Page 4 of Off Limits

I’m so keyed up already that it doesn’t take long—or much work on the part of my imagination—for me to finish. Grabbing a few tissues off my nightstand, I clean myself up before rolling over, satisfied enough to go back to sleep.

But yeah, I’m going to have to let Cal be my wingman soon. Fantasizing about his sister is far too close to the line.

CHAPTER THREE

Ellie

I trudge back to campus a little after ten, my flip-flops once again slapping against the soles of my feet, only this time there are birds chirping and the sun is shining. Too brightly, if you ask me. I don’t have my sunglasses because I left my room late enough in the evening that I didn’t need them last night. My mouth feels sticky and my neck sore from lying weird on the couch all night. And I still haven’t gotten a text from Autumn, so I have no idea what I’m walking home to, but I no longer care. It’s been well over twelve hours, so if she’s not done yet with her sex sacrifice to the moon or whatever, that’s just too damn bad, because I’m coming home.

Cal woke me up by barking my name, tossing me a protein bar, and telling me to get out. Such a sweet and caring big brother. What would I do without him?

I mean, I guess at least he didn’t wake me up whenever he finally got home. I vaguely heard him tromping through the house at one point, but I didn’t open my eyes to figure out what time it was, so I really have no idea.

I didn’t see Simon before I left, so I didn’t get to tell him thanks for letting me watch TV with him and crash on the couch. And I don’t have his number, so I can’t text him, and given Cal’s aversion to me being involved in his life at all, I doubt he’d pass the message on for me. Or appreciate me showing up again out of the blue. But that might be too bad for him. Simon was more than nice to me and didn’t seem to object to my presence at all.

Silent Simon. He might not’ve been thrilled to find me on his doorstep at midnight, but it’s hard to tell what he thought about me being there considering how little he speaks. He didn’t kick me out, anyway. At the very least that merits a thank you. Possibly baked goods of some kind, though I’ll have to go with something store-bought since I have no desire to try my hand at baking in the dorm kitchen.

With a sigh, I turn into the courtyard in front of the sophomore dorms, swipe my card to unlock the door, and head up the two flights of stairs to my room. Do I knock on my own suite door to let Autumn know I’m coming in? Or just walk in?

Fuck it. I live here. I have a right to be here. I’m just walking in, and she can deal with the consequences.

But when I’m face-to-face with our actual door, I give a courtesy knock as I’m unlocking the deadbolt. I just can’t help myself. Politeness and propriety have been drilled into me since I was a baby.

Pushing open the door, I pull my key from the lock and brace myself for … I’m not sure what. Nothing seems out of the ordinary, though. Autumn’s collection of contraband candles sits on the low table where she keeps them. The TV’s off in our shared sitting area, the throw blanket neatly folded over the back of our threadbare couch, the pillows fluffed in the corners.

Huh. This isn’t quite what I was expecting to walk in on. If anything, our shared area is cleaner than normal—not exactly the scene of leftover debauchery and chaos I’d kind of anticipated.

Autumn’s door opens, and she comes out, rubbing her eyes and yawning, her lavender hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun, one hand clutching the neck of her silky green robe covered in a subtle floral motif, though the sash at her waist is tied, so her hand isn’t the only thing keeping it closed. But knowing Autumn, she doesn’t have anything on underneath, and she’s keeping the neck closed so as to avoid flashing me. Not thatsheactually cares about preserving her modesty. Our first morning here she walked out in nothing but a thong and started making tea like it was the most normal thing in the world. Only when she saw me turning bright red, my mouth gaping open, did she widen her eyes and say, “Clothes in the common area?” At my nod, she went into her room and reappeared in the robe, and she’s been careful not to flash me like that again.

And that’s how we established our first and only rule of living together. So far.

In a moment, we’ll have another one. No more all night long rituals or orgies or whatever she got up to in here last night.

“Hey, Ellie,” she mumbles sleepily, then a sly smile takes over as she looks me up and down. “I take it you had some fun last night?”

My eyes almost bug out of my head. “I did not. I stayed in the library until it closed and ended up butting in on my brother’s roommate and falling asleep on their couch.”

Her brow furrows. “Why’d you do that?”

“You never texted me it was okay to come home!” My hands are clenched at my side to avoid waving them around like a crazy person, but I can’t keep the anger and frustration out of my voice. We’ve been friends for a year, but we’re brand new to living together. This isn’t a very auspicious start for the year, though, I have to say. And the next time she asks to get the room all to herself, I’m insisting on midnight as an end time, regardless of what she’s doing.

She blinks at me a few times, a frown pulling at her mouth. “Yes, I did.”

“No.” I cross my arms and shake my head, one hip cocking to the side. “You didn’t.”

Turning, she disappears into her room and reappears with her phone in hand.

Her eyes widen and the hand holding her robe closed goes to her face as she looks up at me, her troubled expression morphing into one of surprised horror. “Ellie! I’m so sorry! I typed out the text, but it didn’t send! Look!” She thrusts the phone toward my face, showing me the text in question.

All done! Thanks so much for letting me have the room for a few hours.

She pulls the phone back to her. “I swear I hit send. I was tired, though, and I guess my thumb missed the button or something.” She raises her eyes to mine, pleading and pained. “I’m so sorry, Ellie. You have to believe me. I’d never keep you out all night like that on purpose. You’re so sweet to wait for so long. I’m surprised you didn’t just come home when the library closed. I wouldn’t have blamed you one bit.”

The knot of anger in my chest starts to loosen, her genuine apology for the mistake going a long way to making me feel better. I shrug, moving to the couch and plopping down, setting my tote bag next to me. I send her a pointed look. “Next time, that’s what I’ll be doing. It’s cool if you need privacy for your rituals or whatever, but there will be definite end times scheduled in the future.”

“That’s totally fair. I should’ve told you I’d be done by midnight anyway.” She sits next to me, adjusting her robe to cover her legs, her hand holding the neck closed again. “I’m really, really sorry, Ellie. I promise this will never happen again. Let me take you to breakfast to make up for it. We can go to that bakery with the cinnamon rolls and the coffee. My treat.”

The last of my frustration over last night slips away, appeased by offers of carbs and caffeine. “Deal.”

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