by Stacey Nash
Shh!
Copyright © Stacey Nash 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9942466-0-8 (ebook)
First published in Australia 2015 by Stacey Nash
All rights reserved.
The right of Stacey Nash to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This book is a work of fiction. Characters, events, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to event or actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage system without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Edited by Lauren McKellar
Cover Art by KILA Designs
Interior Design by Max Effect
ALSO BY STACEY NASH
Forget Me Not (Collective Series, #1)
Remember Me (Collective Series, #2)
Shh! (Oxley College Saga, #1)
Wait! (Oxley College Saga, #2) - coming soon
DEDICATION
For my children; may you always know your parents’ love is unconditional.
THE RUMOUR
CHAPTER ONE
Savannah West and I made our way down the skinny path from the sports fields at UNE to Oxley College, the lines of trees ringing the brown paddock around us. It had been a dry summer, but the weather around Armidale was like that. Months and months of no rain then it wouldn’t stop until everything was completely water-logged. None of my friends usually tagged along to hockey, but Savvy popped up at my games every now and again. We’d walked in silence for a few moments when Savvy cleared her throat. “How are things with you and Christian?”
“Fine,” I said, scrunching my brows. “That’s a weird question.”
“It’s the start of a new year, you know …” She trailed off, leaving me wondering where the question had come from. Christian and I were pretty rocky lately, but it wasn’t like I’d spoken to Savvy about it, nor was I about to.
“Are you coming tonight?” I asked in an attempt to divert the conversation.
“Of course,” Savvy squealed. “I heard that Dane Beaumont is going as a bodyguard, and I’m not missing that glorious sight.”
I cringed at the high pitch that shot out of her, but a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth anyway. Good lord, I loved this girl’s enthusiasm.
We were almost home and I looked both ways before we crossed the road into the car park of our dorm, Oxley College. “I’ve got the best nurse outfit. Are you dressing up?”
“A sexy nurse, I hope.” She waggled her brows.
I slid my phone out of my pocket and checked the time. “Shoot. Sorry, Savvy, I’ve only got ten minutes. Better run. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye.” She waved her fingers as we walked through the gates of Oxley and into the back courtyard, then I peeled off toward Front and ducked into the stairwell that led up to my block. Each block was home to two floors worth of co-ed students. The dorms weren’t overly fancy, but I loved living there, surrounded by friends. I also loved not being a freshman. The more senior students got the pick of the rooms and my second floor room was certainly spacious when compared to many of the others. I shoved my key in the lock, tossed my bag on the ground and ran for the floor’s communal bathroom. Lucky the shower was empty.
In four minutes flat I was back in my room, twisting my long, damp hair into a bun at the nape of my neck. I slipped into the white nurse dress and pulled my heels on, then tucked the room key into my bra as I dashed down the stairs. The costume looked pretty good, since the uniform was authentic; pocket watch and all. Thanks, thrift store. I ran straight to the dining hall, nodding and smiling at everyone I darted past on the way.
Voices wafting out of the back room meant the rest of the social committee had already arrived. And with words including keg and goon in the air, it sounded like they were sorting out drinks. I pushed the door open and came face to face with Christian, a keg balanced on his shoulder. Gee, he looked fine tonight, his biceps bulging through his thin t-shirt from the hefted weight.
“Hi, hon,” I said, and stepped out of the way.
With the world’s tightest smile, he manoeuvred around me, Dane close behind him with a second keg of beer. Sure enough, Dane was dressed security-style in black from head to toe. A two-sizes-too-small t-shirt stretched across his toned chest like he was sculptured art. He also had some kind of earpiece connecting his ear and mouth. Unlike Christian, Dane met my gaze with a wide smile and a wicked wink. Good lord, the guy was a flirt.
Tonight my job was armbands, and I needed to hop to it. It would take two of us to get everyone covered. Lucky for me Ella Parry was already there, her long auburn hair brushing over the printout in front of her. She and I had been in each other’s lives forever. Our parents ran in the same social circles, so we’d been thrown together a lot over the years. When we’d both been accepted into UNE we’d somehow wound up at the same college.
“How are we looking?” I asked.
“Pretty good. There are one-hundred-ninety-eight people confirmed, which is just about everyone in Oxley. What’s even better is I think we’ve got some ex-collegians, too. Not many though.”
“Awesome. Sorry I’m late. Where are we up to?”
“You’re right on time.” She glanced up and pointed to a small box in the corner. “Grab the bands and we’ll go set up.”
I grabbed the box, and Ella stood, pushing her dead-straight hair over her shoulder. This was a courtyard party, so we’d set up registration right at the corner of Front Courtyard. It would be easy for everyone to find us and there was plenty of room for a line to form.
Ten minutes later we’d dragged a table outside, set up two chairs behind it, and were poised with highlighters, ready to verify attendees. We weren’t a moment too early either. The first group stopped by on their way back from dinner, and after that people kept coming. Our task was to make sure only those who had paid actually got tagged. There’d be no free grog here tonight. It was the perfect job for me, because I got to socialise and work at the same time. Two boxes ticked; making sure everyone saw me, and fulfilling my social committee duty.
I glanced up at the person next in line and saw a face I didn’t recognise. His dirty-blond hair hung over his bright blue eyes in a way that was entirely too sexy, and a tiny coating of stubble—not quite a beard, but more than one-day growth—lined his strong jaw. And his lips, smooth and pink, tipped up at the corner as if he were in on a secret … ah, flip. I’d totally been caught checking him out.
“And you are …?” I managed to keep my voice level.
“Logan Hays.”
“You’re not from here.”
“No,” he said. “Alumni. I lived here a few years ago, but I’ve got a place in town now.”
Well, that was a sad thing for the female population of Oxley.
“Loges!” Dane swaggered up to the table, baton bumping against his hip. He slapped Logan on the back, ignoring the blond hanging off his own arm. “He’s cool, Livia, let him in.”
I stuck my tongue into my cheek, refusing to bite. Dane knew I hated my name being shortened. The dirty flirt winked at me again. What was with him tonight? Sure he liked to banter with all the girls, but usually not with me. Christian would have his balls if knew. The fact that he was slurring and obviously half tanked wouldn’t save him. The blonde leaned into his side, and my gaze flicked back to Logan. His stomach, right at my eye level, was covered with a loose-fitting shirt, but the material fell over his body in such a way it was obvious there was muscle rat
her than flab underneath. My gaze travelled up to meet his. He still sported that teasing half-smile, his eyebrow now raised.
“R ... right.” I dipped into the box for an armband. The whole thing toppled off the table, spilling blue plastic tags all over me and Ella.
“Flipping heck.” I shoved my chair back. Staring and dropping things—I was an embarrassment tonight. Scooping the tags up, I dumped them into the box, then popped back up. Logan was still watching me, his smile full-blown.
“Flipping ... heck?”
“Yeah, she’s twelve,” Ella said.
“Here’s your armband. Have a great night.” I shoved the thing at him. Hopefully he’d disappear into the growing crowd of partygoers before I had the chance to do anything else crazy.
“Drink?” Savannah appeared beside me, wearing next to nothing. Savvy was all of five-foot-three and had blonde hair to die for. Tonight the rich honey-coloured locks hung loose. Her skimpy black dress rode all the way up her thighs, and fit her curvy form snugly. Tonight’s theme was occupations, and well, she was dressed as a stripper who was acting out every guy’s cop fantasy. She shoved a plastic cup at me, its contents splashing over the side and staining the tablecloth sickly yellow.
“Thanks.” I took the cup before I wore whatever was inside it. When I looked up she was gone, swallowed by the crowd.
A little while later the line finally petered out, so I grabbed my untouched drink and swept my gaze around the full courtyard. Music blared through the air, bouncing off the chocolate-coloured brick walls and people shouted over it, trying to hold conversations. A couple leaned against the wall of block A, her body pressed between him and the bricks. I averted my gaze. I had no issue with steamy PDA, but these two looked as if they were one kiss away from ripping each other’s clothes off and going for gold right there in the courtyard. That was a sight I could do without. Now, where was my sexy boyfriend?
It only took a few moments to spot Christian, standing higher than the crowd. Balanced atop one of the wooden picnic tables, he pointed at Dane who stood beside him, holding a glass stein. Dane had his head tipped back and beer coursed down his cheeks as he chugged it. A thick ring of girls surrounded them, singing a drinking song at the top of their lungs. Good thing my parents had never seen this side of Christian, or they sure as heck wouldn’t approve.
Someone slammed into my shoulder and I was jarred backward.
“Oh … I’m … I …” The girl scooped my cup off the ground, rose and tried to shove the empty cup into my hands. “Olivia … I didn’t …”
Her eyes were fixed on my hands. Her hair, which hung in two long plaits to her waist, when coupled with her flannel shirt gave her a cowgirl appearance. Or something. She’d lived in the room next to mine last year—super sweet girl, but not exactly socially confident. She mostly stuck to herself. I was pretty sure she was a year ahead of me and Savvy. “It’s okay, honestly, I wasn’t going to drink it anyway.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again.
“How was your summer break?” An attempt to deflect the conversation worked. She actually met my gaze, and a wide smile broke out across her pretty face.
“It was awesome. I—”
“Olivia.” Dane’s voice boomed across the courtyard and he swayed, dangerously close to falling on the people crowded below the table. Holy heck. My stomach jumped into my throat but Christian saved him from falling off the table just as Dane yelled, “Let’s hook up, babe. I’ll make sweet love to you aaaall night long.”
“What the hell?” The curse slipped out before I had a chance to self-filter.
And Christian just stood there, doing nothing. Double what the flipping hell?
I pushed through the throng of partygoers, focused on my boyfriend and his mate who both laughed while Dane’s flock of admirers joined in. If they thought this was funny, if it was some kind of a joke, it was really, really, lame, and there was no way it would continue. I was not joke material. My fingers dug into the cup, crushing it in my hand.
“Livie, Livie, likes to—”
I reached up, and fisting my hand in Dane’s shirt, reefed him down off his makeshift stage. Still co-ordinated, despite the drunken appearance, he landed square on his feet beside me and dropped his arm over my shoulders. The tang of his beer breath assaulted my sense of smell.
“You have exactly two seconds to remove that arm, Dane Beaumont.” I looked up at Christian. “Do something about him before I do.”
Christian just shrugged.
Dane laughed.
“Now!” I said, my hands clenching at my sides.
One of Dane’s hanger-ons giggled.
“We’re over, Olivia.” Christian finally looked my way for the first time all night. “I can’t do this anymore. You’re—”
My heart stopped beating then took up again way too fast. Over? This joke had gone way too far. I shoved Dane off me and my glare settled on Christian as I ground out, “Inside. Now.”
Christian shook his head and downed the rest of his beer. Then his gaze turned icy. “I can’t compete with your sex-ploits. Not. Doing …”—he flicked his hand between us—“this anymore.”
“My … my … what?”
The ice was in me, curling through my veins and settling in my tummy while all sound disappeared into a dull hum. This breakup wasn’t happening right now. In public.
Dane made a disgusting gesture with his fingers and tongue.
Oh my god. This can’t be happening. Why in heaven’s name was Christian doing this? He knew how important reputation was and now … well, now everyone was staring.
And laughing.
Tingles swept up the back of my neck and my chest tightened. Christian loved me. He’d said so a million times. Sure he’d been cold lately, but that was something we could talk through.
There was no way I was going to let this go down in the middle of a courtyard filled with all of our friends. “Not here,” I bit out.
“It’s done. There’s nothing more to say.”
I did the only thing I could. I ducked my head and like lightning, I shot out of there, not stopping until I reached my room where I slammed the door closed and slid down it, my mind reeling as I tried to make sense of what just happened.
CHAPTER TWO
Going to breakfast.
I waited for a few minutes after sending the text, but either Savvy wasn’t awake yet, or she was already down in the dining hall without her phone. Drawing in a deep breath, I set my hand on the door handle. This was the first time I’d ventured out of the dorm since Saturday night’s public break-up and my chest felt as if it were full of something unpleasant. Unfortunately my growling stomach held the upper hand, forcing me into the dining hall before I headed to classes. I grabbed my backpack, pulled my door open and swiftly jumped out of the way as a naked figure fell toward me.
My heart tried to jump right out of my chest and I braced for impact, but the body spun off me, landing on the floor half inside my room with a jolly bounce. Male laughter echoed from somewhere down the hall and the blow-up doll stared at me, its red lips open wider than a mouth should.
Again.
That stupid doll had made an appearance yesterday too. In all honesty, things had been weird since the public break-up. There had been quite a bit of knocking on my door yesterday as a direct result, but after the ‘joke’ visit from my friend lying on the floor here, I’d stopped answering.
I kicked Dolly out of the way and stepped over the threshold, pulling the door closed. I could do this. I would do this. I had to face them all, and better sooner than later. I marched down the stairs, through the courtyard and into the dining hall. Eight wasn’t overly early or late, but the place was packed. Guess I wasn’t the only one with a nine o’clock start. As I walked up to the servery, my back prickled so much my cheeks heated. It felt as if every pair of eyes in that room rested on me, burned into me, while people silently questioned Saturday night’s events.
My hand quivered. My
stomach churned.
My feet turned me right around and I didn’t stop walking until twenty minutes later when I reached a vending machine up on campus. I fished enough coins from my purse to select the most substantial item inside the machine. It clattered to the tray and retrieving my measly breakfast, I decided to head right to class. It was a little early, but that was better than hanging out at Oxley—at least up here the people from my dorm were a minority, not the majority. I could blend into the crowd.
We were already three weeks into term and I loved Sociology; the first-year subject I chose as my elective was a nice break from all the heavy Law subjects, yet it was still relevant to my degree. I took a bite of the banana flavoured-muesli or whatever-it-was bar and picked up the pace, wanting to make sure I had plenty of time. The arts building was a little down the hill, and I strode off in that direction.
It felt good to be on campus and not floating around Oxley where all everyone was talking about were Christian and me. Just as I passed the library an ear-piercing wolf whistle sliced the cool end-of-summer morning. Not an uncommon noise, so I kept walking, but then it came.
“Olivia!”
I glanced across the perfectly mowed lawns to a group of people gathered under one of the huge gum trees.
A fresher I’d seen around college a few times beckoned me over. It looked like the whole group were all first years, so maybe they needed help with directions or something. Boy, I’d gotten lost up here during my first year. UNE was a small campus compared to the city universities, but it still felt mighty huge when you were adjusting from high school. I walked toward them, and the dude who’d called out jumped up and ambled over.
“Hey,” he said, walking toward me. “I hear you’re one hell of a vixen in the sack.”
Every muscle in my body went rigid and I tightened my grip on my bag as I shot him the best fake smile I could muster, and said, “Then it’s a pity you just blew your chances.”
