Page 22 of The Cruelty of Thorns

I turned to see Kristin strolling up behind us. “Hello, Ron,” she greeted as she reached us and gave me a knowing smirk. I rolled my eyes and wished for an escape, but I was trapped between the two of them.

“A few of us are going out tonight,” Kristin said. “You’re both coming, right?”

Ron glanced at me and grinned. “Sure. Text me the details. I gotta get to class.”

When he took off Kristin slipped her arm through mine and started down the hall. “You can thank me over lunch.”

Thank her? I was mortified. Not only had Ron gotten me in trouble in class, but now my own roommate was trying to set me up. “Look, I don’t know about tonight…” I started to protest.

Kristin interrupted me. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. If we wait for you to act, we’ll never get anywhere. Besides, it’s obvious the man has the hots for you.”

“How is it obvious?”

Kristin smiled at me. “You really are naïve, aren’t you? Well, it’s a good thing you have me as your wingman. Or, woman.”

♦ ♦ ♦

There was no way out of it. I tried to fake a headache, but Kristin saw right through my ruse and even picked out what I was wearing; one of my shorter skirts and a coordinating fuzzy sweater with a scoop neck that I rarely wore.

“I don’t want to give him the wrong impression,” I insisted.

“And what would that be?” Kristin asked.

“You know, that I’m looking for something to happen.”

“But you are looking for something to happen. Come on, girl, live a little. You can’t take it with you.”

I plopped down on my bed with my head in my hands. “I don’t think I can do this.”

Kristin sat down beside me and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Sure you can. You just need to trust yourself. Now let’s do something with your hair.”

“What’s wrong with my hair?”

Kristin reached up and pulled back the hair by my face and started weaving it into a braid. “Hold this,” she told me while she went in search of a hair tie, then let the braid fall over the hair in the back. “You have nice eyes, and now you can see them.”

I stood and looked in the mirror on my closet door. I had to admit Kristin was right, but I felt exposed without my hair to hide behind.

The bar we were going to was called Melrose, the same one we’d visited last Friday night. Celine and Renee were already there, along with Jack and another guy Kristin introduced as Rocky. Ron showed up a few minutes after us, panting like he had run the whole way.

“I went by the dorm to get Toby but he was on his way over to Lisa’s room,” he said as he helped push two tables together and arrange chairs for everyone. He pulled his own chair up next to mine, which didn’t go unnoticed by Kristin, who gave me an I told you so grin. The server stopped by to take our orders, and I insisted on Coke. This time I wasn’t going to let Kristin talk me out of it.

“You don’t drink?” Ron asked.

I made a face. “It’s just not for me.”

“That’s probably smart. I developed a taste for beer when I was a kid. My uncle was always coming by and sneaking his half-empty cans to my brother and me.”

“Was your brother older than you?”

He nodded. “Two years. He joined the Air Force right out of high school, wanted to get into cyber security. He’s in Germany right now, seeing the world and living in a real life video game.”

I smiled at him. “That didn’t attract you?”

“Charlie was always the risk taker. Me…I guess you could say I’m more grounded. I’m actually thinking about teaching.”

My eyes widened; I wouldn’t have suspected that about him. I just assumed he was more of the jock type, not that the school had any sports teams. Apparently Ron Beechman had hidden depths.

He grinned at my reaction. “Hard to believe, right?”

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