Page 29 of The Sound of Us

“That makes no sense,” Noah said. “They’re both in the same program. They both must meet the same requirements. Their work will be different depending on their interests and abilities, but that’s minor. What’s going on? Is she—?”

“No. It’s nothing like that.”

I knew I should walk away. It wasn’t nice to eavesdrop, especially on a conversation that involved me, but I was frozen in place. This was my childhood nightmare all over again.

I don’t want her. We were supposed to get a boy.

Six weeks after I’d been adopted, on my way downstairs for a glass of water, I overheard Dad arguing with Mom in the kitchen. I was six years old and had already been through four foster homes. Traumatized by my last experience, I’d found an escape in the books my social worker had given me one Christmas.

We need to send her back.

She can’t even throw a ball.

I want a kid who has a chance of making it to the NBA and living my dream.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. Nick was behind me, an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry you had to hear that,” he said. “I’m not sure what’s going on with Dante.”

My face flamed at being caught out. “Noah asked me to come and sign some papers after the tour and I—”

“Skye?” Noah called out. “Come on in.”

Nick followed me into the office, his comforting hand still on my shoulder. “If you need someone to train the interns,” he said, letting them know we’d overheard the conversation, “I’m happy to help out.”

Dante’s gaze dropped to Nick’s hand and his jaw tightened. “It’s a timing issue. I’ll work it out.”

His explanation only partly made sense. He could have told Noah he could only manage one intern, but he’d specifically named me. I could only think of one reason—two, if I counted both the kiss and the drunk dial. Maybe he thought I had some kind of fangirl crush.

“If you can’t work it out, then Nick can help.” Noah met Dante’s blank expression with a smile. “Problem solved.”

“Dude.” Nick raised his fist and Dante gave him a bump on the way out, but didn’t even look in my direction.

Noah’s phone rang and he gestured for us to give him a minute. Alone in the hallway, I went to find Dante.

“Dante. Wait.” I caught up with him at the bottom of the stairs outside the station. “I overheard you with Noah. If this is about what happened at the frat house and I said something that made you uncomfortable… I’m really sorry. I’ve never had that much to drink, and I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t mean whatever I said. I’m not interested in you that way. You’re not my type. I want to keep this professional—”

He held up a hand, a pained expression on his face, and his words in the office became a mantra in my head that wouldn’t let go.

Not Skye. Not Skye. Not Skye.

I stumbled back, reaching blindly behind me for the door handle, the urge to flee almost overwhelming. It was my father all over again.

I don’t want her.

My hand found the handle and I yanked open the door. I looked back over my shoulder. Dante was gone.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN“Desire” by U2DANTE

“Hey, dude.” Nick slid into the seat beside me at the back of Professor Davidson’s microeconomics class on Tuesday afternoon. Nick and I had several classes together, and now that there was a possibility we’d be training interns together, he seemed to think we were best friends—saving me seats, waiting for me in the hallway, and even giving me the apple from his lunch.

I introduced him to Molly, who was sitting on my other side. We were in the same project group, and she’d been angling for a hookup since the first time we met.

“Did you get the written assignment done?” Nick pulled out his laptop. “I totally forgot about it until last night. I’m good with numbers but I can’t put a sentence together to save my life. I got a crap mark on the last one and if I don’t do well this time, I’m screwed.”

“If you need help, I’ve got people who can write it for you.” I handed him a business card for my side hustle—an essay-writing service that brought in more money than all my band gigs and scholarships put together. “It’s all online. Totally anonymous. Every essay is unique and run through plagiarism checkers and AI detectors before it’s released. I only hire people who get As, and my rates are the best on campus. You won’t get this kind of quality anywhere else.”

Nick took the card and frowned. “Seriously? You write essays for people? Is this even allowed?”

---