Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 89074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Hopefully.
Eventually.
“Wes was cool about it today,” I explain. “I saw him in the reading room and he asked me what was up, and I gave him full transparency. Told him I was going on my first real date with Hunter. Told him I was nervous. I know Hunter isn’t really the dinner-and-movie type of guy, but I told Weston I was going to try to show him a good time anyway.”
“I’m guessing he didn’t fist-bump you and tell you to have a good time getting your dick wet?” Noah asks.
“No. But Wes was honest, too. He said it feels fucking weird to hear about it, and he still thinks I need to be on my guard with Hunter at all times. But he said he trusts me, too.”
“That’s a damn good best friend, right there,” Oliver says.
I pull out my phone to check the time, and I have a text from Hunter.
Hope you’re ready for the best fucking date of your life.
I’m intrigued.
If you’re willing to actually be with me, one thing I can promise is you’ll never be bored.
You only left our room a couple of hours ago and I already miss your presence. Pretty sure I’m willing to be with you.
I don’t deserve you. See you soon.
“I’m going to be late. I have to leave now,” I tell Noah and Ollie as I turn to leave the room.
“Where are you guys meeting up?”
“Earlier today he told me the date will have two parts, God knows what that means. But he said to meet at the far end of Red Row, and we’re going to walk somewhere.”
“Have fun,” Noah says with a pat on my shoulder. “You lovebirds make me sick, which probably means you’re perfect for each other.”
“What are you guys going to get up to?” I ask as they follow me down the staircase.
“Ollie says he has a spooky video game that’s perfect for fall, so I assume I’m going to be passing out from terror pretty soon.”
I snort, and Oliver grins.
“It’s my favorite horror game. Noah gets scared when a freaking leaf falls in front of him on campus, so I’m going to show him Misty Hill for the first time.”
“I think Wes and I played through that in high school. Good fucking luck, Noah. I pray for your blood pressure.”
“Enjoy your date throwing knives or walking around graveyards with Hunter,” Ollie says.
“Later, guys.”
They duck into the living room and I head out the front doors.
The sun hasn’t set yet.
The sky is grey outside, casting everything in a muted light.
Red Row is usually calm in the daytime, but right now most Crimson College students are back at home.
And it’s fucking peaceful outside.
I start off down the sidewalk.
Leaves blow past me on the road ahead, gently scraping the pavement.
The air has that far-off campfire smell, and for the first time in a while, I have a glimmer of renewed hope about this semester.
So many good things have happened, even in the bad.
And never in my fucking wildest dreams did I think I’d be going on a date with Hunter Knox by the start of fall break.
I make it past the edge of Onyx House gate and go past the quiet front of Luros House.
I’m almost past Luros House when I catch a glimpse of something.
It’s a bright, orange-red light coming from the far side of the Luros backyard.
Fire.
The pleasant scent isn’t coming from far off, apparently.
Someone’s got a little bonfire lit in the Luros House yard.
I thought all of the Luros girls had gone home for the break.
But there is someone back there in the yard, far off.
Briar.
I recognize her hair, shiny and black.
I stop walking for a moment as I overhear her voice.
She’s staring at the fire, facing away from me. The yard is wide, and I’m still in the front near a thick row of green hedges, but there’s a narrow arch cut into the greenery where I can see through to the back.
But I’m just close enough to overhear her voice.
I don’t intend to eavesdrop, but she’s alone, on the phone.
And I can’t help but catch something strange.
“We’ve got one,” she says as she adds more wood to the fire, prodding at it, making the flames leap high. “He’s ours now. Just need the other and we can end this.”
My heartbeat ticks up, and suddenly my skin breaks out in goosebumps. I watch her movements past the row of rose bushes that line the edge of the house.
What she’s saying is odd.
Even stranger is how she’s saying it.
Because Briar Zhang is new here, and I’ve only spoken to her in passing a couple of times on campus.
But…
Briar’s talking in a pitch-perfect British accent.
And Briar Zhang doesn’t fucking have a British accent.
Hunter told me, one night after hanging out with her, that her family is from Hong Kong.