Sighing, I limped over and took the first one, getting comfortable. Pulling out my mini laptop, I got everything ready for class, ignoring everyone else around me.
As the next few minutes passed, two other people took the seats beside me, leaving one empty between us. But just as the professor entered the room, one last student came in behind him, and I watched as the guy walked right toward me.
It was his slight limp that set me at ease at first, then his grim smile as he said “excuse me” in this deep voice that I instantly liked.
Pushing back my cap just a little, I let my eyes take in all of him. And damn, but there was a lot of him. I’d been around good-looking men my entire life, but this guy was in a league all his own. Especially with those dark as hell eyes and lashes that were so long, I was kind of jealous.
I couldn’t readily tell how old he was because he had an air of maturity the majority of guys my age didn’t possess. His shoulders were so wide, he bumped into me and the skinny guy on the other side of him, causing him to mutter a “sorry” to both of us. His skin was tanned from plenty of sunshine, and his arm, sleeved with black ink, looked exotic against mine on the armrest. I was so fair-skinned, I looked like a ghost most of the time, but I liked my skin tone.
Pulling his book out of his backpack, my new neighbor straightened again, but his eyes caught mine on him and his lips lifted in amusement.
“Braxton,” he introduced, offering me his hand.
“Mia,” I said, shaking his hand. His grip was strong but gentle.
“Well, Mia, I hope you know what you’re doing in this class, because I have no freaking idea.” He lifted his book. “I’m not much of a reader, and this crap is kind of intimidating to me. Give me flying bullets and IEDs any day of the week over Brontë.”
“I’m not much of a reader either,” I admitted. “But I think I’ll take my chances with Jane Eyre over the war zone, actually.”
His lips twitched with amusement. “Smart thinking.”
“What branch are you in?” We were in Northern Virginia, and it seemed as if every other person in this part of the state was in the military, but his talking about IEDs alone told me he was.
“Retired Marine,” he confirmed, losing some of his lightheartedness, and I instantly missed the way his eyes had sparkled when he was trying not to smile. I got an ache in the pit my stomach, wondering what he must have seen to put that look in his eyes.
The professor was already starting to introduce himself, cutting off any more conversation, but for some reason, I found myself touching Braxton’s arm and giving it a light squeeze. I felt him tense then relax, and we shared a genuine smile as we sat through the rest of class. Even though I’d just met him, I wanted to be his friend for some reason.
Maybe I just wanted a friend of my own too. I didn’t have many of those, so adding Braxton to the list would be nice.
It was the most boring ninety minutes of my life, but I made it through. When class was over, both Braxton and I let out a relieved breath. We still had to come back and do this again on Thursday, but at least we’d survived day one.
“I’m starving,” Braxton said as he waited for me to put my things in my bag and stand. “Want to grab a late lunch with me?”
I glanced at the time on my phone. “I wish I could, but I have to get to work. Rain check?”
His lips twitched. “I’ll hold you to it, then.” Holding the door open, he motioned me ahead of him, but when I headed for the exit, he turned left instead. “See you next time, Mia.”
I waved. “Later, Braxton.”
On my walk to work, I texted Momma to let her know how my day had been so far. She knew my schedule as well as I did, so she wished me good luck on my first day of work, told me how much she loved me, and that she was headed into a meeting with a new client.
I grimaced as I left campus, headed for Cora’s, wondering who Momma’s latest client was. She managed all the biggest names in rock, in the music world in general, but most of the time, it was like they worked for her instead of the other way around. But she was the best there was, and anyone who signed with her as their manager knew they would only move up in their career.
For the next few hours, I turned off my brain to everything but dance and teaching all the giggling little girls in their brand-new leotards and ballet slippers. It was the most fun I’d had since the second tear that had officially stopped my professional dancing career.
By the time the last little girl left, holding her daddy’s hand and waving goodbye to me over her shoulder, I was exhausted and my knee was starting to ache. But I was still smiling, and when I got back to my dorm, I was actually humming to myself.
Loud music was thumping against the walls of our room when I walked in to find Lyla tossing clothes onto her bed. Dressed in only a black bra and matching cheeky panties, her hair and makeup already done, she looked like a knockout.
“Shower and get dressed,” she instructed as she held up a dress in front of her. After a moment of considering it, she made a disgusted face and tossed it onto the growing pile already on her bed. “Wear something sexy.”
“Where are we going?” I asked, limping over to my closet to grab my shower caddy. The only thing I disliked about living in the dorm was the communal shower. I hated having to share a bathroom with thirty other chicks, the majority of whom hadn’t learned to clean up after themselves yet.
She grinned at me in the mirror hanging from the back of her side of the closet. “Somewhere fun.”
Chapter 2
Mia
Somewhere fun, as Lyla said, was actually on the outskirts of town. A black town car picked us up in front of the dorm and drove for twenty-plus minutes. A good half a mile before we reached our destination, however, we started seeing people parking their own vehicles and walking.
It was dark out, and even though it was a Tuesday, I could tell a lot of them were drunk as they laughed obnoxiously loudly and stumbled over the uneven road.
Beside me, Lyla was texting away, paying the driver and the crowd outside her window no attention.
The fact that my roommate had a driver pick us up should have surprised me, but I was so used to having a driver that I didn’t even think about it until we slowly eased toward what looked like a warehouse that was lit up like a beacon in the night and appeared to be everyone’s destination.
“Lyla?”
“Hmm?” she asked distractedly without lifting her gaze from her phone where she was now angrily typing away.
“Do you always have a town car on standby, or did you rent one for the night so we didn’t have to drive?”
She shrugged. “My family lives locally, so I just have to make a call and I can get my brother’s driver whenever I need him. I have a vehicle of my own at his place, but I’m not a fan of driving around town.” Another shrug before she stabbed send for the last time and then turned off her phone with an angry huff. “And I’m actually thinking maybe we should have just gone to a freaking frat party or something. I hate people.”
“Who do we hate?” She looked beyond pissed, but due to the headlights from someone’s car, I saw her eyes clearly for the first time and realized she was hurting.
“Just some guy. He’s a douchebag and totally not worth my time… Or so he keeps telling me.” She pushed her hair back from her face with one hand then reached over to give my hand a firm squeeze. “But whatever. I’m going to introduce you to my people, and we’re going to have some fun. Fuck Howler.”