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“Yeah, sure.”
“No, truly, thank you. I know you’re helping me out because you’re a good friend to Auden, but…I appreciate everything you’re doing and for talking me through this. This could’ve been a really awkward situation this morning, but instead, you made me feel comfortable.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I don’t know how todoany of this. I’ve never had a morning after, but you made me forget to panic. So, thanks.”
The warmth that filled his eyes was like a gentle caress. “I’m not doing it just for Auden. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet, but I now count you as a friend too.” He tipped his head to the side. “Did you not receive your exclusive gold-embossed invitation? I’ll have to check with my secretary on why he’s slacking off.”
Her lips curved, his words filling her with a fizzy feeling. “I’ll be sure to R.S.V.P. when I do.”
“Excellent.” He blew her an air kiss and then shut the door.
Suddenly, her hangover didn’t feel so terrible.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
“So have you been showing O’Neal the ropes, honey?”
The images that filled Auden’s brain at his mother’s question were obscene enough to make him choke on his iced tea. O’Neal…tied up for him, the ropes making her creamy skin go pink. He cleared his throat and avoided looking at O’Neal who was seated directly across from him at the table.
“Um, a little.”
His mom sent O’Neal a pursed-lip look. “Has he been shirking his big brother duties to hang out with his friends instead? You can tell me.”
O’Neal’s blue eyes flickered with something akin to horror—probably at the wordsbig brother—but she covered it quickly. “Auden’s been great. Honestly. He’s been really helpful. He’s shown me…a lot of things.”
Auden gave her a look of mild warning.
She picked up her glass of orange juice, giving him a brief, tight smile over the rim of her glass.
“That’s good to hear,” his mom said with a nod. “I know this first semester can be overwhelming.”
“Amen and hallelujah,” Maya said from her spot next to O’Neal. She lifted her fork, a chunk of Belgian waffle dripping syrup back onto her plate. “I have three papers due already, and my reading list is so long, it should have chapters and an index.” She popped the bite of waffle into her mouth and glanced at O’Neal. “I thought it was just the rigors of Wainwright, but it sounds like you’re being put through the wringer too. All-nighters already? Shouldn’t that be reserved for exam time?”
O’Neal shrugged, a stiffness there. “It wasn’t for a test. My journalism class has a semester-long project. I need to pick a topic for an in-depth story, and I’ve been spending a lot of time researching what I might want to write about. The professor said he picks the top two articles to run in the school journal at the end of the semester and chooses one of those people to intern with him over the following summer. That job would come with a stipend, and I’d be able to keep student housing.”
“Sounds exciting,” his mom said between sips of coffee. “I bet you’ll be one of the two.”
O’Neal glanced away and shook her head. “Doubt it.”
“Oh, don’t do that,” his mom said. “You’re a gifted writer, sweetheart. Be proud of that. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, know that you can always stay with us for the summer. You always have a place at our house.”
The honest affection in his mom’s tone made Auden want to reach over and hug her. His mom had always expected a lot from him and Maya, and she expected her rules to be followed, but he’d never doubted her love. Seeing her direct that same energy toward O’Neal made him appreciate her even more. When O’Neal’s grandparents had failed spectacularly in the unconditional love department, his mom had stepped in.
Of course, he also knew that if her maternal streak had kicked in with O’Neal, she most definitely wouldnotappreciate her only son relieving her new surrogate daughter of her virginity and fooling around with her in front of his roommate. His mom had an open mind—but she had her limits.
O’Neal dipped her head a little and smiled. “Thanks, Mrs. Blake.”
His mom reached out and patted the spot in front of O’Neal’s plate. “Oh, hush with the Mrs. Blake. I know your grandparents wanted you to call me that, but you’re an adult now. You can call me Clare.”
O’Neal gave his mom a grateful look. “Thank you…Clare.”
“Ugh, that sounds weird,” Maya said, her nose wrinkling. “So did you figure out what you’re going to write your story about?”
O’Neal fiddled with the edge of her napkin. “Not yet. The professor gave us a lot of freedom, which you’d think would make it easier but actually makes it harder. We have to choose one of the types of journalism—investigative, entertainment, sports, political, an opinion piece, that kind of thing—and then go from there. I have a few ideas but haven’t settled on one yet. I have to turn in my topic by this Friday, though, so I need to choose soon.”
Something about the way she’d said it made Auden frown. O’Neal was lying. No one else seemed to notice, but he could read it all over her body language. He had no idea why she’d lie about something like an assignment, but he made a mental note to ask her later.
“Maybe you should talk about the experience of going from a strict private school to a public university. A slice of life thing,” Maya said between bites. “You’d have firsthand experience, and you could interview Auden since he went through that too. There’s got to be some culture shock involved, right?”
O’Neal bit her lip and shot a lightning-flash glance at Auden. “There is, but that might be more personal than I want to get. I’m still processing that stuff. I won’t have perspective yet.”
