I’ve been hit by that undeniable wave of lust only once in my life, but the man I experienced it with is completely out of bounds. I’ve seen him a few times since but done my best to keep my distance. It’s partly out of embarrassment as well as knowing it’s not safe for me to be around him. I threw myself at him once, and he turned me down, which was possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life. Screw that, itwasthe most embarrassing moment of my life. It’s not something I have any plans to repeat.
I’m pretty sure there’s zero chance of Ledger turning me down. My top is low cut, and the bra I picked out makes my tits look amazing. He’s trying to keep his eyes on the road as he drives, and I applaud him for his effort, but his gaze keeps drifting over to my chest. I don’t blame the guy. I did it deliberately. I want to be noticed for once in my life. I’m sick of always being the invisible girl. The sidekick. For the first time, I’m ready to be seen.
With this guy, though? Or is it someone else I want to notice me? Someone big and bad and older.
No, no, Camile. Stop that shit.Dios mio.
Ledger drives us off campus, giving a wave to thesecurity guards as we leave. We’re not prisoners at the college, even though it does feel that way sometimes because the place is so remote and filled with security. It means the sons and daughters of the crime families who attend here can be guarded twenty-four-seven, and unless you have a family member here, you’re unlikely to know the place even exists. There are no online prospectuses available, and no open days. Entry to Verona Falls University is through personal reference only.
There’s a small town called Arbington about twenty minutes’ drive from the college. It’s big enough that it’s got a movie theater and a diner, along with a coffee shop and a few other restaurants and stores. It keeps us entertained when we’re desperate to get off campus for a few hours.
I wonder which of the restaurants he might be taking me to, but instead he signals into the burger place drive-thru.
My stomach drops in disappointment.
“Seriously? This is where we’re going?”
He throws back his head and laughs, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “No, baby, this is just the prequel, I promise. Now, what can I get you?”
I order a burger, fries, and milkshake. Maybe I’d have preferred a decent restaurant for a first date, somewhere I could get a good steak and a glass of wine, but I don’t want to be stuck up about it.
Ledger must sense my feelings about the situation.
“Don’t be disappointed,” he says. “I’m going to take you somewhere special.”
With our food in a paper bag on my lap, we leave town behind us, weaving up the narrow mountain road. On one side, I catch sight of tall fencing and barbed wirebetween the trees, and my heart catches. I know what’s beyond that fence, or perhaps I should saywho.
We really do seem to be heading out into the wilderness, though, and unease starts to settle in my stomach.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’ll see. It’s not far now.”
Within another ten minutes, he’s guiding the truck over a dirt road. I hang on to the handle above the door as we bump and jolt. I can feel my tits bouncing with every rut, and a part of me wonders if he came this way on purpose.
The trees open, and we find ourselves on a rocky outcropping overlooking the Adirondack Mountains.
I must admit, the view is stunning. The tops of the trees look like the waves of the ocean, spilling away from us. The blue of a lake glints in the late evening sun, and the gray of more rocky outcroppings intersperse the green. A flock of birds flits across the sky, heading to the trees to roost. The sky is a watercolor of red and orange and yellow.
“Wow, this view is incredible.”
He glances in my direction, raises his dark eyebrows suggestively. “It really is.”
I don’t think he’s talking about the trees.
“We’re going to watch the sunset. It’s romantic, I promise.”
I force a smile, the unease still there at how remote this is. “Sure.”
He gets a blanket out on the bed of his truck and sits down, patting the spot next to him. I climb up, glad I wore jeans and not a dress. I guess this is kind of romantic, though a picnic would have been preferable to takeout.
We sit side by side, eating the burgers and fries and chatting about the people we know at Verona Falls, which professors we hate and which ones we tolerate, and which subjects we’re doing best in.
“Your family has been coming to Verona Falls for some time, haven’t they?” he asks. “Didn’t your brother go here, too?”
I frown, wondering how, or why, he knows about my brother. The sibling he’s referring to is Leonardo. He’s several years older than me and hasn’t been at Verona Falls for a few years now. My other brother is even older and works away from our family, in a role where he can facilitate laundering money if needed, but he’s become increasingly estranged from us. I haven’t seen him in several years.
Taking a sip of my vanilla milkshake, I nod. “Yeah, he did. Why?”
