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)
I wake up the next morning, still fully dressed. My eyelashes are crusted together, my mouth is dry, and there is a distinct pounding inside my skull. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I was out drinking the night before, but this isn’t a hangover I’m experiencing. This is heartbreak at its finest.
Getting up with a groan, I head to the bathroom for a quick shower.
After I get out, I wrap myself up in a large towel and brush my teeth. When I’m done with that, I feel slightly better.
I get ready for class on autopilot. Thankfully, I only have one to go to today.
Looking around for my bag, I realize I left it in the hallway yesterday.
Shit. Hopefully, someone took it to the lost and found. It has my books, most of my notes, my phone, and my wallet in there.
Crap, Crap. Crap.
Hurrying out the room, I trip and catch myself on the door’s edge as I almost fall over something sitting right in front of my door. I look down and find my bag.
Someone brought it to me. No, not someone. Cage.
Picking up my bag, I hold it to my chest. Looking down both sides of the hallway, I half expect him to be there, but the hall is completely empty.
Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I head down the stairs. My stomach rumbles, reminding me that I haven’t eaten since… It takes me a minute to think.
Breakfast, yesterday?
I definitely need to get something to eat. That will make me feel better. Less dead. Since people that are alive eat more than once a day.
A few minutes later, I walk into the coffee shop right in the center of campus. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and sweet pastries fills my nose and has my stomach growling again. Luckily, there is no line, which is a first, and I walk right up to the counter.
The barista gives me a friendly smile, but I have a hard time returning it. The corners of my mouth just don’t want to turn up right now.
“A vanilla latte and a blueberry muffin, please.”
“Sure thing,” she replies, gives me the total, and I pay. Moving to the other end of the counter, I look down at my feet, afraid that if I look up, he might be here. It’s doubtful but not a chance I want to take.
I will the barista to hurry up with my order as a group of men come walking in. Not men, football players. Their boisterous voices and laughter carry throughout the small shop, making it hard for me to ignore them.
Please, don’t let him be with them. I silently pray.
“Blair!” Murphy, Cage’s best friend, yells my name, drawing all the attention to me.
I lift my head just as he’s walking over. “I heard about you and Cage.” He frowns. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what it’s like to experience heartbreak since I’m generally the one doing the heartbreaking, but you’re too pretty to be wearing a frown.”
Even in sadness, Murphy still finds a way to flirt.
“It’s okay. I’m fine.”
Disbelief fills his dark eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Blair. I can see how upset you are. Want me to make it better?” A playfulness coats his words, and my lips just briefly lift at the sides. I know he is messing with me, he of all people knows how much Cage meant to me.
“No, thank you. I would rather eat glass.”
He shrugs and goes to check out some chick at the counter.
“Your loss. I will say the silver lining in all of this is that we got rid of Amanda. It was Cage’s idea. He went to the dean, told him about her bullying you, and got her moved.” He grins at me, showing off his perfectly white teeth and the two dimples in his cheeks.
“Of course, it was.”
Even in heartbreak, Cage would be trying to do something that made my life easier.
An earnest expression tugs at his face. “He loves you, Blair. He really does. I’ve never seen him so distraught before.”
“Latte and muffin,” the barista calls and slides my drink across the counter and hands me a bag with my muffin in it.
Saved in the nick of time.
“I guess that makes two of us then,” I say, turning with my items in hand.
“It doesn’t have to be this way.” He frowns.
“It does.” I take another step away, needing to escape. “Bye, Murphy.”
Rushing from the coffee shop, I take my coffee and muffin, which I’ve now lost my appetite for and head to class. The tears build in my eyes, but I blink them back. I’m not the first girl to suffer heartache at the hands of Cage Wilder, and I won’t be the last. If only I knew our love would last, maybe I would’ve held onto it a little longer in the beginning.