The first time I saw Alyssa dance was in high school. Jenna, my stepmother, dragged my father and me to a performance of The Nutcracker at Christmas. I hadn’t been happy about it, but I love Jenna. As far as stepmothers go, she’s a keeper. A hell of a lot better than my biological mother, who took off when I was five years old, and I haven’t seen her since. Even though I try not to dwell on Candace, the fact that she couldn’t be bothered to stick around to see how I turned out bothers me on a profound level.
How could it not?
Two years after that, Dad married Jenna, and she’s been a permanent fixture in my life ever since. So, if she wanted me to experience a little culture? Fine, I would do it. Once the lights dimmed and the curtain was raised, I’d popped an earbud in and settled back in my seat, fully prepared to waste the next two hours of my life. Instead, Alyssa had danced her way across the stage. I’d pulled out the earbud and sat spellbound, unable to look away.
I’d let Jenna make the outing an annual tradition and didn’t bitch one damn time about going. Maybe in real life, I couldn’t stare at Alyssa the way I wanted to, but in a darkened theater, I could spend a couple of hours feeding the intense need I had for her. The craving that was deep inside. The one I continued to deny myself on a daily basis.
The best part, the most reassuring part, was that she would never be the wiser.
Chapter Four
Colton
September of sophomore year...
“Dude, you know I hate this place.” Beck glares at the wide-open space that surrounds him. “The silence creeps me out.”
A librarian sitting behind a long stretch of counter in the middle of the second-floor scowls at us before raising a finger to her lips. “Shhh!”
Beck stiffens beside me as his mouth sinks at the corners. “That woman just shushed me.”
I glance at the older lady, who is now full-on glaring at us. “Yup, that’s her job.”
“Why the hell did you bring me here?” His grumbled words are barely decipherable. “Is it payback for something I did to you? If so, I’m sorry. All right? Whatever it is, I apologize. And I’ll never do it again.” There’s a beat of silence. “Can we leave now?”
I roll my eyes—what a damn baby. “Just give me a few minutes. I need to check out a couple of books for an econ project, then we can head out.”
“Sounds seriously boring.”
He’s not wrong. Most of the time, economics is dry and tedious. And micro-econ makes me want to hurtle myself off a cliff. It’s a necessary evil for the finance degree I’m working toward.
As we wind our way through a few of the stacks, looking for the business section, Beck grinds to a halt. I stop and raise a brow. I swear to God, if he’s about to bitch and complain again, I’m going to punch him in the face.
Then he can bitch and complain about that.
Instead, his gaze remains focused on something in the distance. He’s like a bird dog who has spotted, well...a bird. Normally, Beck is a laidback kind of dude. Nothing riles him up, and he’s not one to take life too seriously. I’m pretty sure his father, Archibald, attempted to beat the nonchalance right out of him, but it didn’t work. Beck is who he is, and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
“If you want to get out of here,” I mutter impatiently, “then let’s move.”
“You know what? Go on without me. Baker is over there with Reinholtz and Collins. I’m gonna see what they’re up to.”
That’s when my gaze lands on a table full of our teammates. My guess is that they’re here, getting study hours in. By all the joking and laughing going on, it doesn’t look like that’s happening. And Baker...that guy needs all the study time he can get. “Whatever, dude. I’ll swing by after I find what I need.”
Beck saunters away with a wave of his hand. “Take your time.”
Honestly, I’ll probably get this wrapped up a lot faster without him in tow. Just like I suspected, it takes under five minutes to locate the books I’m hunting for. With a big breath, I blow off the dust covering them before pulling each one out and thumbing through the pages. One peek at the table of contents is enough to confirm this project will be every bit as excruciating as I originally suspected.
Fucking economics.
With the books in hand, I swing around, ready to find Beck. As I retrace my steps through the second floor of the library, I spot Alyssa sitting at a table buried in a corner of the business section. It’s not exactly the most popular place for obvious reasons, but I guess if you’re looking for a quiet area to work, this would be it. For a long moment, I take her in. Her long blond hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun, and she’s wearing a shirt that hangs off one shoulder. There are black glasses perched on her nose.