“Hey, shhhhh, baby, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything.”
“But I love you.” She gripped his shirt. “He doesn’t deserve my tears, and I hate that he’s getting them.”
Micah’s smile was precious. “I know you love me. It’s okay. You cry as much as you need to.” He kissed her forehead and pressed his nose into her cheek.
Tears continued to cascade down her face as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. He rubbed her back and shot me one more pointed look as the people nearby began eyeing us with curiosity.
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed.
He looked away with a slight shake of his head, turning all his attention back to comfort his very confused girlfriend. I got it. Liam had had a hold on Indie, making her do all kinds of things and punishing her when she wouldn’t comply. The relief in knowing he was gone would be huge...but then she also had his death to deal with. I couldn’t see her face so I wasn’t able to read her properly. All I knew for sure was that the afternoon had been officially ruined by my stupid ability to see behind masks and my even greater stupidity at not keeping my mouth shut.
2
Eric
I steered my jeep into the UCLA campus and wove around to Caity’s dorm. She lived down the road from me at Rieber Vista. It was awesome having her so close. I got to see her most days and that made me very happy.
Stealing a glance in her direction, my lips bunched with a frown. She’d been really quiet and morose since leaving L.A. Boulders and I was worried about her.
I could tell she felt bad for not keeping her mouth shut where Micah was concerned. If she hadn’t pushed him, I would have been oblivious to his mood, Indie would have remained blissfully unaware and we could have ended the weekend on a happy note. I cringed to think of Micah’s car trip back to Berkeley. No guy wanted to see his girl cry...especially over a manipulative asshole like Liam Donovan.
The weight of the news sat heavy on my shoulders. Caity’s quiet demeanor was doing nothing to shake my concern.
Liam, and no doubt Mason, had not fled as far as we thought they had.
San Bernardino?
It was hardly miles away. Caity and I went hiking up in the nearby hills all the time. I never would have taken her near there had I known.
The day I saw Mason straddling her on the beach, his fingers around her throat, I’d wanted to kill him. I’d never felt that kind of rage before and if Caity hadn’t yelled at me to stop, I would have pummeled him until he was dead. That thought scared me a little, but not as much as the idea of Caity getting hurt. It troubled me how precious she’d become and how quickly it had happened. I’d watched her for months, trying to figure her out, not wanting to like her the way I did. When we first got together, I never expected to fall so fast.
Trusting people was not something I did easily. Falling in love with Caity scared the shit out of me. I never thought it was possible to care for someone so much. I felt such a sense of responsibility over her. She’d let me in, given me privileged information, and I wanted to honor that.
I pulled to a stop outside Rieber Vista and got out of the car. Her door was already open and she was hopping out before I reached her.
She gave me a glum smile as I took her hand and led her up the path to her dorm. I was desperately trying to think of something nice to say, something to lighten the mood, when Professor Hoffman came around the corner and saved my life.
“Hey, Professor H.” I waved my free hand and he slowed to a stop beside us.
“Well, good evening.” His smile was always so broad and friendly. I couldn’t help grinning back. I got why all the girls swooned. He was probably in his mid-forties, but the girls thought he was ruggedly handsome and charming. I’d heard them talking.
I swallowed back my chuckle as he tipped his head. “You two had a nice day?”
“Yes, sir.”
Caity nodded beside me, not saying anything. She wasn’t usually so sullen, her manners kicking in on auto-pilot, but the afternoon had obviously affected her more than I thought.
The professor’s blue eyes studied her for a moment before he turned back to me. “Well, Eric, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, you will, sir. I’m looking forward to it.”
He chuckled, giving my arm a friendly slap. “Listen to this guy. How can I not love teaching when I’ve got students like this one?” He was saying the words to Caity, making my chest expand with pride. He was my Psych professor...and Caity’s. I thought he was brilliant. Out of every class I attended at UCLA, his was the best. He was energetic, passionate and inspiring. It was because of him that I wanted to major in Psychology.
I caught her smile out of the corner of my eye as she looked up at the dynamic professor. She nodded at him, but didn’t say anything. It was weird.
“You two be good.” The professor winked and then lifted his hand in farewell.
He walked away and I turned to face Caity properly. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Mm-hmm.” She nodded, crossing her arms and giving herself away.
“Caity,” I gently reprimanded.
“I just don’t like that guy very much.” She pointed behind her.
“What?” My brow furrowed. “Are you serious?”
She shrugged, her big blue eyes gazing up at me. “Sorry, I know you like him, but...”
“Caity, everybody likes him. He’s one of the best teachers in the school.”
“Maybe.” She looked to the ground, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. There was something more to it...there always was.
“Have you seen something on his face?” My jaw clenched. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want her to see anything shady about the professor. I really liked him.
She scratched her neck, not looking me in the eye. “Not directly.” Her voice was soft. “I’m sorry. I know how much you like him. I don’t want to see anything! It’s just this weird vibe when I look at him...like his smile’s not as real as it appears. I don’t know. I’ve tried peeling back the layers once or twice, but I can’t pinpoint anything solid.”
I hated that idea. Not the professor! But Caity was often right about these things.
I pressed my lips together and forced a smile. I didn’t want her feeling bad. It wasn’t her fault she saw what she saw. And it wasn’t her fault she had a feeling about Professor Hoffman. I just wished she didn’t.
The only solid male figure I’d ever had in my life was my Gramps. Every other father figure to cross my path had let me down with one broken promise after the next. I wanted the professor to be good.
“Maybe if you can’t really pinpoint a specific thing, it means there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah, I hope so.” She shrugged, forcing a smile.
Wanting to lighten the mood and end on a good note, I gathered her into my arms with a chuckle and slowly continued down the path to her dorm.
I had to admit that sometimes her ability really concerned me. Not many people knew she had it, and we decided it was safer to keep it that way. But I knew...and I’d been around her long enough to tell when she was reading someone...most of the time. The corners of her eyes would tense up and this was usually followed by a ping in her shoulders.
I loved her ability. It made her so amazing and unique, but it also had the potential to destroy her. Mason Donovan nearly took her life because she wouldn’t walk away from Indie’s suffering. She’d had to help. Her big heart was her undoing, and it was my job to protect her from the world...and herself.
We reached the main entrance to her dorm and she let out a soft sigh.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m like this.”
“What are you talking about?” A sudden fear that she could read my mind surged through me, but I dampened it down with the knowledge that she couldn’t do that. She could only read expressions, emotions, and she’d promised never to read mine. I knew she’d done it a couple of times without meaning to
. I mean, I didn’t really mind that much; I just made her promise because I didn’t want to constantly be on edge, wondering if she was reading me. I wanted her to trust me.
“I totally screwed things up today...with Indie and Micah.” She rubbed her forehead and cringed.
My chest loosened as she said the words, relieved we’d moved on from the professor.
“I should have kept my mouth shut. I guess I just saw something on Micah’s face...and something is usually hiding an even bigger thing, so I pushed.”
I reached for her hand, giving it a little squeeze. “Caity, it’s fine. You were only doing it because you care about Indie.”
She smiled and dipped her head.
“He would have told her eventually, you know.”
“Yeah, but he would have done it in his own time, in his own way. He was pissed with me, Eric.”
I pressed my lips together, hiding my grin. She hated it when someone was mad with her. It was kind of adorable.
She threw her head back and covered her eyes with her hands. “I’m such an idiot.”
“No, you’re not.” I grabbed her hands and eased them off her eyes. Her blue gaze caught me and my insides shimmered the way they always did when I gazed down at her.
“Promise you’ll kick my butt next time I do that.”
“I’m not gonna kick your butt.” My eyebrows rose as I looked down at her seriously, but then a smile danced across my lips as I stepped into her space and glided my hands down her back. “I might pinch it, though.” I grabbed her perfect backside and gave it a little squeeze.
She giggled, wrapping her arms around my neck and reaching up to kiss me. I met her lips halfway, skimming my tongue inside her mouth. She opened up to me with that cute little sigh of hers and I pulled her tightly against me. The heat simmering between us built quickly, but once again I stepped away before it could boil.
I hated the look of disappointment cresting over her face every time I did, but I had a plan.
“I might see you tomorrow?” I ran my finger down her jawline.
“Yeah, I finish up around four. We could do dinner at like six or something, if you want to.”
“Of course I do.” I winked, liking the smile that crested over her lips when I did it. “I’ll text you.”
“Okay. Night, babe.”
“G’night.” I watched her walk away from me, my eyes lingering on the sway of her hips. She stopped at the glass door and gave me one final wave before ducking inside.
I lifted my hand in the air and dropped it once she’d turned, spinning on my heel and heading back to my jeep.
“Shit, hurry up, plan,” I muttered.
I wanted Caity and she wanted me, but we just hadn’t been able to make it work.
I’d waited until the summer holidays began before deciding I was ready to go all the way with her. It’d been a damn easy decision to make. I fell for her way harder and faster than I ever thought I could.
That’s why I’d waited.
I wanted to make sure we were both ready...and we were. Unfortunately, every element on the planet seemed unconvinced of that fact. I’d lost count of how many times we’d tried. We’d been interrupted by parents, passing foot traffic, a sudden thunderstorm with pelting rain that actually hurt when it hit us. I thought the final straw was the night of the breaking condom (my last one, of course), but then Caity said she wanted to go on the pill anyway. So we waited out the month it took for that to kick in and finally the day came...only to be interrupted by my kid sister needing the bathroom. I was pretty keen to try again that night, but Caity seemed too disheartened to even get things started.
That’s when I made my decision.
It didn’t matter how hungry I was for it. It didn’t matter that I was a twenty-one-year-old virgin and dating the hottest chick at UCLA. Caity wasn’t just some hot chick. She was Caity, and I wanted her first time to be pure magic. I already knew her body pretty well; we’d basically done everything but.
Since the day after Lacey interrupted our shower, I’d decided enough was enough. I was going to take Caity away to a luxurious hotel for an entire weekend where we could experience our first time in style...no more trying to sneak in a quickie in the back of the jeep or a rumpled bed while we listened out for parents or roommates. Caity deserved a honeymoon first time and she was going to get it.
Part of me wanted to tell her, to erase that forlorn look on her face every time I pulled back, but I really wanted it to be a surprise. I’d scoped out places online and found an amazing, lush inn up in Big Sur. It looked awesome and I had us booked in for three nights just before Christmas so we could celebrate her birthday. Caity deserved to be spoiled, and I couldn’t wait to see the look on her face when we pulled into the Post Ranch Inn.
My only big obstacle was controlling myself before the big weekend. Thankfully, things were pretty hectic at school and life was busy for both of us. I had plenty to distract me. As I ascended the stairs to my room, I turned the corner and found yet another one waiting on my doorstep.
“Connor?”
The tall brunette with wild curls and a crooked smile spun to face me.
“Hey, bro.” He stretched out his arms and I walked into the embrace, slapping him on the back. I hadn’t seen my stepbrother in years. When his dad and my mom were together we used to spend the summers and Thanksgiving break hanging out, but my mom in her usual style broke up with Connor’s dad years ago and we hadn’t had much contact since.
“What are you doing here, man?” I stepped back to get a proper look at him. He’d gotten really tall...and broad. He was only one year older than me, but I felt small beside him. He stood well over my six feet.
“Late transfer.” He nodded. “I couldn’t turn down a chance to play basketball for the Bruins.”
The UCLA basketball team. He must have gotten a pretty sweet offer to move down from Washington.
“That is awesome, man. Congratulations.” I slapped him on the arm. “It’s so good to see you again.” I really did mean that. I’d always looked up to him and we’d gotten on great in the past. It was cool to have another friend around.
“Will you come to the game on Wednesday?” he asked, hopefully.
“For sure. Yeah, we’ll definitely be there.”
“We?”
“Gotta bring my girl, right?”
His eyebrows wiggled and I laughed with him, hiding the unbidden thought tearing through the back of my mind. When I introduced them, what would Caity see? The guy I thought was awesome or something different?
I swallowed, nodding at Connor’s story about his drive down country. With a smile, I tuned into his voice and desperately tried to block the doubts swirling in the back of my mind.
3
Caitlyn
I flung my door open and glanced into my room. Phew. She wasn’t there. Dumping my bag next to my desk, I slumped onto my bed and gazed up at the ceiling.
What a crappy day.
I’d had back-to-back lectures all morning, bought the foulest egg and cheese sandwich I had ever tasted for lunch and then spent the afternoon in the library trying to figure out what the hell T. S. Elliot was trying to tell the world when he wrote Hollow Men. I will never know what possessed me to take a class on American Poets from the Twentieth Century, but I was in it and there wasn’t much I could do about it.
“Only seven months to go.” I huffed and threw my arm over my face.
What I wanted to do right then was fall asleep and forget about my week. What I knew I had to do was get my ass up and get ready for a Wednesday night basketball game that I wasn’t overly fussed about going to. I was looking forward to meeting Eric’s stepbrother, Connor, but aside from that, I couldn’t be bothered.
My eyes drifted closed and the weight of my week pressed down on me once again. I was still really worried about Mason and where he might be. I was trying not to let it bother me, but I couldn’t help it. The Donovan brothers had been in L.A. the whole time...or i
f they hadn’t, they had returned to L.A. After everything that went down with their shady dealings at Pali High, I thought they’d be long gone. What was Liam doing in San Bernardino before he died?
My phone buzzed and started playing “Fireflies” by Owl City. I lurched up to answer it, pulling it out of my back pocket and checking the screen. I grimaced then drew in a breath and put on my cheerful voice.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hello, sweetie. How’s it going?” Her voice had an aged huskiness to it. I smiled at the sound.
“Yeah, good. Great.” I ran my hand through my tussled hair and flicked the curls off my face. “How are you and Dad?”
“Oh, you know. Same old, same old. The house is pretty quiet without you.”
I rolled my eyes. She’d been saying that a lot, but I still wasn’t sure if she really meant it. When I left and moved into Rieber Vista, I read her maskless face and I could see the small burst of glee behind her expression. After years of looking after five children, Mom and Dad finally had the house to themselves. I supposed it was well earned. I was very much an afterthought...more accurately an after mistake. As much as they adored me, it’d been really hard on them to have a brand new baby when their youngest was already in his mid-teens. They’d had to start all over again with me.
“So, how’s Piper?”
I pressed my lips together, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut about my uppity roommate last time I was home. I hadn’t meant to let my slightly derogatory comments slip, but I was in a foul mood when I’d bustled in the door and it all came out.
When I first found out Piper Vaughan was going to be my roommate, I thought it was cool. Her boyfriend, Scott, was Eric’s roommate and it was just so perfect. Until it wasn’t. Piper and I were pretty different. She was a neat freak. I was slightly more casual in that department. She had enough makeup, clothes, shoes and perfume to open her own boutique. I didn’t even own a bottle of fancy fragrance. I wore deodorant. It wasn’t that I was a slob or anything, I just didn’t value appearances as much as she did.
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