by Melony Ann
I’m just about to turn to Alex when the guy next to him grabs his attention. “Hey, I’m Seth. Want to partner up?”
My heart sinks.
“No thanks, man. Already got a partner.” I can feel my eyes light up as I smile, hopeful he’s talking about me. He says nothing, though, as he gathers his stuff.
“Whatever, dude.” Seth turns away. The guy next to me grabs my arm. I turn to him and try to pull my arm away, but he tightens his grip. My heart starts racing as blood rushes to my ears.
“Hey, sexy thing. Name’s Grant. Looks like you and I are partners on this.”
Before I can say a word, Alex stands and pulls me against him and away from Grant. “Touch her again, I’ll break your fucking hand. She’s already got a partner.”
“Alright. Fuck.” Grant gathers his stuff and scurries away. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as Alex’s strong arms wrap around me. My racing heart begins to calm, and I take a deep breath.
“You okay?”
“I… think so. He grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let go.”
Alex gently takes my hand and looks over my arm. I watch his expression darken so I look down at my arm. There are red marks where Grant grabbed me.
“Damn.”
“He even so much as looks at you, I swear I’ll kill him.”
I put my hand on his chest. “Can we just get out of here?”
“Absolutely.”
He helps me gather my stuff and then takes my hand. My world is right again. He makes me feel safe. Invincible.
Alex leads me up to Professor Dukes. “Ms. Holloway. I have you partnered with Grant Sanders.”
“Excuse me?” Alex asks. I look up at Alex. Fear begins to overtake me and I start shaking.
“Alex.” My voice comes out nearly inaudible.
“Professor Dukes, Jessa already informed Grant she didn’t want to partner with him. He was upset and now he’s trying to force her to.”
“Hmm… Is this true, Ms. Holloway?”
I nod. “I don’t want to be partners with him.” My lip quivers and I bite it, refusing to let myself cry.
“I assume the two of you had intended to be partners?”
“Yes, sir,” Alex says.
“Very well. There was a student who was absent today. I’ll put Mr. Sanders with him.”
“Thank you, sir.” Alex leads me out into the hallway. “Still okay?”
I nod but I’m not. I’m doing everything I can to calm my breathing. As soon as we’re outside, I pull him to the side of the building and throw myself in his arms as I start crying.
“He tried to…” I grip his shirt and sob. “Make me! Why? Why would he do that?”
Alex hugs me tighter. “Shh… It’s okay. I won’t let him touch you. Don’t worry about him.”
He sways with me and runs his fingers through my hair until I’m calm enough to let him go. Very suddenly, I am overcome with embarrassment and shame.
“I’m sorry. You probably think I’m a crazy person.” I wipe my eyes.
“I don’t think that at all, Jessa.” He pulls me close to him again. “What’s your schedule like for the rest of the day?”
I pull back and dig for my schedule. When I find it, I hand it to him so I can compose myself.
“We have statistics together.”
I smile up at him. “I really hate math.”
He grins and puts his arms over my shoulders as we start walking to our next class. “Well, lucky for you, I’m amazing at it.”
“Lucky for me indeed.”
Alex and I find a seat together once we reach our class and he immediately takes my hand in his when we sit. He doesn’t let go the entire class.
I spend the rest of the day with Alex in a coffee shop on campus. We talk. We laugh. We talk about each other’s family. We’re both only children. We both love football. We’re both competitive board game players. We’re competitive in general. We both love the beach and find the crashing of the waves against the shore peaceful and relaxing.
We lose track of time. The sun has long ago set on us when we realize what time it is.
“Wow. Didn’t mean to keep you out all day,” Alex says.
“It’s okay. No homework. And honestly, my roommate is a goat.”
Alex laughs. “A goat? Not a pig or a cow? Tell me you don’t live in a barn. I’ll have to make up my couch for you to save you from such a terrible living situation.”
I smile as we leave the coffee shop hand in hand. “Nope. A goat. Pigs are too cute. I love them. And cows aren’t nearly as obnoxious.” I shiver a little. Alex puts his arm across my shoulders and rubs my arm. I can’t help but snuggle into him.
“Tell me about this roommate.”
“Oh my God. She’s awful. We met a couple days ago when she moved in. I had already moved in. She was upset I took the room in the back. She’s incredibly rude. And so noisy. She’s gone out drinking both nights she’s been there. She gets back at like five in the morning and crashes around. I like that she’s gone at night but until she leaves? She’s really terrible. Loud music. She’s messy. I really hate messes. Awful.”
“I have no roommates. I’m pretty lucky I could afford to get a suite to myself.”
I look up at him. “Seriously? You’re so lucky. I’m here on a scholarship because of my grades. My parents are paying for my room and board and I get a monthly allowance, but they want me to learn life lessons. Make my own way in life. They want me to concentrate on school so no job, but I have to budget and everything with what I’m given.”
“I can respect that, though. Everyone should be able to make their own way in life. No matter where they come from or how much their parents make.”
“I don’t think it’s possible for you to be any more perfect.”
Alex laughs. The sound comes out a sensuous, deep hum. I shiver again, but not from the cold.
I look up at the building in front of us and sigh. “I guess this is the end of the night. This is me.”
“Want me to walk you up?”
“I do, but if my roommate is there, I’ll be thoroughly embarrassed at the state of my living arrangements.”
He smiles and leans down, lightly brushing his lips across mine. I close my eyes and smile.
“I’d like to kiss you, but I don’t want to scare you away by moving too fast.” He straightens up and cups my cheek. I lean into him.
“I’ll see you in class tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there,” he whispers.
I smile and force my feet to move. He waits for me to get inside my dorm before he waves and walks away. I feel like I’m floating to my room.
I’m very happy to see my roommate isn’t home. The only good thing about her is that I get a quiet night of sleep since she’s never here.
I get ready for bed and curl up under my covers. Alex’s handsomely chiselled face makes its way into my mind and stays there all through the night.
Other Books by Melony Ann
The Beautiful Dream Series
Available on Amazon
Loving You
Sneak Peek into Loving You
Chapter One - Mariah
I can’t believe it! Stupid GPS. How is this possible? How does GPS, something that is supposed to help keep me from getting lost GET ME LOST?
This is so stupid.
And how the hell is it so hot? So incredibly hot.
I feel tears stinging my eyes.
No.
I will absolutely not cry. I won’t. I will pull over and I will figure this out.
I pull over to the side of the road and take several deep breaths. I close my eyes a moment and then clear out my GPS. I put the address for Gainesville Place Apartments into the GPS again and let it figure it out.
Once again, tears sting my eyes. I fight them, but one escapes. I reach up and vigorously wipe it away.
No.
I’m not doing this. I cried the entire way down here. I will not allow myself to c
ry anymore. I’ve wasted enough tears over him. No more.
I glance at my GPS and see it still isn’t working. It’s all it takes for the dam to break. The tears burst from my eyes and I put my head down on my steering wheel.
Why would it work for me? Nothing ever works for me. I’ve probably just made the biggest mistake of my life. Who the fuck just picks up and moves like that? From one hemisphere to another? Away from everything she’s ever known and ever loved?
Obviously me. I do that. I’m so stupid. I’ve just ruined my entire life.
I jump nearly a mile at the light tap on my window. I turn and see the hottest guy I have ever seen in my life and for a moment, I am stunned. He’s tall. His hair is short and dark brown. His eyes are the color of coffee. I’ve never liked brown eyes, but I could drown in his.
I glance in my rear-view mirror and see a squad car. The guy is wearing a Gainesville Police Department uniform. He’s incredibly muscular, but I am not totally sure if it’s the uniform and all of his equipment and gear that make him look like that. His left arm is covered in tattoos as well as some of his right.
I quickly compose myself, wiping my tears as I hit the button to roll down my window. He probably thinks I am drunk. Or crazy. Or maybe both.
“H-hi.”
“Hey. I’m Sergeant Chance of Gainesville PD. Uh… are you… okay?”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, willing the tears away as I nod and force my eyes to open again.
“Can I help you out with something? Anything?”
“I’m so sorry,” I say as he glances in the back of my SUV. “I’m just so lost.”
“Okay. Well, I’ve lived here almost my whole life. Where are you trying to go?”
“Um…” I reach over and hand him my folder with my lease and information for my new apartment. His voice is so calm. He opens the folder and looks at it.
“Okay. Gainesville Place Apartments. You’re in 4834. You’re not too far away.” He hands me back the folder. I take it and set it back on the seat next to me.
“How about you just follow me?”
“Oh. Um…. That’s okay. I don’t want to take you away from your job.”
“Well, helping people is my job. Right now you need help. So you’re my job.” He gives me a killer smile and my insides melt. I can’t help but smile back.
“If you’re sure.”
“I am.” He glances at the traffic. “I’ll pull up alongside you with my lights on. Block traffic a bit so you can pull out behind me.”
“Okay.”
He shoots me another killer smile and winks as he walks back to his squad. I wait for him to pull up alongside me. Traffic moves over a lane and he slowly drives ahead of me so I can pull out behind him. I quickly do it. There’s so much more traffic here than Duluth, Minnesota, where I’m from.
As soon as I’m behind him, he switches his lights off. I follow him a few blocks before he turns. A few blocks after that, he turns into a parking lot and leads me to Building Four. I turn into a parking place and he backs his squad up so he’s parked behind me. He gets out and smiles that incredible smile again. I have to catch my breath.
“Here you go. You’re on the top floor. Actually right across the hall from me.”
“Oh! You… live here, too?”
“Yep. You chose well. It’s a good neighborhood. Crime rate is actually pretty low. People who live here are nice. They even have activities for residents. Every month they do something. Free coffee bar. Gym. Pool.”
I smile shyly as I look up at him. He’s so much taller than me. I’m only five feet three. I speak softly. “Choosing this place wasn’t by chance.”
“Researched it?” He grins as he looks down at me.
I nod. “I rarely do anything without thinking it through. Analyzing. Thinking through it more and harder.”
“I see.” He looks at my SUV.
“So… you don’t look like you have a lot of stuff. Do you have a moving truck coming?” He looks back down at me and I look down at the ground and shake my head. I gesture at the electric blue 2020 Ford Escape before looking back up.
“This is it.”
“Hmm… well, if you’d like some help, I’m off in a couple hours. I’d be happy to.”
“Oh! No, you’ve done so much already, Sergeant Chance. I don’t have much.”
“Matt. Please. Call me Matt.”
I nod and look down at the ground.
“And what should I call you? Mysterious girl from somewhere not here?”
I can’t help but laugh a little. “Mariah. I’m from Minnesota. But you probably knew that since I am sure you looked at and ran my plate.”
He laughs. “Mariah from Minnesota. Hand me your phone.”
I look up at him completely confused. “Why?”
“I need your number so I can let you know when I’m on my way home, right?”
“Really. You don’t need to. I can manage.”
“I don’t need to, but I want to. I’ll bring a couple guys. We’ll get it knocked out quickly. In the meantime, you can explore the grounds. Get your bearings.” He holds out his hand. I shake my head and chuckle as I open the driver’s side door and reach in to grab my phone. I hand it to him and he quickly puts in his number and texts himself before handing it back to me.
“So… a couple hours?”
“Yep.” He shoots me another wink and another killer smile as he walks back to his squad. I watch as he drives away.
I shake my head as I reach into my SUV to grab a few necessities, my laptop included. I don’t dare leave it in the Florida sun.
A few minutes later, after dropping my laptop and a few things in my new apartment, I do what Matt suggested and take a tour of the grounds. There’s a nice pool. Fairly large. People seem to be enjoying it. I smile as I continue my walk. There’s a nice walking trail behind the building. A park. People are running and walking on it. It’s so different from Duluth. People seem happy here.
I find the coffee shop and the gym in the building. The gym is incredibly spacious with a lot of equipment. I continue up to my apartment and check my phone. I still have time before Matt is done with work.
It’s the time that always kills me. Always forces me to think. And it’s the thinking that always gets me.
Duluth is a long way away. My ex-husband is a long way away. But I can’t shut my mind off. I don’t know if I made the right decision.
I moved to Gainesville, Florida, to start over. To get away from everyone and everything holding me back from reaching my full potential. I had no support there. I don’t here either, but at least I’ll be doing it on my own terms. At least here, no one will be telling me I can’t.
No one will be putting me down. No one will be making me feel like I’m not good enough or pretty enough. No one will make me feel like I am not worth it ever again.
A little while later, I hear my phone go off. I look at it and see a text from Matt. I feel myself smile before I can stop it.
Matt: Hey. Just leaving. I have a couple guys with me to help.
Mariah: Okay. Thank you for everything.
Matt: It’s really no problem. We’ll be there in a few minutes. I’ll text and you can meet us downstairs.
Mariah: Okay.
A few minutes later, I am waiting by my SUV for Matt and his friends. True to his words, he arrives with two other people in tow.
“Hey, Mariah! This is Brett and DJ. I work with them. Bribed them to help.”
I laugh. “A cop bribing a cop? Sounds legit.”
“He said there would be pizza,” DJ says.
“And beer,” Brett says.
“Did he now? Did he also tell you that I literally just moved here and have nothing in my refrigerator except one single water bottle?”
“He did. Minus the water bottle part,” DJ says.
“I have beer at my place. And I’ll order pizza. We have a pretty delicious local pizzeria here. Their pizza is to die for. Honestly. It’
s fantastic,” Matt says.
I smile. “Well, okay then. I warn you, though. No furniture. We’ll have to sit on the floor.”
“We can have the pizza at my place. My sister is bringing the kids. She should be there by the time we’re done. She can bring the pizza with her.”
“Kids?”
“Two beautiful girls and a boy.” He beams at the thought of his kids. Where there are kids, there must be a wife or girlfriend. My smile falters, but I catch myself. I’ve given up on love. I’m here for me. Not any kind of relationship. I need to go back to doing things on my own. Not be dependent on others. It only leads to heartbreak.
It takes less than an hour for the three of them to get everything from my SUV into my apartment. I look around. I have a lot less things than I thought, but I don’t care. It’s mine. This. It’s just mine. It won’t be messy. No one will be able to tell me I can’t write or read whatever and whenever I want. It’s all mine.
“Hey. Earth to Mariah.”
I jump a little and then turn. Matt is standing so closely and he smells so good. I have to force the immediate images that surge to my brain. Images of me underneath him with his lips all over me are quickly pushed out of my head. He’s taken. I have to remember he’s taken, and I am not looking for love. Not even a little bit. Love is a bunch of shit.
“You seemed to be a million miles away.”
“I may have been. Sorry.”
“No need to apologize.”
I give him a smile, but it’s forced. He picks up on it immediately. Stupid cop instincts. “What’s wrong?”
I look down. “Maybe I could have pizza with you guys another day?” I steel myself and look up at him.
His eyes. I love his deep brown eyes. But I won’t let myself fall for him. He’s taken. And I won’t make the same mistake twice. I will never fall in love again. Love is awful. It leads to nothing but heartbreak and misery. Years of it.
“What’s going on?” His eyes are narrowed and he folds his arms over his chest as he stands in front of me. “You have no furniture. No bed. You have no food. You were hardcore crying when I met you earlier. What are you running from?”
