Everyone seemed to be lost in a daze in the community bathroom. A place where Jake usually sang, Bria normally whined, and chatter usually filled the background noise. The only sound tonight was the water, the curtain swinging back and forth against the rod, and toilets flushing. Students moved at the same pace as the rising humidity.
It was the same place I’d first met Ollie. ‘Hi’s’ and smiles had happened in this very room—among other things: glances, a handshake, broken mirrors, attachment, sacred moments, sweet love, Christmas kisses, laughs, and tears. This bathroom held every pivotal moment in our relationship.
The tiny opening in the shower stall Ollie occupied revealed the shape of him. The dip at his lower back and his cute ass. He turned under the water, and his tattooed birds flew across the surface of his skin. Only half of him showed, and my eyes traveled over every crevice of his chest, stomach, and prominent lines leading to places I’ve visited, and which I was lucky to have for the rest of my life.
This man was my fiancé.
He chose me, and I’d said it before, and I would say it again and again … I’ll never fucking understand it.
Ollie tilted his head, and green eyes peered back at me from the small opening, and he motioned me over with the come-hither finger. My cheeks heated. I jumped down off the counter and made my way toward him before pushing my head through the curtain.
“Are you watching me, love?” Ollie whispered, his hand washing over the length of him.
I just showered, and I was wet all over again.
My gaze roamed over him. Yes, I was, and I’d gladly watch him shower, dress, sleep, eat, make love to me, everything. “Are you okay with that?” I asked, and I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting the urge to touch his skin.
“I need your eyes on me, you know this,” a grin spread across his face as he turned his back to me to rinse off, “Just wanted to make sure.”Tease. Ollie turned off the water, and I threw him his towel, and he rubbed it over his hair. “You sure Scott needs you?”
The way his half hard-on stood and my core thumped second-guessed my entire night. “I can’t talk to you like this,” I breathed and closed the curtain shut. Ollie laughed while my back hit the tile, and I crossed my arms, waiting for him to come out.
We rushed out of the bathroom and down the hall, laughing until we made it behind closed doors and inside our little heaven we created. Mouths crashed as Ollie stripped off my clothes in a frenzy. “Mia, I’m not playing around,” he muttered between kisses, “We’re making sweet love, and you’re staying with me until I fall asleep.”
I nodded, and our lips collided once more.
Over and over and over again.
It took forever for Ollie to fall asleep. He refused to unlatch from me and to be honest, I didn’t want him to. But Ethan needed me.
I slipped away from Ollie’s hold and found my clothes in the dark. My need to kiss him outweighed the chance of him waking up and begging me not to go. “I love you,” I whispered before pulling away. Ollie didn’t stir. He never did. Sound asleep on his side, Ollie’s arm crossed over the mattress where my body should be.
The black hoodie engulfed me, but it was warm, and it was Ollie’s. It read, “Poetic.” Somehow, he had gotten another one and said this one was mine now.
Once the door closed lightly behind me, I turned my attention down the hall to where Ethan waited.
“Took you long enough.” Ethan fell into a walk in my direction.
Together, we walked silently through the creepy campus until we got to Lynch’s office. Ethan grabbed the ring from his belt and sifted through the keys. “Only the student files,” he coached me while jiggling the door open. “That’s it.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
The door creaked open, and if Ethan weren’t here, I’d swear I still wouldn’t be the only one in the room. Yes, I was the girl who thought ghosts were real, but I’d never been afraid of them. There were darker things in this world to be scared of, much more wicked than a spirit—something that could physically touch you.
“Jett?” Ethan interrupted my thoughts. My eyes snapped over to him, standing behind the desk with a flashlight in his hand. “Let’s get this over with, yeah?”
“Right.” I walked around the desk and crouched down in front of him. “Flashlight?” I held out my hand.
Ethan exhaled behind me and dropped it into my hand. I put the sucker between my teeth, and filtered through the files. “Whas oos las aai?”
“What?” he chuckled.
I grabbed the flashlight out of my mouth. “What’s Jude’s last name?”
“Hell if I know.”
My fingers touched over every passing manila folder. Every familiar name I came across, I pulled out and handed it over to Ethan behind me. Madilyn. Brianna. Tyler. My finger touched over Oliver Masters and there was a skip in my heart.
I trust Ollie, and seeing his file would be wrong, I chanted over and over in my head. Sucking in my lips, I flipped past until my eyes landed on Jake, then Jude. “Jackpot.”
