University Park Series Box Set: Books 1-3 (48 page)

“Lexi Thompson,” a short, heavyset woman
called.

“Right here.” I raised my hand and then
scurried toward her. Thirty minutes had passed and I wanted to make sure I was
done when Raven’s session with his therapist ended. Not knowing what to expect
from his appointment concerned me, especially after seeing how much he
hesitated going into the session.

“Hi. I’m Susan Sheffield.” She stuck out
her short, chubby arm and I shook it.

“Nice to meet you.” I shifted my folder
to my left hand.

“Likewise. You’re here to apply for
graduation?” She glanced at a clipboard as she started down the hallway. I
promptly followed her, placing my folder in my backpack.

“Yes and I want to discuss my minor.”

“Oh, okay.” She blew a few strands of
straggling hair away from her face and cast me a doubtful look. I followed her
into a small office and she shut the door. “Have a seat, please.”

I sat on the cold, hard plastic chair
and waited as she rounded her desk. Her chair creaked as she took the load off
her feet and pulled closer to the desk. She unfolded the reading glasses
hanging around her neck and perched them on the tip of her nose.

“May I see your ID?”

“Yes, of course.” I fished the card from
my pocket and handed it to her.

Positioned in front of her computer, she
said, “Let’s see if you qualify for graduation.” Her fingers typed a string of
characters along the keyboard in a slow and decisive manner. For half a minute,
she scrolled through the screen, humming to herself in a low tone. I tried to
pick out the tune, but it wasn’t familiar.

As I waited for her to review my
information, I retrieved my folder, ready to answer any questions or produce
any documents necessary. “According to my records, I should already have
thirty-three hours in English.”

“Just a moment.” She studied the
computer screen before finally saying, “Yes. You are correct. To graduate, you
just need to complete the two courses in Education and the one in Creative
Writing. Has the professor for your student teaching class contacted you?”

“Um, yes, he has.” I recalled seeing the
email over Christmas break, but with everything that had happened, I hadn’t
given it much attention.

“Then you should be all set.” She took
off her glasses and plucked a tissue from a decorative box on the corner of her
desk. Using her index finger and thumb, she cleaned the lenses. “So, I’ll go
ahead and approve you for graduation and you can pay the fee and be done.”

“Thanks, but I wanted to discuss
dropping my minor.” My stomach tied into a tight knot and my palms moistened.
Why was I so nervous? I was one-hundred percent certain I didn’t want to teach.

She stopped cleaning her glasses. “But
you’re so close to being done. Why change now?” She stared at me and for a
quick second, I swore it was my mother’s eyes drilling into me.

Don’t freak out. Don’t freak out.

The lady couldn’t possible understand my
decision and she definitely didn’t need to know what I had gone through. The
muscles tightened around my vocal chords, but I managed to speak. “It’s not
really what I want to do.”

Her eyes remained fixed on me and my
entire body broke out in a cold sweat. I watched her mouth move, but all I
heard was my mom’s voice. Scolding me. Chastising me. Telling me that I would
get that education degree so I could homeschool my kids — Collin’s babies. I
glanced around the room, wondering if she knew my family or Collin. Had Collin
come to speak to her? Tell her that I had made a terrible mistake and that he
was going to fight to get me back?

“Lexi?”

I snapped out of the horrid reverie and
blinked several times. I was definitely freaked out.

“Darling, are you okay?” Mrs. Sheffield
extended her arm, offering her hand for support. I kept my hands to myself, not
wanting to disgust her with my sweaty palms. A wave of nausea rushed over me. I
had to swallow several times before I lost my breakfast in her trashcan. “Do
you need some water?” She rolled away from her desk and pulled a plastic water
bottle from a stash sitting on the floor. With a concerned expression, she
handed me the water.

“Thank you.” I extended a shaky hand and
took the water. My moist hands made it difficult to grip the small lid so I
used the edge of my sweater to crack the seal. After several small sips, my
racing heart calmed.

Mrs. Sheffield hesitated for a moment,
as if trying to gauge the needle on my freak-o-meter before finally speaking.
“I’m sorry if I said something that alarmed you. I know there are a lot of
people that took the shooting at Pine Elementary really hard. If you knew
anyone there, I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”

At first, I had no idea what the lady
was talking about. Then I recalled the incident. Right before Thanksgiving
break, a shooting had occurred at a local elementary school. One of the
teachers killed had graduated from PHU two years prior. I didn’t know her, but
it had left a somber mood over the campus. Since I was in my own world during
that time, I hadn’t joined in any candlelight vigils or prayer sessions. My
tears over Collin were enough for me at the time, but my heart did cry for all
the children and teachers who lost their lives in the shooting.

“Oh, um, well I didn’t know anyone and
my decision not to be a teacher has nothing to do with the shooting. It’s
something personal.”

“I understand. If you want to drop your
minor in education, that’s perfectly fine.” She turned to her computer. Her
fingers typed at a much quicker speed than before and she clicked her mouse
repeatedly. “We can drop you from those two classes and you will still have
enough credit hours to graduate. In fact, you’ll have enough hours for a minor
in creative writing with the class you’re registered for currently.” She
smiled, continuing to type and click away.

“Perfect. I’d prefer that.” Relief
settled my wacked-out nerves. “Can you make that change?”

“Yes. I’m doing that now. You’ll be
enrolled in fifteen hours, which will keep you at full-time student status.”

Her printer started and it startled me.
“Great.”

“This should be an easy semester for
you.” She grabbed the paper from the printer and placed it in front of me.
“Please review your degree plan with the hours earned and sign at the bottom.”

I definitely need easy.

I reviewed the information and then
signed the paper. “Thank you, Mrs. Sheffield.”

“You’re welcome, Lexi. If you need
anything, call me.” She handed me her business card and opened the door for me.

“I appreciate that.” I thanked her and
then walked out of her office.

My phone chimed and I retrieved it from
my pocket as I hurried to the main area. I wondered if Raven was waiting for
me. Before checking my messages, I saw that it was almost noon and I knew his
appointment was only an hour long.

Raven: I’m headed to the gym. Need some time to
myself.

Darn. I thought he would wait for me.

Me: Is everything okay?

I flew down the stairs and out the front
door wondering if I could still catch him. While I respected his request for
some space, I wanted to make sure he was mentally in check. I scanned the area,
but he was nowhere in sight. I headed toward the parking lot behind the
building, hoping I could meet up with him. As I cornered the building, I had
full view of the parked cars, but the Charger wasn’t there.

Damn.

Raven: I’ll be fine. I just need some time to
process a few things.

Me: Okay.

I hated to point out that I didn’t have
a car and while I didn’t mind walking, the weather was quickly turning into a
drizzly day with temperatures dropping. The cold air slapped me in the face and
I zipped up my coat. Raven’s apartment was a good mile away and having
forgotten my hat and gloves, I wasn’t prepared to walk. I thought about calling
Delaney when I remembered there was something I had to do. I hooked my backpack
on my shoulder and headed to the one place I kind of dreaded going, but knew I
had to — the University Health Center.

Σ

“Is he okay with you coming back to the
dorm?” Delaney asked after Raven shut the door behind him.

“No, not really.” I trudged to my room
and looked at my duffle bags on the bed. I didn’t feel like unpacking; mainly
because a part of me wanted to stay with Raven, but the other part wanted a
little space. Raven’s counseling sessions wore not only on him, but me as well.
His dramatic shifts in attitude gave me whiplash and to keep to my promise, I
knew I had to do something. “He didn’t want me to leave, but I told him it’s
just easier if I stay here on Monday and Wednesday nights since I have class at
eight in the morning.”

Delaney sat on my desk chair and
swiveled around. “You might as well just move in with him.”

“I can’t do that.” I unzipped one of my
bags and pulled out a pile of folded clothes.

“Why not?” She popped her gum and then
sucked it back into her mouth. “You’ve been staying there the past three
weeks.”

I looked over my shoulder. “It’s too
soon.”

“But you said it yourself, he needs you.
And I’m not just talking sexually, but for moral support.”

Sighing, I said, “I know, but I realized
he needs some space to himself. It’s been kind of tough on both of us after
he’s had an intense counseling session. Knowing that I can come here, gives me
back my sanity.”

“It’s been that rough?”

“It hasn’t been a walk in the park.” I
stacked some shirts in my dresser and shut the drawer.

“Well, I’m glad you’ll be staying here a
few times a week. I’ve been totally binge watching Pretty Little Liars on
Netflix since Luke has been at baseball practice around the clock. You’ll have
to catch up so you can watch the next season with me.” Delaney continued
turning around and around in the chair.

“If I have time. I’ve been tutoring
again.”

Delaney grabbed the desk, stopping her
make-shift Spinnaker ride. “You have?”

“Yeah. I needed the experience and the
extra money.” I removed another pile of clothes from my bag and then placed
them in another drawer.

“I thought your dad was depositing money
into your account.”

I had told Delaney about Dad and me
making up and she was really happy for me. She didn’t blame me for not calling
my mom as my dad had wanted. I told him that she was the one that needed to
apologize first, and until she did, I wasn’t going to budge.

“He is, but editing papers is preparing
me for an editing job. Besides, it’s not fair that Raven pays for everything.”
I flipped through a mile-high pile of clothes on hangers and folded them over
my arm.

“Wait a minute. You’re not actually
going to wear those are you?” She pointed to the clothes and darted toward me.

“Some of them are a couple of years old,
but they’re still in style.”

“Uh, no. Maybe for Suzy Homemaker, but
not for the new Lexi Thompson.” Delaney gathered the stack of clothes from my
arms and tossed them on the bed. She immediately rummaged through them while
giving her diva-stamp-of-approval. “So, you really think you want to be an
editor?”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “I really enjoy
reading papers and correcting them. And you know how much I enjoy reading.”

“Better you than me.” She held up a
plaid dress with ruffles around the neck. “Oh. My. God. Please tell me you
didn’t wear this!”

I snatched the dress from her hands.
“It’s really old. Like… ancient eighth grade old.”

She laughed. “I bet you wore it for your
pictures.”

Pressing my lips together, I shoved it
in a bag to return to my parent’s house. I had worn it, but she didn’t need to
know that.

“Shit, you did.” Delaney covered her
mouth and shook her head.

“So what if I did. It was in style back
then.”

“Why the hell did you bring it here?”

“I didn’t. I told you my dad brought me
my entire closet, which apparently included all of my old stuff.”

“Obviously.” Delaney huffed. “Hey, did
ya know that Raven has been working out with Luke?”

“Yes, they both told me.” I smiled. It
was a relief to see that Luke didn’t have anything against Raven. I wasn’t
positive if Raven was doing it for approval or to get in shape, but I was glad
they were spending time together. “He has to get ready for that scouting camp
in a few weeks. Aside from that, he really needs the stress release.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be helping him
with that?” Delaney arched a brow as she used her tongue to form a bubble in a
sexual manner.

I threw a pair of socks at her. “Stop
it!”

She blew air in the bubble until it
popped and then cast me a wicked grin. “What? Just sayin’. I know you’ve been
having mind blowing sex with him.”

“Laney! What the hell? Are you reading
my text messages or snooping through the trash at his apartment?”

“Gross.” Her face twisted in disgust.
“No. I just see it in the way you two act around each other. It’s obvious.
That’s all.”

My eyes went wide. “It’s that obvious
that we’re having sex?”

“Yes and lots of it,” Delaney deadpanned.

“What?” I leaned forward and tugged at
the pants in her hand. “How do you know that?” Were Raven and I showing too
much PDA? I always hated when couples sucked face in front of everyone. Or
worse, had she heard something?

“Relax.” She laughed. “I swear, you can
be too serious at times.”

I shrugged. “Sorry. I just don’t want to
be the talk of the school.” Her lips twitched to the side and the look in her
eyes told me she knew something that I didn’t. “Laney, is there something
you’re not telling me?”

“No.” She continued on her task of
freeing me from my
good girl
clothes. “This really isn’t any of my
business, but…”

“But what?”

She hesitated for a few seconds. “I care
about you, Lexi, so don’t get mad when I say this.”

“Just say it.” I crossed my arms,
feeling the tightness through my muscles. I braced myself for the worst.
Delaney, unlike me, always seemed to be in the know. “Laney?”

“Are you using any protection?”

“Are you serious?” I dropped my arms to
my side. “That’s what you want to know?”

She cringed and her body pulled inward.
“Sorry. I just don’t want you to end up pregnant.”

“Um, that won’t happen.” I hung a stack
of Delaney-approved-clothes in my closet. “I went to the health center and got
an IUD.”

“Good, but why didn’t you just get on the
pill?”

“I thought about it, but since I’m not
used to taking pills on a regular basis, I didn’t want to forget and then screw
myself.” I grabbed a stack of clothes from her. “Do you ever forget to take
them?”

“Every once in a while, so I just double
up the next day.” Her eyes wandered off and I sensed there was a story behind
that faux pas. “But I try not to let that happen, because it’s risky.”

“And that’s my point. With the IUD, I
don’t have to worry about it and the best thing is that it was effective
immediately and will last for five years.”

“Really? Damn. I should have done that.”

“Look into it.” I shoved more clothes
into my closet, unsure how I’d ever fit everything into the tiny space.

“Maybe I will.” She handed me another
stack of clothes. “Because you know I can’t resist that hot, sexy brother of
yours.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. “I know.
You remind me all the time.”

“Do you think the counseling is helping
Raven?”

“I’ve seen a little progress, but I
think it’s too soon to tell. After his first session, I didn’t know if I’d be
able to handle it. He pretty much ignored me the entire night and the next day,
which is understandable, but it did make me feel out of place.”

“How so?” She unzipped one of my bags
and dumped everything onto my bed.

I sighed, but didn’t have the heart to
tell her that I wasn’t planning on going through all my bags. “I mean that it’s
not my apartment.”

“Oh, yeah. I see what you mean. Why
don’t you just hang out with Josh and Shelby when he’s going through his
issues?”

“I do, when they’re there. But most of
the time, they’re locked in Josh’s bedroom.”

“Ha-ha. I bet.” Delaney held up a light
pink sweater to her chest. “This is hideous. You have to trash this thing.” She
flung it behind her.

“Hey, I like that sweater.” I dashed
after it and then gave it a once over. She was right. It was ugly. I shoved it
in the return-home bag. “I think coming back to the dorm will be good for both
of us. When Raven is having a bad day, I’ll come back here so he can have some
time to himself. Time to process whatever he’s going through.”

And time to fight his demons.

“And you trust that he’ll be okay?” She
threw one of my skirts over her head. “He won’t plunge off the edge and go back
to where he was, will he?”

“I’ll check on him. It’s not like I
won’t see him. And, if needed, you can take me to his apartment, right?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Who’s apartment?” Raven stood in the
doorway, carrying my bags.

“Your apartment, silly.” I smiled at
him, trying to displace any unnecessary fear or jealously. Although Raven
hadn’t shown any jealousy, I wanted to keep it that way. That was one less
thing I didn’t have to worry about in our relationship.

“Hey, what’s this?” Delaney held up a
pink and silver Victoria Secret’s gift card.

“Where did you get that?” I asked,
taking it from her hand.

“It was buried in your clothes.” She
pointed to the mound on my bed.

Raven looked over my shoulder as I
opened the flap.

Have fun shopping with Raven. Love, Dad.

“Holy shit. Is he serious?” I looked at
Raven and a huge grin spread across his face. Was my dad trying to make up for
my mom going bat shit crazy and burning all the lingerie Raven had bought me?

Sweet!

“Damn!” Raven covered his mouth with his
fist. “Five hundred bucks. We can buy you a lot of sexy stuff.” Raven cocked a
brow. “When are we going?”

“Whenever you want.” I eyed him with a
hungry stare. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get enough of him.

His taste.

His touch.

His scent.

I was permanently caught in The Raven’s
trap. I shook my head, trying to calm my raging hormones.

 “Is that it?” I looked at the two bags
by the door.

“What do you mean is that it?” he
huffed, gripping his waist. “I brought up like five bags. And there’s still more
at my apartment.”

 “I’m sorry.” I walked past him and
headed for the closet. “I didn’t ask my dad to bring all of my clothes.”

“I know.” He grabbed my hand and spun me
around. I slammed against his body and rested my hands against his broad chest.
“If you’d just stay with me, we wouldn’t have to haul all of your stuff back
and forth.”

His scent laced around me, making it
difficult to stand my ground. “I am going to stay with you.”

“Yeah, but not every night.” He pressed
his lips to the sensitive part of my neck and my mind quickly forgot why I’d
talked myself into coming back to the dorm. “I need a little bit of this every
night.” He popped me on the butt and I squealed.

“Okay, I’m outta of here.” Delaney
dropped the clothes in her hand.

“No. I need your advice.” I tried to
wiggle out of Raven’s arms, but he only held me tighter. “I need you to help me
pick out clothes that will make me look sexy.” I glanced up at Raven and he let
out a low growl as he continued to nibble on my neck, not paying any attention
to Delaney. I leaned to the side, trying to break free, even though I really
didn’t want to. “Raven, stop,” I pleaded, but my tone betrayed any actual
conviction.

“Looks like you’re about to get
undressed, so I’ll help you later.” Delaney headed for the door.

“Thanks, Delaney,” Raven said as he
kicked off his shoes and started to pull his shirt off. His stomach tensed and
I caught a nice view of his chiseled abs.

“Shit, I almost forgot.” Delaney turned
around before pulling the door shut. “Whoa! Can you wait until I get out? I
don’t need a glimpse of the freak show.”

“Hurry.” Raven tossed his shirt on the
chair. “I don’t have all day.”

Delaney’s eyes landed directly on
Raven’s midsection for a full count of three before she finally tore them away
and looked at me. “Do y’all want to grab a pizza with Luke and me later?”

Raven looked at me, waiting for a
response. “I’m game if you are,” I said, feeling the hunger pains bubble up in
my stomach.

His lips spread into a full smile.
“Sure, but I’m game for something else first.” Raven encircled his arms around
me and pressed his lips against my ear as his hands wandered up and down my
backside.