drop – he was a gifted speaker who also taught at the state university, and he had a thriving YouTube following for his lecture series on relationships. He instantly had the rapt attention of all the female students, including Kate, who was also taking the class and was seated next to me.

After the lecture, we were broken off into seminar groups of twenty. Mine would be led by a graduate teaching assistant from the college, named Robert, who seemed easygoing and was handsome in a scruffy way. Yeah, we were supposed to call him by his first name. It wasn’t as weird as it would have been with someone older, at least. Kate was also in my group, and once we’d taken our seats, we took turns introducing ourselves. When it was her turn, I couldn’t help noticing that she was a bit flirtatious with Robert, who politely thanked her and moved on to me.

“Lacey Wilkes,” I announced quietly, studying my bootlaces. “From Pennsylvania.”

“That’s an interesting name. Is it short for anything?” Robert asked.

“No. Just Lacey.” What would it be short for?

Soon enough, he turned to the next student. When class let out, Kate tailed me from the room and cornered me in the hall while I checked my class schedule. “He isn’t hard to look at, is he?”

“Who?” I asked.

“Hello! Robert.”

“Oh. Um, I guess.”

“And he was really nice. You could tell he was actually interested in everyone’s answers.”

“He’s the TA. He’s supposed to be nice. And to pay attention to what his students say.”

“Well, some graduate teaching assistants can be really mean. Like we’ll think they’re full-fledged teachers if they’re super strict. And especially Robert…well, I guess I thought he’d be a little more reserved or something. After all, he’s one of the most sought-after guys on campus.”

“Really?” I asked, curious in spite of myself. “Why?”

She studied my face. “You really don’t know? I thought everyone did.”

“Is there a punch line to this?” I asked.

“He created an app that made a gazillion bucks when he was a college sophomore. He’s a campus legend.”

“Then why’s he a GTA at the academy? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sure it does. He’s working on his doctorate at the university, or something like that, some kind of distance program? And teaching is part of what they do. Even geniuses can still learn more stuff.”

She had a point. “So he’s not developing more apps?”

Kate shrugged. “Maybe? All I know is we lucked out having him for our TA. We could have had some pretentious guy with a chip on his shoulder or someone boring or someone who just doesn’t know his stuff. And if you’re into coding…”

I adjusted my backpack. “I have to run or I’ll be late for my next class. See you back at the room, or maybe at lunch.”

“Sure thing.” She paused. “You hear anything from him?”

I tried to hide my exasperation. “No. And I don’t expect to. That’s all in your head.”

Kate gave me a knowing glance. “If I had his jacket, I’d be wearing it night and day.”

I felt my ears burning. “I’ll consider renting it out. I could use the money.”

We went our separate ways, although it seemed like everything was conspiring to make me think about Jared, even if I’d convinced myself the concert and its aftermath had been a freak occurrence. I pushed the thoughts aside. My roommates’ fantasies about dating a celebrity might have been fun if I had nothing better to do, but I had to maintain a near-perfect grade average to keep my scholarship. In reality, I didn’t have the time, or the desire, for romance – I had enough work cut out for me just to make it through the year.

The thought slowed me. Romance? Who was I kidding, anyway? I wasn’t the kind of girl pop stars pursued. I was the girl next door, not terrible to look at if you stood on the non-birthmark side, but nothing special…whereas Jared…Jared was beyond gorgeous and a world-class talent to boot. Even in movies, that just didn’t happen, and entertaining ideas about it was setting myself up for epic failure.

Although I’d replayed that first moment at the concert a hundred times in my head, and there was no denying that something had passed between us. Even if backstage he’d been aloof, that didn’t erase what had happened before.

Which was nothing, I corrected. I must have reminded him of someone – he mistook me for her in a crowded room with spotlights blinding him. End of story.

I stumbled over a crack in the uneven pavement and dropped my books. “Crap,” I whispered, cursing my absentmindedness. I needed to buckle down and commit, or my stint at Ridley would be one semester.

When the last class of the day let out, I was ready to hide in my room – the only problem being that I had roommates who seemed hell-bent on making that impossible. My suspicions were confirmed when I pushed through the door and three heads swiveled toward me.

“There you are!” Sarah said, bubbly as ever. “We’re going out to celebrate tonight!”

“Celebrate what?” I asked, dreading the answer.

“First day of school, of course!”

“Count me out,” I said.

“No way. Even Serena agreed to go.”

Serena gave a half-smile. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Just pizza in town.”

“Did you get your work-study assignment?” Kate asked. “Mine’s in the academy library.”

I nodded. “I got the catering department.”

Sarah made a face. “Scrubbing dishes? That sucks.”

“I hope not,” I said. “What about you?”

“Academy administration.”

“Me too,” Serena said.

“I really don’t feel like going out,” I protested. “I’m sorry.”

“We can’t leave you to mope around here alone,” Kate said.

“Mope? Hardly,” I countered.

“We understand you’re down because he hasn’t called,” Sarah said, as though addressing a child. “You don’t need him. We’re here for you.”

“I’m not down, and I don’t expect him to call. He doesn’t even have my number.”

Serena waggled her eyebrows. “So you say. But you also say you don’t remember much.”

“I’m not hungry,” I said. My stomach growled, betraying

Вы читаете Eternal Beloved
Добавить отзыв
ВСЕ ОТЗЫВЫ О КНИГЕ В ИЗБРАННОЕ

0

Вы можете отметить интересные вам фрагменты текста, которые будут доступны по уникальной ссылке в адресной строке браузера.

Отметить Добавить цитату