“A year?” I blinked too many times. This wasn’t the first time I’d been made an offer like this, but it still came as a surprise. “Thank you. I’ll consider it.”
She set the envelope down and pushed it across her desk with purpose “I hope you do, Ms. Cantor. We don’t offer just any student the option to enroll in this program. You’ve proven your dedication and willingness to work hard. You’re certainly extremely intelligent. This program would be a good fit for you.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
What else was I supposed to say? I would consider it, but I already knew I wouldn’t be enrolling in the end. I had too much to do this summer, and I had to go home to San Diego. Staying in Los Angeles wasn’t an option for me this year. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“You’ve earned it.” She gave me another smile as she reached for a pen and uncapped it. “I’d better get to grading these papers. Good luck, Ms. Cantor.”
“Thank you.” God, I was starting to sound like my repeat button was jammed. I picked up my satchel and stood. “Have a good summer, Professor.”
“You too.” She pulled the first final off the stack, opening the front page and letting the pen hover above it. I got the hint. I’d been dismissed.
After hightailing it out of the building, I stepped into the warm air outside. It was a muggy, humid day that instantly made sweat form on my brow.
The midday sun shone brightly, but I had forgotten my sunglasses in my rush to make it out of the dorm on time this morning. All around me, students were laughing and talking in their groups. A few of my classmates tried to catch my attention, but I avoided them all.
The last thing I felt like doing right then was compare answers. I kept my eyes on the path and made my way to my dorm room.
Loud rap music pumped from inside when I got there, and I heard my roommate giggling as she tried to sing along. I smiled as I pushed open the door.
“Hey,” I said above the music. “How was your exam?”
Melody picked up her phone to turn down the volume of her speakers, her shoulders sagging. “I think I bombed it, but whatever. The only thing that matters is that it’s over now, right?”
“Right,” I said, but it was a lie. What mattered was whether we’d passed, not that we’d written the paper. But as she’d said, whatever.
She perked up when she spotted her suitcase lying open on the floor. “At least it’s summer. I’m so thankful the semester is over. I wouldn’t have survived even another week.”
“I don’t know. I like it here.” Prepping for finals may have left me sleep deprived, but school wasn’t too hard. “I would have been okay with staying. So long as it wasn’t for more finals.”
Melody snorted as she hopped off the bed and crossed our small room to her wardrobe. “You would say that. I, for one, am happy to be going home. What are your plans for the break? Staying and taking more classes?”
“No.” I was flattered by Professor Carstens’ offer, but I couldn’t take it. “I have to head back home, too. My dad is retiring. I need to be there for him.”
She balled a shirt up in her hands, giving me a sympathetic smile before tossing it in her bag. “My dad retired last year. Good luck with that. They become like grumpy bears for a while.”
I groaned. “I’m not looking forward to that part. My dad’s been a military man all his life. Retirement will not come naturally to him.”
“I hear you.” She took a step back from the cupboard, nodded as she narrowed her eyes, then went to zip up the suitcase. “Well, have a good summer.”
“Are you leaving already?” I frowned. There was a lot of stuff strewn all over her side of the room. Clothes littered the floor, sheets still covered her bed, and all her odds and ends remained on her dresser.
She followed my gaze, then shrugged as she extended the handle from her bag. “I’ll bring my brothers back here to help with everything else tomorrow. Right now, I just need to get home.”
I nodded dumbly, but I knew she lived only an hour away. Then again, I only had two hours to travel myself.
“I’ll see you in the fall, roomie.” Without a backward glance, she rolled her case to the door and gave me a wave as she walked out of it.
It swung shut behind her, clicking into place with a resounding thud.
Just like that, I was alone in our room for what felt like the first time all year. My dad would be waiting, but I needed to take a nap. And a shower. Once that was done, I’d make my way back to Coronado Island and the military base I called home.
Chapter 3
Lincoln
“You nervous?” Eden asked as he came to stand next to me in the eerily empty hallway of the administrative wing. He had his cap tucked under his arm and he looked smart in his whites.
I whistled between my teeth and gave him a firm slap on the butt. “Nope. I’m not nervous. There’s no reason to be.”
His light eyebrows swept up on his forehead. “We’re about to go in front of a panel of superior officers to be questioned about the mission we just went on. You know, the one where we went in without authorization?”
My jaw hardened. “Just remember that we did the right thing. We saved a lot of lives and lost zero. If they want to give me a rap over the knuckles for that, then so fucking be it.”
“It could be a lot worse than a
