Kate: Hey girl! Sooo, heads up—I spoke to my sister on the phone earlier and your name came up. Mel said your ex is asking around, trying to find out who you’re dating. I guess someone saw you in town with some local?
I curse out loud. Damn Evan. I knew that night would come back to haunt us.
Me: Ugh. Awesome.
Kate: Yeah. Preston’s on a mission now. You’ve been warned.
Me: Thanks for letting me know.
Kate: Np. Btw—our first gig is next Friday, open mic thing at the
Rip Tide in town. Come!
Me: Text me the deets!
Before I can get back to packing, the phone vibrates again in my hand. Speak of the devil. This time it’s Preston, and he’s not happy.
Preston: You dropped out of Garnet? WTF is wrong with you, Mackenzie. Why are you throwing your life away?
My jaw tightens. I’m so sick of his high and mighty bullshit. The judgmental, patronizing way he treats me, acting as if I’m incapable of living my own life.
Me: Out of curiosity, are you spying on me personally or are you paying other people to keep tabs on me?
Preston: Your father called me. He thinks you’ve gone off the rails.
Me: I don’t give a shit what he thinks.
Me: I also don’t give a shit what you think.
Me: Stop texting me.
When I see him typing, I switch on Do Not Disturb mode. I can’t bring myself to block his number yet. A concession to our history, I guess. But I have a feeling I’ll need to, sooner or later.
When Bonnie returns to the dorm following her afternoon class, I’m completely done packing. The little blonde stops short in our common area and stares at the half dozen boxes lined up against the wall.
“You goin’ on the run?” She tosses down her backpack and grabs a water from the mini fridge, then stands there with the door open, cooling her legs.
“Got kicked out,” I answer with a shrug. “It was bound to happen.”
“Well, shit.” She pushes the fridge closed with her foot. “You think I’ll get to keep the place to myself now?”
I smile at her. Bonnie isn’t an especially sentimental girl, but I know she cares. “I’ll miss you too.”
“What are you going to do with all your stuff?” She nods toward the boxes. Then she gives a catty smile. “I suppose we can ask our cheatin’ ex to borrow his Porsche?”
I snicker. “I’m sure that would go over well.” Walking toward my former bedroom, I fish my phone from my pocket. “It’s fine, I know someone with a truck. Let me see if he can come get me.”
“Oooh, is it the townie with the magic dick?”
“Maybe.” Laughing, I duck into the bedroom to make my call.
“Hey babe. What’s up?” Cooper’s rough voice tickles my ear and sends a shiver up my spine. He even sounds sexy.
“Hey. So. I have a big ask.”
“Shoot.” The banging of hammers and whir of saws fade in the background, like he’s stepping away from his jobsite.
“I have to vacate my dorm. Was tossed out, basically. I guess I’m not allowed to live in student housing when I’m not a student.”
“You realize that’s a completely reasonable decision on the school’s part, right?”
“They gave me twenty-four hours’ notice,” I argue. “How reasonable is that?”
He chuckles. “Need help packing?”
“Nope, but I’m hoping you can pick me up after you’re done working so I can load some boxes in your truck? I’ll put most of it in a storage unit in town until I find an apartment.” I hesitate. “And, um, I could use a place to crash until I find something more permanent. If it’s not too much to ask.”
I mean, it is a lot to ask. We’ve barely started dating. Moving in, even on a temporary basis, is no small favor. Yes, Evan and I are on good terms now, which eases the possible tension, but they didn’t exactly sign up for a third roommate.
“No, you know what,” I interject when he starts to answer, “I’ll get a hotel. That’d make way more sense.”
Because seriously, what was I thinking? This was a stupid idea. How did I think my first option should be to force my way into Cooper’s house, as if I’ve known him for longer than a few months? That’s insane.
“There’s that motel at the north side of the beach. I bet they rent rooms weekly—”
“Mac?”
“Yeah?”
“Shut up.”
I bite back a laugh. “Rude.”