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“I could call our landlord … see if the place is available for the summer too,” my friend suggests.
We planned to live together in an apartment off-campus next year. We’ve already signed the lease, securing the place, but it isn’t ours until August.
I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and consider her offer. “Even if it’s ready early, I can’t afford a two-bedroom without you.”
“I could stay here too,” she announces. “I wasn’t sure about going home anyway. I could get a job … see if there are any classes I could take …”
“Really?”
Her ideas fuel my hope.
“Let me talk to my parents and see what I can do,” she says.
I smile and take a long pull from the straw, slightly jealous that her parents are so supportive when mine … aren’t.
We brainstorm for the next twenty minutes on how to make this happen before parting ways. Suki heads to her next class, and I start walking across campus, taking pictures with my iPhone in preparation for the mural.
The entire time, I’m planning the scene in my head. Which buildings I want to include. How I want the sky to look. I end up at the edge of the university in front of the hockey arena. The parking lot is basically empty. The season is over, though it seems like the team is always practicing regardless.
I’m snapping shots with the lens facing the front entrance when the door opens and out walks Sam Anderson. He’s running a hand through his hair, and when he sees me taking a picture, he smirks.
“If you wanted a picture of me, all you had to do was ask.”
I shake my head at his ego. Confidence oozes from him in waves as he walks closer. We’re strangers, yet he’s talking to me like he’s known me forever.
My eyes narrow into a glare. “What’s your name again?”
His smirk widens into a cocky grin. “I’m sure you know what my name is.”
“But do you remember mine?” I ask, cocking my head.
He studies me for a moment, long enough for me to realize he has no idea who I am. It’s not surprising.
“You must’ve been drunker than I thought that night,” I comment dryly, turning away to snap another picture.
He steps closer, invading my space brazenly and towering over my small frame. The wind blows his scent over me, and I’m annoyed to realize he smells good, like soap and some type of cologne.
“Did we spend a night together?” His voice is rough, like gravel.
I drop my hand until my phone is hovering at my side and meet his stare. He knows what he’s doing. He’s aware of the effect he has on the opposite sex. I’m not immune to his charm and appeal, but at the same time, I’m not the type to be hypnotized by messy dirty-blond hair and a sexy smile.
My gaze is drawn to his eyes. Since I started painting, I notice colors in a way that most don’t. I study them to get them just right in my paintings. The lighting, the shading. His eyes are this mysterious shade of gray with flecks of blue in them. But they look empty. The whites surrounding them are streaked with red, like he’s hungover or he hasn’t slept much the past few days. Maybe both. For all the cocky facade he likes to portray, there’s something missing when you actually look deeper, beneath the beautiful exterior. He seems … sad. Or lost. With that realization, I lose the will to knock him down another notch.
“No, we didn’t spend the night together,” I say honestly. “We met, once. Briefly. It obviously wasn’t memorable.” To you or to me.
“Well, if you want to change that … I’m free later tonight.”
His lips are tilted into that crooked smirk again as he draws me in. But I don’t feel special, even though he is gorgeous. Because this boy standing before me is as empty as his proposition. And I’m worth way more than a roll in the sheets with a guy who’s just looking to get off.
I smile, and I can tell he thinks he has me. I’m sure that seductive little smirk gets him just about anything he wants most of the time.
“Hard pass.”
He scoffs out a laugh, appearing amused. “Well, if you change your mind … Emerson … I’m sure you know how to find me.”
I try to hide my surprise when he says my name, but by the look on his face, I do a poor job of it. He walks off smugly. I watch him go for a few steps before tucking my phone away.
“Don’t hold your breath,” I add in an elevated voice to get the last word in.
