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1
Day one of my senior year in college, and I was homeless. Prospectless. Hopeless. Probably several other -lesses I didn’t have the energy to conjure up. After a week of tireless effort, not a single apartment, house, condo, or other would let me move in with my duck.
I didn’t want to admit I was giving up, but damn, even my unparalleled manifestation abilities couldn’t create an acceptable housing situation out of thin air. There were a million other things going on in my life I should probably be focused on—the coveted assistantship, Juliet the cheer traitor, Dad’s new political aspirations, not to mention his dating agreement. Housing, though, was an immediate problem I’d thought I could solve with little effort. A win to start the semester off right.
Yeah, not so much.
Sweat dotted my forehead, and I tilted my face up to the blazing sun, hoping the heat would dry some of the tears. I hated crying, hated letting people see me cry even more, which was why I’d tucked myself away in a little-known courtyard behind the business building. The crumbling concrete fountainin the middle had seen better days and most of the foliage was overgrown with weeds.
Except for the area bordering the edge of campus. Pine trees grew in thick clumps, but the azalea bushes had taken over the ground level in a riot of color. Teagan University had a beautiful campus, but this spot was my favorite.
The faint scent of coffee blew through on a light breeze, compliments of Wildcat Coffee right around the corner, and I could almost imagine this was any other day. If not for the constant texts from my friend group talking about practice and classes.
I silenced my phone and set it next to me. They meant well, but they weren’t helping. I returned to my sun worship pose, but my serenity didn’t last long. Quiet footsteps marked the approach of an interloper.
A shadow blocked the warmth, and I sighed, accepting I wasn’t going to find any more peace today. When I opened my eyes, my heart sank. Standing above me with his arms crossed was my coffee nemesis. Gavin King. Yes, I knew his name, but I refused to use it. ‘Hey asshole’ worked just as well.
He grunted and took up a position next to my spot on the wall of the fountain. We’d never had a real conversation, so I had no idea what he was doing here popping my solitude bubble.
When I peeked at him from under my lashes, he stared straight ahead at the azaleas, seemingly content to stand there and ruin my afternoon.
“What do you want?” I finally asked.
“You looked upset.” He stated it as a fact, and my shoulders tensed up at the thought anyone had noticed.
Out of habit, I went on the offensive. “So you came out here to gloat?”
His lips tipped up on the end, but he didn’t take the bait. “No. I came out here to make sure you weren’t about to take a header into the fountain.”
I glanced at the shallow green water and shuddered. “Gross. Why would you care?”
“Because I’d probably have to clean the fountain after. This is technically part of Wildcat Coffee, and they hate their employees.”
I hadn’t known my favorite coffee shop owned my favorite piece of land. Like everything else around here, I’d assumed TU owned it.
“Maybe they only hate grumpy employees who’ve never heard of customer service.”
He chuckled, low and slow, and I hated the way the sound shivered up my spine. “I think they’re okay with me not handing out free espresso shots to all the girls who smile at me, Princess.”
The nickname did it. I couldn’t stand assholes who assumed since I was pretty and rich I must be entitled. The stupid sad feelings I hadn’t been able to shake were banished with a flash of temper. “I smile at everyone, jackass.”
“Not the way you smiled at me.” His lazy, confident tone irked me to no end.
Yes, I’d thought he was hot the first time I’d seen him—I wasn’t blind—but he’d been surly and rude. I didn’t reward that kind of behavior with my good graces. Then he’d proven me right by fucking with one of my friends.
I clawed back the scathing retort he was no doubt expecting, choosing to gift him with my silence instead. Maybe if I ignored him, he’d go away.
His posture shifted as he cast a quick look down at me. “Might as well tell me what’s wrong since I’m not going back inside until you do. No reason to prolong the torture.”
I hated him and his confidence and his unflappable calm, but my mouth went rogue and blurted out the story of my final appointment of the afternoon. Bob the office manager had laughed in my face when I inquired about a pet deposit for my duck and asked if I meant dick instead. Then he’d offered me a discount if I was nice to him—his words.
Gavin’s jaw tensed as I talked, and when I stopped for breath, it took a second for him to unclench enough to talk. “I hope you reported him.”
“Oh yeah. I walked out and called the owner immediately. Despite apologizing profusely and promising to fire my good buddy Bob, he couldn’t allow a duck as a pet in the complex.” I sighed, feeling slightly better now that someone else had reinforced my reaction.
He shook his head slightly. “If your duck is the problem, why not leave it behind?”
My hands clenched in my lap. So much for feeling better. “I’m not abandoning Henry simply because things got hard. I’ll find a place. Just probably not today.”
