Page 2 of His Promise

“Your payment never went through,” he said, turning back to me.

I lean against the counter. “No, that can’t be right.” I know things have been tough lately since my dad lost his job, but there’s no way my parents wouldn’t have taken care of my tuition, not without telling me at least. “It’s got to be a mistake.”

He shrugs. “You’ll need to talk to your bank.”

I look at my watch, then back to him. “The banks are closed already, it’s Saturday. What am I supposed to do tonight and the rest of the weekend? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“I can’t do anything about the room situation until you sort out the payment. I guess you’ll have to go to a hotel or something.” Leaning around me, he calls over my shoulder, “Next!”

Left with no choice, I trudge out of the office, dragging my large duffel behind me. After hauling it all the way across campus once, I’m already exhausted. Now I feel defeated, too. I was so excited to start this new adventure, but it is quickly turning into a nightmare.

Once outside, I rush to the quad and drop down on a bench before burying my face in my hands.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, I tell myself. I’m an adult now, and I have to act like it. I consider calling my parents, but they’re probably half-way home by now. Besides, what can they really do? The bank is closed. I have classes starting on Monday—I can’t just go back home. Despite my best efforts, tears form in my eyes, and the sob I’d been trying to hold back breaks through.

Suddenly, I see two sets of feet stop in front of mine, I raise my head, wiping tears from my cheeks.

I meet the intense, dark gaze of a man who appears to be a few years older than me. He’s tall and broad, dressed in a light blue shirt and dark jeans. Something about him screams authority. Next to him is Kirk, the guy who was supposed to be my RA, but I can’t help letting my gaze flit back to the stranger.

“Did they get your room sorted out?” Kirk asks, pulling my attention away from his companion.

“No, I have to wait until Monday when the bank opens,” I respond, trying to hide my sniffles.

“I’m Gage,” the stranger says, stepping forward. “Kirk told me what happened with your room.”

“I’m Maci,” I say automatically.

“The same thing happened to me during my freshman year,” Gage tells me. His eyes are a rich, chocolate brown that draw me in. He’s magnetic. I have to remind myself not to stare. “Your bank probably didn’t release the funds. Once you call them, it’ll be a quick fix.”

I appreciate that he’s trying to comfort me, but he hasn’t said anything I don’t already know. “What am I supposed to do until then? I have class on Monday. Where do I go now? I can’t bear bothering my parents about this, I don’t want to worry them; I need to figure this out on my own,” I sigh, not really expecting an answer.

“That’s actually why I’m here,” Kirk chimes in. “Gage owes me a favor.”

Gage glances at his friend before looking down back down at me with an unreadable look on his face. “Look … It can’t be permanent, but you can stay with me for a few days while you get this all sorted out.”

“Um, what?” I ask, confused.

After another of his long looks, he gestures for me to stand. “If you can be quiet, you can stay with me, but I’m on a really tight schedule, so we need to get going.”

“I don’t even know you!” I say, dumbfounded. Why would this stranger offer me a place to stay?

“Do you have a better option?” Gage challenges. Even though he’s trying to be nice, he’s also really cranky about it.

“Alright,” Kirk says, raising both hands in a calming motion. “I know you don’t know me, either, but I can vouch for Gage. He’s a grad student here and he has his own place off campus. He owes me a favor, and he’s been in your shoes before too. He gets it.”

When I hesitate again, and Gage huffs and adds, “It’s not ideal for me either. I have a ton of studying to do, Kirk’s right. I get it.” He gives me a long look. “Unless you can convince someone to let you crash in their dorm room, I’m your best option. Hotel room prices right now are insane and it’s not like you’d be able to find a room anyway, with all the families in town dropping off their kids.”

He’s right and I know it. Defeated, I nod and silently stand. Gage grabs my duffle bag and carries it for me. Kirk walks with us until we reach the dorms, then he veers off with a cheery wave. Gage grunts in his direction, clearly not pleased about the turn of events, even though he’s the one that offered in the first place.

He walks me to his car and tosses my duffle bag in the back before climbing behind the wheel without a word. I quickly hop into the passenger seat, worried he might leave without me if I hesitate too long. The drive to his apartment building takes less than five minutes, and Gage leads me up an exterior flight of stairs to a second-floor unit.

To my surprise, it’s a studio apartment, small, but clean. I suck in a breath at the sight of the lone queen-sized bed, but my tension eases when I see there’s also a couch against the opposite wall. No need to panic; with how annoyed he’s acting, it doesn’t seem I need to worry about him making any unwanted advances. Despite my initial reaction to his appearance, this guy is definitely not someone I’m looking to befriend, let alone get entangled with.

He drops my duffle in front of the couch and motions me into the apartment, then he sits at his desk, cracks open a book, and proceeds to ignore me. I should be grateful, but anger simmers as I watch him blatantly pretend I don’t exist.

Since Gage obviously has no intention of showing me around his apartment, I take a look around the small space.

I gasp at the sight of two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with all the books I have on my list to read this year and others I haven’t heard of, though they look interesting. There are not only business admin books that tell me we might have similar majors, but also biographies of important corporate leaders and productivity manuals.

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