Boyfriend Material (Hawthorne University, #2)(31)

He buys a shirt, then tosses an arm around Poppy. “You ever come to Kappa parties?”

Julia tugs her away from Boone and gives him a mock-stern look. “Hands off the girl, Kappa.”

He grouses as we head outside.

A cold gust of wind blows in and Julia’s crew dashes for Taylor’s sedan. Before Julia goes, she grabs my hand.

“What?” I say, smiling like a fool.

Her whiskey eyes shine up at me. “Nothing. Just . . . it was good to see you.”

My hands itch to pull her to me. Stupid. “Yeah, same.”

All at once, her breasts are pressed against my jacket as she gives me a tight hug. My nose dips to her hair and she smells so fucking good.

She pulls back, a shy smile on her face. “Bye.”

Don’t go . . .

“Bye.”

I watch her as she climbs into the car. I watch until they pull out of the parking lot.

It’s not until I get home that I find an envelope in the pocket of my jacket. Inside is two hundred dollars with a note.

More to come.

Love, Julia

Maybe she’s been carrying it around. Waiting.

I don’t know. I type out a text.

I found ur cash. U don’t have 2 pay me back.

I delete it and fall back on my bed.

It wouldn’t do any good. She wants to pay me back.

Lucifer jumps on my chest, his claws digging into my flesh. I flinch then gently toss him over to his side of the bed.

“No snuggling, motherfucker.”

He blinks at me and curls up his tail.

A text comes in on my phone. Julia. I bolt up and snatch it off my nightstand to read.

I put money in ur pocket, Everest. I’ll give u more. Little at a time.

Whatever u want. U haven’t seen Connor?

Nope. I had fun tonight.

Same. U in bed?

I wonder if she’s alone. If she’s fucking Channing.

Yeah. I’m going to quit my job soon. U did that for me. Thank you.

I send another one before I think too hard about it. Wanna grab coffee sometime?

A few minutes pass before the next text comes in.

Yeah. Night.

I flop back down on the pillows and stare up at my ceiling fan. I imagine Julia and I having coffee, then me kissing her, then— No.

Sleep. That’s what I need.

And I try, I do, but my head keeps circling back.

Her laugh, her silliness, the way she felt in my arms.

Refocus.

Right, right.

Instead, I think about being a lawyer.

I picture Dad proud of me.

I picture Mom sane and whole.

I picture me doing Kurt proud.





12





Julia





My eyes dart from the red dress to the yellow one. Both give off different vibes. One is sexy, one innocent. I snatch up the demure yellow one, then put on low-heeled brown boots. I swish from side to side in the mirror.

Perfect for a day date with Channing. Our first real date.

Taylor opens my door and plops down on my bed. “Your guy is downstairs.”

A long exhale comes as nerves hit me. Channing and I have been hanging out as friends for a while, but last week he kissed me in the library. He asked for more from me. He asked if I’d give him a chance.

My gut twists. “He isn’t Parker,” I say mostly to myself as I rub on a pale pink lip gloss.

“Thank God,” Poppy muses from where she’s sitting on my bed. “He’s a freak.”

“I like Channing. He’s sweet. He walks me to class and takes me to lunch.” I color in my brows.

“Are you trying to convince yourself?” Poppy asks with a wry grin.

I wince. Maybe.

Taylor grunts. “I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, you’re fishing in the same asshole pond Parker came from. I’d just hate for you to forget that.”

I brush out my hair, then turn to take them in. Both look back at me with serious expressions. “Are you saying I can’t trust my instincts? I haven’t lost my grit, guys. I just want to have fun with a normal guy for once. He’s the only one interested.”

Taylor gives me a sly smile. “Not Eric?”

I chew my lips. Sure, I’ve thought about him, especially since the escape room. “We’re just friends.”

Taylor shrugs. “I’m just saying, Parker was the perfect guy—then he screwed around. It runs in Kappa blood.”

I stiffen. “You can’t paint all men with the same brush, plus Channing never talks about Parker. It’s apples and oranges. I won’t let myself be fooled again.”

Leaving them there, I smile at Channing as I come down the stairs. He looks handsome, his dark hair swept back, his face clean shaven. Only he’s wearing faded jeans and a Kappa shirt.

“Gorgeous,” he murmurs when I give him a hug.

I grab my purse. “So, what’s the surprise date? Where are we going?”

He winces. “I have to cancel. I would have texted but wanted to see you in person.”

My shoulders slump with disappointment. “What happened?”

He sighs. “I’ve got that Soc paper to do. I tried to finish last night, but it sucks and I need to get my grade up. But, to make it up to you, I brought you my old camera to use. You’ve been talking about snapping pics of the town, so I thought you might do that today instead.” He unzips the bag and shows me the camera. “It’s older than my new one but still in great shape.”