“Hey!” She giggles, squirming away from my pinch until I hold her close again. “You drove me just as insane, thank you very much.” She pauses, rubbing my chest again. “It’s so weird, seeing this room empty, seeing all your stuff packed up in boxes. I mean, sure, we pack up at the end of every semester, but when I come back in the fall… you won’t be here.”
She swallows, and I can feel the motion against my chest at the same time my stomach does a somersault. I pull her close and kiss her hair. “I know. It’s surreal. I think even though I knew college was only for four years, it’s always felt like it would never end. I just thought I had all this time, you know? And now…”
“Now you’re about to be a freaking Field Executive!” Cassie says, squeezing me.
I shake my head. “So crazy.”
“And I will have to figure out how to survive this place without you.” She sighs. “I met you so early on, my first day being a KKB sister. Remember? The slip and slide?”
“Like I could forget. Have you seen yourself in a bikini?”
“Have you seen you shirtless?” Cassie whistles. “Abs for days.”
“One day, I’m going to be hairy and have a dad bod. You still going to love me, then?”
“Probably even more,” she says, kissing my neck.
I smile, holding her close as we lie together with nowhere else to be. It was all I wanted tonight, after graduation — to be with Cassie. My aunt drove in for the ceremony, of course, but she’s got a hotel on the beach and a new boyfriend keeping her company for the evening. The rest of the weekend will be filled with family celebration.
But tonight, it’s just us.
“Remember the first time I climbed through that window?” Cassie asks, nodding to the window, which is open now, letting the breeze softly roll in the empty room.
“I remember every time.”
“You were always there for me,” she says, propping herself up on one elbow to look down at me. “Even when you were with Skyler, even when I was with Grayson. It’s crazy, isn’t it? How we were always more than friends, but never more than friends.”
“At least, not until we both pulled our heads out of our asses.”
“Mostly you, though.”
“Yes,” I agree with a laugh. “Mostly me.”
Cassie chews her lip, drawing circles on my chest again with her eyes focused there. “I’m scared, Adam.”
A painful zing hits me right in the middle of my chest, and I roll us over until I’m on top of Cassie, pressing a kiss to her lips. “Don’t be. You and I have been through much worse than a little distance.”
“What if you find some hot girl who’s super cool and funny at one of these other universities?”
“She’d never hold a candle to you.”
“I’m serious,” Cassie insists. “You’re a graduate now. You’re about to go out in the real world.”
“And you’ll be right behind me. By the end of this year, we’ll both be out there. Together,” I remind her. “Don’t you know by now that you’re the only girl for me?”
She smiles at that. “And you’re the only boy for me.”
“Man,” I say, furrowing my brows and puffing my chest.
Cassie pokes my stomach, making me let out all my air in an oof.
“Just promise me we won’t mess everything up over this,” she pleads, holding my gaze. “We have to communicate. We have to see each other as much as we can. And we have to have patience and understanding, even on the hard days.”
“I promise,” I whisper, and then I hold out my pinky, waiting until she wraps hers around mine before I kiss my thumb and press it to hers to seal the deal.
Even so, I can tell Cassie is still worried, and I can’t blame her. We’ve seen our friends struggle through long-distance relationships — some of them successful, others not. I’m not naïve enough to think we won’t have some rough patches to overcome.
But I’m also not stupid enough to ever let this girl go, no matter what we face.
I lean down and capture her lips with mine, hoping she can feel it in the way I kiss her, in the way I cradle her face in my hands, in the way my breaths don’t begin until hers end. We’re in sync. We always have been.
And I’d never do anything to mess that up.
The longer we kiss, the more my desire burns for her, and I slip myself between her legs, widening her thighs with my hips. She moans, arching off the bed and into the touch, her head falling back to allow me access as I kiss down her neck.
I’m not rough with her tonight. I don’t toss her around or pin her arms or slam inside her with a wicked grin and a mission to make her come as fast as I can. I don’t talk dirty or fuck her mouth or twist her up in one of the many positions we’ve discovered since we’ve been together.
No, tonight isn’t about fucking.
It’s about sealing the promise between us.
It’s about reminding her that I put those letters around her neck with intent and purpose.
And that I meant every word I said.
As I strip her down and kiss every inch of her body, I take my time, touching and tasting, licking and sucking. I commit every moan to my memory, every touch, every curve and slope that makes up who she is.
I look longingly and deep into her eyes when I slide inside her, and I hold her gaze as we move together, breathing in tandem, our slick chests pressed together like a seam. When she comes, it’s softly and sweetly, and she digs her nails into my back with the release. I’m right behind her, and the moment we both finish, tears flood Cassie’s eyes until I roll over and tuck her into me, wrapping myself all around her so she feels safe.
“We’re going to be okay,” I whisper in her ear, kissing the sensitive skin right below it. “We’re going to get through this.”
Cassie nods, holding me tighter and wiping away the tears that have slipped free.
“Me and you forever,” she whispers.
I nod, kissing her shoulder as my eyes softly close. “And even longer after that.”
“I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE you never told me,” I tell Bear through speakerphone, shaking my head as I apply a thin layer of gloss over my lips. “I mean, she’s my Big, for Christ’s sake. And you’re my best friend. Like… how the hell did you keep me in the dark?”
Bear chuckles. “To be fair, it was a very messy situation, one that we just figured out ourselves.”
“I know that feeling well,” I mumble.
“Exactly. Which is part of the reason you never saw anything. You were too busy tied up in your own shit. As you should be,” he adds.
I sigh, turning left and right to check my reflection in the mirror one last time. “To be fair, I did suspect something weird was going on when she showed up at your room last semester. Before she took me on a walk to apologize for everything that went down. You guys did this…” I scrunch my nose, waving my hand in the air even though Bear can’t see me through the phone. “Thing where you just stared at each other all weird and didn’t say a word.”
Bear laughs. “Yeah. We’ve done a lot of that.”
“It’s weird,” I admit. “You two. But at the same time…”
“It fits.”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “It really, really does.”
“We still have a lot to figure out.”
“Don’t we all.”
“I just wanted to make sure you were cool with it. Erin has been worried.”
I smile. “Look at you, handling shit on behalf of your lady. What a gentleman.”
“I’d do anything for her.”
“Okay, okay, stop before I gag,” I tease, but it’s more like stop before I cry because I’m so happy for two of my best friends. “I gotta go, Kip should be here any second.”
“Have fun tonight. And happy anniversary,” Bear says. “I still think you should have cleaned that motherfucker out in Vegas, but then again, we all do crazy shit for love.”
“You can say that again.”
&
nbsp; “Love you, Sky.”
“I love you more. And hey,” I say, pausing a moment. “I’m really proud of you, graduate.”
“Thanks,” he says. “Now, the scary part.”
“Dating Ex?”
“Job hunting.”
I shiver. “I’m not sure which is more terrifying.”
Bear snorts. “Alright, alright, go have fun. I’ll see you at the barbecue tomorrow. My little brother will murder me if he doesn’t get to see his favorite girl before he flies back to Pitt.”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
With a kiss, I end the call, and then I let myself primp for a couple minutes more before I grab my purse and phone and fly down the stairs. The Kappa Kappa Beta house is empty, thanks to the end of the semester, but since I’m president, I don’t have to clean out my room, since I’ll be occupying it again in the fall.
Perks of the job.
I skid to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, chest aching a bit at the sight of the common room empty, the sound of silence echoing through the house.
One more semester, and this place will be a part of my past.
One more semester, and I’ll be on to the next chapter of my life.
Before I can get too wrapped up in the feels, I smile, walking outside and locking the door behind me. I wait on the front porch swing, enjoying the warm yet pleasant evening.
One year ago, Kip and I were head to head at the finals table in Las Vegas. That tournament seems so long ago now, and the girl who sat at that table is almost unrecognizable to me now. I learned a lot in the time Kip and I spent playing games with each other’s heart, and since then, we’ve survived the passing of his father, a semester of long distance, literally being on opposite sides of the country, and this semester? The reality of being in a relationship while also still chasing our own dreams.
Other than Spring Break, we’ve barely been able to spend time together. Kip has been busy directing and producing his show, while I’ve been working on the casino boat, running the sorority, and keeping up with my classes in the midst of it all. Plus, knowing that Bear was graduating, I tried to spend as much time with him as I could.
It makes me kind of sad, really, because just five months ago when Kip told me he was going to be here for the spring and summer semester, all I could think about was how we’d have so much time together, and how great it would be to be at the same university.
And now, on the other side of it, I feel more distance between us than I did when he was in California.
I know this is part of being in a healthy relationship, that we’re both going to have to do our own thing from time to time. And I want him focused on his show. Still, I can’t deny that I’ve had nights I’ve been pretty butthurt that I have an evening free, but he doesn’t. And it seemed like any time he was free, I wasn’t.
We were constantly spinning around each other, rarely ever catching the other in the same place.
But nothing lasts forever, and now that we’ve gotten through the semester, we have the whole summer to be together. Sure, he’ll still be working on the show and I’ll have work, but it’ll be a small break from the sorority, and hopefully there will be plenty of time for beach days and date nights and us time.
Bear talked some sense into me, too, during family weekend, and I told Kip I needed a no-distractions date night. He was more than happy to oblige, and he booked us a fancy dinner reservation and scored us two tickets to a musical at the theatre downtown to celebrate our one-year anniversary.
Yes, we consider the night of the tournament our true anniversary date.
So here I am, all dolled up and ready for a very adult night out. It sounds like a date my parents would have, dinner and a show, but I love the way it feels to put on a sparkly black dress and do my hair and makeup to perfection.
I especially love the way I feel on Kip’s arm when I’m done up the way I am tonight.
I can already picture it, the way his eyes will pop open wide when he sees me, his jaw going slack. I can hear him whistling without him even being here yet, can feel his hands on my waist as he says something along the lines of hot damn, woman, I can’t believe you’re mine.
My cheeks heat at the thought, and I sigh, impatiently waiting for him to pull into the driveway.
Except he never does.
Ten minutes goes by, and then another ten, and then another, until it’s been a half hour since the time he told me he was picking me up. I try texting a few times with no response, and when I call, I get his voicemail.
That’s weird.
I know I shouldn’t panic, but it’s the first thing my traitorous body does, heart racing and chest tightening with thoughts of what could have gone wrong. Maybe he slipped and hit his head in the shower. Maybe he got in a car accident on the way over. Maybe he’s laid out on a stretcher right now and I’m sitting here all impatient when he’s fighting for his life.
The anxiety is too much to bear, so when it’s been almost forty-five minutes without a response, I get in my car and drive straight to his apartment on the outskirts of campus.
It’s the same building he was in last year when we first met, close to the beach and a little rundown but charming in its sixties glamour. It’s a nice fit for the Hollywood posters that always decorate his walls. I slam the car into park and jog up the stairs two at a time, knocking on his door for a full minute without an answer.
“Okay, he’s not here,” I say out loud to myself, heart racing. “That doesn’t mean anything. I didn’t see any car accidents on the way over. Where else could he be?”
Jumping back in my car, I continue my search by checking the route it would take him to drive to the sorority house from here. I double back and check another when that route comes up empty, and both times, the sorority house is still without a sign of him.
I try calling again, and when I get his voicemail, I can’t hide the worry in my voice. “Kip, please, it’s been an hour and a half now. Where are you?”
My throat is thick with emotion as I drive around aimlessly, and in a last measure of desperation, I decide to swing by the auditorium. Kip and his crew have secured an office there for the show, a sort of home base, and I hope like hell he just fell asleep while working or something.
When I get to the office, I fly through the door and find a surprised Dina sitting at the long table with one of the producers. They each have their laptops open in front of them while dub-step music plays softly on the speaker next to them.
“Hey, Sky,” Dina says, tilting her head. “You alright?”
“Is Kip here?” I ask, still out of breath from the chase. “We were supposed to go on a date tonight. He was supposed to pick me up almost two hours ago now and… and I can’t… he never showed, and I can’t find him and…”
I’m breathing so hard now I’m pretty sure I’m going to have a panic attack, and Dina jumps up out of her chair, the legs squeaking against the tile as she does.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, breathe,” she says, grabbing my arms and leveling her gaze with mine. “Kip is just fine. He’s with Natalia and Jameson filming a scene at my apartment.”
My next breath is a little slower than the last, and the next slower still, until the dizziness starts to clear, and I comprehend what Dina’s just said.
“He… what?”
Dina balks. “Shit. I’m sorry, Sky. I didn’t know he had any plans tonight. Earlier today we were going over tape, and the shower scene just didn’t come out right, so Kip wanted to refilm it. He called Natalia and Jameson right away and then he left, and I haven’t…” She swallows the more my worry turns to anger right before her. “I haven’t heard from any of them since.”
I swallow, trying to calm myself even though everything inside me wants to throw a brick through a window. “Take me there. Now.”
“Maybe we should call—”
“Now, Dina!”
“Yep, okay, let me get my keys,” she says, releasing my arms, and as soon as she’s
got her belongings, we’re back in my car and headed across campus.
They decided to use Dina’s apartment for the scene because it has the best lighting and, let’s be honest, she’s able to keep it the cleanest, being that she’s a girl. She also had no problem decorating her place the way Kip had his when we dated, and when I shove through the front door, it’s almost like walking back in time.
There are muffled voices in the back, and though Dina tries to stop me, I shrug her off and storm back, flinging the bedroom door open.
Across the room is the entryway to the bathroom, and Jameson — the guy Kip cast to play him — is standing in the doorframe. His gaze snaps to mine immediately, but before he can ask questions, I storm across the room to stand where he is.
And that’s when I find Natalia standing in the shower, naked.
And Kip is holding her hips.
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” I scream, and then before I can think better of it, before I can take a breath and be rational, I walk straight over to Kip and slap him hard across the face.
His head snaps with the force, his hand reaching up to hold his cheek as Natalia flies back and out of his grasp.
“Jesus, Skyler, what the fuck?!”
I point at her with a menacing glare. “Don’t you fucking talk to me, you sneaky bitch.”
She throws her hands up and arches a brow. “Whoa. What did I do?”
“You know exactly what you did.”
“Alright, alright,” Kip says, grabbing my arm and yanking me toward the door. “Take five, guys, I’ll be right back.”
“The hell you will,” I say to him, and then I give Natalia another glare until I’m ripped out of the bathroom.
Kip keeps his grip on my arm, yanking me past a confused Jameson and Dina until we’re all the way outside the apartment. He shuts the door behind us, and then turns on me with wild eyes. “What the hell is wrong with you, Skyler?”
“Me?” I laugh incredulously. “What is wrong with you?”
“I’m filming,” he deadpans. “Which you’ve made abundantly clear is hard for you to cope with, but I have a lot riding on this project, okay?”
Hazed: A New Adult College Romance (Palm South University Book 6) Page 24