Chapter Five
The pounding in my temple intensified. Skipping dinner yesterday and breakfast this morning was taking its toll on me. Leaving my sunglasses back at my apartment only added to my torture. The morning started under the darkness of clouds and with a flash of flurries. Sometime between my analytical math class and ethics, the sun made an appearance. It warmed the air into the low forties. A few students shed their jackets. With a little wind, the temperature was almost warm.
I walked across the quad toward the circular student union. One of my favorite places on campus if only for the smart design. I rarely went inside unless I needed something from the bookstore. The food was too greasy and too expensive. It was cheaper and healthier to eat back at my apartment. But I needed food.
And I needed to talk to someone.
Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I sent Paige a text to see if she could meet me at the student union. My mind wandered to before Christmas break. We’d sat in my tiny apartment with a bottle of wine and talked about everything. My focus on my degree and my future since Henry had ended it was the primary target of conversation.
Paige felt we’d grown apart because I wasn’t spending as much time with her. I wasn’t going to parties or much of anything other than work and school. That’s how the bet came into play. I’d lost and agreed to one party.
“You act like you’re forty or something,” she’d said after she picked me up at my apartment. “God, Liv, you dress like a Stepford wife. Have fun for a change.”
“I am having fun.” I’d crossed my arms over the cream button-down shirt I’d chosen for the night. It paired well with the chocolate A-line skirt and leopard-print flats, the only item Paige approved of. My wardrobe shouted professional rather than party.
“Really?” Paige glanced at me as she drove toward the Gamma house in her sedan. “When was the last time you got laid?”
The heat had filled my cheeks faster than the mercury rose in the desert.
“Uh-huh, that’s what I thought.” She’d slowed as we approached a red light. “Let me guess…it’s been about a year?”
I’d turned away from her. Paige and I became best friends during freshman year as roommates. It was rough at first, but after the first few weeks we finally bonded over a bottle of vodka and a game of Truth or Dare.
“Let him go.” Paige’s voice had lost the mocking, playful tone she normally used when pushing me into something I didn’t want to do. “Stop punishing yourself. People make mistakes all the time. Let it go, move on. Just find some guy at the party and screw his brains out.”
I’d snorted. Paige stood by me after I’d almost lost Henry. I’d confessed my one-night stand with Devon to him as soon as he’d arrived on campus. The first month was hard on him, but we stayed together. Then he left anyway in the middle of my sophomore year. His mom became sick, and although she recovered quickly, he decided not to return.
We tried the long-distance relationship thing, but he ended it during Christmas break. I hated myself every day for hurting Henry the way I had. He didn’t deserve it. Even if he swore that my screw up had nothing to do with his leaving school and breaking up with me, I promised myself I’d never do something so reckless, so irresponsible ever again.
“There will be more than jocks there. I promise.” Paige had chuckled under her breath. “Or I could just have Jayce set you up with someone.”
“That’s not a good idea. Jayce would set me up with some freshman who’d probably brag to everyone on campus.” The thought had made me shudder. “I’m fine.”
“Wanna bet?” Paige sang the words. My kryptonite.
I snorted. “That’s not a bet you can win. “
Paige had laughed. “Just have fun tonight. Allow yourself to relax. JenCar’s not going to learn about one party and decide you’re not the type of person they want as an intern.”
She was right. One party wouldn’t ruin my chances at my dream job.
We’d also talked about her boyfriend, Jayce. It wasn’t a big secret that I didn’t like him. And he wasn’t my biggest fan, either. He’d broken her heart multiple times but she always took him back. Before Christmas, she’d been on the verge of dumping him for good. What he did to stop that, I had no clue. But I wished she would. Jayce wasn’t good enough for my best friend.
Jayce’s dreams of NBA grandeur were annoying, short-sighted, and impossible. Not that he wasn’t a good basketball player, even great by Westland standards, but his chances to make it to the NBA were like one in three thousand. Paige deserved a guy who had a solid life plan, or at least goals for an attainable job.
My head was down, staring at my phone as I waited for Paige’s response. I hadn’t seen the body blocking my path until I slammed into him. He didn’t reach for me as I stumbled back off the sidewalk and fell flat on my ass in the snowy puddle. Mud seeped through my jeans and splattered onto the back of my knees and over my favorite boots. Fortunately, I managed not to roll onto my back so my white parka didn’t get completely muddy, just the bottom. But my ass was already freezing.
“Damn it.” My messenger bag had spilled its contents. At least they missed the mud puddle. I put my hand onto the ground to push myself to my feet, not bothering to glance at the brute who sent me flying.
“Jesus, Liv, watch where you’re going.” The heavy voice was one I knew too well and carried too much dislike for me.
“Of course this is all my fault, Jayce.” I shoved my books into the bag without the careful consideration I’d normally take as to size and weight. It made the bag unbalanced. “You could’ve stopped me from falling.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Or was the show too irresistible for you?”
Jayce smiled. “What do you think?” He offered his hand to help me up, but I ignored him. I didn’t need his help now. I’d needed it when I was falling. “What’d you say to Paige this time?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I assessed the damage. If my jeans weren’t black, it would’ve looked a lot worse. Regardless, my trip to the student union wasn’t going to happen. I’d have to walk home with a frozen ass and laundry I hadn’t planned on. More fuel for the pounding in my head.
“She told me she needed some space. Obviously, you’re filling her pretty head with your usual lies.” Jayce tugged at the strap of his backpack. I searched my memory for recent conversations about him, but I came up empty. Paige hadn’t really mentioned him except when we went to the party. Jayce Granger wasn’t the type of guy to get uncomfortable or nervous about anything not basketball related, but whatever was going on had set him on edge. “Why can’t she see through your bullshit?”
“Gee, thanks.” I pulled the bottom of my parka down in a failed attempt to cover the damage. My legs were already numbing in the cold. “It’s always nice to be called a liar.”
“You don’t get it, do you? This isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this kind of shit.” He leaned down so he could meet my glare. “It’s the last, though. I’ll make sure of that. For the last two years, you’ve done whatever it took to ruin my relationship with Paige.”
I almost took a step back. Yeah, I’d pointed out a few reasons why Paige should’ve stayed away from Jayce, but I never thought she would’ve told him. It was mostly about his career path. He didn’t have one. She’d end up supporting him on what little salary she earned with her sociology degree. And what would he do when the NBA didn’t come calling?
“I’ve got plans, a future,” he sneered with every word, “and Paige knows she’s part of it. She doesn’t need to have anything to do with a crazy bitch like you.”
He backed away, the sneer turning to a sinister grin. Anybody who walked by would think Jayce’s smile was genuine, like he was the all-American guy he pretended to be. I knew better. I’d seen Paige cry over him. I’d held her when he cheated on her during our freshman year. And sophomore year. I was there for her when he ended up in the emergency room because of alcohol poisoning. Jayce was anything but who he pretended to be.
But she wanted him. I accepted that and supported her. Even if I didn’t understand what kept her with him. If he thought I was sabotaging their relationship, he’d do whatever it took to stop me.
Heading back to the apartment. Fell in a puddle. Long story. Ran into Jayce. What’s going on?
I sent the text as I turned away from the student union and started walking as quickly as I could without drawing attention to my icy ass. Jayce had gotten between us before. Paige didn’t talk to me for three weeks during our second semester after he’d told her some bullshit lie. He’d claimed I’d hit on him. Fortunately Henry had been with me the entire night and finally got through to Paige. Jayce blew it off, claimed he was drunk and thought it was me.
At the fountain where all the sidewalks met, I glanced up and met the gaze of Devon Miller. Guys surrounded him, but he stared straight at me. Shaking my head more to myself than at him, I hurried past his entourage and toward my apartment. My face burned, a stark contrast to my bottom. I didn’t want anybody to see me like this, especially him.
Paige still hadn’t responded. Maybe Jayce had gotten in her head and convinced her to ignore me.
Tears threatened for the second time in as many days. It was stupid. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t the type of person to cry at the drop of a hat. I’d always kept my emotions in check. There wasn’t any reason to let other people see you angry or upset or to see you cry. It was private, personal, and nobody’s damn business. It was my job to be strong, to face things head on. A role I’d taken when Mom died.
When Henry decided to end our relationship, I didn’t cry. I accepted his decision with fortitude. I’d cried out of humiliation when I ran from Devon’s room. And I thought I was alone when I entered my apartment. Had I known Paige was there, I wouldn’t have let a single tear drop. It was my pain to feel alone.
And if Paige wasn’t going to talk to me anymore, so was this.
With my head down, I barreled home as fast as I could.