Stupid Girl(40)

U.S. and Texas Government was a breeze—especially since my grandpa Jillian had once been a Texas Ranger before he’d retired to busting horses for a living. He loved the law and had shared enough with me and my brothers that I’d actually liked the subject. Class was interesting to me, and the time flew by quickly.

As did the rest of the day. Intro Astronomy was a little repetitive for me but still perfect, and Noah Hicks had greeted me at the door with a wide, easy smile. Steven was there, too, and I grabbed a seat beside him. We basically went over the syllabus for lecture and lab, introductions, and since most of us would be taking a lab together, we chose partners; Steven and I signed up for that, too. Dr. Atwood started his first lecture with Basic Coordinates and Seasons. Steven had rolled his eyes at me and mouthed the words basic coordinates, and I’d stifled a laugh. Nerds, all of us.

Before I knew it, my classes were finished for the day and I was hurrying back to the dorm to trade my backpack for my telescope and camera. Noah had told me we could bring our own and take it to the platform after the observatory closed, which was something I’d been wanting to do since before arriving at Winston. In my room, I slung my scope bag over my shoulder, grabbed my truck keys and headed out. As I crossed the common room, a girl I hadn’t seen before stopped me. Long brown hair, wide brown eyes accentuated with heavy make-up. She was pretty. She grabbed my arm and smiled. Three other girls clustered around her.

“Hey,” she said. “Are you and Brax Jenkins together?”

My eyes flittered to all of them standing there, staring at me. “Uh, no,” I answered. “Just friends.”

Her smile broadened, and she looked relieved. “Okay. Just checking.”

She immediately turned and began a private chatter session with her girls, and I eased toward the door. What an awkward moment. That thought plagued me all the way across the parking lot, at how bizarre some people could be. Just as I unlocked the door and set my scope bag across the seat, a hand slipped over my hip, and I jumped.

“I’d almost forgotten what a sweet ass you have, Liv.”

My body jerked and I spun around to stare Kelsy Evans in the eye. His slow smile made my insides clinch. I took a breath in, and steadied myself. “Get your hands off me, Kelsy.”





Inside, I was shaking. But fury gripped my muscles as I stared hard at Kelsy. “Now.”

He did let my hips go then, and held his hands up, palms facing me. “Chill, wildcat, chill.” His lazy smile settled on my eyes and he shoved his hands into his pockets. Then he let out a big, exaggerated sigh. “Come on, Liv. We got too much history to be like this. Quit acting all Ice Queen on me, now.” He ducked his blond head, to catch my averted gaze. “Talk to me.”

That cagey feeling returned, and I hated it. I hated the way Kelsy made me feel dirty, like I’d done something wrong and was being an ice queen. Was he that oblivious to what he’d done to me? Or had a year dimmed his reality? I forced my breath to even out, so I wouldn’t seem as scared as I really was. I looked at him, tilted my chin up. “There’s nothing to talk about, Kelsy. You have a whole college full of girls to talk to.” I put my hand on the door handle, and he stilled my movement with his hand over mine.

“Don’t you run, Olivia,” he warned. His face had reddened, and his brows were now knitted together into a frown that transformed his golden boy athlete looks into a monster. In my eyes, anyway. “Don’t you be some ice queen chickenshit runner like you were our senior year. Talk to me, goddamit! I don’t want to talk to other girls.” His head drew closer. “Just you.”

His raised voice sent my hackles up, and I snatched my hand away from his. Several people crossing the parking lot noticed, too, and stared in our direction. “This conversation is over, and I’m leaving now. I ignored you during our senior year for a reason. Go away, Kelsy.” I hopped up into my pick-up and glared at him. “I mean it. Don’t bother me again.” Memories of that last year in high school flashed before me like a bolt of lightning with pictures. Kelsy had secretly hounded me, begged me to take him back. But in public? In front of his peers, others? He’d treated me like dirt. Like I had done something wrong to him. God, Jesus, I’d thought it was all over.

Kelsy’s face darkened, then he barked out a harsh laugh. “You’re letting him fuck your brains out, aren’t you, Liv?” A small grin curled his lips. “That tattooed loud mouth thinks he’s a badass prick in our class. That’s why he’s panting around after you, huh, like some fucking hound dog?” He slammed my door, and I jumped in my seat, but he drew his face close to the glass. “He doesn’t know you like I do. What that dumbass ring really means. What a fucking ice bitch you can be, does he, Liv?” Kelsy laughed as I turned the engine over. He pounded my window with his fist. “He will. Soon.” Then, he cursed, kicked at the ground, and looked at me. Just that fast, his mood shifted. No longer angry, his features sagged, as though saddened. He’d done the same thing in high school, when no one was around. It was as if he had a split personality, and it was scary as hell. “No, wait. Olivia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, you make me fucking crazy is all. Liv, turn off the goddamn truck. Olivia!”