Page 33 of Learning Curve

Finn

Through the darkness, Ace guides us across campus, past Newton and the dean’s office in Stewart until we reach Nash Mathematics Center. There isn’t much I know about this mysterious mission to what Ace claims will be the coolest part of our college experience, but I know if it’s much farther of a walk, I’m giving up and going back to the dorm.

“Ace, I swear if you’re taking me into some back alley to watch a bunch of dudes do a séance-style circle jerk or some shit, I’m going to kill you,” Blake remarks, mirroring my thoughts impressively.

“Ditto on the killing.”

“Cool your jets, boys,” Ace chides, waving a hand before circling around to the back of Nash like a cat burglar in a cartoon. His stride is animated, and his toes are pointed as he high-steps.

In the center of the massive building, a set of cement steps that lead to nothing but more darkness makes Ace’s eyes light up and his posture straighten. “This is it. We’re here.”

“We’re here?” Blake asks, annoyed now. “What the fuck is going on?”

I still don’t know why Blake Boden is with us, seeing as the guy just won one of the biggest games of the year and could be celebrating with his teammates while co-eds hang on his every word, but I’m not mad about it. So far, he’s doing a hell of a job of asking all the questions I’d be forced to ask on my own if he weren’t here. Plus, I thought the star quarterback of a Division I school with the kind of national attention that he has would be stuck-up or cockier than shit. Instead, he’s kind of wholesome. Confident, sure, but not at all the kind of fuckface I like to beat the shit out of.

“Relax, Boden,” Ace says, an ironic command, given our current location in front of a creepy, abandoned stairwell. “We’ll go down in a sec. Just waiting on Julia to get here.”

“Pretty sure Blake’s primary concern isn’t the holdup,” I reply with a howl. “We want to know what the fuck’s down there in your little mystery cave.”

Before Ace can answer, Julia’s hurried voice cuts through the stillness around us. “Hi, hi! Sorry we’re late! We had a little wardrobe emergency, and—” She stops talking as the three of us turn to look at her, a small smile forming at the corner of her mouth before she continues. “Right. You dudes don’t care about clothes.”

Scottie is at her side, clinging to her elbow and avoiding any and all eye contact with me. She’s no longer in the cheerleader uniform I saw her in this afternoon, sporting cutoff jean shorts, white Pumas, and a white T-shirt that reads “Feeling very IDGAF-ish” in black letters instead, and her hair is in a ponytail that cascades down her back. She’s fresh-faced, like she showered off the heavy makeup from today’s game that all the cheerleaders wear, and even more gorgeous than I’d let myself remember.

Yep. I’m still a fucking idiot.

“Scottie came along so I wouldn’t be the only girl at the sausage fest,” Julia remarks, making me smile despite myself. She’s so carefree and funny—almost the way I would expect Scottie to be, given her silver spoon background. I’m always surprised by Scottie’s grit.

But when Julia looks down the stairwell we’re currently standing at the top of, her grin vanishes. “Um, is it just me, or is this giving murder-y vibes?”

“Wait…that’s where we’re going?” Scottie questions.

“Just relax, ladies,” Ace attempts to reassure as he wraps an arm around Julia’s shoulders. “It’s all good in the hood.”

“If I end up in a sex-trafficking ring because of you, Coach is going to be so pissed,” Blake teases, making Ace roll his eyes.

“Come on. We have to get down there before we’re late.” Ace unwraps his arm from Julia’s shoulder and takes her hand in his instead, walking down the stairs with her at the front of the group.

“I swear, Ace, if I didn’t know where you were taking us, there’s no way I’d be following along,” Julia comments. “This is creepy as fuck.”

“At least you know where you’re going,” Blake says through a barking laugh as he follows Ace and Julia down the steps. “Ace hasn’t told us shit.”

“Yeah,” Scottie mutters. “I’m also in the dark.”

“It’s going to be worth it, Scottie! I promise!” Julia calls over her shoulder, but Scottie is still standing at the top of the stairs. I’m beside her, of course, but the power of her indifference is like a force field between us. A force field of my own making, I realize, but fuck if I don’t hate the way it feels.

“You okay?” I ask, my feet refusing to leave her behind.

She nods, her eyes flicking to mine twice before actually settling there. She digs her top teeth into her bottom lip, hesitation to engage with me within her every movement. “I guess you could say I’m not a big fan of the dark.”

Before I can even process what I’m doing, I reach for her hand, gently wrapping it in my grasp. Startled, her big doe eyes meet mine, and the urge to pull her to my chest and kiss her hits me like a fucking truck.

“Finn?” she asks, my name a whisper on her perfect lips. I’m confusing her; I know. Because I’m confusing me too.

“I got you,” I soothe through a pointedly averted gaze. Focusing on anything but Scottie’s eyes or her lips or the way she smells like vanilla and honey is the only thing I can do to keep my sanity right now.

She grips my hand tighter as I guide us down the stairs, and I hate that it makes a small smile form at the corner of my lips. I feel two times taller when she acts like she trusts that I can keep her safe.

Ace knocks on the closed door at the bottom of the stairs four times, a unique staccato making it obvious that it’s some kind of code. It swings open five seconds later, a big, burly-looking guy with a fully shaven head peeking his upper body out.

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