Page 80 of Wish You Were Mine
Maybe tomorrow morning I’d have a clearer head.
Maybe I could find the dang boundaries again—the ones I kept knocking over like a fool every time she was near.
But tonight?
Tonight I was letting her sleep.
23
LUCY
I blinkedawake to soft morning light filtering through a window that didn’t belong to me.
For a second, I didn’t move—just stared up at the ceiling, my brain slowly trying to piece together where I was and why everything smelled like clean laundry and faint cologne instead of the vanilla diffuser in my dorm.
Then I heard the low hum of a fridge and felt the weight of the throw blanket draped over me.
Right. Owen’s couch.
And then, the rest hit me all at once.
The dark walk. The man following me. The stairs. The fall. Owen opening the door like a real-life superhero. Wrapping me in his arms. Icing my leg. Standing way too close.
And me…falling asleep on his couch.
Oh gosh.
I sat up slowly, glancing around, and pushed a hand through my hair that I was ninety percent sure looked like a bird had nested in it overnight.
My stomach twisted. What must he think?
I wasn’t even supposed to be here. I hadn’t planned to stay.
And now I was just…casually waking up in my professor’s apartment like it was normal or something?
I reached for my phone and saw a string of missed texts from Nora.
Nora: Where are you??
Nora: Are you okay??
Nora: I’m trying not to freak out, but you said you’d be home by ten and it’s LITERALLY one a.m.
Nora: Checked your location. Looks like you’re somewhere near campus??
Nora: Soooo either you’re fine and had a long night with a hot guy or you’ve been kidnapped. Text me either way pls.
Oh no.
I winced and quickly typed a reply:
Me: So sorry. I’m fine. I fell asleep. I’ll explain when I get home…
I didn’t dare say more. The last thing I needed was some nosy teammate seeing Nora’s phone and realizing I’d spent the night at the apartment of a man whom I was only ever supposed to see at the front of my college chemistry classroom.
My eyes darted to the window. It was 7:05. Early enough that hopefully not too many students would be walking past yet.
I needed to get out of here before anyone saw me. Before this whole situation became something I couldn’t explain.
