Eden

22

Later that night, I hold Saint up as we stagger down the hall toward his room.

“I’m fine, Mallory,” he grumbles as I unlock his door and help him inside. “The doctor even said I don’t have a concussion.”

“But he’s worried about what’ll happen if you sleep too long,” I mutter, coaxing him toward his bed. “I need to stay with you to make sure wake up when you’re supposed to.”

“You’re worrying for nothing.” he insists, but I ignore him, pushing on his chest to make him lie down flat. Filtering a sharp breath through his teeth, he cocks an eyebrow suggestively. “Oh, this I can get on board with. You going to join me, Ellis?”

I roll my eyes. “Yes, but not for the reasons you think, so stop looking at my boobs. I want to be comfortable while I watch you.”

“But they’re the perfect handful.” He grins sleepily. “Besides, you can be comfortable without your panties. I’m just saying.”

Snorting, I climb into his bed and crawl up next to him. He was talking a big game, but I can tell he’s already starting to feel fatigued. His eyelids are growing heavy. Just before he drifts off, he reaches out and snags my hand, his long fingers linking with mine.

“Don’t leave,” he murmurs.

My heart aches, and it’s all I can do just to nod.

“I won’t,” I whisper. “Now, go to sleep.”

He relaxes against his pillows, and within moments, he’s asleep.

I stare down at him for a few minutes. God, he’s beautiful. Especially when he’s sleeping. There are no scowls, no frown lines, no icy glares. He looks at peace.

I sigh and set the alarm on my phone in case I fall asleep, too. Then, I stretch out and snuggle up next to his warm, hard body. I’m lulled by the sound of his breathe and end up dozing off, thinking how good and perfect this feels.

“So, how’s Hot Draco?”

I glance up from my breakfast and meet Loni’s gaze as she and Henry approach our table with their trays.

“He’s all right. No concussion, so that’s a positive.”

“Did you stay with him all night?” Henry parks in the seat in front of me, stuffing a bite of blueberry muffin into his mouth.

I hesitate, but then I nod. “I did.”

When Saint was discharged from the hospital, I helped him get back to his dorm, and then cared for him throughout the night. Even though he didn’t have a concussion, his doctor wanted him to be woken up every thirty minutes or so just to be on the safe side. While he slept, I lay in his bed next to him, watching him most of the night. My feelings were too jumbled and confused at the time to try to make sense of anything, so I didn’t try. I just sat in the moment with him, and in the morning, after he was awake, I left without a word.

It was a strange, yet oddly cathartic night.

“Was that weird for you?” Loni’s voice is soft, and there’s sympathy glowing in her eyes.

I offer her a half smile and shrug. “A little. We didn’t talk much. I mostly just watched him sleep and woke him up when I needed to. He was pretty wiped from the meet and the hospital visit.”

I don’t tell her that neither of his parents showed up.

Loni nods. “I see.”

“How was your night?” I ask, deciding I’d rather talk about anything else than Saint in that moment.

I don’t miss how her shoulders tense slightly at my question. “Well, my dad called,” she says, almost nervously. “Apparently, there’s been a change in our Spring Break plans.”

“Oh?” I lift a brow in interest. “What kind of change?”

“He asked how I’d feel about not going to Cozumel because now, he really wants to go to Atlanta.”

Atlanta’s a great city and all but choosing it over Cozumel for a Spring Break trip is a hard pass. “Why exactly?”

“Why do you think?” Loni gives me this look that I feel I’m supposed to understand the meaning of, and then it hits me like a sack of bricks swinging from a crane.

I remember how flirty Mr. James and Carley had been over Parents’ Weekend last fall. I’d thought it was just a random happenstance, but what if…

“Loni, is your dad dating Carley?” I squeak.

“Ding, ding, ding, we have a wi

Henry just rolls his hazel eyes, and I slap my hands down on the table. “Hold on. What?”

“I figured it out last night,” Loni says, pulling out her phone. “Check this out.”

She opens her Instagram app and pulls up a popular MMA profile. She clicks one of the photos, and it’s an image of her dad and a blonde woman, whose back is to the camera. The caption below it reads: JUGGERNAUT SEEN WITH MYSTERIOUS BLONDE BEAUTY DURING LAST ATLANTA VISIT #blondeshavemorefun #loveisintheair #whoisshe?

I gawk at the photo. Even though I can’t see the woman’s face, I can tell it’s Carley.

Holy shit. Carley is dating an MMA superstar.

I don’t know whether to be impressed or terrified.

Turning my attention back to Loni, I ask, “Are you okay with this?”

She stares down at the picture a few moments more before she gives me an answer.

“I mean, I’m a little bit weirded out, but I’m sure that happens to any kid whose mom and dad have both used Parents’ Weekend as their own Prep School Mingle. I just want him to be happy. My mom tore him up, and he deserves to find someone who won’t treat him like shit.”

“No, that’s not Carley,” I murmur. “She one of the most caring people I know.”

Loni gives a brisk nod. “I know.”

I haven’t made it easy, but Carley has been my rock in some of the most uncertain times of my life. She deserves to be happy too, and if Mr. James is what it takes, then I’m all for it.

On my way back to my dorm later that afternoon, I pull out my phone and give Carley a call. She answers on the second ring.

“Hello my love,” she sings. “To what do I owe this chat?”

I grin, overcome by the warmth and familiarity of her voice. “Just figured I’d check in and see if there was anything new and exciting happening in your life.”

“Not lately—unless you’d count my AC. First 80-degree day of the year and guess what’s not working again?”

“You’re the worst when you lie,” I say flatly. “Because I saw some Instagram pictures today that would beg to differ.”

There’s a second of silence before she groans and I can almost picture her blond bun flopping around as she smacks her forehead against her palm. “You can’t even see my face!”

“Please, I know the back of your head as well as I know your face. So, you and Mr. James, huh? How long has that been going on?”

“Well, we exchanged numbers at Parents’ Weekend,” she admits. “But we didn’t go on an official date until last month.”

“Hmm, and you didn’t tell me because—”

“The truth is, we’ve been keeping it kind of a secret,” she rushes to explain. “Titus didn’t want a media circus and wanted us to have the chance to get to know each other in relative peace, you know? Plus, we didn’t really want to burden you or Loni with the news until we were sure it was going somewhere.”

“And is it?” I ask, my grin splitting my face. “Going somewhere?”

Another beat of silence before she murmurs, “Yeah, I really think it is. I like him a lot, Mallory.”

I feel almost giddy for her as I make my way into my building and stride to the elevator.

“It’s been a while since you’ve dated anyone,” I say as I step inside the elevator car and the doors bang shut behind me. “And now you’re dating a celebrity. You really don’t do things halfway, do you?”