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“SO, RAMSAY, YOU GOT plans this weekend?”
Pushing her glasses up her nose, Penny arches an eyebrow as her lab partner, Anthony Preston, leans against the counter and stares at her with a strange vibe. The guy is cute... blondish hair, brown eyes, fairly intelligent.
Unfortunately, he’s Greek.
Not that she has an opinion either way about the fraternities or sororities at NMU. Her roommate Jeannette has bugged her for a month to pledge one of the houses. Jeannette ended up a candidate at Alpha Gamma Delta, the largest sorority on campus, and next semester, she’ll be moving into the house.
And I’ll get a new roommate. Lucky me.
After everything that happened to her in high school, Penny isn’t ready to put herself out there. The hazing rituals sororities go through are intense, and emotionally, she’s still vulnerable.
“Ramsay?”
Pressing her lips together, she gives Anthony a sidelong glance before returning to their experiment. She drops a miniscule amount of the reactive agent onto a slide and hands it to him without a word.
He places a cover on the top and sighs. “Come on, I’m trying to break the ice here. You’ve shut me down all semester. We’re friends, right? When was the last time you went out?”
That’s true. Her social skills haven’t improved much upon leaving Rochester Hills. She doesn’t have many friends, and she certainly can’t trust guys. Anthony is nice enough. They talk here and there and eat lunch together on lab days. But she isn’t ready to put her heart out there for anyone.
The fact that she’s still hung up on a six-foot-two swimmer doesn’t have anything to do with it.
Denial is an ugly thing.
She gazes into the microscope. “Are you keeping tabs on me?”
He chuckles. “Hell, yes.”
Dimples pop in his cheeks, and prickles dance across her neck. Visions of Luke leaning over her infiltrate her memory.
The day he almost kissed me.
She pinches the rubber stopper of the dropper. As the acidic solution spills onto the table and sizzles, she curses under her breath.
Anthony grabs a roll of paper towels and wipes up the mess. “I get it. You’re shy. I’m just talking dinner and movie. Nothing big. I’d like to get to know you. Outside of school.”
She squints at him. “Why?”
His eyes widen. “Um, because I like you?”
She cocks her head, confusion sifting through her. It’s the first time anyone has admitted they like her. Brandon Ellis’ false words don’t count. Ever.
Anthony’s soft, puppy dog eyes beg, and she slams her book closed. Isn’t this a part of learning to survive on her own? She can’t remain a hermit forever. “Fine. I’ll go out with you.”
Anthony’s eyes light up like a kid’s at Christmas. “Yeah?”
She shrugs. “Sure. It’ll be fun.” As he nudges her with a wink, heat filters across her neck. Okay... he’s very cute. In some ways, his good-natured demeanor reminds her of her brother. Sort of jockish with a playful side.
Colt would like him.
The bell rings. As Anthony gathers his books, he smiles. “You up for lunch today?”
Jotting down the findings of their experiment, she shakes her head. “Can’t. I have a test next class.” His face falls, and she quickly adds, “But I’ll see you on Friday for our date?”
He grins. “Sound good. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
As he leaves the room with a wink, she inhales deeply to calm her racing heart. Her first real date. “I can do this.”
*****
TWO DAYS LATER, SHE’S sitting at a pizza place with said date not far from campus. Anthony picked her up on time. Score one for him. She hates it when people show up late for things. He usually arrives early to their lectures. Upon asking her out, he’s been sitting with her during class. They talk and laugh and compare notes. Even if nothing comes of their date, it’s nice to have a friend.
“So, what’s your favorite?”
She glances at the menu. “Pepperoni and sausage.”
Caramel highlights shine in his brown eyes. “Yeah? Nice!” He nods to the waitress and orders a large pie, half pepperoni and sausage, half supreme. When he’s finished, he sits back with his pop.
He’s twenty-one, but she isn’t. She likes that he isn’t pressuring her to drink. Instead of a beer, he’d ordered a pitcher of soda.
He refills her cup. “I’ve heard you’re from the L.P., too.”
She sits forward and smiles. He isn’t just really cute. He’s super cute. “Not far from Detroit. You?”
“Ludington.”
She nods. “That must be nice. Lake Michigan is prettier than Erie.”
His eyes brighten. “I love being on the lake. I was a swimmer at Ludington High and lived at the beach most summers. What about you? Did you play any sports?”
Her heart hammers against her chest. Great, another jock. Why does she have to pick guys that are her total opposites? And he had to be a swimmer, didn’t he?
Gripping her cup, she swallows hard. “I was more of a geek. Scholar bowl, studies... that kind of thing.” And three jobs. Did they count as extracurriculars?
Slight lines crinkle at the corners of his eyes as he raises his glass. “Nothing wrong with that. I was National Honors Society president and third in my class. I could have gone to MSU, but it was too close to home. I needed to get the hell outta the LP.”
No kidding. Since her move, her life has changed drastically. She isn’t constantly looking over her shoulder for her bullies to jump her. And she hasn’t had a panic attack in almost a year. She clenches her knees together and squirms in her seat. Even though it was nearly five years ago that everything went down at Homecoming, the pain of that night will be etched in her psyche for a lifetime.
The breadsticks arrive, and she takes one. Dipping it in the marinara sauce, she says, “What’re your plans after school?”
“Probably work for my dad’s business,” he mutters. “He owns an advertising agency in Grand Rapids.”
She arches an eyebrow. “You don’t sound too thrilled about it.”
He shrugs. “Breaking free is hard. And he expects too much. You got parents like that?”
She wipes the grease from her hands. “Nope. It’s just me. And my brother, but he’s off saving the world right now.”
Anthony chuckles. “In the military?”
She shrugs. “Sort of. He just finished his FBI training. He’ll be moving to New Orleans in January.”
“A real-life superhero, huh? Inspo, man.”
Is her brother an inspiration? Sure. But that’s the problem, isn’t it? Colt has this need to save everyone. Worse, it rubbed off on his best friend.
Except the Golden Boy’s hero complex is twice as big as her brother’s.
She stares at her cute date and curses under her breath. Anthony is a good-looking guy. He’s personable and seems interested in her. Why can’t she get Luke out of her head? She hasn’t seen him in almost two years. Hell, she doesn’t even know where he is or what he’s doing. Surely, he’s graduated by now.
“Penny? You okay?”
Anthony passes her another breadstick, and she straightens her spine. “Sorry. Late night studying. You ready for midterms?”
As he rambles on, she nods along, not at all present. And that’s always the problem. She hasn’t been able to form bonds with people because she’s stuck in the past, always wondering where Luke is.
No more. She has to get this obsession with him out of her mind. He’s gone. Most likely married to Mefford with a kid on the way.
Never mind that the last time they saw each other she wanted him to kiss her. He didn’t because she’d pulled away. She was afraid. And not just of him. In general, guys scare her.
Not anymore.
Sitting forward, Penny focuses on Anthony. It’s time to leave Luke Donovan and everything that happened where they belong.
In the past.