Page 26 of Running Winter

"I can't stop staring at you," I admitted as Heather grinned stupidly. "Talk to me. Distract me. What are you studying?"

"Dance. The program here isn't that good, but I'm reapplying to California colleges again this year."

No way.

"Yeah? Me too."

Her eyes widened then, and she shook her head.

"Really?"

"Really."

Our eyes met again, and I had that feeling again. The sort that told me if we were back at that party, and those guys were there again, I’d have buried every one of them under the floor for even looking at her.

I was in trouble.

LITTLE ‘BURG LAKE

R A F E

I think the only time I'd seen six am was when I was either rolling in from a night out or catching a flight for a vacation.

So six am was pretty much nighttime to me.

Rayna would go without me if I snoozed, though, purely because she was excited about capturing the right moment with her camera.

I grabbed my bag, which had my sketchbook, and pulled the hood up on my hoodie. My curls peeked out from beneath it, and I'd learned from experience it was pointless trying to control them. I slipped silently down the stairs, stopping to grab bananas and orange juice. I stopped, doubling the amount when I thought of Rayna, and decided I didn't want to appear rude.

I opened the door, the morning air greeting me curiously as I spotted Rayna’s red car at the end of my drive. I jogged down to her, enjoying the look of surprise on her face when I slid in beside her.

"Good morning, doll."

"Doll?" Rayna echoed, shaking her head as I grinned.

She was wearing an oversized hoodie too, and this one had the word 'Harvard' across it. Add to the fact that it was too big for her; I concluded it belonged to some guy. Her hair was in a ponytail on her head, and the glasses were back.

Still, she looked cute.

"Don't be so prickly. You're the one that suggested this ungodly hour,” I pointed out as I clipped my seat belt.

I hoped Rayna wasn't a shit driver. I had no tolerance for people who hesitated and struggled to park.

Just catch a fucking bus.

To my surprise Rayna did a swift u-turn, backing up incredibly close to the wall before easing the car back in the direction she came. She drove with one hand on the wheel and one on the shift, her eyes squinting with concentration.

I gazed out of the window, watching as the sleepy houses went by. The journey was mostly silent, partially because I fell asleep when she got on the freeway.

“Wake up, handsome. We're here."

Rayna’s voice interrupted my brief slumber, and I yawned before opening my eyes.

Rayna was outside the car now, pulling her backpack on as she peered back at me.

I grabbed my bag, meeting her at the front of the car. All I could see were thick trees, and beyond that, the mountains us locals called The Little Burgs. There was a lake somewhere around here, from memory, but I'd not been since I was a kid.

The ground crunched beneath my sneakers as I followed Rayna, again in complete silence. It was so quiet here I didn't want to interrupt nature doing its thing.

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