“I think I’d rather wait outside.”
He nodded. “Okay, then. We’ll let you know when we’ve come to a decision.”
“Thank you,” I said, and I headed back out and walked the fifteen feet or so to the lobby that held a few wooden chairs.
The floor was a freshly waxed tile that made the area feel more cavernous. Had there been any noise, it certainly would’ve echoed. But since it was a weekend morning, the building was probably empty except for the people on the panel.
I found it difficult to sit, so I wandered the halls, trying to memorize the names of the alumni on the various plaques that adorned the walls. It gave my brain something to focus on besides my own fate. I’d been in this building countless times to attend classes over the course of the past two and a half years, but until now, I’d never bothered to notice much of anything inside it.
Now my senses took in everything: the draft when I walked close to the old, skinny windows, the difference in color from where one hallway had been repainted while the other remained a dull ivory that I figured used to be white, the classroom that had held one of my first courses at Lazarus.
I wondered if I was extra perceptive out of boredom or because I was scared this might be the last time I’d get to walk these halls.
But maybe we could appeal the decision if it didn’t go my way. Maybe my dad would hire a lawyer to fight back. Or maybe I could just be an adult and accept the consequences no matter how unfair they seemed.
I could only hope the university would let me leave without any disciplinary action staining my otherwise spotless record, considering I would need to apply to another school to finish out my degree, which would, now that I thought about it, take me another two years. I was sure my junior year’s credits wouldn’t be accepted toward my graduation requirements.
I was practically drowning in my own thoughts when the sound of voices caused me to come up for air. Male voices I didn’t recognize and… Was that Aamee? It sounded like they were arguing with her, which wasn’t surprising considering Aamee’s pleasant personality.
I followed the voices, turning corners until I came face-to-face with Aamee and two guys I didn’t recognize. At least at first. But a closer examination proved otherwise.
They definitely looked familiar and not in a good way. One was that guy from the restaurant, and the other I thought I recognized as the asshole Brody had pointed out as the one whose delivery had sparked his and Drew’s idea for Nite Bites.
“What are you doing here?” I crossed my arms and felt my jaw go rigid when I spoke.
I wondered why Aamee was with them, and the best idea I could come up with was that they’d wanted to come watch my fall from grace and Aamee had tried to stop them. But how would she have known they were coming here? “And why are you with them?” I asked Aamee, not able to drop the accusatory tone I’d used when I’d addressed the boys.
“I brought them here. They’re gonna tell the panel the truth about how this was all a ploy to embarrass you and take down Nite Bites. What room are they in?”
Apparently Aamee thought that had been a sufficient explanation because she didn’t elaborate further.
“What? That makes no sense. They’re the reason I’m here. Why would they do that?” I refused to ask the guys anything else because they never answered my first question, and they didn’t exactly have a reputation for being truthful anyway.
Aamee stared at me for a moment before I noticed the hint of a smirk on her face. “Honey, I’ve got dirt on everyone.”
D R E W
“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Brody asked for like the twentieth time since Xander had pulled into the parking lot.
“I feel like she’s gotta be done soon,” I said. “Did you hear back from Aamee yet?”
He’d texted her about a half hour after we’d seen her walk into the building with the two frat guys. If I thought I could’ve jumped out of the van and kicked the shit out of them without reinjuring myself, they would’ve never made it inside the entrance.
Of course, that would’ve defeated the purpose for why Aamee had brought them to begin with, but it was fun to fantasize about.
“Nah, not yet.”
Cody grabbed the handle of the van door to slide it open. “I’m going in.”
“You’re not going in,” I told him. “You don’t go to school here.”
“That’s exactly why it should be me who goes. No one knows who I am.”
“Yeah, but the last thing we need is for someone to accuse you of trespassing or something. The only reason the building is even open today is because of this meeting. You’ll look shady.”
He let go of the handle and sank back against the worn burgundy seat.
“You’re right,” Cody said. “It’s better to stay in a nearly empty parking lot in this unmarked white van for a few more hours, peeping out the curtains like a bunch of amateur criminals.”
Xander laughed from his spot on the floor between the two front seats. “Who you callin’ amateur?”
“That’s it. I’m gonna walk to get something to eat,” Toby said. “I’m starving.”
“We just had lunch three hours ago,” Aniyah told him.
“I need to eat every few hours to keep up my energy. I have the metabolism of an Olympian.”
Aniyah practically snorted. “Too bad you don’t have the body of one.”
Glaring harshly at her, Toby said sternly, “I’m trying to put on some muscle. That requires a strict diet of complex carbs and protein.”
Aniyah rolled her eyes, but I could tell she was only teasing Toby because…well, because he was so easy to tease. He’d recently taken to tracking his food intake with the rigidity of someone training for a Strongman competition.
“Here,” Carter said, reaching into the backpack he’d brought. He pulled out two Styrofoam containers and handed one to Toby. “Grilled chicken salad with almonds, oil, and vinegar.”
“Did you put salt and pepper on it?” Toby asked.
“Of course.” Carter dug through his bag some more for a few forks and handed one to Toby. “Anyone want some?” he asked, holding out the other forks. “I don’t need all this.”
“And I don’t need salmonella,” I said. “I’ll pass.”
Everyone else declined his offer too.
Carter shook his head and then dug into his meal, like he was both offended by our reluctance to eat it and glad he’d get to eat all of it.
“Suit yourselves,” he said, “but it was in a cooler.”
“Yeah, still not chancing it,” Brody said. “There’s no bathroom nearby, and no telling how much longer we’ll be here.”
A few seconds passed before Xander called out, “Here they come!”
We hadn’t told Sophia we were going to come over and wait for her, and though the gesture seemed considerate at the time we’d thought of it, I wondered now if it had been a good idea. If the verdict hadn’t gone her way, she probably wouldn’t want to see any of us, let alone all of us at once. She hadn’t even wanted a ride to the meeting, opting instead to walk so she had time to think on her way.
“Can you see her expression?” I asked because I was sitting on the opposite side of the van from the building.
“No, I can’t tell if either of them looks like they’re in a good mood,” Xander answered.
“Well, Aamee’s like the Mona Lisa,” I told him. “Her smile and her scowl look virtually the same.”
“Watch it, asshole,” Brody warned, making both of us laugh before returning to the reason we were all there. “They’re going to Aamee’s car now. They said something to the guys, and now the pricks are walking away.”
Xander turned the key in the ignition, and the van started up with a low growl and a shake. He took off with a screech.
“Are you gonna run them over?” I asked, panicked.
“No. Should I?” Xander answered. “I was just gonna drive over to Aamee’s car.”
A few s
econds later, we were next to Aamee and Sophia, who were getting ready to get into Aamee’s car.
They jumped, startled when Xander pulled up next to them and slammed on the brakes.
Cody opened the door and jumped out before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop. I did the same, minus the jumping part.
“What happened?” we all asked like we’d spent the last few hours rehearsing the question in unison.
“Jesus Christ!” Sophia said. “I thought I was about to get kidnapped. My nerves are shot today. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“We’re the ones about to have heart attacks,” Brody said. “I texted Aamee like an hour ago and didn’t hear back. How’d it go? Did they kick you out? Are you suspended? What happened? Did it help that the guys showed up and admitted what they did?”
Sophia leaned against Aamee’s car for a moment until Aamee reminded her that the vehicle was worth more than her life and she better not fuck up the finish.
I pulled Sophia into a hug and kissed her forehead. “What happened?” I asked softly.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
S O P H I A
It was finally over. All the fear and the headaches and the justifications for my actions. It felt good just for all of it to be done—to be with my friends, my boyfriend, and my brother. They’d shown up when I needed them the most, and I didn’t want to leave them in suspense any longer.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m still enrolled in school, and you guys can still run the business. I’m not sure how much the guys’ admission actually helped, because the panel still chose to deliberate for a while. But ultimately, they decided I shouldn’t be disciplined.”
Everyone looked relieved, most of all Brody, which surprised me. He came over and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me from Drew as he squeezed my body into his.
“Thank God” was all he said, and I heard it for what it was.
Out of all the shit he’d done to fuck things up in his own life, he’d never meant to fuck up mine. And he’d probably never have forgiven himself for it if he had.
“Let’s go celebrate,” he added.
I snuggled back into Drew. “Can we just celebrate at home?” I asked. “I’m kinda wiped out.”
“Of course,” Brody said. “House party!”
I cocked my head at him, raising an eyebrow. “Brody.”
“Fine. We’ll just order Marco’s and drink some beer.”
Smiling at my friends, I said, “That sounds perfect.”
A few minutes later we were back at Brody’s apartment, climbing the steps as we filled the stairway with laughter and pure relief. We could spend the night drinking and reminiscing about all the crazy shit that’d happened over the last semester and a half until we all got so tired we passed out wherever we lay.
We all waited at the top of the stairs behind Brody as he fished his keys out of his pocket and slid the one for his apartment into the door. This was going to be a great night.
Or maybe it was going to be weird as hell.
Brody practically jumped when he pushed the door open.
“Veronica?” he said, sounding like he’d seen some sort of apparition he wasn’t sure was real.
Brody hadn’t actually entered the apartment, so all of us craned our necks and squeezed around him to see the person he’d spoken to.
A beautiful, dark-haired woman sat elegantly on the couch, her back resting delicately on the throw pillow. The way she crossed and uncrossed her legs as she glared at my brother reminded me of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.
I hoped this woman wasn’t a psychopath.
“Brody,” she replied softly but with a sternness that highlighted just how intimidating she seemed.
I noticed she had an accent, but since she’d only spoken one word, I couldn’t place the origin.
Brody stared, unresponsive, his mouth open. “How did you…? What are you doing here?” he finally managed to choke out.
Her pink lip quirked at his question. “You seem surprised I got in. Have you forgotten so much about me already?” Veronica’s words sounded unnatural, even though she spoke in perfect English. Then her features hardened. “You left without even a goodbye.”
“Brody, who is this?” Aamee asked.
I could hear the insecurity in her voice, and for the first time, I felt a little sorry for her. Clearly he and this woman had a history. We just didn’t know what that history was.
“Veronica,” he answered absently.
“We know her name, you dingbat,” I said. “Who is she? How do you know her?”
Brody didn’t answer, so Veronica spoke for him.
“I’m his wife.”
Acknowledgments
First and foremost we have to thank Meredith Wild for always believing in our writing and inviting us to be part of the Waterhouse Team. We’re thankful that you thought of us for a rom-com series and that you trust in our humor.
To our swolemate, Scott, thanks for making the editing process smooth and for always trusting us to get a story where it needs to be. You’re always there to provide insight when we need it, and you’ve helped make our books the best they could be.
To Robyn, thank you for answering our million and one questions and for stepping in and taking control of things when we were floundering. We’re sorry we’re such disasters sometimes.
To the rest of the Waterhouse Press team, you simply kick ass. Thank you for everything you do to help us be as successful as we can. You’re an amazing group of people, and we’re lucky to have the honor of working with you.
To our Padded Roomers, you all are such a tremendous group of people. It’s tough to find people as crazy as we are, and we’ve truly found our tribe with you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us, such as posting teasers, sharing links, reading ARCs, writing reviews, and making us laugh. We don’t deserve you, but we’re damn glad to have you.
To our readers, there’s no way to accurately thank you for taking a chance on us and for your support. Thank you for letting us share our stories with you.
To Google, thank you for providing the means for us to research things including, but not limited to, fraternities, sororities, marketing degrees, alcoholic drinks, dean responsibilities, business class topics, college codes of conduct, Gen Z lingo, and popular clothing trends.
To our sons for inspiring the last names of our main characters. Our lack of originality strikes again.
To Elizabeth’s daughter for being a spitfire and inspiring the way in which she wrote Sophia’s character.
To our husbands, we know it’s not easy. Thanks for hanging in there. We honestly don’t deserve you.
To each other, for pushing one another forward when we stall. The ride hasn’t been easy, but it’s sure as hell been a lot of fun. On to the next.
Continue The Love Game Series With Book Three
Available November 24
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Also by Elizabeth Hayley
The Love Game:
Never Have You Ever
Truth or Dare You
Two Truths & a Lime
Ready or Not
Let’s Not & Say We Did
Tag, We’re It
Love Lessons:
Pieces of Perfect
Picking Up the Pieces
Perfectly Ever After
Sex Snob (A Love Lessons Novel)
Misadventures:
Misadventures with My Roommate
Misadventures with a Country Boy
Misadventures in a Threesome
Misadventures with a Twin
Misadventures with a Sexpert
Other Titles:
The One-Night Stand
For a full list of Elizabeth Hayley’s other titles,
visit them at
AuthorElizabethHayley.com
About Elizabeth Hayley
Elizabeth Hayley
is actually “Elizabeth” and “Hayley,” two friends who love reading romance novels to obsessive levels. This mutual love prompted them to put their English degrees to good use by penning their own. The product was Pieces of Perfect, their debut novel. They learned a ton about one another through the process, like how they clearly share a brain and have a persistent need to text each other constantly (much to their husbands’ chagrin).
They live with their husbands and kids in a Philadelphia suburb. Thankfully, their children are still too young to read their books.
For more information, please visit Elizabeth Hayley at:
AuthorElizabethHayley.com
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Truth or Dare You (The Love Game Book 2) Page 22