Boyfriend Material (Hawthorne University, #2)(23)

“My parents never check my accounts.” Hopefully.

“Not funny, but I went back today and paid for the rest of the month. No wonder he didn’t have someone waiting for me. Because of you.”

She pauses, her throat moving as she swallows. “I hate that you think . . . that you believe . . .” She dips her head. “I don’t do drugs, Eric. I hardly even drink these days.”

Oh.

Then . . .

“I-I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to discuss the reasons why I owed him, but thank you, and I’ll pay you back like I was with him.”

“You don’t have to worry—”

A wry smile appears as she cuts me off. “I do. I’m a proud person and that money is yours. I’ll return it bit by bit, just not as much as I was giving him, if that’s okay?”

“Sure. Anything.”

“Congratulations, you’re now a loan shark.”

“No interest needed on your loan.”

“I pawned my mom’s ring—the one you returned—to help cover the cost this month.”

Remorse hits. “I should have told you—”

“No, no, don’t worry, please. I can’t complain. I’m okay and it was bound to happen. I’ve been giving him so much that I’m behind on everything.”

She moves around in the small space between us and her scent washes over me. She smells like lemons and sugar. Citrusy. Fresh.

She gazes up at me, her eyes searching mine. “What you did was . . . crazy.”

It was.

A song blares as the door opens, and one of the girls appears and sticks her head out. She’s the brunette from earlier and she’s wearing what I think is a bird outfit. “You’re up, honey.” She glances at me and smiles. “Hiya, handsome. I’m Marcia.”

“Hi.”

She shakes the feathers attached to her bottom. “We’ve got a four girl peacock show coming next. You wanna watch?”

“They tossed me out,” I say dryly.

Julia rolls her eyes and tries to push her back inside. “Stop flirting with him.”

Marcia winks at me, then nudges her head at Julia. “She’s my favorite. Mess her up and I’ll come after you with my pitchfork.”

I huff out a laugh as she prisses away.

Julia looks back at me, a sheepish expression on her face. “Sorry. Stripping isn’t all bad. I’ve made friends with some sweet girls.”

“I see.” I don’t really. I’m sure Marcia is fine, but Julia needs to get out of this environment.

She gives me a long look, then takes my hand and laces our fingers together.

Tingles race up my arm.

My body flares to sexual awareness.

And I’m sucked back to prep school.

Us in class, the sound of her voice, her lips against mine in the drama room, the gym, the yearbook room. Her cream as I fingered her. Her small cries when she came.

That afternoon in the Aston Martin when we put the top down and drove out to the lake—that was the best.

I took her panties off with my teeth. I kissed every inch of her. I sucked her clit until she screamed my name.

I recall her breathy gasps, the desperate way she kissed me when I broke through her innocence.

Stop.

Helping her isn’t about the connection we once shared.

It’s about me wanting to help, maybe repent for dumping her afterwards.

“I don’t know what to say except thank you. A million times. It was brave and really stupid . . .” She tries to hide it, but I see a glimmer of wetness in her eyes.

“Julia?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for prep school. You were a virgin, and I should have known you’d get hurt. I didn’t want attachments. It wasn’t me, I mean, it was, but I was different then. I had issues. I still do, but . . .” I’m babbling.

She blinks rapidly. “Okay.”

“Julia, you’re up,” says the guy with the beard who tossed me out. He’s opened the door and glares at me like I’m scum.

“You alright, Julia?” He checks her out from head to toe in a businesslike way. “This guy giving you trouble?”

“No. I’m fine, Eddie. He’s a . . . friend.” She looks back at me and gives me a little smile. “See you around.”

She slips through the door and leaves.

I stand there for several moments, feeling winded by her abrupt departure.

I circle back to the entrance and find Reece waiting outside as he thumbs his phone. My phone buzzes from him. Where u at?

He looks up and laughs. “Dude! Were you the guy they escorted out?”

“Me? No way.”

He smirks. “Good thing I videoed it. What the hell happened?”

I push out a laugh and consider explaining the Julia situation but decide to let it go. She’s a private person.

I feel relief. In telling her. Hoping it helps.





9





Julia





The buzz, buzz, buzz of the alarm stirs me from a nightmare where I raced down the alleys of Sparrow Lake trying to catch up with my mother. She laughed, then darted into the laundromat.

I rub my temple and sigh as I get out of the bed. I barely slept last night from worry about her not replying to my texts. My morbid mind goes to the worst-case scenario. My mother dead in a ditch. Overdosed.