“It didn’t?” He sounded either hurt or surprised.
Hailey was confused.
“No,” she said uncertainly. “I—no. I said day. That was a fun day.”
Fin stared at the road.
Hailey bit her lip.
Watching another milepost fly past, she decided she should just keep her mouth shut for the rest of the drive.
By the time they pulled up to Eureka Dorm, Hailey’s stomach was in a knot. Fin was the closest thing she had to a best friend, and she managed to completely alienate him over the course of one night. He’d probably never talk to her again—the silly little girl Hailey, pining after the campus-heartthrob-muscular-captain-of-the-stupid-hockey-team, showing up naked at his door, throwing herself at him...
She couldn’t wait to bury her head in her new pillow and never leave her room again.
Blinking back a few tears of embarrassment, she opened the passenger side door and hopped out on one foot.
“Wait for me to help you, Hailey!” Fin yelled, clearly annoyed as he hurriedly jumped out.
“I got it,” she told him, her voicestrained.
But she didn’t have it. When she tried to push the door shut, her one good foot slipped out from under her and down she went, cracking her head on the pavement and sliding almost completely under the truck.
She let out a pitiful moan, a little from the sharp pain in the back of her head, but mostly from shame.
“Why is there ice in August?” she groaned.
“Hailey!” she heard a voice yell, but it wasn’t Fin’s.
Someone with warm hands grabbed hers and pulled her out from under the truck and back onto her good foot with one swift tug.
Fin ran from the driver’s side, rounding the front of the truck and stopping dead to stare at Asher holding onto Hailey.
“I guess you don’t need me,” said Fin sourly, as Hailey clung to Asher. He unloaded her bags, and gripping them so tight his knuckles went white, he hiked toward Eureka.
“Fin!” Hailey called from Asher’s arms.
Fin faced her with his jaw set.
“Thank you,” she said, her heart sinking terribly as she limped a few feet in his direction.
Fin dropped his head for a moment, and then he straightened up and threw his chest out.
“Listen,” he asserted, addressing Hailey and quite clearly only Hailey. “A lot of us are going to the hot springs this weekend. You wanna come along?”
“Oh, no… I—I don’t think so. I don’t have a bathing suit,” she said uncomfortably.
“Oh, you don’t need one.” Fin raised his eyebrow at her.
“Oh! Then definitely no.”
“Come on. It’ll be dark. And…it’s not like I’ve never seen you naked,” he said loud enough for Asher to hear.
Hailey whipped around in time to see Asher’s eyes explode.
“Um…that…I…” she stammered, hopping back to Asher.
“Come and sit,” he said, his tone flat, expression unreadable as he guided her to a wooden bench. Kneeling in front of her, he stroked her wounded foot.
