Stick pulled the car over onto a side street just past the row of restaurants. In a moment, a valet came over to Stick’s window.
I was confused. Were we going to one of these places to eat? Stick and Lucas did not seem the valet-parking kind of guys. More like they’d be the valets themselves.
But no, the valet handed Stick something that I couldn’t make out, looking at Jane first, then into the back seat. “Hey, Lucas,” he said. Lucas didn’t say a word, just gave a slight chin raise to the guy.
“Hour and a half, max,” the valet said to Stick.
“Got it,” Stick said. The valet stepped away and returned around the block to the restaurants.
“What do you think, Lucas?” Stick said. “Getting any more inspiration?”
“No inspiration here,” Lucas said, his voice sure, and with just a touch of steel in it. “Move on, Stick.”
“You never know, you might find something that strikes you,” Stick said as he put the car in gear and drove.
I cuddled into Lucas, but his hand in my hair had gone still.
“Nope. Not here. Let’s just take Lily and Jane home,” he said.
The drive home was quiet until just as we were reaching the dorm and Lucas asked me for my phone. Jane got out of the parked car as I handed my phone over to Lucas and he punched in some numbers as he got out and let me past him. His phone rang and he disconnected the call he made to himself.
“There,” he said, handing the phone back to me. “Now we have each other’s numbers.” He looked like he wanted to kiss me, but he just got back into the car and Stick sped off.
“Oh, he’s got your number, all right,” Jane said as she turned and walked into the dorm.
I stood and watched until I couldn’t see the car lights anymore.
Chapter6
“Yeah I’m thinkinglaundry for two months,” Jane predictably said the next day when we were in our one shared class—Intro to Creative Writing.
She’d been blessedly quiet after Lucas and Stick dropped us off at the dorm. Although it helped that she’d gotten a phone call from her father. They’d argued, as usual, while I’d gotten ready for bed. And when she’d hung up, she’d been too preoccupied to grill me about Lucas.
I’d woken up earlier than her this morning and dressed quietly, not even showering, and left the room before she woke.
But the instructor was late, also as usual, and it was obvious that Jane had filled Syd in during their walk to class, because they’d sat on either side of me and given me “okay, spill” looks the moment they sat down.
“Where is Montrose? You’d think an eleven o’clock class wouldn’t be too taxing to get up for. I mean, we usually party on Thursday nights and we make it on time,” I said, trying to deflect.
“Yes, that’s right, weusuallyparty on Thursday nights. But that’s not what we did last night, is it?” Jane said.
I didn’t answer. Syd piped in with, “Well, I did. I wasn’t going to stay home just because you dragged Jane into your ghetto love fest.” She was teasing, even nudged me, but the words rang true. That area with the graffiti wall was about as ghetto as you could get.
“Hardly a love fest,” was my weak answer.
“Please. I didn’t turn around—who needs to see gorgeous people making out when I’m stuck with a troll loser—but I could feel the car rockin’,” Jane said.
Deflecting again, I said, “That’s the second time you’ve called Stick a troll. I think he’s kind of cute. In a scruffy kind of way.”
She shrugged. “Meanwhile, you were in the back seat with an Adonis.”
“Okay. Laundry for two months,” I said, verbally conceding to what I’d already conceded to in my head the night before.
Jane looked smug and turned her attention to her phone. Syd nudged me again. “Jane gave me most of the details on the way here. Just how far did it go on the trunk of the car?” It wasn’t a plea for juicy details—which we all normally shared after any kind of hookup. There was concern in Syd’s voice.
“Not very,” I said truthfully. But although it was true, we hadn’t gone very far, it wasn’t exactly thewholetruth. Which was…although it was just kissing, I felt a much deeper connection to Lucas in even this short time, than I’d ever felt with any other guy. “Just kissing. A tiny bit of grinding.” Syd nodded, waiting for me to go on. I shrugged. “That’s it. It was all pretty innocent.”
She gave me a cool look. “I don’t know. This guy seems out of your world, Lily. Definitely not what you’re used to in guys.”
