Page 126 of Collide
With the time ticking, I get dressed and creep toward the door. The floorboards creak under my weight, sending my heart shooting out of my chest. I watch Aiden to make sure he hasn’t been awakened by the ruckus, but his even breaths fill the room without disruption.
Easing open the door without the loud creaks waking the entire house is a difficult task, but I manage it. The house is devoid of light, so I pull out my phone flashlight as a guide. I relax as I reach for the front door.
“Where are you going?”
I jump. My phone slips from my grasp and slides across the floor to land by Eli’s feet. The flashlight illuminates his face.
I clap a hand over my erratic heart. “Holy shit! You scared me.”
“Sorry.” He holds my phone. “Why are you sneaking around?”
“I’m not. I was just going for…a walk.”
He raises a brow in suspicion. “At two in the morning? Why are you dressed like that?”
“This is how I always dress.”
“Summer, you’re wearing gloves and a beanie. In all black.”
I forgot I stole the toque from Aiden’s dresser. I should have put it on outside. “You mean my toque?”
His eyes narrow. “Don’t try to distract me with your Canadian words. Why are you sneaking out?”
“What about you? Is there a reason you’re awake right now?”
He rubs his neck. “This isn’t about me. Where’s Aiden?”
“Asleep.” When his suspicion doesn’t ebb, I sigh. “I have to do something, and I can’t tell Aiden, or he’ll try to fix it himself.”
“What do you have to do?”
“I can’t tell you either.”
“You’re not leaving the house in the middle of the night without telling anyone where you’re going.”
I stare at the time on my phone, seeing the texts from Amara and Sampson light my screen. “I swear I’ll tell you later. I really have to go.”
I turn to the door, but Eli slaps a palm over it. Just to try my luck, I pull on the handle, though it’s no use because the six-foot-four defenseman’s pinky is stronger than my entire body. I let go of the door, feeling like a toddler who’s barred from playing outside. Eli’s impatient look tells me he’s seconds away from waking Aiden to tell him his girlfriend is sneaking out in the dead of night.
“First, you have to promise not to tell Aiden.”
“I can’t do that,” he says.
Sometimes, his honesty is seriously annoying. The heart of gold under all that muscle makes it impossible for him to lie. I thought giving him my most doe-eyed look would make him bend his rules a little, but I should know better.
“Fine. My advisor is hooking up with Donny Rai, and he’s rigging acceptances with her help.”
A look of disbelief clouds his features. “Did you tell the dean?”
“The dean is on sabbatical. He’s gone until the end of the month, but we’re exposing the truth from Langston’s computer.”
“Let me guess, you’re sneaking into her office to do that?”
“Allegedly.”
Concern weighs heavily on his features. “You realize that’s breaking and entering, right? You could get expelled.”
“She’s put me through hell, Eli. Not only me but so many other great students. She never had any intention of letting us succeed.”
