Page 25 of Say It Slowly

“Have you talked to her parents?” he asks carefully.

“Yup. And I’ve talked to Student Affairs. I’ve talked to campus security. I’ve even gone to the police…”

“Oh, shit,” Ash says, sitting up again. “If I were you, I’d keep that bit about the police to yourself. The Sacred Sons aren’t big fans of the police.”

No fucking kidding.

“Yeah, I figured that out the hard way. I inadvertently mentioned it yesterday, and the guysflippedout.”

Ash pushes out a breath, likedamn. “Well, look at the bright side, maybe now they won’t want to fuck with you.”

I laugh. “Yeah, I guess. Maybe some other girl will catch Roman’s attention, and he’ll leave me alone.”

Ash glances around at the people staring at us. “Uh, yeah, I know Roman pretty well, and all I can say is that he doesn’t give up easily.”

I laugh. “One can hope, though.”

And after the disgust I saw on his face yesterday, him leaving me alone now is more likely than not.

Out of my peripheral vision, I can see someone walking toward us. I turn my head to see Jackson. He’s about a hundred feet away, but he clearly sees Ash and me sitting together, and he looks less than pleased about it. Either someone told him, or he just happened to see us while he was walking across campus, which wouldn’t have been hard. We’re sitting in a spot where anyone passing by can see us. We’re not trying to hide.

I’m not looking at Ash, but he must see Jackson, too. “Hey,” Ash says to me. “You wanna get out of here?”

I turn back to face him, flashing a smile. “Fuck, yes.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lux

I can tellJackson is about to come over and say something to me, so I jump at Ash’s offer to leave.

Ash throws some cash on the table, and we book it in the opposite direction, dipping between a couple of buildings that lead to a parking lot. Ash’s car is parked in one of the spots up front, reserved for “faculty.”

He opens the car, and we slip inside. No sign of Jackson following us, thank God.

I toss my backpack into the back seat, and buckle my seatbelt. “Aren’t you afraid of getting caught parking in a faculty spot?”

He taps a parking pass that’s hanging from his rear view mirror. “I have my dad’s pass. He’s a professor in applied mathematics, but he’s in Spain right now at a conference.”

“Oh.” Math.Damn.“That’s cool.”

When he peels out of the parking lot, I’m thrown back against the seat. We’re not even halfway down the road when my phone starts blowing up.

It’s Roman.

Oooh, look who's interested again,all of a sudden.

I just glance down long enough to see his name, but I don’t read the messages, because why? Jackson obviously told him I’m with Ash, and I’m just going to guess that Roman has an issue with that.

Fuck him.

Despite his best efforts, Roman doesn’t own me.

As we drive down the road, Ash flips a switch that lowers the rooftop. Cold air whips around us, and my hair is down, so it’s flying everywhere. But Ilovethe cold wind in my face, stinging my cheeks. It makes me feel free.

We’re only on the road for about ten minutes when Ash pulls into a beach parking lot. Always the beach with these guys, I swear. We park, and he puts the ragtop back up, then locks the car, and leads me down to a little surfboard rental shop that’s right there on the sand.

Ash approaches the counter, which is the only opening to the shop. “Yo, Tommy! What’s up?”

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