Wrecked Book 4 (5 page)

Kass frowned at me. She was sitting across from me, picking at her salad. It had chicken in it and it definitely wasn
’
t made here. I wondered if she made it herself or her and James
’
s relationship had developed to the overly cuteness point of him making her lunches to take to school.

The thought alone was enough to make me want to roll my eyes.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
Kass asked, eyeing me uncertainly.
“
I thought you were looking forward to your coffee date?
”

I could hear the sudden hesitant and tentative tone in her voice. She was nervous, because this was her brother. I shook my head at her quickly, giving her my best
‘
you know better
’
look and hoping that would convince her that this had nothing to do with Derek.

Which, technically, it didn
’
t.

“
No,
”
I told her, pulling my phone out of my bag and indicating it. It was still off.
“
My phone died this morning, so I can
’
t text him where we should meet.
”

It was a complete, boldfaced lie, but I had to do it. I couldn
’
t bear to see if Logan was sending me anymore texts. That first one was enough to throw off my whole day. It didn
’
t help that I was dreaming about taking him for another ride between the sheets last night.

Kass rolled her eyes at me.
“
Oh, jeez. Is that what all the cursing is about?
”
Reaching into her own bag, she pulled out her cell phone and slid it across the table to me.
“
Just use mine. It
’
s got plenty of battery and obviously I already have his number. Just be sure to let him know it
’
s you texting.
”

I grinned at her, accepting the phone gratefully.
“
What? Don
’
t want your brother thinking that your most exciting date is with him?
”
I teased.

“
Uh, no,
”
she told me in her best
‘
well, duh
’
voice.
“
I don
’
t want him to think that something gross and ridiculous, like Poodle Bear is my nickname for him.
”
She shuddered at her own words, a look of horror and disgust crossing her features.
“
Ew. Just ew.
”

I laughed at her.
“
Poodle Bear?
”

She shrugged.
“
What?
”
she demanded, returning to her definitely not cafeteria food salad.
“
It was the most awkward pet name I could think of.
”

I had to give her points for that. It was horrifically awkward as far as pet names went. And it was definitely not one I would ever use, but it got her point across.

I found Derek
’
s number in her contacts list and started a message.
This is Addy. My phone died. Where you wanna meet?

Leaving it on the counter in front of me, I stole a piece of chicken off of Kass
’
s salad, much to her annoyance, as I waited for his reply. It came quickly.

Thought you might stand me up. Out on the quad by that Coffee Bean place that has the good blended drinks.

I let out a small sigh of relief. At least he didn
’
t suggest the coffee shop
I
usually went to. After my last Lexie encounter, I was most definitely giving it a decent amount of space before heading over there again.

Be there in ten.

After replying to his message, I slid Kass
’
s phone back to her.
“
Thanks,
”
I said, smiling at her as I got up from the table.

She nodded her head at me.
“
You bet. Have a good time. Don
’
t do anything indecent or weird. He is my brother after all.
”

I gave her an incredulous, mock offended look.
“
Excuse me! I
’
m meeting him for coffee, not a little hanky panky in the park.
”

Laughing out loud at me, Kass shook her head.
“
I love it. I
’
m totally going to say hanky panky in the park now.
”

Rolling my eyes at her, I waved and walked away.
“
Bye.
”

I heard her laughing up until I excited the room, the doors closing behind me.

This morning, everything had been pretty quiet. Though there had been plenty of students around, they were mostly half awake and none of them were really interested in lingering outside to chat with friends. Now, there were twice as many students and they were definitely awake. They were mostly in groups now, chatting and laughing together as they headed towards lunch or class. Only a few people were rushing at this point, most of them slowly making their way to wherever it was they needed to be.

I moved at a steady pace, aiming towards the quad and the coffee shop that was little more than a stand. The
Coffee Bean
was popular mostly because it was in what was widely accepted as the center of campus and everyone at one point or another passed it. No one would be sitting down or staring out of windows, but plenty of people were waiting in line to get some coffee.

Including a tall, handsome young man with brown hair and brown eyes.

Derek caught my eye and smiled at me. He waved me over.

I smiled back, and went to his side. Leaning close, I asked,
“
Do you think it
’
s alright if I cut?
”

He laughed, then slipped his arm around my shoulders. He felt warm and inviting.
“
I don
’
t know about that, but I know that I don
’
t care if they do.
”

We made it to the counter after maybe ten minutes of waiting
—
it was a busy time for coffee, apparently
—
and ordered a couple of coffees and a croissant to split. Since we obviously couldn
’
t eat our food there at the shop, we decided to treat it sort of like a picnic and eat outside.

There were tables all over the quad since it was a fairly popular hangout spot for students in between their classes.

We picked one that was unoccupied
—
one of the only ones that wasn
’
t filled with other students
—
and sat down with our coffees.

I sipped at mine carefully. It was still hot.

“
So you
’
ve roomed with Kass since freshman year?
”
Derek asked conversationally.

I shook my head.
“
No, not freshman year. We had some classes together and really hit it off,
”
I explained. My first roommate had actually been a terror and the thought of her made me want to strangle someone.
“
So when we finally got to move out of the dorms, we thought it would be cool if we could room together.
”

“
Just you, Kass, and two of your closest friends?
”
he teased.

I laughed, running a hand through my sleek hair.
“
Yeah, I guess. But we figured that no matter who we ended up with, at least we
’
d have each other to help make it through.
”

“
Harder to get out numbered when you have at least one person on your side?
”
he asked, taking a drink of his coffee.

I picked off a piece of the croissant, and nodded my head.
“
Yeah, pretty much. I
’
d rather get stuck with a bunch of strangers and Kass, than room without her, you know?
”

He smiled.
“
You guys seem pretty close.
”

“
We are,
”
I agreed, chewing on the croissant. It was buttery and flaky and way better than I was expecting. Of course, I had also skipped breakfast and hadn
’
t eaten lunch yet, so that might have had something to do with it.
“
You
’
re sister
’
s a really cool, understanding person.
”

Placing his arms on the table, his hands cupping his coffee cup, he agreed.
“
Yeah, she
’
s a pretty amazing person. It
’
s pretty hard not to like her.
”

“
So how much longer before med school?
”
I asked.

He considered my question for a moment, then said,
“
Well, I
’
m scheduled to graduate at the end of this year. I obviously still have to take my exams, but as long as I study, it shouldn
’
t be a problem.
”

“
And where to from there?
”
I was legitimately impressed that he
’
d come so far and was talking so casually about his exams. Not like he was just a genius who was going to take the world by storm or some snobby rich kid who knew his daddy could buy his way into the school. It was more like he knew that if he put his mind and his heart into this, he
’
d be fine. There was a lot to be said for the kind of confidence that wasn
’
t egotistical.

He shrugged his shoulders.
“
I
’
ve got a couple in mind,
”
he admitted.
“
But I haven
’
t picked one for certain. And, you know, I do still have to get in after that.
”
He grinned, showing that he was neither too cocky, nor too down on himself. It made me like him a little more.

I smiled.
“
Okay, then top three. If you could have your pick, where would they be?
”

Reaching his hand up to scratch his chin in mock thought, he answered,
“
Well, I mean obviously anything like Harvard or Johns Hopkins is a given, but I don
’
t really expect to get that high up. And even if I did, no way I
’
d be able to pay for it without some kind of scholarship. So, for
realistic
choices, I
’
m aiming for Pennsylvania, Columbia, or the University of Washington. They
’
re some of the top schools, but not so high up the list that it
’
s impossible to get in.
”

I nodded my head. That was smart, to have picks that were in the top, but also have several back ups that were good but not
too
good.
“
That
’
s a really good idea. I think I
’
ll steal it from you.
”

He grinned at me.
“
You
’
re going to medical school, too?
”
he asked in an exaggerated tone of mock surprise.

I laughed, shoving at him.
“
No! Of course not. But I
’
m going to pick a few good graduate programs for business and try for a bunch of different ones to find one that
’
ll take me
and
that I can afford.
”

Waving his hand dismissively, he told me,
“
I wouldn
’
t worry about it. You
’
re smart enough that any school would be lucky to have you.
”

A small blush crept along my cheeks and a smile curled along my lips.
“
I
’
m not that smart,
”
I responded, feeling a little embarrassed by the compliment.