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1
Elara
He’s watching her.
She can feel it.
Elara surreptitiously glances over her shoulder, peering into the trees. Laughter surrounds her, tinkling through the late afternoon air as someone darts past her field of vision, bikini strings flapping. But all she can see is the forest, thick trunks staggered like soldiers, straight and vigilant.
No dark-haired guy, his intense blue eyes trained on her as if she’s only being on the planet.
She shakes her head. She’s getting paranoid. Worse, it’s like she expects him to be there.
More people wander past, the giggling girls in two pieces, the guys in swimming trunks with towels thrown over their shoulders. They’re planning pizza at someone’s house, the girls want to watch a horror movie, the guys are arguing for a Fast and Furious marathon. They wave at Elara and she waves back, shaking her head when someone invites her to join them.
She sits back on the towel stretched out over the rocky ground, reminding herself she’s here at the local waterfalls todo what everyone else is—unwind and have a little fun after a long day of classes. She only has a few years of college, and she’s going to make the most of it.
Especially when it’s been going so well.
Elara wasn’t sure what to expect of college. She’d always been quietly confident in high school, but she'd left her friends behind, and she worried she was leaving everything she loved. But college had been pleasant surprise after pleasant surprise. Kira and Jordyn are two of the closest friends she’s ever had. There had been more party invitations than Saturday nights. And she actually enjoyed her classes.
Except for him…
Elara consciously turns away from any thoughts ofhim. The guy who keeps popping up wherever she is isn’t going to spoil this fabulous afternoon. The low-hanging sun is warm on her bare skin, she just bought this black bikini with its crisscross straps and she freaking loves it, and she’s looking forward to the molecular biology talk tomorrow like the true nerd she is.
“Maybe we should get going too,” says Jordyn beside her, glancing at her smartwatch. She wrinkles her freckled nose, tucking a lock of her thick brown hair behind her ear. “Oh, I need to drink more water.”
Elara grins. It was cool to find someone who’s even nerdier than she is. Even cooler is that she and Jordyn became fast friends after discovering they shared a few classes. “Just another half an?—”
“Last one in is a three-toed sloth!” calls a voice as they streak past.
Elara watches, a smile playing along her lips as her friend, Kira, shoots past them, her sandals slapping on her heels and her black hair streaming behind her.
“She’s crazy,” murmurs Jordyn, shaking her head.
“I think that’s why we love her,” says Elara, the smile turning into a full-blown grin. Kira brings out the fun-loving impulsiveness in anyone who’s in her orbit.
Jordyn hikes her hands on her hips. “You still have your shoes on!”
“Keep up, slowpokes!” Kira calls in return, her long legs pumping as she sprints for the edge of the cliff and flings herself over, her arms and legs wheeling in the air as she disappears over the side.
They’ve all been here enough times to know the drop-off isn’t a big one. The splash a second later confirms Kira’s back in the deep pool that is the local swimming hole. The one they only climbed out of less than an hour ago, their fingertips starting to wrinkle.
Elara pushes to her feet and slips out of her flip-flops. “I need to have more water too,” she says teasingly, getting ready to run and dive like Kira just did.
“Well, I refuse to be a three-toed sloth.” Jordyn grins over her shoulder as she breaks into a run. “They only go to the bathroom once a week!”
Elara bursts into laughter then gets ready to run, not okay with being left behind. She’s taken the first leap when a movement catches her attention. She flicks her hair out of her face and almost stumbles when she registers that this time, it wasn’t her imagination.
He’s there.
Watching.
The dark-haired guy is a few feet into the forest, at one with the shadows as he stands behind a tree trunk. He registers that she’s seen him but he doesn’t move. He never does. Just looks back at her, not smiling, in fact, frowning a little.
It’s creepy. And annoying.
Elara’s about to ignore it when Jordyn’s splash tells her she’s now third. And relegated to being a three-toed sloth who only poops once a week. She narrows her eyes. That’s it. She’s had enough.
