The Hazards of a One Night Stand (Hazards #2)(39)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

“All right. I won’t walk home alone again at night.” I knew he was right. You could never be too careful.

“I guess we’ll have to take a rain check on the complete access, huh?”

“I guess so considering I’m already in bed.”

“What are you wearing?”

“Pajamas.”

He laughed. “Because that’s descriptive.”

“I guess you’ll have to find out another time.”

“You’re mean.”

“Maybe a little. Good night.”

“Good night, pumpkin.”

Chapter Eighteen

A tentative knock on my door woke me up. I resisted the urge to roll over and go back to sleep. “Who is it?”

“It’s Jade. Did I wake you?”

“Kind of, but it’s fine. It’s open.”

The door opened slowly, and she walked in. “I’m really sorry. I thought you were a morning person.”

“I am. Usually.”

She stood there in the middle of the room.

“You can sit.” I gestured to Cara’s perfectly made up bed right across from mine. I sat up and ran a hand through my hair, hoping it wasn’t a complete mess.

“I guess I should have called first.”

“No. This is totally fine. I needed to get up for class soon anyway.” I moved out of the covers. “What’s going on?”

“I was hoping I could talk to you.”

“Of course. You can talk to me about anything.” A wave of nervousness hit me. Was Jade okay?

“Does it get better?” Her face fell a little.

“Does what get better? Pledging?”

“No. I mean college.”

“Freshman year is hard.” I wasn’t going to give her any BS about it being what you make of it. The bottom line is that freshman year of college is ridiculously hard. “It’s a huge transition.”

“I know. I’m used to knowing everyone. I’m not even sure if I have a single real friend here.”

“You have at least one.” I smiled.

“Thanks.”

“And you have more. You seem to have made friends in your pledge class.”

“Yeah, but what if they’re only my friends because they have to be. Isn’t that part of it?”

I shook my head. “They’re your friends. It does take a while for college to feel like home, but it will. You’ll see when you come back second semester. You’ll have missed it. It’s a strange feeling, but eventually this place will be home.”

“I hope so.” She clasped her hands together nervously.

“I know you have another friend too. How’s Diane?”

Jade smiled. “She’s good. Chris asked for her number last night. Now she’ll just freak out waiting for him to call.”

I laughed. “Isn’t that how it always goes?”

Jade blushed. “Not always.”

“What do you mean?”

“You and Colt… he’s the one chasing you.”

“Colt and I aren’t together.” At least Colt seemed fine with keeping things on the down low. Broadcasting our relationship would be a bad thing for both of us.

She looked at me skeptically. “I saw you two leaving together last night. I see the way he looks at you.”

I pulled my pillow onto my lap. “I’m not sure what’s going on with us, but I’d prefer if you didn’t tell anyone.”

“Okay. Do your roommates know?”

“No.” I looked away. I needed to tell them. I just didn’t know where to begin.

“Really? But you guys all seem so close.”

“We are.”

“Okay. Well, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks. And if I can do anything to help make this transition easier, just let me know.”

“I will.” She turned toward the door.

“Hey, let’s have lunch one day next week.”

“Oh, that would be great. Maybe Tuesday?”

“Sure. Twelve at the student center?”

“Perfect!” She smiled before walking out of the room. I lay back down even though I knew there was no chance I’d fall back to sleep.

***

All it took was one fight to find myself in the backseat of Juliet’s car on the way to the beach. Cara had some blowout with Aaron over him talking to an ex-girlfriend, and the weekend had changed from a romantic getaway to a girl’s weekend. Any reason to stay behind vanished, and I had a mix of emotions about the trip. I was looking forward to getting away for a long weekend. I needed space from school and Colt. I just wasn’t sure I was ready for the questioning I knew was coming.

“I hate him.” Cara sighed.

I turned away from my open window, forcing myself to stop looking at the beautiful southern oaks surrounding us. “What exactly happened?” This wasn’t the first time Cara had gotten angry at Aaron, but it was the first time she’d left town over it.

“I caught him talking to her again. He told me he wouldn’t, considering what happened this summer.” She sniffled. Aaron really was being an idiot. He’d told Cara about how his ex- girlfriend had chased him all summer long. What he hadn’t told her was that she’d kissed him. Cara found that out from a Facebook photo. Needless to say, she wasn’t his biggest fan at the moment. To make matters worse, when she went to confront him about it, he’d been on the phone with the ex.

“Maybe she called him.” Juliet slowed down as the car in front of us turned with no warning.

“Maybe, but he was laughing and grinning when I found him. What if it was more than a kiss? He said he pushed her away, but what if he didn’t? What if everything with us is a lie?”

“He loves you.” I don’t know where the words came from, but they spilled out. I knew that didn’t make up for anything, but I really couldn’t imagine Aaron cheating on her.

“I know, but what if he’s still in love with her?”

Juliet shook her head. “He’s not. He can’t be. Not with the way he acts with you.”

“I agree, but he totally deserves a freeze out. I get why you wanted to get away.” I hoped some time apart would help things blow over.

“I’m sorry for changing things up last minute.” Cara turned to Juliet. “How did Reed take getting left behind this weekend?”

Juliet answered honestly. “He wasn’t thrilled, but he thought some girl time was a good idea. He knows how much I love you guys.”