I explain that Bradley was lying in wait for me—that he wants me to go home this weekend to talk with our parents about our breakup.
“Oh, damn, girl! When will he leave you alone? He must be desperate. What’s his deal anyway?” Lily asks.
“No idea.”
Just then, a tiny woman in an apron covered in paint splatters moves to the middle of the room and clears her throat.
“Well, well, well, isn’t this a great class! Welcome to Life Painting, everyone!” she says with a smile. “This is going to be a great semester. You will learn so much about the human body, proportions, and composition. Don’t worry if you haven’t painted the figure before; that’s why you’re here now, isn’t it? Now, let me introduce our first model for the year. Come on up, Hank. I lean forward and pull my body up so I can see above the head of the girl in front of me. I watch Hank saunter into the middle of the room with a broad smile on his face. “Everyone, say hello to Hank.”
In unison, the class says dryly, “Hiiii, Haaaank.”
“Hi, everyone. I look forward to getting naked for you all.” He chuckles, as does the rest of the room.
I stare as Hank looks around the room. I hold my breath when his eyes stop on Lily. I watch as his smile widens to massive proportions; then he winks at her. What’s with the winking? I turn to see Lily wink back at him.Damn. That girl has confidence to spare. I love that about her.
In a loud whisper, Lily says, “This is hands down my favorite fucking class. I alreadyloveLife Painting.”
“Uh-huh,” I mutter. “It’s gonna be awesome.”Not.
Professor Willis breaks our little private moment, reminding us to bring all of our paint supplies to class next time because we’re going to jump right in and start painting. She excuses us early from class, stating, “Boys and girls, this will be the only time we will get to leave early, so enjoy it.”
Lily and I begin to say our goodbyes when a smiling Hank saunters up to us. “Hey, ladies. Stella, are you going to introduce me to your beautiful friend?”
Oh, boy.
“Tank, this is my friend and future roomie, Lily Smith. Lily, this is Hank the Tank.” I wink at Hank and see the scowl on his face. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
Hank extends his huge paw-like hand toward Lily. Sheplaces her tiny hand in his and says, “It’s really nice to meet you, Hank. I can’t wait to see you naked.”
I choke out a laugh at that. Her confidence is remarkable.
Laughing as well, Hank says, “And I can’t wait to get nakedforyou, little Lily.”
Wait for it. Wait for it. There it is… the wink. I knew it. He just can’t resist.
“Okay, you two, enough of the flirting. I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. And for the love of Pete, quit with the winking.”
“Whatever you say, Stella,” Hank says, winking again.
At that, the three of us part, each heading in different directions, or so I thought. By the time I’ve reached the dorm, Hank is walking next to me again.
“So….” He pauses. “Lily?” asks Hank.
“Yes? Is there something you’d like to know about my best friend?”
“Sure, lots of things, like will she be, uh, visiting you here at Shepard at all?”
“I suppose. Do you want me to work on that or something?” I’ve stopped walking and have turned to face the mammoth guy. “Are you asking me to set you two up, because if you are, I don’t think my help is necessary. I think we should just let that happen organically.”
“I guess we could go that route. That might be time-consuming, though. Any help you can give to nudge things along would be appreciated.” Hank winks. “And thanks! See you around, Stella,” he shouts as he heads into Shepard, adding, “I owe you one.”
Chapter Eight
ALEX
At exactly five thirty, I knock on Stella’s door. No answer. I knock again. No answer. Shit, I hope she hasn’t changed her mind. I told her I took care of the jackasses on the team. Maybe she’s hurt. It’s possible. Tank told me that dick, Brad, had his hands on her today, which proves my earlier claim. That guy is dangerous. Either way, I need to be sure she’s okay. I try the knob. Unlocked. Damn it, that’s dangerous too. The girl needs to lock her damn door. I’ll talk to her about that later.
I slowly open the door to see a dark lounge area. Brooke’s room is also dark. Good. That girl is nothing but trouble. When I look toward Stella’s room, I can see her door is a jar and hear music playing. I walk closer and realize that she’s listening to that Meghan Trainor song “All About the Bass.” At least it’s upbeat. If she were listening to some sad music, like Adele, I’d be worried she was upset about her ex.
