The rounds of beer pong are still going on in the kitchen. Walking into the crowded room I open the fridge and pull out a beer.
“Oh hey, Jax. I wasn’t sure if you’d be here tonight.” Closing my eyes, I muster the courage to turn around and deal with the girl who’s speaking to me.
Clara’s a girl who can’t take a hint. She was nice, sure, but I don’t want to date anyone. My focus is baseball, not blondes who want too much attention. I tried to break it to her easily, but as I said, she can’t take a hint. Now, she seems to follow me around wherever I go.
Not wanting to smile at her to avoid giving her the wrong impression, I tilt my cup to her and take a drink. “Yet here I am.”
She laughs a little too forcefully. Clara’s a pretty girl—a small, bubbly cheerleader—who is used to getting her way apparently. We’d gone out on one date. One that ended after dinner and was never repeated. It’s been months and she still pops upeverywhere. I must have laid on the charm because now she won’t leave me the fuck alone.
“You’re so funny, Jax.” She steps closer to me, grabbing my arm and pressing her tits against me. Too bad for her, I’m an ass man.
Now that I think about it, it is getting rather late. Downing the rest of my beer, I gently pull my arm from Clara’s grip. “It was good seeing you. I’m heading out now.” I don’t give her time to respond before I’m walking out the door.
Stepping out in the January chill, my body relaxes. No more loud music, clingy girls, or stifling rooms to distract me.
Walking late at night is something I’ve come to enjoy about living in Rose Prairie. It’s such a picturesque quiet town that it’s peaceful, not to mention safe, to walk down the middle of the street in the dark of the night. It clears my mind, letting me forget about everything but the sound of the gravel under my feet.
It’s a quick three-minute walk back to campus, but is long enough for me to get into the mindset of school and baseball. I wouldn’t be attending any more parties or drinking any more beers this semester. At least until baseball season is over.
Passing the fountain in the middle of campus, a movement catches my eye. There’s a girl laying on the swinging bench under the streetlight. She’s got a blanket covering herself and a book on her lap and she seems oblivious to me as I get closer to her.
Rosewood is a safe campus, but I wouldn’t say it’s perfect. She really shouldn’t be out here this late all alone.
I’m conflicted.
Common sense is telling me to leave her alone, she’s clearly aware of where she is and what time it is. I’d just be the asshole who approached her and harassed her to go back to her dorm. On the other hand, I can’t in good conscience leave her out here,especially when I know that lots of drunk guys are going to be walking in this very same direction to go back to their dorms.
Taking a deep breath, I contemplate my options.
Fuck it.
Chapter Four
Candi
Polly has been the breath of fresh air that I’ve needed. The last several days, she’s taken the time to show me around campus to help me acclimate. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably have spent the days leading up to class starting curled up on my bed and reading a book. I mean, I have been doing that, but I haven’t spent all day doing it. And I say that’s growth.
Classes start back up tomorrow, and Polly is out at some party. She’d done her best to try to drag me out of the door, but parties are not my scene. Too many people, too many drinks, too much everything.
Instead, I’m trying and failing to fall asleep. My comforter tangles around my legs as I toss and turn. With a frustrated sigh, I tug my blanket free from bed, throw on some warm clothes, and grab a book from my shelf. Sleeping obviously isn’t going to happen tonight, but I also don’t want to stay here with all my anxious energy.
Stone Hall’s doors slam behind me as I walk down the steps. Where I’m heading, I have no clue, but the cool night air is refreshing. Luckily, there’s no one around to see the crazy girl carrying her blanket across campus in the middle of the night.
I’ve never been around campus at night and it’s so serene. There’s a light breeze that makes the bare limbs of the trees shake, but I don’t find it creepy. It’s almost reassuring in away with their gentle rattle. The streetlights that are barely noticeable during the daylight are evenly spaced all around the grounds, illuminating the dark campus. It makes me feel safe and comfortable, which I know is naive.
The sound of falling water catches my attention, and I know I’m near the fountain. The center of the campus has a large fountain with three tiers that makes me think of the chocolate fountain from my cousin, Julie’s wedding. There are these benches that remind me of the porch swing at my grandma’s house and I immediately sit down in the closest one.
It’s directly under a streetlight, so there’s plenty of lighting for me to read my book, and the bench is big enough for two, so I curl up with the blanket draped over my legs.
I think I’ve just found my new favorite reading spot.
Maybe it’s the rushing water, the coaxing swing of the bench, or the dim light, but my eyes start to flutter closed.
The next thing I know, the world is shaking. Shaking and rocking? What the hell?
Peaking an eye open, my entire body jack-knifes up, an unholy scream piercing what was once a peaceful night. All I can see is a stranger’s face inches away from mine. I don’t think, I just react. Immediately, my hardcover six-hundred-page book goes flying directly into the face of my attacker with a heavy thud.
“Fuck!” Whoever he is, falls flat on his ass, hands cupping his face and I make a run for it.
