Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
“Oh, stop, like you could do anything about it. You’ve got a baby and a husband. You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I’m sure the university will take pity on me eventually and saddle me with someone.”
“I could always talk to Lex’s brother, Sebastian. He’s the dean. I’m sure he would be able to find you a roommate.”
“No, no. You don’t have to do that. In fact, please, don’t do that,” I beg. “I don’t need nor want a roommate that badly. I’m just lonely sometimes.” I whisper the last part while looking into my cup.
“Oh, Blair, you could always come and hang out with Lex and me.” She reaches across the table and places her hand against mine. Having her here is comforting, even if this doesn’t get to happen every single day.
Jude and I became roommates when I first arrived at the university, she was still staying here at the time. Then she met Lex, her then friend, who later became something else. She swears they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, but I know better.
That man of hers only has eyes for her. Given her past and her parents, though, I didn’t blame her for being cautious. Just like me, she didn’t want to fall into an old habit. She didn’t want to be ruled by a man, just as I didn’t want to turn into my mother. I love my mom, but I couldn’t count how many times she became a doormat for a man, or worse, how many times she let a man take control of her life, of her kids.
Taking another sip of coffee, I let the liquid warm me all over. “I’ll be fine. I’ve still got you, and I’m making an effort to make new friends. Being the quiet bookworm isn’t easy though.”
Jude’s eyebrows shoot up her forehead. “Quiet? I’ve always considered you to be bubbly and approachable. Or at least you were with me.”
“First impressions are important. I needed to make at least one friend.” I grin over the rim of the cup.
Jude grins back at me. “It was a ploy. I see it now.”
“Don’t be giving all my secrets up, now.”
We both laugh and continue drinking our coffee. I’m sad when I reach the bottom of my cup because I know this is the end of our epic coffee date.
“We need to do this more often. I miss you,” I tell her.
“I know, and we will.” She grins. “In the meantime, let’s hope you get a new roommate and that she’s half as cool as me.”
Getting up, I grab my bag off the floor and sling it over my shoulder. Then I give Jude a hug, and we say our goodbyes before parting ways.
I’m feeling down as I walk to my afternoon class, looking down at the sidewalk and ignoring all the people passing by me. My thoughts shift to Cage, and I wonder for half a second what he’s doing before reminding myself that I don’t actually care.
It’s not like we’re friends. I’m his tutor, he’s a football god that every woman in the university wants to bang. We’re totally and completely the opposite of friends.
When I walk into the classroom for economics class, it’s half full, some students are lazily slumped in their seats while others are talking amongst each other. As soon as I walk into the room, the voices become hushed whispers, and I swear I can feel eyes on me, burning into my back as I take my usual seat in the second row.
“I can’t believe she turned him down. What a bitch. She’s not even that pretty.” Some chick whispers behind me, but she might as well have screamed the words because if I heard it, so did everyone else in the room.
Ugh. I knew going to that party was a mistake, damn you, Arabella. As it turned out, she wasn’t even there, she ended up going out with some guy to the movies. Gritting my teeth, I tug my books out of my bag and ignore the whispers in the room that fly about.
The second people find out I’m tutoring Cage, there will be more rumors. Damnit. If I didn’t need the money he was offering, so badly, I would text him right now and call it off, but I do, so for now, I will follow through. No matter the shit people talked.
A few minutes later, the professor comes out of his office, and class starts. I can still hear whispering behind me or maybe no one’s whispering, and I’m just so used to the sound, I’m hearing things. Either way, it makes it impossible for me to focus, and I end up missing half of the professor’s lecture because I can’t get my mind to shut down.
When class is dismissed, I’m more than ready to escape the confines of the room. For the first time since coming here, I don’t want to be in the classroom. I want to be alone, in my dorm, with my thoughts, and my books, and away from prying eyes.