All three of us stared at the USB stick like it was a deadly snake. “I will.” I picked up the innocent-looking USB.
“Will the laptop show that we watched it?” Gray asked Ash.
“No, I’ll clear any traces of it.”
“Later,” I told them. “It’s almost two in the morning. Go to bed.”
They left, and I stood alone in my room, my fingers curled tightly around the offending item. With great care, I put it and the envelope in my own safe, which I kept hidden under the floorboards in my closet.
Over an hour later, I still couldn’t sleep. The scenes from the film we had inadvertently uncovered were still fresh in my head. Grumbling under my breath and getting out of bed, I flung on some training shorts and a T-shirt from earlier.
I needed to clear my head.
Seeing the low light from under Ash’s door told me he was also still up. I could hear my brother pacing in his room, and it made me feel slightly better knowing the film had caused them the same amount of unrest as it had caused me. I knew they both would have heard me, but neither of them stopped me from leaving the house, and I knew none of us would sleep much tonight.
Walking the campus at almost three in the morning had a surreal feeling about it. The buildings were in darkness, while the halls and dorms only had a few lights on, depicting either late-night studiers or those who had more interesting things to do in bed than sleep. The humid night air made me thankful I had pulled these workout shorts on, as already I could feel sweat trickle down my back.
The more I walked, the more my head was filled with the images of the girl on the film. We had watched it on low sound, but even with the barely heard audio, her screams would linger.
Reaching the other end of the campus, I debated about walking back in a straight line and went on a detour instead, weaving in among the buildings, heading in the direction of the stadium. I always found inner peace on the turf.
I saw her before I recognized her. Sitting on the steps of a simple apartment block, I hesitated before I decided to approach her.
The girl from class today didn’t notice me at all. Her long, slim legs were stretched out in front of her on the lower steps as her elbows rested on the step behind her, her head tilted backward as she stared up at the night sky. Her hair was a tangled-looking mess as it hung loose around her shoulders and rested on the step at her back. For as engrossed as she was watching the stars, the position didn’t look comfortable.
With a sigh, she sat up, and I watched her back curve as her hands gathered her long blonde hair into her hands before she twisted it on her head, her breasts catching my attention in her thin top as they stood out proudly.
With her hair off her face, I could appreciate her beauty. I hadn’t noticed in class, but she was more than pretty. A small, delicate button nose sat over thick, plump lips. I almost wished it wasn’t as dark — I had paid no real attention to her looks this afternoon. I hadn’t paid attention toherreally. Her loose jeans and loose T-shirt had been hiding a body that curved in all the right places if her shorts and tank were anything to go by.
“Don’t scream,” I said as I approached her, knowing she was completely unaware of me walking toward her, and her startled yelp reminded me of her reaction earlier in class.
“You creepy fucker!”
I grinned at her as she stood hastily and looked around uncertainly. “Not creepy, just out walking.”
“It’s after three in the morning,” she hissed at me as she looked around again.
“I know, why are you out here? Can’t sleep?” I leaned against the wall of her building. At least, I assumed it was her building.
She watched me for a moment before she looked around again. “No, it’s too hot.”
I looked at the AC units on the side of the building and looked back at her in question.
“They broke; they break regularly.”
“Housing will fix it if you ask them.”
She rolled her eyes at me as if I had just told her water was wet. “Yeah, I know. Only they don’t seem to fix them for long.”
“Why do you hate me?” My question surprised me as much as it did her. I didn’t understand why she didn’t like me, when I was sure I had never met her before. But she wasn’t shy about hiding her dislike and I was curious to know why.
My question obviously flustered her as she was putting her hair up again. Gray did the same thing, fidgeting when he was agitated or nervous. I was guessing she was nervous. Because of me? It didn’t make sense.
“How’s your ankle?” she asked me instead of answering. “Should you be walking so far on it?” When I raised an eyebrow, she lifted her shoulder in a half-shrug. “Students talk.”
“You’re concerned for me?” I heard her huff of derision, and for some reason, this made me grin wider.
“No, not at all.” She glanced over her shoulder at the door. “I better go inside.”
