Eeew! I want to change my name after his disgusting comment. Enough of this stupid plan of mine. I twist and shove Trey away and go in search of Cal, but I can’t find him amongst the crowd. I hear Trey saying my name again, but I don’t bother turning around. Thankfully, I spot Jax near the kitchen where she said she’d be.
“Gurl, please tell me you didn’t kiss that sketchy-ass Trey?” Jax asks the moment I reach her. “He’s a walking STD.”
“No, thank goodness, but I still fucked up and need to find Cal.”
Jax smiles wide, as if this is the news she’s been waiting to hear all night. “About time!”
“Do you know where he is?” I prod.
She shakes her head, concern in her eyes. “No, the last time I saw him, he was with you. But at least you know where he lives.”
Duh! I nod and turn to leave, but then pivot back. “Sorry, do you mind if I ditch you?”
Jax laughs and gently pushes me toward the door. “Go! I’m a a big girl, I’ll be fine, besides I have some business to attend to.”
While I’m eager to agree, I waver for a moment when I notice that she’s walking purposefully to the group of hockey players again. Or more accurately, straight toward Luke Preston the captain of Thatcher’s hockey team, which is weird in itself, because he never goes to parties. They dub him the “Ice Man” for a reason and it has nothing to do with his skills on the ice, but his cold demeanor.
I shrug. Like she said though, Jax is a big girl and I have my own hunk to thaw.
Chapter Eleven
Same Night, New Plan
The cold air bites at my exposed skin. It was so hot and crowded inside that I almost forgot it’s almost winter, and this mini dress isn’t providing any protection. My adrenaline is pumping, though. By some miracle, I make it to my quad without twisting an ankle in these heels. That’s when I spot Cal nearing Tasker Hall.
“Cal!” I shout, but he either doesn’t hear me or is ignoring me. “Please, wait up!” I call out, trying again. This time, he stops but doesn’t turn around. I catch up to him, though.
“It was a stupid idea. I’m sorry, Cal,” I admit breathlessly.
His shoulders droop, his body sagging. With an annoyed exhale, he finally turns to look at me. I surprise us both by flinging myself into his chest. Without pause, his arms wrap around me, and he pulls me closer in his embrace.
Cal rubs his cheek against the top of my head and I sigh with relief. We stay like this for a minute, him rocking me gently. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt this safe and at ease with anyone else before and I’m shook. Why did it take me this long to realize that my gut has never once warned me against Cal? Only my muddled brain and dumb pride.
Eventually, Cal lets go, easing me away. “So, was Trey that bad of a kisser?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I say, and Cal’s eyes snap to mine as if he’s trying to detect a lie in my green depths. I nod for emphasis. “I don’t need to kiss him, or anyone else, to know that I’d rather be kissing you.”
He smiles, and it’s not one of his smirks but a genuine smile that I don’t see often. It lights up his already handsome face to the point that it’s not fair. As pathetic as this sounds, I literally would be happy to just hang on his neck and stare at him for hours.
“It took you long enough,” Cal says, cocky smirk back in place. “I knew way before tonight,” he boasts.
“If we’re being honest, so did I. I don’t know what I was trying to prove.”
Cal bobs his head, still smiling, but he doesn’t comment further. “After you,” he says, holding open the door to Tasker Hall and motioning for me to enter first. We walk side by side to our rooms in silence, my mind reeling with what to say next.
Cal stops in front of my door, and the surge of emotions flooding me, along with his sudden quietness, has my belly twisting with nervous anxiety. What do we do now?
I grab my new set of keys and gingerly slip them into the replacement lock. It opens with ease, and I throw a smile over my shoulder at Cal.
He’s smiling, too, and my stomach does another bellyflop. “Good night, April,” he says, leaning in and placing a quick kiss on my cheek. “You look gorgeous tonight, by the way.”
Stunned, my mouth drops open as I watch Cal disappear into his own room, closing the door behind him. I stare at the empty hallway for a second or two before escaping inside my dorm room.
WTF? I look gorgeous but I only get a kiss on the cheek? What was I expecting, though? Just because I didn’t kiss someone else tonight doesn’t mean Cal and I are suddenly going out or something.
Crap, I better not be wrong about Cal for the second time. I mean, this better not have been some thrill of the chase sort of thing. My turmoil disappears when it dawns on me that I just used Cal’s last name, “chase.” I’m going to have to tell him that one. But when? Did I go and fuck this all up? And what even is this?
I shake away my irksome insecurities and recall the way he’d just held me outside. That does the trick and I kick off my painful stilettos. One goes soaring over my desk to hit the windowsill and the other flies toward the closet, which was where I was aiming for to begin with, but I guess my aim is as bad as my decisions.
