Page 73 of Freshmeet
He ran his hand up and down my back, and my eyes grew heavy. His steady heartbeat grounded me, relaxing me enough to fall into a deep sleep.
I woke up the next morning alone.
There was a single moment of peace before my brain kicked on, reminding me of the moment the light flickered from Hailey’s eyes.
Throwing an arm out, my hand hit a piece of paper. I frowned and held it up to my face.
Sarah,
Sorry, I had to go. My uncle called me to the Thousand Hills site. I’ll call you later.
XO,
C
“Perfect,” I muttered, dropping the note on my nose.
My phone buzzed, and I groaned before answering. “Hello,” I said, my voice rough.
“Hey, Sarah. It’s Christie from College Bound. Sorry to be calling this early during the weekend.”
I cleared my throat and sat up. “Oh, no problem. What’s up?”
She sighed, and there was the shuffling of paper. “I have some bad news. Word about what happened last night has already spread, and parents are withdrawing their kids from the program. The foundation has decided to pull the plug on camp for the rest of the summer. The good news is you’ll receive the complete stipend you were promised.”
“Oh.”
Is it wrong to accept money for nothing? Doesn’t feel right.
“We’d love to have you back next summer if you’re available.”
“Thank you. I will definitely be in touch.”
Christie happily sighed, “Awesome. Now onto call one hundred and five of this morning.”
“Good luck.” I chuckled.
“Thanks. Have a great weekend.”
I went through my morning routine at a glacial pace, enjoying the silence of the empty apartment. Everyone was gone, giving me rare alone time. I‘d just finished cleaning up from Mona’s culinary adventure when Kat walked in.
“Morning, princess,” Kat said as she dropped her bag on the counter.
“You worked at the hardware store this morning?” I popped some acetaminophen and chugged down a glass of water.
Kat dug through her bag and sighed. “Yeah. I opened.”
“That sucks.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you doing?”
I looked around the kitchen and then back at her. “What do you mean?”
“This—” She flipped her wrist between us. “We don’t talk.”
I thought about it, and she was right. I could count the number of times Kat and I had hung out alone on one hand. Nodding, I picked up my phone and read Jamie’s text. Connor had apparently left just after sunrise, hungover and withouteating. I’d asked Jamie to send me Connor’s Greek Corner order so I could take him lunch.
“Sorry,” Kat said reluctantly, and I dropped my phone in my purse. “This asshole hit my van in the parking lot at work, and I left my wallet somewhere. Sorry for being a bitch.”
