentarily before blinking and returning his gazeto me. “Let me walk you back to the dorms. You really shouldn’t be wandering around at night by yourself.”
His words strike me hard because he’s right. I probably shouldn’t, and yet that’s all I’ve done since I was four years old. It’s tragically sad in a way that makes my chest ache.
“All right, gothic prince, you can walk me back to my dorm.” I smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.
“Gothic prince?” he questions as we start to walk in the direction of the woods.
“What? It seems fitting.” I retrieve my phone and send Lily a quick text about what’s going on. “The first time I saw you, that’s kind of what I thought. Although, you were dressed a bit differently then.”
“That’s because Finn and I weren’t hanging out in Royal City, so I felt more comfortable being myself.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you still looked wealthy,” I say as we step onto the path that snakes through the trees.
“Really?” His disbelief is absolutely adorable.
