I didn’t take an ice bath, but I did take a cold shower that felt like standing underneath falling needles, and then I headed to the house and worked on the floors until I’d scraped off every last speck of the past. My bedroom took the longest, but that was mostly because I spent a bunch of minutes staring at the loose floorboard. For a moment, I thought of nailing it shut so it could never again be used to conceal secrets, but finally decided to leave itbe.
Before being a depository for stolen Sillin, it had been a place where I’d stowed away my treasures anddreams.
That night,exhausted, I almost bailed on dinner but ended up going because I felt like I should make an effort to spend time with the pack outside oftraining.
When I got to Tracy’s, Amanda and Matt were already seated at a table along the wall which was decorated with vintage movie posters in cheap frames that were smudged with greasy handprints. The former housekeeper in me cringed at the cleanliness of this place. I didn’t even want to think about the state of the kitchen. Thankfully, I was endowed with a wolf stomach; in other words, I could digest questionable meat and nothurl.
As I sat in front of Amanda, Matt all but yelled over the music playing in the background and the continuous plink of cue sticks against pool balls, “You madeit!”
“I almost didn’t. Everywherehurts.”
“I heard my baby’s been working you out,” Amanda said, pushing her wavy, brown hair behind herear.
“Torturing me’s more likeit.”
Matt grinned, and so did Amanda, which was a nice change from her usual hot and cold attitude towardme.
She took a sip of her beer. “Heard you were starting at UCB. Did Matt tell you I’m going theretoo?”
“No!” Even though Amanda and I weren’t besties, it was neat to know another person at UCB. Especially if I was to have no interaction withSarah.
A waitress with heavy bangs came up behind me and asked what I wanted to drink. I recognized her right away:Kelly.
Another one of August’shookups. . .
“I’ll have the same as them,” I said. Thankfully, she didn’t cardme.
“Coming right up.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes with her pinky finger, then poured me some iced water before leaving to grab mybeer.
Amanda set her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers under her chin. “What are you thinking of majoringin?”
“Business.”
Her already large eyes went a little larger. “Me too! So we’ll probably be in all the same classes. Sienna and Matty already told me all the professors to stay away from and all the awesomeones.”
“Liam’s also filled mein.”
“Yeah?” She cranked one eyebrow up and flicked her gaze to Matt as though to ask him what the deal was between Liam andme.
“Sorry we’re late,” Lucas chirped. “Liam had trouble deciding whether to wear his black T-shirt or his black T-shirt.”
I turned and craned my neck in time to catch Liam smack Lucas’schest.
“Where’s blondie?” Lucas asked, scanning the crowd by the pool tables. Why he thought Sarah would be playing pool instead of sitting with us was beyondme.
“She couldn’t makeit.”
I caught Amanda mouthingblondieand Matt whispering Sarah Matz’sname.
“So it’s just the five of us?” Lucasasked.
“Seems like it,” Liamsaid.
Lucas eyed the bar as though he were contemplating heading over there, but Liam must’ve spoken into Lucas’s mind, because he cringed and dropped into a free chair. Unfortunately, not the one next to me. Liam took that one. And then he draped his arm over the top of mychair.
I leaned forward so that my shoulders didn’t touch hisarm.
Kelly came back with my drink and beers for the boys. She apparently knew them so well she’d preempted theirorder.
