Page 34 of Cruel Steps

“Sorta. You got that wide-eyed look about you. Not that I can say much.” He leaned closer, the mint of his toothpaste filling the space. “I’m a freshman.” He mocked-gasped. “I know, I know, but I look so worldly!”

I laughed, liking his easy demeanor. “Your secret’s safe with me,” I whispered, smiling and feeling more at ease. “I’m a junior transfer, but I grew up close to here, so I unfortunately know some of these people.”

“Ah! Bad memories?” he asked, studying my face.

“Something like that.” My smile turned flat, and my heart rate sped up. Being at the same college as Hope, it would take a while to stop my anxiety. The professor walked in before we could talk more, and the class started. I took notes, ignoring the nagging feeling that had cropped up.

“Everyone, turn to the person next to you and introduce yourself. I’ll give you five minutes.”

I looked to my right, but the girl was already talking with her friend, so I glanced back to my left, not expecting him to be waiting for me.

“Hi, I’m Cody, a Biology major, and I enjoy long walks on the beach.”

“Hi, Cody. It’s too bad we live sixteen hours from the closest beach, then. It must be really sad to never get to do the thing you enjoy so much.”

“Thank you…” He lifted his brow, and I realized I hadn’t given him my name.

“Emerson.”

“Thank you, Emerson. It feels so nice to be understood.”

I giggled, not able to stop myself. There was just something about Cody that made me feel at ease. “You’re welcome, Cody.”

He smiled, a dimple popping out. “What’s your major and interest? I know it won’t be as cool as mine, but I’m willing to listen to how you believe yours is superior.”

Grinning, I relaxed in my seat. “I’m an English major and I enjoy sniffing old books.”

He scrunched up his nose. “Yep. Not as cool.”

“Hey! Books are amazing.” I playfully slapped his arm.

“Fine. I’ll let you believe that.” He laughed again. “In all seriousness, I’ve never actually been to the beach.” He cringed. “I play football, but won’t start this year because Adler is a freaking beast. I’m just excited to learn as much as I can from him before he’s drafted.”

I swallowed at the mention of Holden’s name, my body tingling in response to his name like a trigger word. “Oh? Is he good? Newbie, remember.”

“I don’t want to sound like a stalker, but he’s why I came here. I’m a bit of a fanboy. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went first overall this year.”

I lifted my eyebrows. “Wow. That’s something.”

Cody grinned, and I could tell how much he admired Holden. I wondered what he’d think if he knew Holden was my step-brother.

“So, what do you do when you’re not sniffing old books?”

“Um, well, I dance.”

“Yeah?” He smiled, scanning me, and I shifted at the feel of his gaze. Why did people need to look at my body when they learned that? His eyes landed on my neck and my cheeks heated at the reminder of Holden’s mark.

“Yep. At Brighton, I had a dance crew. It was fun.” My words were clipped and his brows creased at them. Thankfully, before I had to say more, the professor interrupted and brought everyone’s attention back to her.

“Now that you know your neighbor, say hello to your partner. There will be no trading. Don’t even try to ask. You’re a college student now, so deal with it. I don’t care if your sorority sister dated their cousin and broke up with them to date someone in a rival sorority.” The professor rolled her eyes, the look odd on someone so distinguished. “So, put your hands down and know that you will be given an F for the first project if you ask me to make an exception. Turn your books to page twenty and scan the available ethnographic assignments to select from. It’s on a first-come basis, so if you dally, you lose out. You have until the end of the period to tell my TA. Welcome to Anthropology.” The professor smiled before walking out the door at the bottom of the lecture hall.

Books flew open, and people gathered to find their topic. After reading the syllabus a few weeks ago, I’d looked at the topics, so I already knew which one I wanted. The fact it helped in my quest to take down Hope was purely coincidental.

“I want to do ‘How do rumors on social media affect group dynamics,’” I rushed out.

“I’m guessing you have a group in mind?”

I nodded. He searched my eyes, and I tried to show my seriousness without appearing too desperate.

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