Page 196 of Forever Relentless

“Briar? Hi.”

“I need to speak to Dante.”

She blinked in surprise. “Okay. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to find him. Do you know where he is?”

She checked her watch. “He doesn’t have his next class until one.”

“So he’ll be . . .”

She thought about it. “Dorm room, I’d guess.”

“Okay, cool.” I lingered. “Can you check?”

“Sure.” She sent a text without asking me anything, which I appreciated because I knew I wouldn’t have had her poise.

She got a reply almost instantly. “Yup. He’s at home.”

“Great. Thanks.” I didn’t leave; she waited. “I’m going to go.”

“Okay.” She looked behind me. “I have another student coming in a meeting room upstairs.”

Way to make it awkward, Briar.

I left her and made my way to the athletic dorm building. And then I had no idea how to get inside because it was fob access only.

I waited a couple of minutes, and then Dante came into view, coming down the stairs. He was in simple team sweatpants and a hoodie, with a black T-shirt underneath. The black made his hair seem blonder, and his eyes bluer. No wonder the female fans loved him.

He opened the door. He didn’t look surprised to see me. “You’re looking for me?”

“Who’s home?” I asked as he stepped back to let me in.

“Dust is in his room studying.” I followed him up the stairs. “I think it’s code for sleeping,” he added dryly.

“Hadley?”

“Class.” He didn’t sound sure, but he didn’t say she was here, and that’s all I wanted.

“And Noah?”

“I don’t know,” Dante replied smoothly. “He was here earlier, when I came back, he was gone.”

We were inside his dorm room, and he closed the door, waiting for me to tell him why I was there.

“I have to admit,” he said in the brief silence. “I thought you’d be gone.”

I avoided looking at him. “Yeah. Um, thanks for your help last night.”

Dante shrugged. “It’s no problem.”

“You’re not talking to him yet?” If it sounded like an accusation, it was because it was.

“I tried. He left.”

“You might need to get used to that,” I muttered.

“What do you mean?”