She shakes her head. “I’m meeting someone, but they can wait a minute. Are you really okay? You don’t have to hide from me.”
“I’m not, but I will be. Eventually.”
My watch vibrates, and I look down. The reminder that I need to get across campus for my next class flashes across my screen. “Sorry to cut this short, but I got to go to class. Can I text you later?”
She doesn’t answer right away. She looks as if she’s not sure about me. She shouldn’t be. I’m a fucking mess.
“Sure.”
That one word has me feeling better. I don’t have much, but I have hockey, and maybe I can have Cora too. Maybe I can put my life back together.
“Cool. Later, beautiful,” I say before brushing past her.
I feel her eyes on my back as I walk away, but I don’t turn around. I can’t. Not right now. Not after what she just saw.
Shit, I embarrassed the fuck out of myself. Yet, she still said I could text her.
I hold on to that as I rush to class.
three
Maybe I would feel differently about school if they didn’t make me pretty much relearn everything from high school. Seriously, all of my classes so far have been a review of what we have already learned. If I wanted to sit through algebra again, I would have failed the first time.
Annoyed, I find my way to my next class. At least this one should be a little better.
Sociology was one of the classes that was available to freshmen that seemed to interest me. Studying human behavior will really help me with my volunteer work too.
I have my first session as a certified chaperone for the child welfare agency after my last class. I’m nervous, but excited too. I know it’s a difficult time for families, so I hope I’m able to be something positive they can take from it. Hopefully this class teaches me something useful to use as well.
As I step through the door, my heart drops.
Standing at the front of the hall is Kellan. He looks gorgeous in his T-shirt and tight blue jeans. They hug his ass in the right way.
I am so shocked that I almost turn around and walk out, but then he looks up and meets my eye. He looks as shocked as I am. Still, he manages a smile and a small wave.
I swallow hard, giving him a small wave back as I rush to my seat.
What is he doing here?
He looks like he might walk over to me, but the teacher comes in and starts speaking to him. I don’t miss the way he keeps flicking his eyes to me while he holds a conversation with the teacher.
After a few minutes, the teacher turns and addresses the class. “Hello, my name is Professor Lindburg. This is my assistant, Kellan. I hope you have all downloaded your syllabi. Let’s go over it.”
He keeps talking, but I can’t tell you what he says, though.
For a whole hour, my mind is stuck on the man sitting in the corner writing in his notebook. I have no idea where he gets off looking like he has not a care in the world when I’m over here panicking.
I had decided to avoid him. Keep my distance so that I didn’t have to deal with the drama that will ensue when Clay finds out that I’m crushing on the one teammate he would never in a million years let me within five feet of.
Then we ran into each other once, and I thought, okay, this is it.
Now he’s my teacher’s assistant?
God save me from myself because I’m starting to think that maybe the universe is putting Kellan in my path for a reason.
Why am I fighting this so hard? Isn’t college where I’m supposed to find myself? What does that even mean?
I’m here because my mother and Clay wanted me to be. I feel like everything I’ve done lately is for someone else.
