Page 4 of Embrace

“Yes, if—”

“When.”

“—you complete this course with a C average.”

I take the freshly printed course schedule. “I’ll make you proud, Dor.”

•••

Bunny Patrol

Cole:*Sent an image* Shirt or no shirt for tonight?

Dylan:Since when do you have nipple piercings?

Sebastian:And where can we get some?

Aiden:I think we’ve been assaulted by enough needles in this house.

Eli:I second that.

Kian:I haven’t.

Dylan:Your body is so inked up, I can barely see skin.

Kian:You’ve been checking out my body, Dill?

Dylan:You wish, Ishida.

I’m snickering at my phone when it chimes with the reminder for my study group.

The librarian eyes me when I push past the turnstiles, her gaze running down my tattooed arms.

“Can I help you?” she asks, her tone clipped.

“I hope so.” I lean against her desk, letting my fingers walk over to the book she was reading. “But I’d hate to take away from your reading time. That’s a great book.”

Her head rears back. “You’ve read this?”

“Twice. Chapter nineteen is my favorite.”

A blush creeps onto the librarian’s face. Alice, I read on her name tag.

“What has you stopping by the library, Mr. Ishida?”

Of course she already knows who I am. In the past four years at Dalton, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been in this library.

“Call me Kian.” I toss her a smile. “It’s my first day at study group. Wish me luck, Al.”

It’s at a far table, with a sign that readsSenior study groupin loopy handwriting. There’s a tiny heart cutout glued to the corner, and I don’t miss the glitter. I’m taking the attention to detail as a good sign because if there’s anyone who can help me ace this course, it’s going to be the smart-asses who find their purpose in helping the less academically inclined.

They’re all staring at me as I sit down, and then one guy jolts with recognition. “Ishida? What the hell are you still doing here? I thought you and Donovan got called up.”

“January start date. We’re finishing our degrees.”

“Man, I’d be outta here before the ink on the contract dried.”

Everyone’s always confused why I chose to stay and finish my degree, especially with the amount I’m getting in my NHL contract. But they won’t get it, and I don’t bother explaining.