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But like Harper said…Welcome to the new world.I assumed I would get accustomed to it whether or not I wanted to.
When we got inside, Harper pointed me in the direction of the main office. “I’ll wait by the doors. I don’t want to be seen with you.”
Shocker,I thought, but I left it alone and made my way to the office.
Rick had thought of everything. And like Harper said, since I was eighteen, I didn’t need an adult to sign me up. Still, I felt rather sick. I barely knew the man, and he’d spent money hand over fist on me between hospital bills, security, acar, and now tuition. How did kids like Harper live like this and never think twice about it?
It took about an hour to fill out all the forms, pay tuition, get my ID and uniforms, and receive a schedule. It was a little quicker than I thought, but not by much. Everyone in the office seemed nice enough, though they certainly seemed to not like my clothing.
Oh well. I didn’t care.
As I was rounding out of the office, I ran directly into a wall.
No… Not a wall.
Asher Jackson.
“Well, well, well. I guess I got lucky after all. Wedogo to the same school,” he said with a large smile.
Yes… Yes, we do.
“I guess so,” I said, returning his smile. I did my best to act casual. Since I knew we went to the same school, and I wouldn’t miss out on seeing him again, there wasn’t any point in giving up the fun I was having. “Have you made use of that book?”
“I have,” he said. “Between training, working on my car, and now football practice, I’ve been reading.”
While I assumed he was lying, I nodded anyway. I’d wait until he brought the book back to see if he was telling the truth or not.
“Are you going to tell me your name now? I mean, we’re practically best friends now.”
“Is that so?” I asked with obvious amusement. “Well, weareclassmates now, so I suppose you’ll figure it out before my little challenge is up anyway. I’m Temperance.”
“Wow. That’s one hell of a name,” he said.
I shrugged. “It’s definitely a mouthful. My friends call me Tempe, though. So, if you don’t like Temperance, you can call me that.”
“Oh, I didn’t say I didn’t like it.”
There was something in the way his eyes narrowed when he said that last sentence that made my heart race.
My eyes wandered over toward Harper, and I quickly noticed she was staring me down. She looked positively icy. I cleared my throat and turned back to Asher.
“It was nice seeing you again, but I need to get out of here. I still have a lot at home to do. A lot of unpacking.”
“Are you going to be staying here on campus?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. I’m just settling in here. Once I get unpacked, I have to then re-pack everything I plan to bring here. It should be a good time. Hopefully, you could hear the sarcasm dripping from that.” He smiled again, and I felt lighter. My God, he was beautiful. “Anyway, that’s what I get for not being able to pack my own boxes before moving here. Everything’s all mixed up. Requires twice as much work.”
“I see. Well, it was nice to see you again. Can I have your number this time? Classmates, remember?”
I laughed again. “Oh, no, no, no. That doesn’t work for the number. I never give my number out. However, I made a deal with you. You return that book to me,read, and I’ll give it to you.”
“You have a deal,Temperance.” Without warning, the back of his hand came up to stroke my cheek. It was incredibly gentle, but every place his hand touch felt like it was scorching. Chills raced down my body. “See you soon.”
“Uh huh,” I said before shaking my head. “Yep. See you soon.”
I smiled nervously and walked away as quickly as possible. I couldn’t believe that just happened. I felt so confident up until that moment. The second he touched me, my brain ceased to work.
“Keep walking. We’ll talk in the car,” Harper said while staring down at her phone.
