Read the book: «Wait for You»

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

About the Author

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Copyright

About the Publisher

Chapter 1

There were two things in life that scared the ever-loving crap out of me. Waking up in the middle of the night and discovering a ghost with its transparent face shoved in mine was one of them. Not likely to occur, but still pretty damn freaky to think about. The second thing was walking into a crowded classroom late.

I absolutely loathed being late.

I hated for people to turn and stare, which they always did when you entered a classroom a minute after class started.

That was why I had obsessively plotted the distance between my apartment in University Heights and the designated parking lot for commuter students over the weekend on Google. And I actually drove it twice on Sunday to make sure Google wasn’t leading me astray.

One point two miles to be exact.

Five minutes in the car.

I even left my apartment fifteen minutes early so I would arrive ten minutes before my 9:10 class began.

What I didn’t plan for was the mile-long traffic backup at the stop sign, because God forbid there be an actual light in the historical town, or the fact there was absolutely no parking left on campus. I had to park at the train station adjacent to the campus, wasting precious time digging up quarters for the meter.

‘If you insist on moving halfway across the country, at least stay in one of the dorms. They do have dorms there, don’t they?’ My mom’s voice filtered through my thoughts as I stopped in front of the Robert Byrd Science Building, out of breath from racing up the steepest, most inconvenient hill in history.

Of course I hadn’t chosen to stay in a dorm, because I knew at some point, my parents would randomly show up and they would start judging and start talking, and I’d rather punt-kick myself in the face than subject an innocent bystander to that. Instead, I tapped into my well-earned blood money and leased a two-bedroom apartment next to campus.

Mr. and Mrs. Morgansten had hated that.

And that had made me extremely happy.

But now I was sort of regretting my little act of rebellion, because as I hurried out of the humid heat of a late August morning and into the air-conditioned brick building, it was already eleven minutes past nine and my astronomy class was on the second floor. And why in the hell did I choose astronomy?

Maybe because the idea of sitting through another biology class made me want to hurl? Yep. That was it.

Racing up the wide staircase, I barreled through the double doors and smacked right into a brick wall.

Stumbling backward, I flailed my arms like a cracked-out crossing guard. My overpacked messenger bag slipped, pulling me to one side. My hair flew in front of my face, a sheet of auburn that obscured everything as I teetered dangerously.

Oh dear God, I was going down. There was no stopping it. Visions of broken necks danced in my head. This was going to suck so—

Something strong and hard went around my waist, stopping my free fall. My bag hit the floor, spilling overpriced books and pens across the shiny floor. My pens! My glorious pens rolled everywhere. A second later I was pressed against the wall.

The wall was strangely warm.

The wall chuckled.

‘Whoa,’ a deep voice said. ‘You okay, sweetheart?’

The wall was so not a wall. It was a guy. My heart stopped, and for a frightening second, pressure clamped down on my chest and I couldn’t move or think. I was thrown back five years. Stuck. Couldn’t move. Air punched from my lungs in a painful rush as tingles spread up the back of my neck. Every muscle locked up.

‘Hey …’ The voice softened, edged with concern. ‘Are you okay?’

I forced myself to take a deep breath—to just breathe. I needed to breathe. Air in. Air out. I had practiced this over and over for five years. I wasn’t fourteen anymore. I wasn’t there. I was here, halfway across the country.

Two fingers pressed under my chin, forcing my head up. Startling, brilliant blue eyes framed with thick black lashes fixed on mine. A blue so vibrant and electric, and such a stark contrast against the black pupils, I wondered if the color was real.

And then it hit me.

A guy was holding me. A guy had never held me. I didn’t count that one time, because that time didn’t count for shit, and I was pressed against him, thigh to thigh, my chest to his. Like we were dancing. My senses fried as I inhaled the light scent of cologne. Wow. It smelled good and expensive, like his …

Anger suddenly rushed through me, a sweet and familiar thing, pushing away the old panic and confusion. I latched on to it desperately and found my voice. ‘Let. Go. Of. Me.’

Blue Eyes immediately dropped his arm. Unprepared for the sudden loss of support, I swayed to the side, catching myself before I tripped over my bag. Breathing like I’d just run a mile, I pushed the thick strands of hair out of my face and finally got a good look at Blue Eyes.

Sweet baby Jesus, Blue Eyes was …

He was gorgeous in all the ways that made girls do stupid things. He was tall, a good head or two taller than me, and broad at the shoulders, but tapered at the waist. An athlete’s body—like a swimmer’s. Wavy black hair toppled over his forehead, brushing matching eyebrows. Broad cheekbones and wide, expressive lips completed the package created for girls to drool over. And with those sapphire-colored eyes, holy moly …

Who thought a place named Shepherdstown would be hiding someone who looked like this?

And I ran into him. Literally. Nice. ‘I’m sorry. I was in a hurry to get to class. I’m late and …’

His lips curved up at the corners as he knelt. He started gathering up my stuff, and for a brief moment I felt like crying. I could feel tears building in my throat. I was really late now; no way could I walk into that class late, especially on the first day. Fail.

Dipping down, I let my hair fall forward and shield my face as I started grabbing up my pens. ‘You don’t have to help me.’

‘It’s no problem.’ He picked up a slip of paper and then glanced up. ‘Astronomy 101? I’m heading that way, too.’

Great. For the whole semester I’d have to see the guy I nearly killed in the hallway. ‘You’re late,’ I said lamely. ‘I really am sorry.’

With all my books and pens back in my bag, he stood as he handed it back to me. ‘It’s okay.’ That crooked grin spread, revealing a dimple in his left cheek, but nothing on the right side. ‘I’m used to having girls throw themselves at me.’

I blinked, thinking I hadn’t heard the blue-eyed babe right, because surely he hadn’t said something as lame as that.

He had, and he wasn’t done. ‘Trying to jump on my back is new, though. Kind of liked it.’

Feeling my cheeks burn, I snapped out of it. ‘I wasn’t trying to jump on your back or throw myself at you.’

‘You weren’t?’ The lopsided grin remained. ‘Well, that’s a shame. If so, it would have made this the best first day of class in history.’

I didn’t know what to say as I clutched the heavy bag to my chest. Guys hadn’t flirted with me back at home. Most of them hadn’t dared to look in my direction in high school and the very few that did, well, they hadn’t been flirting.

Blue Eyes’s gaze dropped to the slip of paper in his hand. ‘Avery Morgansten?’

My heart jumped. ‘How do you know my name?’

He cocked his head to the side as the smile inched wider. ‘It’s on your schedule.’

‘Oh.’ I pushed the wavy strands of hair back from my hot face. He handed my schedule back, and I took it, slipping it into my bag. A whole lot of awkward descended as I fumbled with my strap.

‘My name is Cameron Hamilton,’ Blue Eyes said. ‘But everyone calls me Cam.’

Cam. I rolled the name around, liking it. ‘Thank you again, Cam.’

He bent over and picked up a black backpack I hadn’t noticed. Several locks of dark hair fell over his forehead and as he straightened, he brushed them away. ‘Well, let’s make our grand entrance.’

My feet were rooted to the spot where I stood as he turned and strolled the couple of feet to the closed door to room 205. He reached for the handle, looking over his shoulder, waiting.

I couldn’t do it. It didn’t have anything to do with the fact that I had plowed into what was possibly the sexiest guy on campus. I couldn’t walk into the class and have everybody turn and stare. I’d had enough of being the center of attention everywhere I went for the last five years. Sweat broke out and dotted my forehead. My stomach tightened as I took a step back, away from the classroom and Cam.

He turned, brows knitted as a curious expression settled on his striking face. ‘You’re going in the wrong direction, sweetheart.’

I’d been going in the wrong direction half my life, it seemed. ‘I can’t.’

‘Can’t what?’ He took a step toward me.

And I bolted. I actually spun around and ran like I was in a race for the last cup of coffee in the world. As I made it to those damn double doors, I heard him call out my name, but I kept going.

My face was flaming as I hurried down the stairs. I was out of breath as I burst out of the science building. My legs kept moving until I sat down on a bench outside of the adjacent library. The early-morning sun seemed too bright as I lifted my head and squeezed my eyes shut.

Geez.

What a way to make a first impression in a new city, new school … new life. I moved more than a thousand miles to start over and I had already mucked it up in a matter of minutes.

Chapter 2

I had two options at this point: let go and move on from my disastrous attempt to attend my first class of my college career or go home, climb into bed, and pull the covers over my head. I so wanted to indulge in the second option.

If running and hiding wasn’t my MO, I would’ve never survived high school.

Reaching down, I checked the wide, silver bracelet on my left wrist, making sure it was in place. I almost didn’t survive high school.

Mom and Dad had pitched a fit when I’d informed them of my plans to attend a university clear across the country. If it had been Harvard, Yale, or Sweet Briar, they would have been all about it. But a non-Ivy-League university? For shame. They just didn’t understand. They never did. There was no way in holy hell I was going to attend the college they had gone to or enroll where half the country club back home forced their kids to attend.

I wanted to go where I wouldn’t see a familiar sneer or hear the whispers that still dripped from people’s lips like acid. Where people hadn’t heard the story or whatever version of the truth had been repeated over and over again, until sometimes even I questioned what had really happened Halloween night five years ago.

None of them mattered here, though. No one knew me. No one suspected anything. And no one knew what the bracelet hid on summer days when a long-sleeve shirt wouldn’t work.

Coming here had been my decision and it had been the right thing to do.

My parents had threatened to cut off my trust fund, which I’d found hilarious. I had my own money—money they had no control over once I turned eighteen. Money I had earned. To them, I had let them down yet again, but if I stayed in Texas or around any of those people, I would be dead.

Glancing at the time on my cell phone, I pushed to my feet and slung my bag over my shoulder. At least I wouldn’t be late to my history class.

History was in the social sciences building, at the bottom of the hill I had just raced up. I cut through the parking lot behind the Byrd building and crossed the congested street. All around me students walked in groups of two or more; many obviously knew each other. Instead of feeling left out, I felt a precious sense of freedom in walking to class without being recognized.

Pushing my epic fail of a morning out of the way, I entered Whitehall and took the first set of steps to the right. The hallway upstairs was crowded with students waiting for the rooms to empty. I threaded through the laughing groups, dodging some who still looked half-asleep. Finding an empty spot across from my classroom, I sat down against the wall and crossed my legs. I ran my hands over my jeans, excited to be starting history. Most people would be bored to tears in History 101, but it was my first class in my major.

And if I got lucky, five years from now, I’d be working in a silent and cool museum or library, cataloging ancient texts or artifacts. Not the most glamorous of professions, but it would be perfect for me.

Better than what I used to want to be, which was a professional dancer in New York.

Yet another thing Mom had to be disappointed over. All that money thrown at ballet lessons since I was old enough to walk was wasted after I turned fourteen.

I did miss it though, the calming effect dancing had brought on. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it ever again.

‘Girl, what are you doing sitting on the floor?’

My head jerked up and a grin broke out across my face when I saw the wide, bright smile stretching across the caramel tone of Jacob Massey’s boyishly handsome face. We’d buddied up during freshman orientation last week and he was in my next class, plus art on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’d immediately warmed to his outgoing personality.

I glanced at the expensive-looking jeans he wore, recognizing the tailored cut. ‘It’s comfortable down here. You should join me.’

‘Hell, no. I don’t want my fine ass to be tainted by sitting on that floor.’ He propped a hip against the wall beside me and grinned. ‘Wait. What are you doing here already? I thought you had a class at nine.’

‘You remember that?’ We’d exchanged schedules for, like, a half a second last week.

He winked. ‘I have a frightening memory for things that are virtually useless to me.’

I laughed. ‘Good to know.’

‘So did you skip already? You bad, bad girl.’

Wincing, I shook my head. ‘Yes, but I was running late, and I hate going into a classroom after class starts, so I guess my first day will be Wednesday if I don’t drop it before then.’

‘Drop it? Girl, don’t be stupid. Astronomy is a cake class. I would’ve taken it if it hadn’t filled up in two seconds flat when all the damn upperclassmen took the class.’

‘Well, you didn’t nearly kill a guy in a hallway racing to class—a guy who happens to also be in said cake class.’

‘What?’ His dark eyes widened with interest and he started to kneel down. Someone caught his attention. ‘Hold on a sec, Avery.’ Then he started waving his arm and jumping. ‘Yo! Brittany. Get your ass over here!’

A short blond girl jerked to a stop in the middle of the hall and turned toward us, her cheeks flushing, but she smiled as she saw Jacob hopping around. She cut her way over, stopping in front of us.

‘Brittany, this is Avery.’ Jacob beamed. ‘Avery, this is Brittany. Say hi.’

‘Hi,’ Brittany said, giving me a little wave.

I waved back. ‘Hey.’

‘Avery is about to tell us how she almost killed a guy in a hallway. Thought you’d like to hear the story too.’

I winced, but the spark of interest in Brittany’s brown eyes was kind of funny as she looked at me. ‘Do tell,’ she said, smiling.

‘Well, I really didn’t almost kill someone,’ I said, sighing. ‘But it was close and it was so, so embarrassing.’

‘Embarrassing stories are the best,’ Jacob threw out, kneeling down.

Brittany laughed. ‘That is true.’

‘Spill it, sister.’

I tucked my hair back and lowered my voice so the whole hall didn’t revel in my humiliation. ‘I was running late to astronomy and I sort of ran through the double doors on the second floor. I wasn’t watching where I was going and I plowed into this poor guy in the hallway.’

‘Yikes.’ A sympathetic look crossed Brittany’s face.

‘Yeah, and I mean, I almost knocked him over. I dropped my stuff. Books and pens flew everywhere. It was pretty epic.’

Jacob’s eyes gleamed with humor. ‘Was he hot?’

‘What?’

‘Was he hot?’ he repeated as he smoothed a hand through his cropped hair. ‘’Cuz if he was hot, you should’ve used it to your benefit. That could’ve become the best icebreaker in history. Like, you two could fall madly in love and you get to tell everyone how you plowed him before he actually plowed you.’

‘Oh, my God.’ I felt a familiar heat cross my cheeks. ‘Yeah, he was really good-looking.’

‘Oh no,’ said Brittany, who seemed to be the only other person to recognize how a hot guy made the situation all the more embarrassing. I guess you needed a vagina to understand that, because Jacob looked even more thrilled by the news.

‘So tell me what this good-looking man candy looked like? This is a need-to-know kind of detail.’

Part of me didn’t want to say, because thinking about Cam made me about a thousand different levels of uncomfortable. ‘Uh … well, he was really tall and nicely built, I guess.’

‘How do you know he was nicely built? Did you feel him up, too?’

I laughed as Brittany shook her head. ‘I seriously ran into him, Jacob. And he caught me. I wasn’t feeling him up on purpose, but he seemed like he had a good body.’ I shrugged. ‘Anyway, he had dark, wavy hair. Longer than yours, kind of messy but in a—’

‘Damn, girl, if you say messy in a I-don’t-care-I’m-a-sexy-beast kind of way, I want to run into this guy.’

Brittany giggled. ‘Love hair like that.’

I wondered if my face looked as hot as it felt. ‘Yeah, it was like that. He was really gorgeous and his eyes were so blue they looked—’

‘Wait,’ Brittany gasped, her own eyes widening. ‘Were his eyes, like, so blue they almost looked fake? And did he smell, like, really good? I know that sounds creepy and weird, but just answer the question.’

That was kind of creepy and weird and really funny. ‘Yes to both.’

‘Holy shit on a shoe.’ Brittany let out a loud laugh. ‘Did you get his name?’

I was starting to get worried, because Jacob also had this dawning expression on his face. ‘Yeah, why?’

Brittany elbowed Jacob, and then she lowered her voice. ‘Was it Cameron Hamilton?’

My jaw hit my lap.

‘It was!’ Brittany’s shoulders shook. ‘You ran into Cameron Hamilton?’

Jacob wasn’t smiling. He was just staring at me in … awe? ‘I am so incredibly envious of you right now. I would give my left testicle to run into Cameron Hamilton.’

I half laughed, half choked. ‘Wow. That’s pretty serious.’

‘Cameron Hamilton is serious, Avery. You wouldn’t know. You’re not from around here,’ Jacob said.

‘You’re a freshman, too. How do you know about him?’ I asked, because Cam looked too old to be a freshman. He had to at least be a junior or senior.

‘Everyone on campus knows him,’ he replied.

‘You’ve been on campus for less than a week!’

Jacob grinned. ‘I get around.’

I laughed, shaking my head. ‘I don’t get it. Yeah, he’s … hot, but so what?’

‘I went to school with Cameron,’ Brittany explained, glancing over her shoulder. ‘I mean, he was two years older than me, but he was, like, the shit in high school. Everyone wanted to be around him or with him. It’s pretty much the same here.’

Curiosity rose in spite of how what Brittany said reminded me of someone else. ‘So you guys are from around here?’

‘No. We’re from outside of the Morgantown–Fort Hill area. I don’t know why he chose this school instead of WVU, but I did because I wanted to get out of town versus being stuck with the same old people.’

I could understand that.

‘Anyway, Cameron is known around campus.’ Jacob smacked his hands together. ‘He lives off campus and supposedly throws the best parties ever and—’

‘He had a reputation in high school,’ Brittany cut in. ‘A reputation that was well earned. Don’t get me wrong. Cameron has always been a really cool guy. Very nice and funny, but he put the “or” in man-whore back then. Seems to have settled down a bit, but a leopard and their spots …’

‘Okay.’ I fiddled with my bracelet. ‘Good to know, but it doesn’t really matter. I mean, I ran into him in a hallway. That’s the extent of my knowledge of Cam.’

‘Cam?’ Brittany blinked.

‘Yeah?’ I shoved to my feet and grabbed my bag. Doors would open soon.

Brittany’s brows knitted. ‘People who he doesn’t know call him Cameron. Only his friends call him Cam.’

‘Oh.’ I frowned. ‘He told me people called him Cam, so I assumed that’s what people called him.’

Brittany didn’t say anything, and I honestly didn’t see what the big deal was. Cam/Cameron/Whatever was just being polite after I ran him over. The fact that he was a reformed party playboy meant nothing to me other than that I should stay far, far away from him.

Doors swung open and students spilled into the hallway. Our little group waited until it cleared before we headed inside, picking three seats in the back, with Jacob in between Brittany and me. As I pulled out my massive, could-knock-someone-out-if-hit-with-it, five-subject notebook, Jacob grabbed my arm.

Mischief and total mayhem filled his gaze. ‘You cannot drop astronomy. To get through this semester, I must live vicariously through you and hear about Cam at least three days a week.’

I laughed softly. ‘I’m not going to drop the class’—even though I sort of wanted to—’but I doubt I’m going to have anything to tell you. It’s not like we’re even going to talk again.’

Jacob let go of my arm and sat back, eyeing me. ‘Famous last words, Avery.’

The rest of the day wasn’t nearly as eventful as my morning had been, much to my pleasure. No more innocent hot boys almost knocked over or other humiliating incidents. Although I had to relive the experience all over again at lunch for Jacob’s entertainment, I was happy that he and Brittany had a break around the same time I did. I’d really been planning on spending most of my day being a loner, so it was nice to actually talk to people … my own age.

Being social was like riding a bike, I guess.

And besides Jacob’s unneeded advice, which entailed me purposely running into Cam the next time I saw him, there hadn’t been any awkward moments. By the end of the day, I honestly had pretty much forgotten about Cam.

Before I left campus, I headed down to the financial building to pick up an application for work-study. I didn’t need the money, but I needed the time suckage to keep my mind occupied. I had a full load—eighteen credit hours—but I would have a crap ton of free time. A job on campus seemed like the right thing to go for, but there were no spots open. My name went on an extended waiting list.

The campus was really beautiful in a quaint, peaceful sort of way. It was nothing like the sprawling campuses of huge universities. Nestled between the Potomac River and the tiny, historical town of Shepherdstown, it was like something you’d see on a postcard. Large buildings with steeples mixed in among more modern structures. Trees everywhere. Fresh, clean air and everything you needed within walking distance. I could actually walk on nicer days or at least park on West Campus to avoid paying the meter.

After giving my information for the waiting list, I hoofed it back toward my car, enjoying the warm breeze. Unlike this morning when I’d been running late, I got a chance to check out the houses on the way to the train station. Three houses, side by side, had porches full of college-aged guys. Most likely this school’s version of fraternity row.

One guy looked up, beer in hand. He smiled, but then turned as a football flew out from the open door, smacking him in the back. Curses exploded.

Definitely fraternity row.

My spine stiffened as I picked up my pace, hurrying past the houses. I hit an intersection, stepped out, and nearly got slammed by a silver truck—one of those big ones, maybe a Tundra—as it sped onto the narrow road I needed to cross. My heart jumped as the truck slammed its brakes, blocking my path.

I took a step back onto the curb, confused. Was the driver going to yell at me?

The tinted passenger window rolled down, and I about fell flat on my face.

Cameron Hamilton grinned at me from behind the wheel, baseball cap on, turned backward. Wisps of dark hair curled up under the band. And he was shirtless—totally shirtless. And from what I could see of him, just his chest, it was a mighty fine chest. Pecs—the guy had pecs. And a tattoo. On the right side of his chest, a sunburst, flames trailing back over his shoulders in vibrant hues of red and orange.

‘Avery Morgansten, we meet again.’

He was the last person I wanted to see. I had the shittiest luck known to man. ‘Cameron Hamilton … hi.’

He leaned over, dropping an arm over the steering wheel. Correction. He also had some really nice biceps. ‘We have to stop meeting like this.’

And that was the truest thing ever spoken. I needed to stop staring at his biceps … and chest … and tattoo. Never thought the sun could be so … sexy. Wow. This was awkward.

‘You running into me, me almost running over you?’ Cam elaborated. ‘It’s like we’re a catastrophe waiting to happen.’

I had no idea what to say to that. My mouth was dry, thoughts scattered.

‘Where are you heading?’

‘My car,’ I forced out. ‘I’m about to run out of time.’ Not necessarily true, because I had been generous with the quarters so I wouldn’t end up with a parking ticket, but he didn’t need to know that. ‘So …’

‘Well, hop in, sweetheart. I can give you a ride.’

Blood drained from my face and rushed to other parts of my body in a really odd and confusing way. ‘No. It’s okay. I’m right up the hill. No need at all.’

The grin spread up on the side, revealing that one dimple. ‘It’s no problem. It’s the least I can do after almost running you over.’

‘Thank you, but—’

‘Yo! Cam!’ Beer Guy jumped off the porch and jogged down the sidewalk, passing me a quick look. ‘What you up to, man?’

Saved by the frat boy.

Cam’s gaze didn’t veer from me, but his grin started to slip. ‘Nothing, Kevin, just trying to have a conversation.’

Giving Cam a quick wave, I hurried around Kevin and the front of the truck. I didn’t look back, but I could feel him watching. Over the years, knowing when someone was staring at you when you weren’t looking had become a talent of mine.

I forced myself not to run to the train station, because running away in front of the same guy twice in one day was beyond the acceptable level of weirdness. Even for me.

I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until I was behind the wheel of my car and had the engine humming.

Jesus.

I dropped my head against the steering wheel and groaned. A catastrophe waiting to happen? Yeah, sounded about right.