Page 129 of Study Buddies

“Depends on each participant’s circumstances, actually. But Sara and I already have a place to stay. There’s a rich alumnus who was in foster care for a while when he was a child, and he purchased a house and lets six to eight former foster kids live there for free each year.”

“Oh wow, that’s great,” I said. “So maybe you will have a bunch of hot guys as roommates. And your sister, of course.”

Mia shrugged, but a smile played across her face. “I guess it’s possible? I have no idea, actually.”

“But haven’t you met your future roommates through this program you’re doing?” Hailey asked.

“No, Sara and I are the only ones who are going to live there after the program ends. Then we’ll meet the others, I guess.”

“Well, I hope you and Sara get along great with your new roommates, whether they’re hot guys or not,” Hailey said. Now that she was living out her own personal happily ever after, she seemed interested in everyone else’s love lives.

And Mia definitely deserved happiness, too. “I’ll drink to that.” I raised my cup.

Mia smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”

34

TORI

We calledoff the study group on Thursday night because a big storm was moving in. Plus, although we didn’t tell this to Roger and Amanda, the four of us could study back at the house just as well as we could at the library. Hell, we might even get into less trouble back there.

Jayden and I both had classes that ended early, so he gave me a ride. Normally, we met at a bench under a lovely oak tree by his parking lot, but it was already drizzling, and the wind had picked up big time. So when I got there, he was already in his car, and he pulled up as soon as he spotted me.

“And how are you doing this lovely evening?” Jayden grinned as I slid into the passenger seat.

I laughed. “It really is almost as dark as night,” I said, glancing at the sky. “Even though it’s barely past three.”

“I’m fine. But no pictures today? No making me hunt for you around campus?” I added, giving him a pointed look.

He raised his eyebrows like I’d offended him. “Aw, but that’s half the fun.”

He did that sometimes—he’d send me a selfie of himself in front of some little-known building, and I had to figure out where it was and meet him there. It was kind of fun, usually.

“You know I love to explore,” he continued, pulling the car onto the main road, “but today’s probably a good day to head straight home.”

“I agree.” I leaned back against the seat, letting myself relax for the first time all day. “I was really looking forward to the drive home. And to spending some time with you.”

Jayden glanced over at me, his expression softening. “Same.”

But despite the comfort of being with him, I couldn’t shake the gnawing worry in the back of my mind. “I’m a little nervous about Kyle and Lucas, though. The weather looks like it’s going to get really bad. Lucas has a class that doesn’t even start until four, and I don’t know where Kyle is.”

Jayden nodded grimly. “They’ll be fine. But yeah, this is no joke.”

We’d barely driven outside of town when the rain started to come down in sheets. Jayden clicked his wipers to the highest speed and turned on the high beams.

“So I have to focus on driving through this hurricane,” he said, gripping the wheel tighter, “but you can talk to me. It’s been a while since we caught up.”

“It really has.” I watched the water stream down the windshield. “We’ve all been so busy. Classes. Assignments. I went on that road trip with Lucas. Then I had that date with Kyle. I just… I missed you.”

Jayden smiled, glancing sideways. “I missed you too.”

“How about when we get home, we go lay out on the hammock?” I offered, only half-joking.

He let out a sharp laugh. “Only if we want to end up in Oz.”

His smile faded as he squinted through the downpour. “God, I can barely see.”

Visibility was horrible. I didn’t know how he stayed on the road. I didn’t even know how the storm had come up so fast—or how he managed to keep driving through it.

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