Page 83 of Stranger to Love

"Fine," she said, the word a sharp, icy blade.

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a silver key, and thrust it into the deadbolt. The click of the lock sounded like a gunshot in the silent house. She pulled the door open, her gaze fixed on a point somewhere over my shoulder, refusing to look me in the eye.

I didn't give her a second glance. I didn't say goodbye. I just stormed out, my boots hitting the pavement with a redirected fury.

As I reached the end of her long driveway, the damp morning air hit my face, and I pulled my jacket tighter around me. I was fucking livid. Pissed at her for being so hot and cold, but mostly pissed at myself for being stupid enough to let her in.

But as the house disappeared behind the bend in the road, my pace slowed. I couldn't stop thinking about the look in her eyes right before I had turned my back—that brief, fractured moment where she had looked like I was actually breaking her heart. My own heart thudded painfully against my ribs, heavy and hollow.

The anger was still there, but it was shifting into a sickening realisation. I wasn’t just pissed that I had caught feelings. I was pissed at myself for leaving. Fuck.

Chapter 20

Alex

I had been dodging Mia’s calls all day.

She had been blowing up my phone, dying to know how things had gone with ‘Dr. Vixen.’ I had played it off with a text—a gentleman never tells—pretending I was just being a tease and had promised to give her the dirt during our shift that weekend. She had tried calling immediately to grill me, but I had let it ring out. What the fuck was I supposed to tell her? Yeah, I got what I wanted, the sex was life-altering, she’s hot as hell, and oh—I accidentally caught feelings and fled her house like a fucking coward.

Being back at uni that day felt like walking through a minefield. I was on high alert, scanning every corridor, praying I wouldn’t run into her. I had her lecture that afternoon, but I figured I could just dissolve into the crowd of students; she’d probably be doing her best to avoid my existence anyway.

I made it to my Business Management seminar without a glitch and sank into the seat next to Holly. Mr. Hubbard was a total prick, but hey, at least I wasn't fucking him that weekend. I actually gagged slightly at the mental image.

Holly beamed at me. “Good weekend?”

I shook off my internal spiral, forcing myself to act like a normal human being. “Hey, sweetheart. Not bad, yours?”

She launched into a rambling saga about a flatmate war over the state of their shared kitchen. I let the monotony of first-year drama drown out the noise in my head until Hubbard finally started the seminar. God, he was fucking insufferable—the way he talked like the sun shone out of his ass, wearing that sickening grin while he droned on about himself as if any of us gave a shit.

Halfway through, the door swung open and Ms. Davies walked in. Fuck. I’d almost forgotten about her. She walked over to Hubbard to hand him a stack of worksheets, and they started a quiet conversation at the front. I took the opportunity to look. Really look.

Why had I ever stopped? She was stunning. Her straight blonde hair fell perfectly over her shoulders, and she was wearing a soft pink blouse tucked into tailored navy trousers that did incredible things for her curves. I bit my lip, the memory of her skin and those thighs surfacing unbidden. See? I told myself. This was who I was. I was a fucking predator, a flirt—not some soft-hearted girl holding Dr. Carter because she was scared of shadows.

But then my mind slipped right back to the dark-haired woman in the emerald gown, and I accidentally let out a frustrated groan. Mo, sitting across from me, gave me a weird look. I just rolled my eyes and pretended to be deeply fascinated by my textbook.

I looked up again just as Billie was turning to leave. Our eyes locked, and she looked genuinely surprised that I was actually acknowledging her. Right. Ever since Dr. Carter had locked me in her office and warned me off, I guessed I had stopped looking.

But fuck that. I didn't need to stay in line anymore.

I held her gaze and sent her a slow, deliberate wink. Her eyes widened and a dark blush crept up her neck. She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, flustered, and lingered for a second at the door, her eyes flickering back to mine one last time before she disappeared.

See? I thought, a smirk finally returning to my face. This was fun. This was easy. This wasn't complicated at all.

I managed to fall back into my routine, at least for a while. After Business Management, I headed over to the International Business seminar. Dr. Sinclair had a way of making the hour fly by, and I actually felt like I was fucking learning something, unlike with Mr. Hubbard, the absolute knobhead. Holly didn’t take this module, so I’d only got Mo and Abdul for company, but it was enough of a distraction to get me through the hour.

Then, it was time. Economics. Dr. Carter. Fuck.

I felt physically sick. When I reached the lecture hall, Holly was already there, waving me over with way too much energy. Fuck. She was sat so close to the front she may as well have been at the podium. I resigned myself to my fate and joined her. It was probably for the best anyway; I couldn’t look like I was avoiding her, even though every instinct I had was screaming at me to run. I was so goddamn pissed at myself for ruining this. Why couldn’t I have just kept it light? Why did I have to storm out like a dramatic fucking idiot?

To my surprise, the sound of clicking heels was doubled that day. The room fell into its usual pre-lecture silence as Dr. Carter headed to the podium, but Billie followed close behind. She took a seat next to one of the students—a quiet kid who always seemed to struggle keeping up with the reading, so it made sense she was there to check on them.

It put her just one row below Holly and me. As she sat, Billie caught my eye, offering a soft, shy smile before turning around to settle in. She really was a cutie.

I hadn’t dared to look at Dr. Carter properly yet, but as she started to speak, my head snapped up on autopilot. My mouth went bone-dry.

Fuck. She looked incredible. She was wearing a dark red dress that somehow managed to be perfectly professional while looking absolutely criminal. My mind, being the traitor it was, instantly reminded me that I knew exactly what was underneath that dress. I had to look away, my heart hammering against my ribs.

Fucking idiot. You were a total fucking idiot.