by Unknown
Busted.
I smiled nervously and waved, slamming down my window quickly and drawing my curtains. I turned the air-conditioner back on and flopped face-first down on my bed.
Get a grip Evelyn, I chided myself, reluctantly sliding an arm beneath the bed and pulling out my assignment folder. Photographs of Stone spilled out over the floor, driving my heart rate up to dangerous levels. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d looked at these. I took a deep, fortifying breath and eased myself down to the floor. I lined them up chronologically, smiling sadly at some of the happier memories. I pushed aside some of the photos that didn’t fit the assignment and concentrated on the ones I’d taken secretly, comparing them to the style and theme of Billy’s Voyeur.
I sighed. As much as I loved the contrasts in colour and what they did to the feel of the pictures…Billy’s had been done in black and white…on film too. The photos of Stone looked more dramatic in black and white, so that cinched the deal. I paused as I glanced at my favourite picture from the Voyeur catalogue. The woman was looking right at the photographer…catching him in the act. Billy had placed it at the end of his work…and I felt the irresistible urge to do the same…with the photo I’d just taken.
I wasn’t going to develop it in black and white though…it wouldn’t do the picture justice. No. It needed to be in colour. The last picture in my piece was going to be eye catching, expressive and startling. I considered going into fancy techniques and digitally editing all my pictures…but decided that was changing the feel of the assignment way too much. Voyeur was raw and edgy…and completely unedited. I needed to do the same with mine.
My gaze went back to the multiple pictures already printed and ready to go. I couldn’t restrain my emotions as my eyes hungrily ate up every inch of Stone’s form. There he was wearing his aviators and ass-cupping jeans…There he was without a shirt…There he was with that small half smile…There, a rare picture of his laugh, when he thought no one was looking. I winced at a reminder of his fight with Jack, as I held up the picture I’d taken in the bathroom. I moaned softly as my eyes left his battered face and took in the strong muscles of his back and broad shoulders.
I marvelled at the concentration on his face whenever he played an instrument, I softened at the way he visibly relaxed around Briar and the others, I shivered at the leashed power in his movements as he worked out in the gym. I sighed regretfully as I looked down at him sleeping in my bed, his big feet poking off the end and his face relaxed – almost vulnerable.
I closed my eyes, hoping to escape the feelings – hoping to drive back the realisation that was crawling to the front of my mind with determination.
Memories stirred instead. Stone kissing me hot and desperate, Stone entering me strong but careful, Stone’s powerful arms holding me tight, his hands spreading possessively over my skin, his mouth making me scream…
Grant sliding the necklace around my throat and brushing his lips against the base of my neck.
I swallowed, my hands sliding up to trace the chain, my fingers shaking.
I’m completely in love with Grant Stone.
I groaned and tugged hard at my hair. Great job, Evelyn. You should have known you couldn’t pull off casual sex.
I’d gone and fallen in love with him…and our relationship was doomed. Even if I hadn’t run scared and pushed him away…we’d never have worked.
With a sigh, I headed to a dark room to develop the last lot of pictures on my film.
It was time to finish my assignment once and for all.
***
I worked all weekend, trying to ignore my emotions as I pieced together my assignment and wrote the accompanying ‘artist notes’. It was impossible though. There was no way I could separate my emotions from the work…when they were a part of the actual subject. Each photograph triggered a response, making my mood fluctuate repeatedly.
By Monday night, I finally had a finished piece. I flicked through the pages, feeling my throat close over and tears roll down my cheeks. It would be hard to hand this in – but I’d get it back. That would be even harder – keeping this reminder of Stone with me. It was bad enough he was here for another year…but these photos could last more than a lifetime.
I slid the criteria sheet into a sleave at the front of my assignment, but paused when I came to the release forms. My eyes closed with dread. I’d forgotten.
I needed Stone to agree. I needed his approval to use photographs of him.
Aw hell…
I grabbed my purse and my assignment, jogging out into the hall and down the stairs to the small shop in our building. I bought a jumbo packet of Smarties, filled with smaller boxes, and walked quickly up to Stone’s room, eager to get in and out while he was down at dinner.
I slipped inside – glad Stone was confident enough to leave his room unlocked – and placed the assignment gingerly on his bed, tossing the Smarties down beside it. I rifled through his desk draw for a sticky note pad and pen, and scribbled him a message, before sticking it to the front of my assignment:
Grant,
I hope you don’t mind that I chose you…
I need you to sign the release form. It’s due Wednesday.
- E.V.
P.S. Please cut down on the smokes and I’m sorry for throwing the Skittles at you.
I paused a moment to inhale the scent of him and wrap it around me like a blanket…before hurrying back to my room, where I grabbed a textbook and buried myself in study.
Thirty-Eight
I didn’t sleep that night. I anxiously waited for Stone to barge in and demand an explanation. Would he be flattered? Angry? Confused? Would he sign the damn form? I studied into the wee hours of the next morning, fully dressed and with the light on. I finally gave up just before dawn and went for a run, grabbing some breakfast on the way back to my room.
All day I tried to study – my eyes drooping from lack of sleep and my nerves on edge as I jumped at every small sound – still expecting Stone to barge in at any minute. He didn’t.
I nearly screamed when the door opened around dinner time…but it was only Candy. She sat down on my bed and put down the dinner trays she’d brought up.
“Oh, honey,” she said softly, looking me up and down, “Put the books away girl. You look like shit. Stop stressing.”
My stomach growled as she handed me my tray and I willingly shoved all my textbooks off the bed, letting them fall to the carpet with a dull thud. “Okay,” I agreed with a shrug, “Thanks for bringing me dinner.”
Candy looked from me to the books on the floor with a frown. “Evie? Are you alright?”
“Hungry,” I quickly answered around a mouthful of burger.
She laughed and moved to her own bed, balancing her tray on her lap as excitement suddenly replaced her concern. “Guess what?” she squealed.
“Ugh,” I grunted while I chewed.
“The Dean has let me hire out the big field at the rear of the university!”
I swallowed and frowned. “Why?”
Candy snorted, “For your birthday party on Friday silly!”
I gaped at her. “We need a big field?”
Candy nodded. “We’ve gone all out on the preparations, Evie. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll come and get you after your exam and we’ll get changed quickly before heading on down to the party.”
“It starts in the afternoon?” This was not making sense. I’d thought we’d just go to the bar or something. A small group of us.
“Yep!” Candy said with a bounce, “I can’t tell you any more. You just concentrate on your last two exams and I’ll organise everything.”
“But-” I swallowed my protest as Candy’s smile started to fade. “Okay,” I conceded with a sigh and a small smile. “Thank you.”
Candy’s grin returned full force and she leapt across the room to kiss my forehead. “I’ve gotta go make a phone call,” she told me quickly, heading for the door with her tray, “Get some sleep. I’ll see
you at breakfast tomorrow.”
Her eyes narrowed on me in silent demand and I rolled my eyes. “Sure,” I agreed, hoping she wouldn’t want to sit with the band.
She blinked, as though expecting me to argue, then quickly nodded and left the room. I silently finished my dinner, before taking her advice and going to bed.
***
I nervously looked around the dining hall as Candy and I made our way through the tables to line up. I couldn’t see Stone anywhere…but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t show at any minute. Candy nudged me forward, giving me a perplexed frown as we started to load up our trays.
“Are you still in study la-la land?” she asked.
I shook my head, tripping a little as I hastily moved forward again. A hard hand came down on my shoulder and I jumped, emitting a small, frightened squeal as I spun around nervously.
Alec raised an eyebrow. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
Candy laughed. “Don’t worry,” she confided in a loud whisper, “Miss Study-hard is on edge this morning.”
I blushed, but smiled at Briar, who was hanging on Alec’s arm. Her green eyes lit up. “I’ve missed you,” she said happily, “Come and sit with us.”
I warily glanced toward the band table, where Jamie, Fredi and Donny sat. Still no sign of Stone.
“Well…” I hesitated.
Briar rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm, taking the decision from me and leading me towards the table. “Relax,” she said with a sigh, “Stone won’t be eating with us. He’s running errands all day.”
My breath left my body in a rush of relief. “Okay,” I whispered, ordering myself not to give into curiosity and ask just what these ‘errands’ were.
Candy whacked my arm gently, “Is that why you’ve been all schitso?”
“Nooo,” I lied.
She snorted. “Whatever.”
We sat down at the table and I nervously smiled at the rest of the band, unsure of my welcome. To my surprise, Fredi smiled brightly at me and started asking me about my plans for Christmas. I gratefully responded, relieved she wasn’t mad at me or acting weird.
Scratch that. She was acting weird. She and Donny were sitting next to each other – smiling and laughing and talking quietly amongst themselves whenever there was a break in conversations. They weren’t holding hands or smooching…but the change in them was obvious. I smiled sadly. I was happy for them…but I couldn’t help but wish Stone and I could sort out our problems. I swallowed my jealousy and stood to leave. My second last exam was tomorrow, so I used it as an excuse to return to my room and ‘study’ – wallow in my self-pity more likely.
Candy and Briar protested, but I smiled at them reassuringly and promised to come down for dinner. Hopefully Stone would still be absent. I bit my lip and worried whether he’d signed the form. My assignment was due today. Had he handed it in for me? Did he even know where to take it?
I stopped dead when I walked into my room. I stared at the bed, trepidation keeping my body rooted to the spot as I stared at the papers on my bed.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to slowly walk forward. Stone’s familiar scent hung in the air – candy and hot, sexy man.
He’d come to my room…
I glanced down at my assignment and blinked.
He’d signed the form!
My mouth dropped open and tingles of anticipation, anxiety and – oddly enough – arousal swept over my body. I frowned, picking up the nearly full packet of smokes he’d left on my bed and looking around for a note.
There wasn’t one.
I sunk down on Candy’s bed and stared across the room at my assignment.
What the hell did this mean?
I sat there, staring at the folder for several long minutes, before eventually getting up with a sigh. Again, Stone had failed to communicate properly. Despair filled my heart as I picked up the assignment and left my room again. I strode quickly from the building and straight to my lecturer’s office, where I finally handed the stupid thing in.
***
Dinner that night was uneventful. Stone didn’t show and no one badgered me about going to talk to him. No one even mentioned him.
Stone was absent the next day as well, but I didn’t dare ask anyone about it. I watched Briar warily, half hoping that either she or Donny or Alec would tell me again how miserable Stone was without me – that I should let him talk to me…that I should go and talk to him. I scowled and stabbed my lasagne with my fork. Stone didn’t seem too eager to talk to me anymore.
Your fault – my conscience growled.
Was that why he wasn’t around? Was he avoiding me?
I sighed. Did he even want me anymore?
I frowned down at my dinner tray. Was I really contemplating this? Was I really thinking about making a proper go at this…at us?
Maybe I should go and find him? Help him with whatever he’s doing…talk to him.
NO! Another part of my mind shouted desperately, Stone wasn’t going to change. I’m not going to ch –
I paused mid-thought. I had changed. I’d done a whole lot of changing and growing this year – a good part of that because of Stone.
Maybe Stone could change? Logan had changed hadn’t he?
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t want Stone to change all that much…I just wanted him to talk to me a little more – be interested in my life…in me!
I sighed gloomily. I couldn’t change that. He was either interested in me – or not.
I pushed my plate away and stood with a scowl, ignoring everyone’s shocked faces.
What did it matter anyway? I thought with resignation as I turned and walked towards the stairs, Stone had obviously given up and lost all interest in me. He didn’t chase after women.
I trudged into my bedroom and leaned on my window sill, hoping to spy Stone outside at his table…
But he wasn’t there. My eyes went to his cigarettes and I debated having a smoke for a whole five minutes. I eventually decided against it – gorging on a large pack of Smarties I’d stashed in the mini-fridge instead. I sat on my bed and leant against the wall, popping Smartie after Smartie in my mouth as I watched the digital numbers on my alarm clock slowly get closer and closer to midnight. When it finally, finally hit, I slumped down in the sheets and closed my eyes.
“Happy Birthday, Evelyn,” I whispered into the dark, swiping away a lone tear, before rolling to my side and falling asleep.
Thirty-Nine
I tapped my pencil against the desk as I anxiously waited for the examiner to take my paper. Not because I was worried about the exam…but because I knew Candy was waiting back at our room to take me to the birthday party she’d thrown me. Now, you’d think I’d be excited about it…but Candy had been overexcited all week and that made all my instincts stand up and take notice. My party was going to be huge. Something was going to happen…
I could feel it.
I shrugged it off as I made my way out of the exam room. I was probably overreacting. Candy might have just found some embarrassing baby photos of me to display as a ‘turning adult’ ritual. Still, my steps were slow as I made my way back to my building and climbed the stairs.
I stopped when I reached the first floor, smiling when I saw Candy standing in the open doorway to our room – watching for me. She squealed and ran forward to grab my arm and drag me inside, pushing an outfit into my hands before shoving me toward the shower. “Hurry,” she cried, jumping up and down, “We’re on a tight schedule.”
I glanced at the clothes she’d given me and raised an eyebrow, “I need to dress up to go to the back field?”
“Evelyn!” she laughed, pushing me further into the bathroom, “You’ll want to look nice. Trust me.”
“Okay, okay,” I murmured with a smile, her enthusiasm rubbing off on me a little. I quickly showered and pulled on the sexy black underwear she’d given me. I stopped and sighed when I caught my reflection. Stone loved this particular ensemble – a black lace strapl
ess push up bra with a matching double-string G-string. It was simple…but sexy. I hastily pulled on the casual strapless purple dress Candy had given me - unwilling to mope about Stone when I should be having fun.
When I walked back into the room, Candy threw a pair of brown leather Roman sandals at me, while she shoved my essentials into a small, white clutch. I struggled with the shoes, cursing the straps as I wound them up my calves. I’d only just succeeded in the task, when Candy grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door.
“What about my hair?” I asked in alarm. Candy turned and eyed the messy bun I’d shoved it up into so it wouldn’t get wet in the shower. As she stared, some of the shorter bangs slowly fell out and flopped across my face.