Decisive Moments (In Time Series Book 2)

by Trinity Hanrahan

  I entered the building where the class was held and fought through the unwashed masses. My nose wrinkled yet again at the differing, overpowering smells—too much perfume and cologne from the over-zealous freshmen and the smell of hangovers and stale cigarettes from everyone else. Once again, I found myself saying a silent thank you to my boyfriend who had prepared me for the olfactory chaos so I wasn’t a rocking, overwhelmed mess in a corner somewhere.

  I found the class, and it was one of the standard college auditoriums I was getting used to. Unprepared for the sight of so many students, I missed a step and stumbled forward, almost falling down the stairs face first. If it hadn’t been for the strong arm wrapped around my waist, I’d have been an embarrassed, injured mess at the feet of the professor.

  As it was, I was an embarrassed, rattled mess with a strange male arm wrapped around me. I stiffened when it became apparent said arm wasn’t moving. Only one person got to do this, and he wasn’t in this class. I tapped the arm to get the owner’s attention. “Excuse me? Do you mind?”

  “Nah, sugar,” a deep masculine drawl said from behind my right shoulder. “I don’t mind at all.”

  If possible, I stiffened more when the guy tightened his hold on me and tried to pull me closer.

  “Why?” he asked low in my ear. “Do you?”

  I tried to wiggle a hand under his arm to work out from under it. “Yes, I do mind! Let me go.” I kept my voice down, just barely. I had enough going on without embarrassing myself over a misunderstanding.

  He chuckled but didn’t let go. Okay, so he totally knew what he was doing. I started to get worked up, and just when I was on the verge of causing bodily harm, either to myself or him, the professor spoke up.

  “Mr. Caldwell, do we have a problem here?” the professor asked from down at the podium, his voice thick with a Russian accent. I looked at the man speaking and saw he was glaring over my shoulder. I glanced back and then looked again. I thought I managed to hide the double take.

  Mr. Caldwell was hot.

  A part of me felt I was being unfaithful by how attractive I thought he was. But the rational side of my brain reminded me there wasn’t a red-blooded female on campus who wouldn’t think he was hot. The smirk and twinkle in his eyes told me he knew it too. He let me go and I stepped away, not taking my eyes from him.

  He was tall, though not as tall as Teagan. He had the body build of someone who played football, probably a running back or wide receiver. His light brown hair was cut so it was a bit shaggy, hanging down just shy of his hazel eyes and brushing his ears. The scruff covering his jaw was a nice contrast on his sun bronzed skin. His well-worn and washed out shirt and shorts showcased the muscles of his athletic body.

  He was gorgeous. If I hadn’t had Teagan to compare, he’d easily have been the best looking guy I’d ever seen. The grin on his face proved he had the ego to match it all too. All that aside, though, he didn’t hold a candle to my boyfriend.

  “What’s your name, gorgeous?”

  Shocked laughter escaped as I stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  He started to answer me but the professor informed us that class was starting. I scrambled around and found a seat in the general area of my usual preference and got myself situated. I was in the process of passing on the stack of papers containing the class syllabus and weekly exercises when I looked beside me and swallowed a groan of disbelief. At some point, Mr. Grabby had maneuvered himself into the empty seat beside mine. He smiled sweetly in response to my glare, took the papers from me, and passed them on. He leaned toward me.

  “You never thanked me, you know,” he said quietly.

  I shot him a bewildered look. “For what?”

  He gestured toward the steps with the papers in his hand. “I saved your life. You never thanked me.”

  I stared at him blankly. Was he serious? “You didn’t save my life. I was never in any danger of dying,” I said, completely ignoring the fact that the thought of death had flashed through my head at one point.

  He hummed a disbelieving sound as he studied me. Without warning, he straightened in his seat and said, “I’m Ryan. You are…?”

  I eyed him for a moment, all of Teagan’s warnings racing through my head. However, something told me avoiding him was an exercise in futility. I looked at his hand out for me to shake, and with a resigned sigh, I took it. “Aislinn. My name is Aislinn.”

  Something told me I’d just made a very, very bad decision.

  ***

  I trudged up the steps to Teagan and Connor’s townhouse in complete exhaustion. Between my first day of classes followed by five hours working in the student center, I was ready to drop. I knew college was going to be rough, but I had no idea it was going to be like this. And it was only my first full day. How was I going to last another seven semesters?

  I opened the front door and smiled. Seated directly in the middle of the entryway was a giant mound of furry canine. As soon as I stepped through the entrance and closed the door, Zver bounded to me in doggy glee. Even as tired as I was, his exuberant licks and wiggles had me laughing and giving him the rubs and pats he loved so much.

  “How was your first day?” Teagan asked from the top of the stairs. I looked up and my breath caught and my mouth went dry. He had obviously just gotten out of the shower, as his hair was still damp and he had a towel tossed over a shoulder.

  A naked shoulder.

  He had no shirt on and the sweat pants he wore rode low on his hips as he sauntered toward me. I could see every ridged muscle of his abs and gorgeous chest. While I stood there, taking in this visual feast, a thought occurred to me.

  “Connor’s not here, is he?” I wondered out loud.

  “Nope. Why?”

  I shrugged and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “Hmm, no reason in particular.” I grinned. “Any idea when he’ll be back?”

  His smile widened. “A while.” He laughed when a massive yawn forced its way out of what felt like my entire being. “But it doesn’t matter because we’re going upstairs and getting some sleep.”

  I pouted, but all the parts that had perked up at Teagan’s appearance gave way to exhaustion. I yawned again and nodded, although I was incredibly disappointed. We had been dating for almost five months and had barely hit second base. I was beginning to wonder if things were ever going to progress. My thoughts must have shown, because he leaned down and gave me a long kiss before pulling me into a hug.

  “It’s all about timing, Aislinn. It needs to be right, and there needs to be plenty of time. So, trust me. I’m watching and waiting too,” he said with a grin and a wink that had me blushing. Chuckling, he took my hand and started back up the stairs. I followed him, so tired I could barely put one foot in front of the other. I breathed a sigh of relief when we reached his room and he tugged me inside.

  I gave Teagan credit for one thing; he knew how to make me feel loved. After the whole Renee fiasco when I started coming and staying with him, he went out of his way to try to erase that memory. He rearranged his room, painted his walls, bought a new mattress and bed set. He said he wanted no reminders to taint the new memories we were creating. I’d defy anybody to tell me how I could not fall in love with that man all over again. They’d be wrong, because I totally just did.

  I had been so lost in my exhausted mental wanderings I hadn’t realized he’d somehow removed my shoes, stripped my shorts off, and was in the process of putting me into bed. I peered at him in confusion. “How?” I gestured to my pile of stuff by the dresser. “I didn’t…”

  “I’m just that good,” he said with a brow wiggle and a wink. I met that statement with a silent stare as he slipped into the bed next to me. “You’re about to fall out, sweetheart. It wasn’t that hard.”

  I tried to respond but yawned again instead. I decided sleep sounded like a much better option and curled in close to his warmth. I hummed in contentment as he wrapped his arms around me and then brushed a kiss against my forehead.

&nbs
p; “Goodnight, Aislinn. I love you.” I heard him whisper to me in the dark.

  “I love you too,” I murmured, and that was the last thing I remembered.

  Chapter Two

  I closed my textbook with a loud snap and checked the time on my cell phone. I groaned when I saw I had been studying for almost four hours and still had what felt like a mountain of homework left. Teagan had cautioned me about taking so many classes my first semester, but I had been stubborn. I wanted to get the basic courses out of the way as soon as possible. As I looked at the books and papers scattered around me, however, I wished I had listened.

  Not that I’d ever admit that to him, of course.

  I braced my elbows on my desk and dropped my head into my hands with a sigh. It was late and I was exhausted but nowhere near finished for the night. I glared at the mess surrounding me, praying it would all spontaneously combust and I wouldn’t have to deal with it any longer. As usual, it didn’t happen. Wishing rarely did when I needed it to. The idea of possibly using Zver eating my homework as an excuse crossed my mind, but was just as quickly discarded. No one would ever believe that one.

  I sat back in my seat and stretched my arms up and behind my head with a yawn. The rush of blood flowing back through my muscles almost made me dizzy. I let my head drop back to rest on the chair and closed my eyes for a moment as I waited for the sensation to pass. I knew part of the problem was a lack of food. The empty energy drink cans accumulated beside me didn’t help. It was probably time to go forage for some sort of sustenance as I hadn’t eaten since lunch. However, that required movement on my part. That wasn’t happening in the foreseeable future, and I figured I was all right with that.

  “So, this is where you hang out after eleven on a Tuesday night?”

  I jumped with a scream at the unexpected interruption and would have fallen backward in my chair had the person behind me not grabbed it and kept it upright. I leapt to my feet and quickly put space between us, nervous and suddenly very aware of the time. All of Teagan’s and Mom’s warnings flashed through my head, and the anxiety amped up even more.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  I was about to work myself up into a good old-fashioned panic attack when the voice registered. I forced myself to take a deep breath and focus on the guy standing next to my chair. He watched me with a concerned frown that was returned with a frown of my own.

  “All right,” he said as his frown deepened, “I’ll ask again, are you okay?”

  I gaped at him in disbelief but recovered quickly. “Seriously? Ryan, you scared the crap out of me. Why’d you sneak up like that?”

  “What? I—wait a second. I didn’t ‘sneak up’ on you, sweetheart,” he said. “You’re in the middle of the student center.”

  Okay, so he had a point. I wouldn’t let him know that, though. I suspected Mr. Grabby would be like Connor; you’d never live it down if you admitted he was right. I settled for putting my hands on my hips and glaring at him. My eyes narrowed when he began to smile. “What?”

  “Nothing.” He shrugged, then grinned. “Except it’s killing you I’m right.”

  I gave him a flat look before beginning to gather up my books and papers. He watched me in silence for a minute then picked up one of my texts and started flipping through it. At his low whistle I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. He gave me a tight grin.

  “Impressive,” he said in a low voice. “Calculus with analytic geometry isn’t a class most freshmen take.” He gave me a considering look. “Were you some sort of honors student or something?”

  I paused in my packing, trying to determine if he was mocking me or not. He met my stare. I took a moment to inspect his baggy shorts, t-shirt, and his blatant self-confidence and went with the mocking option. Leaning over, I snatched the math book from him and stuffed it into my book bag.

  “Hey! That was unnecessary.” He pointed at me with a frown. “You, Aislinn, have a bad attitude.”

  I snorted but kept my focus on the table, steadily gathering my things.

  “You’re ignoring me, aren’t you?” When I didn’t respond, he threw his hands up. “I can’t believe it. Sweetheart, no one ignores me.”

  I picked up the last of my things, gathered my trash, and headed toward the door. I had promised Teagan I wouldn’t stay out late, and he was going to be ticked when I called him. He didn’t work weeknights often, but when he did, he’d wait for me to call him in case I fell asleep or happened to be studying. I debated just telling him in the morning, but discarded that idea just as quickly. I couldn’t lie to him—it was a promise we’d made, and I’d keep it.

  “Hey, Aislinn. Wait up,” Ryan called out as I exited the center. I paused long enough to throw away my trash before continuing through the heavy double doors. The hot, humid night air wrapped itself around me as I hurried down the lit walkway. Behind me the doors slammed shut again and heavy footsteps followed. Before I could react, Ryan appeared beside me and slowed to match my pace.

  “Sugar, you’re an idiot,” he stated firmly.

  That pulled me up short and I stopped, shooting him a glare. He continued for several steps before he realized I wasn’t beside him anymore. He turned and looked at me, puzzled. “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?”

  “You’re an ass,” I blurted.

  He frowned at me. “How am I an ass?”

  My jaw dropped at the question. I gaped at him in shock for a long minute. It took that long for me to realize and accept that he was genuinely confused.

  “You called me an idiot.” I gestured to him and gave him a dirty look. “Why? Because I don’t pant after you like all the other girls on campus?”

  He looked at me for about half a second before he burst into laughter. I stared at him in consternation as he doubled over and braced his hands on his knees as he laughed. His amusement continued, and I collected my shredded pride and tried to skirt around him. He reached out and grabbed my arm and halted me.

  “No, Aislinn,” he said after he caught his breath. “You’re an idiot for walking the campus alone at this hour of the night.”

  I felt my face heat up in a flood of embarrassment.

  “Being the good southern boy my mama raised me to be,” he stopped and scowled at my snort before he continued, “I’ll escort you wherever you’re going.”

  I opened my mouth to protest but he held up a finger to stop me. “Uh-uh. You went to freshman orientation. Buddy system, remember? So, where you headed?”

  I twisted my arm out of his grasp with a huff and stood silently as I mentally sorted my options. Unfortunately, he was right. It wasn’t safe to wander around alone at night. But I didn’t know Ryan either. He was just some guy in my language class. My indecision must have shown.

  “I don’t have to take it when I can get it handed to me somewhere else, you know,” he said blandly.

  Conflicted, I scrunched my face, wanting to argue but unable to manage it in the face of logic. I went with a semi-adult barb. “You’re just full of yourself, huh?”

  “Meh.” He shrugged. “Just stating a fact. So again, where are you going?”

  He was so blasé it pulled a shocked bark of laughter from me. He responded with a wink then stood to the side and waved a hand. “After you.”

  I started walking again, shaking my head to hide a smile. As I passed him, he fell in beside me with an expectant look. A raised eyebrow had him chuckling. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and walked a little faster to the student lot my car was parked in. I all but jogged up to it and had my key already unlocking the door before Ryan caught up to me.

  “You are a feisty one, aren’t you?”

  I opened my door and tossed my things in and turned to face him. Looking up at him, I was once again reminded of how attractive he was. From the way his hazel eyes sparkled with amusement, the thought must have conveyed on my face. It just served to reinforce what Teagan had been saying for the past few months. I tossed him a scathing look and got in my car. He reached ou
t, blocking the door from closing, and leaned down toward me.

  “Night, sweetheart,” he said with a grin. “Just so you know, not following me around like the others doesn’t make you an idiot.” He moved a bit closer, close enough I could smell his crisp cologne. “It makes you intriguing.” He stood up and with a wink closed my door and gave my roof a tap before he backed away. He waved again before turning to walk across the lot.

  I sat behind the wheel in dazed shock as I wondered what in the hell had just happened.

  ***

  The shrill sound of my alarm woke me with a startled jolt. Reaching out, I felt around my nightstand, blindly searching for the offensive destroyer of sleep. When I couldn’t feel it, I poked my head out from the covers and squinted, trying to find the alarm clock. I knew each second spent looking for it was another moment rocketing me toward full wakefulness. Therefore, it was sheer desperation that had me throwing off my blanket and sitting up in bed.

  I glanced around my room, searching out the source of the ear bleeding sound. My eyes narrowed when I saw it sitting on my dresser. Even through the fog of sleep I knew with precise certainty it had been on my nightstand the night before. Scowling as I surveyed the distance from my bed to the dresser, I pushed my hair out of my face impatiently. That bit of movement chased the last wisp of sleep away and I glared at the happily ringing clock across the room. Someone was going to pay for this. They would pay dearly. One did not mess with my sleep and simply get away with it.

  I threw my legs over the side of the bed and sat slouched over, wallowing in my raging grump for a moment. The sound officially reached grating levels and I shoved myself to my feet before stalking over to my dresser. I snatched up the clock with a growl and slammed the button on the top. Of course, this did not make it stop. I stared at it in bemusement before the reality of the situation hit me.