“I have to go. Will I see you later?” My voice is almost desperate, and I hate that. But I can’t get any kind of control over my emotions; they are all over the place.
He leans forward so his lips are right against my ear. “Now you know my secret; know that I am always watching. You need me, just call my name, I’ll be there.”
My legs feel weak, but I force myself to take a step away from him. It takes every ounce of control I have to force myself to take another step away from him. I stare at him, trying to wrap my head around what just happened. He doesn’t move, but he watches with an intensity that’s scary. He doesn’t even blink. Hayes steps up next to me. “You coming?”
I nod and start walking with Hayes and Steven back to the guard shack. On the way, I take off Hayes’s jacket and hand it to him. He takes it with a scowl but doesn’t say a word. The walk back seems to take forever, and neither Hayes nor Steven say anything. I can feel Hayes’s anger, and I feel bad. But I’m also kind of confused. I’ve never thought there was anything between us, and if I led him to believe that, I certainly didn’t mean to. I think about apologizing, but his stormy gaze makes it look like he won’t appreciate it. When we get inside, I walk over to my seat and stop. Over the back of my chair is one of Slater’s long-sleeved shirts he wears before soccer practice. A goofy grin settles over my face, and I wonder how he beat us back here to drop this off. Of course, he’s a really fast runner; so, I guess it’s not that surprising. When I sit down, I also see my phone sitting face down at my desk. I stare at it a moment; I know it wasn’t here earlier. I flip it over and see a text from Slater. Butterflies take off in my stomach before I even read it. I make sure nobody’s paying attention before I read it.
Slater-You dropped this on the grass. I found it after you left earlier. And Shorty, if you want to wear a male’s clothing, wear mine. Always mine.
“No phones when we’re on security,” Hayes says dropping into the chair next to me. I resist the urge to scowl at him and simply turn my phone over and get back to my schoolwork. I pretend I’m hard at work, but honestly, it’s really hard to concentrate. My mind is struggling to wrap around everything that happened tonight. What’s scary is the fact that I’m moreshocked and blown away by that kiss than I am by the fact that Slater somehow turned into a wolf. I sort of question my own sanity right now. I really do need to ask about the whole wolf thing.
The rest of the night passes incredibly slowly. And when it’s time for me to make my rounds, I keep an eye out for Slater, but I don’t see him anywhere. Disappointment fills me, but I try not to think about it. I’m almost done with my shift, and I make the walk over to the soccer field. My gaze falls on a certain soccer player, and my heart skips a beat. Then he turns around. Before I realize what’s happening, he’s jogging towards me. He doesn’t stop when he gets close. He just steps right into me, wrapping his arms around me. And then his lips are on mine. Elation flows through me; that is, until a whistle rips through the air, startling me. I pull back and blink up at Slater. He stares down at me with that intensity of his. “I’ve been thinking about nothing else but that the last several hours.”
I meet his gaze boldly. “Was it worth it?”
He growls low in his chest. “You’re playing with fire, Shorty.”
A slow smile fills my face. “Am I?”
“Slate!” somebody yells.
“You’d better go,” I tell him.
“I’ll find you when I’m done.” He starts jogging backwards.
“Show-off,” I mutter loud enough for him to hear me. There’s no heat in my voice, and he grins. Then he spins around and runs over to his teammates. By the time I clock out and head to my dorm room, I don’t have much time to do anything but shower and get to my first class. I enter my room quietly in case Stephanie is still sleeping. Her bed is empty, though, so she must already be out for the day. When I get to my bed, I see the white bag and open it up. Inside, there’s a breakfast sandwich and a hashbrown, and a bottle of orange juice. My stomach growls as I breathe it in. I don’t even have to ask who brought it. I can smellSlater’s cologne on the bag from where he must have touched it. I text him quickly, even though I know he won’t see it until later.
Me- Thank you for breakfast.I lift the bagel sandwich to my mouth, open wide, and snap the picture. I don’t overthink it as I send it to him.
I don’t hear from him until after third hour. He hearts the pic I sent him and sends me a text.
Slater-meet for lunch?
I can’t help my goofy grin.
Me-sure
My next two hours drag, and I have a hard time focusing. Finally, it’s time for lunch. I make my way out of the classroom and pull out my phone. Slater never told me where to meet him. I nearly collide with someone as I leave the classroom. “Oh, sorry.” I look up, and my heart squeezes. “Slater.”
“You make a habit of walking and texting, Shorty?”
I scowl up at him. “You make a habit of making people run into you?”
He smirks. “Only you.” He takes me by the elbow and pulls me out of the way as several guys burst through the doorway, shoving each other and laughing. I laugh at the expression on his face.
“Come on; they’re just goofing off.”
“They need to be more careful.”
I shrug. “They’re college guys.”
I follow him out of the building, and we keep up with the flow of traffic. He doesn’t say anything as we walk, and I don’t either. It’s too hard with so many people around us. When we get to the dining area, I follow Slater to a table. I drop my bag off and turn to survey the area, trying to decide what I’m hungry for. “What do you want?” Slater asks.
“I’m thinking—”
“Tessa.”
I turn to see Stephanie and Ashley, who lives across the hall from us, approaching. “Hey, Girl,” Ashley says, hugging me.
