She unbuckled and pushed her door open. “You worry too much.” When I didn’t get out of the car, she leaned back in again. “You look fine. Better than fine. You look amazing. And no, I don’t think he’s going to think you’re trying too hard. He’s a guy. He’s gonna notice how big your boobs look in that blouse. Now get out of the car. And stop making that face. Didn’t your mother ever tell you it would freeze that way?”

  I smoothed out my features and climbed out, careful not to snag my skirt on the door.

  True to his word, Lamppost waited for me on the other side of the parking lot. He looked like sex on legs in his leather jacket—this time with a pair of faded and distressed jeans and a gray V-neck shirt—leaning against a flame-orange motorcycle. He looked good enough to lick.

  I gnawed on my lip as I walked toward the quad, keeping him in my sights the entire time. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to come to him or wait for him to come to me, so I played it safe, throwing him as many signals as I could give off without looking too desperate. Didn’t he know I’d been waiting for this day for almost a month, ever since that first night I saw him beneath my window like some tragic Shakespearean hero?

  “Tone down the pheromones there, Juliet.”

  I whipped my head around to see Sam smirking at me, her eyes dancing with humor.

  She hooked her arm in mine, towing me back toward the others since I’d somehow managed to get pulled off course by some crazy sort of voodoo magic. “You just mumbled a line from Romeo and Juliet.”

  “I did?” My voice squeaked, and I cleared my throat. “How the hell am I going to get through the morning, let alone the rest of the day? What am I supposed to do? He’s just standing there, watching me. How is that living up to his promise of ‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Ava’?”

  “Oh, trust me,” Sam said. “He sees you.”

  “But I wanted to see him. As in talk to him. Up close and personal.”

  Sam giggled. “You’re just a little addict over there, aren’t you? Jonesing for a taste of whatever he’s offering.”

  I shrugged, tossing a look over my shoulder. He was still leaning on the damn motorcycle, staring at me as if he could see directly into my soul. With a little whimper, I hoped no one heard, I gave Sam a vigorous nod. “I’ve got it bad. And trust me when I say, that’s not good.”

  “What are you two whispering about over there? You’d think you were a pair of lesbians the way Ava’s hanging all over you, Sam.” Paige’s voice dripped venom, and I flinched back so I wouldn’t get burned.

  “So what if we are lesbians?” I said. “Nothing wrong with that, if it’s what you’re into.”

  Paige scoffed and tossed her perfect hair over her shoulder like a matador flipping his cape. “I’m just making an observation. I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it.”

  I let out a silent battle cry and charged in with my horns out. “Well, for your information, we were talking about something that doesn’t concern you. Is that quite all right with you?”

  “Geez. Bitch much, Ava?” Paige turned around to talk to Hannah.

  Score one for me.

  “Don’t look now, but he’s coming this way.” Sam whispered in my ear then released my arm and skipped ahead to catch up with Hannah and Paige.

  But could Paige leave well enough alone? Of course not. As soon as I was out of Sam’s protective sphere, Paige wheeled on me, and I could tell by the laser beams shooting from her eyes, whatever she was about to say was going to be brutal. Then she stopped and stared—not at me—at something over my shoulder. And her bitchy facade melted into the sweetest, sugariest smile I’d ever seen on the girl’s face. It was almost creepy.

  Oh, hell no!

  “Well, hello. I knew you’d come around one of these days.” Even her voice changed into something eerily Stepford. Thankfully, he didn’t respond, and her smooth, sophisticated demeanor slipped. “Aren’t you going to say something?”

  His lips brushed my ear from behind, and I had to force myself to stay still. “Good morning, Ava.”

  I turned just enough to see him smiling down at me and opened my mouth to say something, but the words wouldn’t come. The smug smile, however, refused to be ignored.

  Without taking his eyes from mine, he reached out and tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear. “See you in class.” He turned and walked away.

  Just like that.

  “What the hell was that?” Paige’s face turned so red I thought her head might explode. “Why is my food bank guy saying good morning to you?”

  “That’s food bank guy?” Sam threw her head back and laughed. “Oh honey, you lost that battle before it had even begun.” She grabbed my arm and towed me toward the building, still giggling about Paige and her group project drama.

  I wondered if it was possible to die from extreme sexual tension. I had no idea how he did it, but Lamppost had managed to get himself reassigned to all of my classes, a fact I considered disturbing yet oddly wonderful. And when I wasn’t in class, he was waiting for me in the library. Or the coffee shop. No matter where I was, he was there, sitting off to the side, setting my skin on fire with the intensity of his stare. I could feel his eyes roaming over me the entire time. Rationally, I knew his unparalleled stalker skills should have freaked me out, but the inexplicable pull I felt toward him took precedence.

  And I still didn’t know his name.

  What I did know was he liked to chew on the end of his pen while he read. His mouth moved when he took notes as if he were reciting them in his head. And he smelled like the sky after a good hard rain—fresh and clean—and all boy. I might have accidentally brushed up against him a few times.

  Getting close to him wasn’t easy, though. Despite what I’d hoped, he didn’t walk me to class. Instead, he hung back several paces, keeping me in his sights, of course, but never getting close enough for conversation. It was pure torture.

  By midday Wednesday, I was ready to explode. The prickling down my spine had spread throughout my entire body, and I felt like I’d been grasping a live wire all morning. If his plan was to kill me, he was doing a damn good job so far.

  I followed the lunch crowd to the campus cafeteria, sensing his proximity as he trailed several paces behind me like a sparkly stalker. I’d ignored every safety precaution my father had drilled into me from my preteen days. It was as if the very core of my being screamed to be with him, and that simple fact defied logic. Why hadn’t he spoken to me yet? What sort of game was he playing?

  I filled my tray with more food than I could possibly eat on a nervous stomach and made my way to our table. Sam and Hannah were already there with their heads together as if they were sharing a juicy secret.

  “Dare I ask?” I dropped down into the chair across from Hannah.

  “It’s nothing.” Sam gave Hannah a funny look.

  “Okay.” I could play it cool too. Besides, I had way more to worry about than whatever those two were cooking up.

  “So…” Hannah dragged out the word then left it hanging.

  “So?” I picked at my mystery-meat loaf, keeping my eyes on my plate.

  “Has he told you his name yet?” Sam leaned across the table, resting on her elbows as she finished Hannah’s thought.

  I stabbed a hunk of the slippery loaf and held it up like a weapon in front of me. “Nope.”

  “Interesting.” Sam looked at Hannah again, and they seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes alone.

  I dropped my fork with a loud clatter. “Would one of you just spill it already?”

  Hannah chewed on the inside of her cheek until Sam nodded. She took a deep breath and started talking. “I was outside the registrar’s office this morning. It’s a little-known fact, but they have the only vending machine on campus that stocks Little Debbie Swiss Rolls and Twinkies, so of course, I’m heading there after…” She brought her thumb and forefinger to her lips and took a hit from an invisible joint.

  “Skip the charades, and get to the point.” Sam scooted forward in her seat and motioned for Hannah to pick up the pace.

  “Fine. Ruin the best part of the story.” Hannah dropped her hand into her lap with a sigh. “Take a wild guess who walks in while I’m stuffing my purse with snacks?”

  I resist the urge to glance over my shoulder.

  “Bingo! So of course, I followed him in. I mean, it’s not like he’s a stranger to creepy stalker behavior, right?”

  “Right?” I sort of agreed.

  “He was arguing with the lady behind the desk. He spread the charm like creamy peanut butter, but man, was she giving him a hard time. The whole argument had to do with—and you’re gonna love this…” Hannah choked back a giggle. “Getting out of the food bank thing. He’d already dropped the class, but they still had him down for the stupid project. Something about throwing off the numbers and the school had made a commitment. I didn’t get all the details on that part, but I did happen to catch a glimpse of his name written across some document.” Her eyes flashed to where Lamppost sat across the room. “Okay, it wasn’t an accident. I practically leaned over the counter. I mean, I just had to look because I knew he hadn’t told you yet, and I figured you’d want to know. In case he was hell-bent on keeping it a secret or something.” Hannah finished her monologue then sucked in another deep breath.

  I turned to Sam. “You knew about this?”

  She shrugged. “For like ten minutes.”

  I glared at her, crossing my arms in front of me. “Were you ever going to tell me? Are you ever going to tell me?”

  Hannah tipped her head to the side. “Tell you what?”

  I threw up my hands. “His name!”

  The dining hall got quiet for a few seconds before everyone went back to chattering again.

  “Damn it. I didn’t mean to yell.” I tucked my hair behind my ears and leaned back in the chair. “This has easily been one of the most exhausting weeks I’ve ever spent, and it’s only half over.”

  “Do you want to know his name?” Hannah bounced in her seat, her smile threatening to split her entire head open.

  “Yes, of course I want to know what his name is.”

  “Maddox Fairchild.” Hannah’s mouth moved, but it wasn’t her voice I heard.

  I whipped my head around and came face to face with a ghost—or rather, one Maddox Fairchild, former ghost. Though I guessed he was never really a ghost at all. He held his hand out to me, and seemingly, of its own accord, my hand reached out to meet his.

  “Maddox.” I said his name, trying it on for size.

  He nodded but didn’t say anything. He simply lifted our joined hands to his mouth and brushed his lips across my knuckles.

  “What the hell? Again?” Paige slammed her tray down, making her dressing splash all over the table.

  “God, Paige, get over yourself.” Sam voiced what I could only imagine we were all thinking.

  Maddox squeezed my hand, and I darted my eyes back to his.

  “I have to run, but I’ll see you in molecular bio, right?”

  I nodded, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I wanted to ask him all the questions he hadn’t answered, like how he managed to change his schedule a week after classes started. Not why—I could guess why—but how. And molecular biology? What are the odds?

  “Good. Enjoy your lunch.” He walked away. Again.

  “What the hell was that?” Hannah’s eyes stretched wide as she watched Maddox cross the cafeteria and collect his things from his table on the other side of the room.

  “I have no idea.” I kept my eyes locked on his as if some magic I didn’t understand had taken control of me. He was attractive. God, he was gorgeous, but it wasn’t like me to completely lose myself in a guy. I shook my head to clear it. “Did someone drug my Kool-Aid?”

  Even Paige laughed at that, and gradually, our table went back to business as usual. Sam reminded me about the party I didn’t want to go to on the weekend. Hannah offered to score some weed if any of us were interested. And Paige still couldn’t believe her food bank guy was fawning over me as if I was a Victoria’s Secret model or something. The only thing missing was—

  “Ava, baby. I haven’t seen you all day. Have you been dodging me?”

  Abercrombie.

  “Didn’t you know? I’m always dodging you.” I took a bite of my rehydrated mashed potatoes to keep my mouth busy and avoided looking into his puppy-dog eyes.

  As usual, Abercrombie couldn’t take a hint, and he dropped into the seat beside me, draping his sweaty arm over my shoulder. “Are you going to the party Saturday night?”

  I pushed his arm off me and shuddered. “That depends. Are you going?”

  He flashed a lazy smile. “Yep.”

  “Then I’m definitely not going.” I scooted over as far as I could in the tight space.

  “God damn it, Ava. I’m not one to give up easily, but you make it hard.” The expression on his face told me he wasn’t saying I was difficult.

  “Gross, Abercrombie. When will you take a hint? I’m not interested. I will never be interested. End of story.”

  “Just one kiss. Come on. One.” He leaned in, sticking his lip ring in my face and breaching the limits of my personal space with a vengeance.

  Then he was gone.

  I spun around to find Maddox towering over Abercrombie, who was sprawled out on the floor like a hockey player rug. Maddox clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides, and I could feel the rage rippling off him. “Learn to take a hint.” His reaction should have terrified me, or at the very least, given me pause. But fear was the absolute last emotion to manifest itself. I jumped out of my seat and took a step in his direction. I didn’t know what I’d planned to say, but the guy had just defended my honor in the campus dining hall. I had to say something. But before I could form the words, he’d stalked off again, this time bypassing his table and exiting through the double doors.

  Somehow, I knew he wouldn’t be in biology.

  Chapter Eight

  Maddox dipped out on the rest of our classes. At first, I thought he’d just skipped bio. I would have skipped right along with him if he’d given me half a chance. And that wasn’t like me. I’d always been the sort of girl to toe the line, get good grades. I didn’t ditch.

  But then he didn’t show up in French. Instead of conjugating verbs with the rest of the class, I’d spent the entire hour watching the seconds tick by on the big silver wall clock, desperate for class to be over, desperate to find him. And that wasn’t like me either.

  The instant class ended, I was out of my seat like a shot, pushing past the crowds in the hall, bursting through the double doors, running full out through the quad to the parking lot. I think I knew he wouldn’t be there, but that didn’t stop the devastation when I looked for his motorcycle, and it was gone. He was gone.

  Again.

  I rode home with Sam in silence. Somehow, she knew not to bring it up, not to mention his name. And for that, I was thankful. I had nothing to say on the subject.

  My heart skipped in my chest as we passed a billboard for the lighthouse. Strange, unexpected tears threatened to fall. But why? I’d just met him. Why did I feel such a strong pull toward him already? I had no explanation for my scattered emotions.

  For the first time in days, I thought of my dad, and not just a fleeting moment or fragmented memory, although those came at me unexpectedly all the time. This time, I really thought about him. I remembered the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners when he laughed. The way he smelled when he leaned down to tuck me in at night. Watching him tear Mom away from the hot stove to dance with him in the middle of the kitchen, just because. Their love had filled our house with so much happiness. And so much devastation when he died.

  I wanted to find a love like my parents had had. I wanted to feel so connected to someone that I would know when he was in the room without even looking. I felt that spark with Maddox. And when he looked at me? My entire body could go up in flames, and I wouldn’t notice.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Sam’s voice cut through the silence, shocking me just a little. Those were the first words she’d spoken to me since lunch.

  I looked up from my hands, clenched together in my lap, to Sam’s concerned face. “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” I knew I was lying, and she probably did too. But it hadn’t taken me long to learn that in Sam’s world, that’s what friends did. Fake it ’til we make it. And I would be fine. Eventually. It wasn’t as if Maddox had left town. God, I didn’t think so anyway. He’d just left school. And he would come back. He had to.

  But that little niggling voice in the back of my head wondered if he thought Abercrombie meant something to me, if maybe he thought I’d led him on or encouraged his attention. It was a ridiculous idea, but what did I know about how boys thought? For all the crazy emotions coursing through me when he was near, I didn’t really know Maddox at all.

  “Okay, well, I’ll see you in the morning. Call me if you wanna talk… or anything.” Sam forced a smile, and I realized it was the first time since I’d known her that she’d actually faked it. Everything about her had always been so spontaneous and natural. It made the weight of the situation that much heavier. Maddox had swept into my life like a nor’easter, and he could easily blow out just as quickly.

  I dragged myself out of her car and wandered into the empty house. Mom must have taken Josh somewhere because the only sound greeting me was the incessant ticking of that stupid grandfather clock my mother loved. I climbed the stairs as if walking to my death, chastising myself the whole way for acting like such a teenage girl. I was almost nineteen. It was time I started acting like an adult, not a lovesick child.