Turning the leaflet over in her fingers, she ran her digits over the smooth surface.
“I bet you’re a man.”She held it up toward the bathroom light.Kris didn’t know much about graphic design, but the paper was thick, silky, and a good weight.It wouldn’t have been cheap to produce the leaflets in bulk.That suggested its owner had a bank balance to match his ego.“And even if you’re well-meaning, your messaging sucks, Mister.”
Lowering the flier, she smiled, already knowing what sheshoulddo.If she’d been thinking straight, she’d have tossed the paper in the bin and gone straight to bed.
So, why wasn’t she?
“Because toying with you is about the only interesting thing in my life right now.”
She shook her head at the depressing analysis.Sure, she adored her postgraduate work, and she had a lovely group of friends, but there was little genuine excitement.That’s what she’d hoped Shaun would be, but he’d turned out to be another disappointment.
Stooping to find a coin from her purse, she flicked the metal into the air, sending it spinning.
“Heads, I message you, tails, I don’t!”she declared, watching as the coin hit the tiles below and rolled off under the basin.
“Shit,” she spat, balancing the leaflet on the edge of the bathtub as she fell to her knees and searched for her answer.
Gleaming in a shard of light coming from the bathroom’s unflattering strip lighting, she spotted the coin and grasped for it in the dust.Dragging the metal toward her, her focus fell to learn her fate, her lips tugging at its solution.
“Good call.”
Leaning against the bottom of the basin, she found her phone and took the coin’s advice, only pausing to plug the unknown number into the device.
“Take that, asshole.”
Hoisting herself to her feet, she collected her purse and peered back at herself in the mirror.She might not have had the opportunity to tell Shaun what she thought of his behavior, but she’d more than communicated that to the leaflet’s owner.
Whenever he next looked at his phone, he wouldn’t know what had hit him.
Chapter Two
The shrill screech blared on, no matter how long Kris tugged her pillow over her head.Groaning, she rolled to one side, her eyes reluctantly flickering open to acknowledge the time.
08:10.
It took a moment for the digits to register, and then another before she remembered why they were so significant.
“Shit!”Sitting bolt upright, she rolled her neck and stretched her back as the grim realization dawned.“I have to be on campus.”
Sliding her feet from the warmth of her covers, she searched her bedside counter for water but found no evidence of a drink.Jesus, how drunk had she been to have come to bed and not even brought a glass of water with her?
The question rattled in her head as she rose wearily to her full height and glanced at herself in the full-length mirror in the corner of the room.It had been fun to go out with Cindy and Liz the evening before, but deep down, she knew she’d mainly been trying to drink away her blues.
Shaun still hadn’t replied to any of her flirty missives, and despite how well-attended the bars had been, there hadn’t been anyone who’d even vaguely appealed as a substitute.
“I just have to accept that I’m destined to be single.”
Walking to her dresser, she grabbed her hairbrush and dragged the bristles through her unruly mane.If she’d woken earlier, she would have showered and tamed her tresses before her first lecture, but as it was,there was no time.As well as having no man in her life, she’d also have to accept greasy, lank hair.
Fabulous.
Ten minutes later, she was dressed in her favorite low-rise jeans and an oversized hoodie.Tugging her hair into a messy ponytail, she wandered over to where her purse had been abandoned, wondering for the first time since she’d awoken where her phone was.
That was unusual.
Normally, the device was the first thing she reached for when she opened her eyes, but in the haze of her dehydration and knowing she was short on time, she hadn’t considered her phone until that moment.Hopefully, in the drunken frenzy of the night before, she’d at least had the good sense to charge it before she collapsed into bed.
Her gaze darting to the place she kept it overnight, Kris was pleased to see that she had, in fact, had the foresight to charge the device, and moving toward it, she yanked the wire free.
