Made of Steel (Made of Steel Series Book 1)

by Ivy Smoak

  ***

  Kins walked in and threw her keys down on the dresser. Her hair was askew and her makeup was slightly smudged.

  "Hey, Kins."

  She jumped. "Geez, you almost gave me a heart attack, Sadie. What the hell are you doing here?"

  "My first class isn't until after lunch."

  "Oh, right." She yawned.

  "How was your date?" I already knew the answer though. I had been here all night. She hadn't come home until right now.

  She smiled. "It was good. Much better than my session with the RA. God, I'm starting to think he's gay."

  Miles isn't gay. "I didn't really get that vibe."

  "Well, he's certainly not giving me the time of day." She sat down at her desk. "So, I noticed that Eli didn't come back to his and Patrick's dorm last night.

  "I noticed that you didn't come back here."

  "Touché. Did you seal the deal?"

  "If you mean seal the deal with a kiss, yes."

  Kins laughed. "I sealed the deal with a whole lot more than a kiss."

  "I thought you didn't even like him."

  "I never said that. I said that I liked him but I could still see how hot our RA is. Just because I like someone doesn't mean I don't have eyes. You agree, right? He's totally dreamy."

  "He's not my type." The lie came easily to my lips. I had been trying to convince myself that I was over Miles for five years. The more I thought it, the more real it seemed. But in the pit of my stomach, I still knew it was a lie. Of course he was dreamy. I used to dream about him every night.

  "I'm pretty sure he's everyone's type."

  "I don't find him attractive at all." I turned my attention back to the most recent blog on The Night Watch. The vigilante had struck again. A woman had gotten mugged last night. The mugger had been dropped off with his hands and feet bound at the police station late this morning. There was a picture on their security feed showing that it was the vigilante who dropped him off. But again, the pearl necklace that the mugger had gotten away with was still missing. I wasn't sure why I was so fascinated by this.

  "You must be madly in love with Eli then," Kins said.

  "Yeah, I guess." I wasn't really paying attention to her. My eyes continued to scan the article until the last sentence. "Someone in this city is watching us." The same chill ran down my spine as the first time I had read the phrase.

  "You love him?"

  "What?" I looked up from my computer screen.

  "You just told me that you love Eli."

  "I didn't say that. I wasn't paying attention. When did I say that?"

  "One second ago."

  I loved the way Eli made me feel safe. But a part of me knew he wasn't going to drop the issue. I knew he'd bring it up again. I wasn't interested in him pressuring me to go to the cops. They couldn't help me. He didn't understand. And I couldn't explain it to him. "I like him. We're just seeing how things go, you know?"

  "Has he asked you to be his girlfriend yet?"

  That was weird too. We had almost had sex yesterday. On two different occurrences. But that hadn't come up at all. "No."

  "Well, he will. I'm sure of it. Patrick said that you're all he ever talks about."

  That made my stomach feel queasy. Could I trust Eli not to tell anyone about my past? Would he tell Patrick who would tell Kins? Kins was great, but she didn't exactly have a great grasp on keeping her mouth shut. "Maybe." I switched off my computer screen. "I should probably get to class. I'll see you tonight."

  "Later, love bird."