“I figured it was faster to call you then to try to assure you I’m alive and well via text.”
I snort. “You know me too well. How are you?”
“Alive and well,” she repeats.
“How was your world history test?”
“Eight-four,” she says with a huff of disappointment.
“I’m sorry. I know you studied so hard for it.”
She hums. “I think all the studying is actually making me dumber, which is why I’m going out tonight.”
“You are.” My body tenses. “Where? Who are you going with?”
Wren laughs. “A party with half the college. I’ll be fine.”
“Be careful. Don’t accept drinks from anyone and make sure your phone is charged so you can get an Uber or text me if you need anything.”
“O-kay. No more true crime podcasts for you. You’re not emotionally equipped to deal with them.”
I laugh. She might not be wrong about that.
“Be careful,” I say. “I love you, Baby Bird.”
It was my nickname for her when we were kids. I found out a wren was a kind of bird and I thought I was so clever.
“I love you too,” she says back.
With a shake of my head, I drop my phone to my side. I do a quick check to make sure she’s still sharing her location with me.
“Who’s Baby Bird?” Travis’s voice startles me, and I fumble my phone, catching it against my chest seconds before it falls to the ground.
“No one.”
He stands in the middle of the hallway, blocking the path of women walking out of the bathroom. He steps closer to me to let someone pass, enveloping me in his warm, spicy scent.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
“Looking for you.”
“Found me,” I say, stepping forward with the rest of the line. So does he.
I arch a brow in question, but he doesn’t comment on why he’s decided to hover.
“Are you having fun?” he asks.
“I am. Thanks for getting us in.”
“You’re welcome.”
He stays with me as we inch our way to the front of the line. His presence makes me nervous for reasons I don’t quite understand.
When it’s my turn, he hangs back.
“You’re not coming in to make sure I don’t slip out a window?”
“Nah. You’d miss me. Besides, there aren’t any windows in there.”
