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“Where are you going?” Owen calls out when I grab last night’s cloak from the floor and wrap myself in it.
“My dad wants to see me in the cafeteria in twenty minutes!”
It’ll take at least fifteen to get there, and I still need to take a shower and put on some clothes. Why the hell didn’t I tell my dad I was too far away to make it in time? Then again, I’ve never been good thinking on my feet like that. Mystudy grouplie is proof of that.
Owen opens his mouth, but I run out of his room before he can speak. Throwing his name around might have gotten me out of hot water for now, but Dad won’t be that forgiving if I’m late.
“Fuck, Evie!” Kat yelps when I charge into her room down the hall. “You’ll give me a fucking heart attack!”
“Sorry!” I don’t even bother asking, already piecing together an outfit from what’s scattered on the floor. “Need clothes. Shower.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“No time!” I rush past her, slamming her bathroom door in her face.
“Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on!” she yells at me. “He’d better be treating you right!”
I smile to myself as I step under the spray, and then shudder when the icy water hits my skin. There’s no time to waste waiting for it to warm up—but at least I’ll be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I get to the cafeteria.
Usually, it takes two cups of coffee before I’m ready for the day.
That hasn’t been all that true lately either. Something else I can chalk up to all this fresh mountain air.
I toss on the sundress I found on Kat’s floor. Thankfully, she’s the same shoe size as me, so the calf-length boots I dug out fit me just fine. I drag fingers through my wet hair, gargle some of her mouthwash, and rush outside.
She’s standing with her arms crossed. “Do I have to sleep with you too before you come to visit?” she asks grumpily.
It seems she had a rough night as well judging by the dark shadows under her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’ll try to be back for lunch, okay?”
She shrugs. “Get your ass back here before one and I’ll think about it.”
I blow her a kiss before running out of her room. I take the stairs three at a time, almost spraining my ankle on the last one, and rush out the front door.
Where I skid to a halt.
“That…” I stop to haul in a breath as I stab my finger at Owen. “That’s not possible!”
He’s standing with a travel mug in either hand, wearing a neatly pressed pair of jeans and a dark, slim-fit, button-up shirt. His hair is immaculate.
Mine is a fucking mess.
He gestures to the golf cart behind him. “Get in before you make us late.”
Before I…?
I wish I could curse him to hell and back, but when he scans me with his gray eyes and gives me a dark smile that says he cantellI’m not wearing any underwear, my insides melt. I snatch the mug out of his hands with ill grace as I slide into the golf cart. Thankfully, by the time we reach campus, the caffeine has jolted my foggy brain into some semblance of alertness.
There are a handful of students in the cafeteria already, some drinking coffee and working in their textbooks, others having an early lunch. My father is seated near the door, facing us. He stiffens when he spots us before slowly getting to his feet.
There’s a nervous knot in my stomach when him and Owen shake hands, but after giving him a solid onceover, my father seems unmoved to give me shit.
“I’d prefer if we could speak alone,” Dad says, eyeing Owen.
Oh, God.
“Uh…”
Owen gives my arm a squeeze. “I’ll be back in a short while. Enjoy your visit with your dad.” He nods at my father before leaving the cafeteria, Owen watched by every student who saw him come in.
