Page 17 of The Pinkie Pact

I wondered why he didn't say anything about going to Georgetown as well.

"Well, hey," Kieran suddenly said. "I'm going to head back to the table. Let me know if you need a ride or anything. Okay?"

Was he talking to me? I didn't know what to say. I felt so damn awkward around him, not sure if he still hated me or what.

"Okay," Kara said. "We'll be fine. You can go back to your friends now."

Rolling his eyes, he walked away. As the band started a new song, Bear moved in closer to me, and I smiled up at him.

"You look gorgeous," he said.

"Um, thanks?"

We both laughed as he put his arms around me from behind, and we started to sway as one to the beat.

The rest of the night was a blur of beautiful reggae music, Bear and I dancing together pretty much the whole time except when we needed the bathroom or more drinks. I didn't know what it was—the music, Bear's affection, the words of Bob Marley—but as the band played "Redemption Song" to close out the night and the crowd sang along, I felt so inspired to get off my lazy ass and actually do something... do something to help this world and make it a better place.

And I made a little vow to myself to not forget this feeling and really do it.

First Day

Sky

Monday morning dawned, the first day of school. I woke up alone because Kara was already at class. I had purposely chosen late morning classes because I hated getting up early.

As I ate some of the healthy cereal that Kieran had bought, I thought about the night before and how much fun I'd had. Kara and I actually had another success in sticking to our pinkie pact. This thing might really work.

Kieran had texted again to make sure we got home okay, annoying Kara to no end, and Bear had been great, not pressuring me at all to take things further, just sharing a few sweet kisses while we'd danced. And the best part was I woke up feeling pretty decent and not hungover.

I was super excited for my first class, an individual piano lesson which, to be honest, I didn't really need. But it was the only way I could figure out how to play the piano here, something I needed to keep myself sane. I had read about the private piano practice rooms that you could only access by taking a music class, and I was dying to check them out.

After that, I would have an interview at the library. Thank goodness for Kara because her pulling strings had seemed to work. She said the interview was just a formality to make sure I wasn't crazy, and hopefully, I could prove that to them. And then, the real fun would begin with Calculus III and Introduction to Advanced Mathematics.

On my way out the door, I saw I had a text from Bear. "Good luck with your first day of classes! You're gonna crush it."

He was so sweet. I wrote him back as I walked, not really paying attention to where I was going, and I narrowly avoided running into someone.

"Hey!" a familiar voice said.

I glanced up to see a shirtless Kieran standing there, wiping sweat from his forehead, looking so damn sexy, I forgot how to even speak.

He yanked out his ear buds. "Sorry about that. Just coming back from a run and not paying attention."

Whoa. Hot, sweaty Kieran was... just wow. Fuck. Fuck me. His chest. My mouth went dry.

"Well," he said, "I'm sure you have a class to get to."

He looked at me for a heartbeat, his brows together like he was confused.

"I'll see you later I guess," he said just before he took off again.

I had no fucking idea Kieran was hiding that kind of body. Even his back was hot, I thought, staring after him till he disappeared from my sight.

Finally, I took a breath. Wait. What just happened? Had I said a single word to Kieran that whole time? I tried to remember, but all I could think of was his naked chest right in front of my face.

I shook my head to try and erase the image from my mind, but I knew that chest would be reappearing in my dreams tonight.

***

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