Page 14 of Collide
“Talk to your father!”
By the time I make it to class, there’s only one empty seat at the top. The walk across campus and now to the top of the sweltering lecture hall, has me huffing and puffing. It’s the four hours of sleep and the empty tea box that has my mood a lot hotter than usual. I’m barely hanging on as we get to our break with two hours still to go. The pencil in my hand is moments from snapping when someone pulls out the chair beside me.
“Hey, Summer,” Kian Ishida chirps, sitting way too close.
I glance at him. “Hi.”
“You’re gloomy for someone with that name.”
“Haven’t heard that one before.” I turn away, but Kian’s gaze continues to warm my face.
“Can we talk?”
I look up at his sincere expression and tone down my irritation. “Sure.”
“So, I heard about your assignment. If Aiden doesn’t help with your project he’ll be on probation, and considering you study sports you should know how much it would suck for the captain to be gone.”
I raise a brow. That guy seriously won’t quit. First the dorm, now sending his friends to me? “What are you, his lackey?”
“Teammate, best friend. Either or.” He smiles, not even slightly offended. “Seriously, I know he’s an idiot but if you could reconsider.”
“You just called him an idiot. Why would I want him on my project?”
“Cause he’s your only shot to get into the program.” How the hell does he know that? My plan to create an alternate proposal failed. I knew it when Shannon Lee came fuming out of Langston’s office after trying to get her to take back the ultimatum. I tossed my alternate proposal in the trash and got the hell out of there. “How do I know that? I have my ways, Sunshine.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“Sorry,” he apologizes. “Look, you’re super smart and you can totally figure out something else, but we need this. The team is ready to help in any way.”
I perk up. “The whole team?”
“Yes, as long as you let Aiden in. He’s a good guy and you'll find that out soon enough.”
“Are we talking about the same guy? Because the one I met insulted my career and told me he wasn’t my research experiment.”
He winces. “It sounds a lot worse when you explain it like that, but his intentions are pure.”
“You can save that for his best man speech.”
“He’s a genuine guy,” he argues.
“And let me guess. He saves cats from burning buildings in his spare time?”
His lips twitch. “Look, he might be intense at first but he's the nicest dude you’ll ever know. Coach is pissed at him for the parties, but those weren't his fault. Since he’s been captain he makes sure we stay within our limits. The only reason he loosened up is because the guys were having a hard time at home, and he didn’t want them to lose a place where they could forget about all that.”
He must see my softening gaze because he continues. “He would kill me for telling anyone this, but he’s the same guy who got a job freshman year to pay my fees when my dad died. I would’ve lost my spot here when I left for Japan, but he told me I got financial aid.”
The murmur of the class stops, and our heads turn to Professor Chung who resumes the lecture.
“Think about it?”
My eyes move to Kian again, and I find myself nodding. My focus is shot, so I spend the rest of the lecture finishing my proposal. Just ten minutes after the lecture I’m pulling into the hockey house driveway.
As I climb the steps, Eli Westbrook walks out the front door. The only reason I know his name, despite my stance to not know any college athletes, is because at one of the parties last year he made sure everyone got home safe. That included him personally driving home at least thirty students. One of them was a very drunk Amara who swears she fell in love with him that night.
“Hey, is Aiden here?” I ask.
Eli’s head tilts with curiosity when he sees me. “He should be. Come in.” He unlocks the door. “Upstairs, first door on the left.”
