by Dawn Doyle
I shook my head, then took a sip from the bottle. The beer was ice-cold, the golden liquid sliding down my throat with ease. “No.”
He craned his neck, looking over the heads in the busy room. “She isn’t here?”
No, she wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to let him know that I’d already found that out on my own. If Linc knew I was scanning the room for Shay, she would be the topic of conversation, and I wasn’t about to stand here and listen to him go on about her, regardless if he thought anything was going on, which it wasn’t.
“I saw her earlier when she was helping with clean-up,” Max said with a shrug, and I paused, my bottle inches away from my mouth. “She’ll probably come over when she’s showered, I guess. She said yeah when I said see you later.”
Shay had helped out? What the fuck?
I spotted Lara’s light-red hair, the white flowers that pinned it back stood out in the dim light. She waved us over, and our group made our way to the back where round tables and curved couches took over the corners.
“You guys made it!” she squealed as she beamed at us. “Sit down here. We got shots”—she handed them out to us—“and there’s plenty to go around.”
Elise lifted her small glass full of clear and cream-colored liquid. “Here’s to us and this slippery nipple.” Her eyes flicked between Max and me, then she licked her lips.
“To raising enough cash for better equipment!” Tammy added.
Kyra laughed. “I don’t care, I just wanna drink.”
Lara raised her glass. “Cheers!”
The girls threw their heads back and downed their shots at the same time the guys did. I left mine and chose to savor my beer.
“Hey,” Casey said, wiping his mouth. “Where’s Shay?”
Lara looked around, searching the crowd. “Um…” She paused, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping along with the penny.
That was all I needed. “You know, I think I’m gonna pass tonight,” I said, then stood from the table.
Lara did too, then reached over and gripped my arm. “Why are you leaving? You just got here.”
“What is it with girls and grabbing arms?” I ground out as I pulled away. “I’m out.” Casey moved to follow me, the guys about to stand, but I stopped him. “Stay.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, his brows drawing together in concern.
I lifted the corner of my mouth. “Back to my dungeon.”
He smiled. “You broody fuck,” he joked.
“As always.”
*****
I reached the female dorm block I’d been looking for, and looked up at the brick building, the structure reminding me of the neighborhood I used to frequent during the bad time in my life. The people there lived in tiny apartments, crammed together to fit as many families in as they could in a small area. I just bought what I needed to get me through another day, then left.
I pushed the long chrome handle on the clear door, checking the front desk to see if the receptionist was around. When I saw that the coast was clear, I opened the door to the stairwell and climbed up three floors until I saw the notice for upperclassmen and sophomores.
I entered the bright hallway, moving through two thick doors until I stood outside number fifty-eight, the room I’d overheard being mentioned a few times.
What the fuck am I doing?
Before I could answer that and turn around, I knocked, then shoved my hands into my pockets. When there was no answer, I leaned toward the door, listening for the sounds of movement or a TV. I couldn’t hear anything, so I knocked again. If there was no answer that time, I was going to leave.
I dropped my head back and blew out a breath. I’d come over, and for what? To ask what had happened? Fuck if I knew, because I wasn’t exactly her favorite person, regardless of what happened earlier.
I shook my head, but as I was about to leave, I heard the lock turning. I waited for the door to open, and when it did, I stopped breathing.
“Hello,” I greeted her, my tone low and my voice quiet. I didn’t want anybody to overhear me.
“Eastyn? What are you doing here?”
I looked down into hazel eyes, the same ones that stared at me in bewilderment after I’d kissed her. Her dark hair looked almost black, the wet strands hanging down around her face and bare shoulders. Her gray tank was wet where her hair fell, making my gaze hold on to the individual patches, especially the ones on her round tits.
My mouth watered as I imagined touching each and every one, and I had to swallow hard, especially when I saw she was wearing short pajamas.
“Eastyn?” Shay repeated, her lids narrowing on me. “Lara’s not here.”
“I know,” I replied. “I came to see you.”
“Oh?” Shay crossed her arms over her chest. Her face flushed, causing my lips to curl up. “What do you need to see me about?”
“I wanted to ask you something.”
Her head tilted to the side, her expression tight as she studied me. “Is this a joke?”
“What?”
“Is this a joke?” she repeated. She stepped toward me, and looked in both directions down the hallway. “Who sent you here? Elise? Chloe? Whatever this is, it isn’t funny.”
“Neither, and it’s not supposed to be funny.” My brows furrowed. “Why would you think that?”
“Come on, Eastyn,” she dead-panned. “People like you don’t come to see people like me unless there’s an ulterior motive.”
People like me? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
I narrowed my eyes, my brows furrowing. “There is,” I replied, and her face paled. “My motive is to ask if you were okay.”
“I’m fine.” Her voice shook as she spoke, then she licked her soft lips.
Shay seemed to be nervous around me, and as most of the dorms were probably empty, we were most likely alone on the floor. The RA hadn’t been out to see who was here, so I was guessing she’d gone to the party, too, so I couldn’t blame Shay for being wary. Fuck, I would have the person up against the wall with my hand around their throat asking what the fuck was going on, just like the kid that made the mistake of surprising me in rehab. But, all she did was stare at me, waiting for me to talk.
“I see that,” I said finally, letting my eyes travel down her body, taking in how she curled into herself as I did. Fuck, what was it I was supposed to ask? I remembered when she cleared her throat. “Why didn’t you go to the party?” Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but I saw a completely different emotion in her eyes. I thought I saw confusion, but there seemed to be whole lot of hurt lurking behind the hard expression.
“I was busy,” she replied.
I stepped toward her, and she stepped back. I continued until I was inside the room. Without turning back, I kicked the door closed. “You’re a liar.”
Her brows shot up. “Excuse me?”
“You’re a liar,” I repeated. “You were helping the clean-up crew, then you came back here to shower.”
Shay looked down and her trembling hands tugged at the hem of her mostly wet tank. The increasing dark patches clung to everything and my hands itched to reach out and touch. “How did you know about that? Did Max tell you?” she asked, and my eyes snapped up to her face.
“Does it matter?” I fired back. When she shook her head I continued. “Lara didn’t invite you to the party, did she?”
Shay’s head fell to the side, the pained emotion gone from her eyes, and replaced with blind fury. Oh, I liked this look on her. It got me worked up and it was hot as fuck. “That’s not your concern,” she snipped. “Attending the after party wasn’t in my plans for this evening, so inviting me wasn’t necessary.”
My smile spread slowly across my face, and as Shay’s confusion grew, it only made it wider. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?” She lifted her chin in defiance, so I took my hand out of my pocket and took ahold of it between my finger and thumb.
God, her skin was soft, and the clo
ser I got, the more I could smell her clean scent. I had to get my shit together.
“You close yourself off, Shay. The second anybody makes you uncomfortable, you put up a huge fucking wall. So, I’m asking again. Why do you do that? And don’t lie to me.” I’d spoken a lot more in the past minute than I had done in the last hour.
Shay batted my hand away, the fire coming from her stare enough to scorch me. “Who the hell do you think you are, coming here and asking me things about my personal life? Not once have you felt the need to hold a conversation with me, yet you come here and interrogate me to suit your own whims? You want to know something, so you just go and find the answer without any regard for the other person’s feelings.”
“Wow.” I took a step back toward the door, then leaned against it, propping my foot up so it was as good as locked. “That was a lot, but okay.”
“I think you should leave, Eastyn, before my wall comes crashing down on top of your head,” she bit out.
I held my hands up. “Whoa, what the hell did I do?”
“You came here to indulge in your…your…” Shay turned away, her shoulders hunching and her head bowing. “Just leave me alone, Eastyn.”
Fuck, no. I wasn’t going without saying something, and I didn’t care if I sounded like and ass or a person who wanted to get in her pants; she needed to hear this. I pushed away from the door, walked up behind her, then leaned close to her ear. “Don’t think I forgot about the booth, Shay.” Her shoulders stiffened. “And just in case you didn’t know, that’s happening again.”
I heard her sharp intake of breath, and I knew I’d achieved what I’d set out to do. I wanted Shay Michaels, and now she knew it too.
Chapter 5
Shay
I hadn’t paid attention to the professor at all. Since Eastyn had shown up at my dorm, then left as abruptly as he’d arrived, I’d been wondering if I’d woken up after dreaming the whole thing. That would’ve been plausible if Lara had been there, but she hadn’t come back after the party, and I still hadn’t seen her.
We didn’t share the same classes, but it was a regular occurrence to run into her in between lectures and talk for a while. If she was with Elise and the other girls, though, it would be different. Those conversations never turned out well.
I checked my phone again, and saw Lara hadn’t returned my text, asking if she was okay. There was no message telling me she was staying out for one night, let alone two, so her disappearance had me worried. Add that to Eastyn saying what he did, and I was close to chewing on my fingernails.
Damn it, I’ve missed more!
I sat up in my seat, pushing all negative thoughts down, and attempted to concentrate on my work. This was the last assignment before break, so I had to wake up and pay attention. I didn’t want to spend my week playing catch up. I’d filled my planner with days of writing and nights of reading. It sounded like pure, unadulterated heaven. Company would’ve been nice between those times, but we don’t get everything we want.
The class ended, and students headed out of the lecture hall like a river, flowing outward toward the sea. I waited until I was safe from being dragged along with the current, and keeping my head above the surface.
When I got outside, I made my way through the brightly lit corridors to my next class. I heard my name being called out, and I looked back over my shoulder to see Tammy coming toward me. Elise was nowhere to be seen, which was a change.
“Shay!” she called again, so I stood back against the wall to let others past. “Hang on!” She came to a stop in front of me, her blue eyes rounded with concern. “It’s about Lara.”
My heart leaped into my throat. “Is she okay?”
Tammy held her hands up. “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.” She shook her head a little, her dark-blonde bangs swaying at the front of the red bandana-style headband. The swirled fabric made her look like a pin-up, especially the bow. She smiled, her matching red lips widening. “She asked me to tell you that she broke her phone, so that’s why she hasn’t called you.”
I frowned and relaxed back against the wall. “Oh.” That didn’t make sense. “Why am I only being told this now? I’ve been worried about her and nobody has told me anything.” I never expected Elise or Chloe to say anything, but any of Lara’s other friends could have said something. We were supposed to be friends for goodness sakes.
Tammy nodded. “Her phone got spilled on at the party and it died. She left with Will and didn’t call anybody until the next day.”
I tipped my head to the side. “I haven’t seen her for two days and haven’t heard a thing from anyone. Why am I the last to know?”
“Uh…”
I snorted. “Never mind, Tammy.” I pushed away from the wall and walked away from her. It wasn’t my place to demand to know where Lara was or who she was with, but it would’ve been nice to know she was safe.
“Shay, she meant to call you!” Tammy called out.
I lifted my hand and waved, letting her know I heard her. It didn’t matter, though, because in the grand scheme of things, Lara wasn’t really my friend—she was just my roommate. She was being nice to me to make her life easier. She didn’t have to tell me anything, and she didn’t have to call me. As long as her real friends knew she was okay, then I couldn’t ask for more.
*****
I made sure I never went back to my dorm for the rest of the day. Classes had finished and I sat in the office, finishing my article on the fundraiser, praising the students and community for going above and beyond with their support. My phone lay on the table near my pad, the screen black and empty like the pit in my stomach, the chasm deep and endless. I didn’t want to switch it back on, but not because I was afraid I would see missed calls and messages, but because I was afraid it would be the opposite. I would’ve expected it; it was just like old times since starting at Stampton, but I thought coming to college would’ve erased those feelings. Only, it hadn’t. Coming here had made me feel more alone than ever before, and I didn’t know how to fix it.
“How’s it going, Shay?” Ian asked from behind me.
I spun in my chair and looked up to see him closer than I’d liked. “It’s fine,” I replied, and turned back to my computer screen. “Just finishing my piece for the fundraiser.”
The back of my chair halted, and a force pulled me around, spinning me back toward him. As I turned my head, I saw his hand on the back of my seat.
“That was already covered,” Ian said, only releasing the chair when I was facing him. He sat on the chair opposite me, his legs barely an inch away from mine. “But I know your addition will surpass anything already written.” A lazy smile spread across his face as his dark eyes bore into mine. They slipped down to my mouth, then back up. He licked his lips. “You know, there could be an opening for editorial assistant soon. Would you be interested in the position?” His gaze lowered further, landing on my chest and staying there.
“No, thank you,” I replied, then pushed my chair back away from him before I stood.
“What? Why?” he asked, rising out of his seat. “It’s a great position. We’ll be working closely together on the articles.”
That’s exactly what I didn’t want. I picked up my things and shoved them into my satchel. “I’m sure it is, Ian, but I’m happy with what I’m doing right now. I have to go.” I walked out of the office as fast as I could, wondering if my place at the paper was worth keeping.
The moment I turned out of the doorway, I almost crashed into a large body because I was paying more attention to scrubbing my hands with sanitizer than watching where I was going. The scent hit me first, followed by the uneasy swirling in my stomach. I slowly lifted my head, my fingers reaching the strap of my satchel and tightening around it. Dark lashes cast shadows under the eyes of the guy that had promised our encounter at the booth would happen again. As if those thoughts were a trigger, a cold rush ran down through my body to my feet, draining all color from my skin before my cheeks were
set ablaze.
“Hi, Shay,” Eastyn said, his voice low and dangerous. He didn’t smile, he didn’t act, he didn’t even hint at what he was going to say or do next, and I had no idea how to deal with it. It was as though the dorm room exchange never happened.
“Uh, hi, Eastyn,” I replied, my pathetic voice quivering. I made a move to step around him, but he stood in my path. I stared straight ahead at his chest, gray fabric hanging over it as though caressing his taut pecs.
His lips curled at the corners, then the tiniest smile lifted them, making his eyes sparkle. God, I hated that my stomach burst with a thousand butterflies all scrambling to find their way out at once. He stepped around me and walked away.
I turned to see him go, watching his retreating figure as he went. My eyes followed his movements, every step fluid as though each one was carefully thought out. I dropped my gaze further, landing on his ass. Every part of Eastyn Woodman was captivating.
Wake up!
I spun around, my face burning and the furnace in my stomach growing hotter by the second. I hated that it took him no effort to make me feel that way, and I hated that I liked it.
Words flew into my mind, sentences forming and paragraphs coming together. I had to get back to my dorm to get out what was running through my head, and I had to do it before my mind became a jumbled mess again.
*****
I had nothing. How could I describe what I’d felt moments ago, knowing that whoever saw the interaction and then read my words would piece them together like a child’s jigsaw and figure out the pen-name was me? Not that I was going to simply hand out my stories, though. I’d planned on having an extra section in the paper—like a weekly piece—a chapter at a time to see how people reacted to them. Well, that was a definite ‘no’ now because it was growing more and more obvious where my words were coming from. I tried again, but nothing worked as well as what my lust-filled head wanted me to write.
