I’d never been so glad to hear One Direction in my life.
Jordan reached over and turned it off. He pinched the bridge of his nose before he abruptly stood and turned to me. “I’ll go and turn the coffee maker on.” He left the room before I had a chance to reply.
And, now, I really did need to pee.
I waited until I heard his footsteps disappearing down the stairs before I got up and went in search of his bathroom. The carpet was soft beneath my bare toes, and I padded my way across the hall and peeked through doorways. I wasn’t trying to snoop—although it was definitely tempting.
I caught myself pausing outside his bedroom door but forced my feet to keep moving. Nope, nope. That wasn’t going to happen. I found the bathroom right next door and turned the lock as soon as I was in there.
I didn’t know what to think about what had happened this morning. His actions and my thoughts.
They were…peculiar. If that word was even strong enough. Out of place, for sure.
I ran my fingers through my hair in a desperate attempt to try to tame it. It’d gone wild overnight, and there was no way I could go back to Dalton House looking like I’d made out with a bramble bush. It was going to be bad enough as it was with the questions. I knew that Jenna and Bella wouldn’t give up until I’d given them a believable explanation.#p#分页标题#e#
Looked like my made-up guy didn’t have a girlfriend after all, he was from out of town, and no, I wasn’t telling them anything about him.
I sighed as I headed downstairs. This was getting sticky. The lies were building up, but of course, the biggest one I was living was the reason for all the lies.
Professor Jordan Keaton.
The masquerade that was necessary to get what I’d worked for was the biggest lie. Having to walk into class with him and watch him as he talked, pretending I didn’t know what his lips felt like on mine, or watching him gesticulate with his hands, pretending not to remember the feeling of his fingertips against my skin…
Lies. All of it. Lies.
And, as a law student who dreamed of one day prosecuting all the bastards of the world, it went against everything I believed in.
The moral war I battled each day was getting overwhelming.
I paused at the bottom of the stairs. Upon seeing him still in the kitchen, I tiptoed into the front room and grabbed my things. I picked my shoes up by their heels, pulled my keys out of my purse as I shoved my schoolwork into it, then crept out of his house. The door barely made a sound as I left.
I knew he’d know.
And I just didn’t care.
“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.” Bella stood in the middle of the hallway, grinning at me.
I froze.
“Is she back?” Jenna’s voice traveled through from the kitchen.
“Yes, she is.” Bella’s grin widened.
Jenna poked her head around the door. “Well, hello, slut!”
I fixed them both with an evil look. “Go fuck yourselves.”
“I did last night,” Bella chirped with glee. “But the question is: Who fucked you?”
I rolled my eyes and pushed past her and into the kitchen. I needed coffee, but what I smelled was cookies.
“Have you been baking?” I asked.
Jenna sheepishly put a hand up. “Couldn’t sleep. We now have sixty chocolate chip cookies.”
“Well, there’s breakfast.” I moved straight to the cooling rack and grabbed three.
They were still warm. The chocolate was still melted a little.
“Hey!” She came for me in an attempt to take them back, but I bit into all three in my most childish move yet. “Ugh. This is why I don’t bake with you around.”
I grinned and bit into my cookie again. What could I say? I was a sucker for baked goods.
“Yeah, yeah. The cookies are nice.” Bella’s voice took on a hard edge, and she glared at me. “Where were you?”
I shrugged.
“You don’t know?”
Shrugged again.
“Darcy!”
“What? You’re not my mom.”
“I might be a few inches shorter than you, but I will kick your ass!”
I raised an eyebrow. “Babe, no offense, but you’re half my size. I could walk right over you.”
She looked me up and down. “Yeah, well, there’s more of you to be annoyed with.”
“And you’re easier to shove out a door when you’re being annoying. What’s your point?”
“Jesus, you need coffee, Darce.” Jenna immediately turned and put the pot on.
She was in nurturing mode. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, she was the best friend to have.
“I need to know where she was!” Bella protesting.