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“Perfect. I’ll discharge her tomorrow and you can drive her to her dorm room on campus. Get her settled and then get away from her.” Eden was all set to let this go, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the girl in the room down the hall.
Chapter Six
“Trust is hard to come by. That's why my circle is small and tight. I'm kind of funny about making new friends.” Eminem
KERRI
“Thanks for driving me to the campus.” I snuggled deeper into the clothes Dr. Lupinski borrowed for me. A pair of scrubs and a navy blue sweatshirt that I knew definitely wasn’t hers because the back read Woodland Creek EMS. I was going to have to figure out how to get my stuff because the sun shining promised the last week of August was going to warm up and dry out.
Warren looked at me with a smirk on his face, driving his pickup truck, a huge black Nissan Titan that was probably better suited for a farm. We headed toward the university grounds on roads I didn’t know through the small town. “It’s no problem at all. I actually have to register for my fall classes, so I might as well do it today while I’m here.”
“You’re a student here too?” Okay, so he wasn’t totally altruistic, I was fine with that. Surprised, I was under the impression that Warren worked full-time for the EMS squad. It didn’t occur to me that my savior was pursuing an education as well.
“I go to the night classes for the paramedic course in the undergraduate program. I want to get my pilot’s license after this and do medivac training.”
“Wow, so flying planes and stuff.” Picking at a string on my pants for something to quell my nervousness, I felt unexpectedly shy with Warren.
“I like the idea of being able to help people and I’ve always wanted to fly.” I watched him handle the steering wheel confidently over the curving roadway. His fingers were long and thick, with wrists that made my stomach flutter each time he moved his hand. A large silver watch with a fat dial rested on his heavy boned wrist, glinting sunlight into the cab of the truck.
My sprained wrist rested in my lap and the pain brought me back to reality and reminded me that getting to know Warren might be a bad idea. I’d been through a lot and Dillon was still fresh on my mind. “Have you flown before? Like a lot?” Swallowing my anxiety down, I rested my head back against the seat, waiting for him to respond.
“Yeah, it’s amazing.” We glanced over, catching each other’s eyes, and his smile took my breath away. It was the kind of chest tightening and butterfly fluttering that I had no business feeling. “Just being up in the clouds, soaring against the wind like a bird...it’s liberating.” He laughed and color creeped up his neck. I couldn’t imagine why his confession had left him as nervous as me. I wanted to experience that feeling he’d captured flying and wondered if that was greedy of me to want something I missed out on for so long with Dillon. It was a strange thing to ponder and he didn’t say much else as we pulled through the campus drive, circling the truck closer to the dorm suites.
“Well, here we are.” Instead of letting the truck idle, ready to kick me out, he turned it off completely, pocketing his keys. The air conditioning stopped blowing and the white noise ceased with it as we sat inside the cab.
“Indeed.” Looking around the old campus buildings, admiring their architecture, I wondered what the next two years of my life would be like there.
“I called the garage and they said to contact them about your car. It might actually be fixable if you want them to look it over.” Warren held out a card with the picture of a model T Ford as its logo.
“Thanks.” His fingers touched mine and heat licked the skin like a slow burning fire. Quickly, I took the card, suffused with shock and guilt. I’d just broken up with a control freak; I didn’t need to have feelings for someone else.
“The owner said he’d look for a new door. Seems the other one is missing since the storm.” There was that strange, creeping flush that reached Warren’s ears this time. I noticed that his hair was shorter today. Cleanly cut and his face looked smooth, soft even, and I wanted to touch it to see. Purely for research purposes, I told myself.
Instead, I kept things formal. Formal was safe and routine because clear
ly I couldn’t handle anything else right then. “Thanks again. I really appreciated everything you’ve done.”
“No problem. It’s my job.” That took some of the specialness I was imagining out of it.
“Right, I should go, so thanks.” The quicker I left the better, right?
“Hey, do you know where your room assignment is? I, uh, should probably walk you up and make sure you get there.”
Chuckling to fill the silent space, I held up my still damp purse. “What, me and my one bag as it is?” He joined me laughing and more of the awkward silence followed.
“Well, you never know, come on.” Warren got out of the truck, leaving me a moment. He opened my door and unclicked my seatbelt, helping my sore body out of the vehicle. “Easy does it.” He lowered me softly to the ground, our bodies barely touching but enough that I knew I shouldn’t be gripping his arms as tightly as I was.
Breathless, I waited for him to step back. “Okay, so my room assignment is Lupin Hall, room 34.” I started walking toward the building, which had a stone face of gothic architecture and thick wood beams. Lupin Hall was carved in the stone above the doorway in fancy lettering, together with the year 1791. Wolf-shaped gargoyles lined the entranceway. This is so Harry Potterish. Wonder if there are any haunted parts on campus. A giggle and a tremble overcame me for a moment.
“Ah, third floor. My friend here always complains about the slow elevator, so we might have to take the stairs if you’re feeling up to it.” He rested his hand lightly on the middle of my back, propelling me forward, and a shiver tingled up and down my spine from the simple touch through my clothes. Those magical fingers pushed me forward gently.
“I can manage. It might be good for me.” We walked side by side to the front door, which he pulled open and ushered me inside.
“Good thing you don’t have any boxes to carry.” Warren winked and gave me another killer smile of his, and we walked inside the residence hall.
Looking up, I was awed by the painting on the ceiling, which forced me to stop. Warren bumped into me from behind and snaked an arm around my middle to keep me from face planting in the foyer.
“Whoa there.” He pulled me back flush against him, tightly at first before slowly easing up. My brain repeated, please don’t let go. His hard body fitted against me, my breasts tingling against my clothes, and I wanted so badly to push back. He was like a stone pillar, still, frozen as his fingers retracted the tiniest bit against my belly, causing my eyes to shut and my breath to catch.
