Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26471 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 106(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Rebel. Distract.
I’m definitely doing that in a short, floral, fluttery dress. It’s more the length of a shirt. And I’ve added a pair of magenta high heels, making my legs look long. It’s impossible not to notice the new muscle tone of my thighs and calves, thanks to two weeks of straining and keeping them wrapped around a big, bucking man.
Stop.
Irritated with myself, I snatch up my books and the keys to my dorm, ignoring my roommate’s curious look and clicking out of the room. Determined to get back on track, especially with school, I called Becca and Kandice to schedule a study group tonight at the library, which is where I’m headed now.
As soon as I step out of my building, I feel watched.
Stalked.
There is no one around, though. Is there?
It’s my imagination. I expect Bobby to come, so I’m projecting. That’s all it is.
Ignoring the goosebumps on my neck, I hurry across campus to the library and throw myself through the double doors, finding Becca, Kandice and three other psych majors—two guys, one girl—at a table in the center of the floor.
Becca’s eyes widen when she sees me approaching. “Holy shit, look at you.”
One of the boys whistles. “Oh, I’m looking, all right.”
Kandice throws an eraser at him. “Don’t be gross. We don’t want her to disappear on us again, do we?” She pushes out a chair with her sneaker clad foot. “Sit down and tell us everything. Where have you been for the last week?”
So, it is true. I’ve lost an entire week to Bobby without realizing it was happening.
I take my seat and flip open my notebook, quelling the impulse to check behind me to see if I was followed, because I still have that heavy prickle weighing on the back of my neck. “I would rather just focus on studying, if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” Becca says smoothly, leaning forward onto an elbow. “Classes really haven’t been the same without you.”
“Yeah, we actually get out on time, because you’re not in the front row asking eight hundred extra questions,” one of the guys says, making everyone laugh.
The other young man at the table elbows him in the ribs. It’s the same guy who whistled when I walked in. “Shut up, man. I like her questions.”
“I like her questions,” mimics Kandice.
This is not the night I was hoping for. I’m already feeling disoriented, like I’m missing the beating organ in the center of my chest. Now I’m back to that place I was in pre-Bobby. That place of being unsure and self-conscious, like the odd one out.
You never felt that way for a second with Bobby.
You were vital. Nothing you did was wrong, only right. Only met with praise.
I shake my head to rid myself of those thoughts. No, it was all smoke and mirrors. Tricks to keep me docile and emotionally sedated. Right? Was it?
Or had my relationship with Bobby been just that real? That…raw?
That perfect.
God, I’m still under his spell. I need to focus.
“There’s a quiz on Tuesday, right? Has Mercer passed out a study guide?”
Kandice and Becca exchange a sly look. “Do you really think you’re going to get away with not telling us what happened with the firefighter?” Becca asks. “Last time we saw you, he was carrying you out of the bar like a caveman.”
Remembering what followed in Bobby’s truck, my thighs clench involuntarily. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. We didn’t really work out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kandice croons.
“I’m not,” says the whistler.
It takes serious willpower not to gather my things and run out of the library. I don’t like the way my male classmate is looking at me. My skin crawls at the very idea of being with someone who isn’t Bobby. “I don’t really want to talk about him,” I manage. “If that’s okay.”
“Of course, it’s okay,” Becca says, laying a hand on my arm and squeezing. “Sorry we’re being assholes. We thought you would return triumphant and regale us with your sexcapades.”
She tilts her head and gives me a serious look. “Seriously though, if you’re going through something, we’re here for you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, flooded with gratitude. Maybe…I should tell them everything? That would be the healthy thing to do, right? To not keep my problems locked up inside. Before I can ask to speak with Becca and Kandice privately, Kandice speaks up.
“You know the best medicine for a breakup, right?” She wiggles her shoulders. “A girls-only road trip. We’re planning one this weekend to Atlantic City.”
“Come with us,” Becca says, squeezing my arm again. “It’ll be so fun.”
“Why can’t this be a co-ed trip?” complains the whistler, flexing his biceps. I can’t help but compare it to Bobby’s, which is triple in size. “You need someone big and strong to keep you little ladies safe.”
A barrage of erasers rains down on him, courtesy of Becca, Kandice and the other girl.