Page 2 of Limbo

Every now and then, my step swerves to the right when a tug on my arm jerks me over. Even if I brace myself, it manages to veer me off course. There’s probably a metaphor for life in there somewhere, but I’m tired and not in the mood to sort it out.

The dangers associated with linked-arm walking go underreported, and the risks appear to increase when one participant bounces around shivering.

“You’re going to give me whiplash,” I say, prying my arm loose from Felicia’s.

“But we need each other’s body heat to survive, Callie.”

“I also need an intact spinal column.”

“I suppose that’s true.” She laughs, inching her scarf higher to cover her mouth.

Given the speed at which her teeth chatter, she probably regrets joining me on my morning journey for a decent cup of coffee. Most days, I choke down our suitemate Jess’s hopeless attempts at mastering the coffeemaker, but Mondays require something stronger and more tolerable. But even without the need for caffeine, I love walking the old part of Easton’s campus on cold mornings. The colder, the better. Instead of weaving in and out of zombie students on their way to an early class, we enjoy abandoned sidewalks, a quiet calm taking over our surroundings.

“Two minutes. Pick it up, dude,” a guy shouts.

Or not.

Felicia and I both scan for him. The low foot traffic should make him easy to find, but his voice bounces between the brick buildings. The few other people in the area also glance around, but none of them appear to track him down either.

I’m still looking when an elbow jab from Felicia brings my attention back ahead of us. A guy dashes out from behind a building, wearing nothing but a gray towel around his waist. Not what I expected to encounter when I left the dorms. He secures the towel, stopping to talk to a girl. An interesting time to flirt, considering the below-freezing temperatures, but hey, to each their own.

Felicia’s steps slow as we watch them. “A frat stunt?”

“This early?”

“There has to be a good reason.”

A reason sure, but I doubt a good one.

When he sprints off from her, he heads straight toward us. As fast as he approaches, I think he’s about to plow right into us, but at the last second, he jerks to a stop in front of me.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, frantic green eyes searching mine.

He can’t be serious. But he must be because, when I don’t answer, he redirects the same question to Felicia. She looks to me for guidance, and I shrug. She drones on about wanting a guy, and Towel Boy surfaces, dark hair a disheveled mess and abs for days. If she wants to kiss him, I won’t stand in her way.

She misses her chance, though, when the phantom man yells, “A minute-thirty!”

Towel Boy looks torn before he runs off and shouts back, “Not helpful, Johnny.”

I track his gaze up the side of a building. On the roof above us, mystery voice Johnny stares down, wearing a black leather jacket, a red bandana, and dark jeans with a giant rip at the knee.

His laughter floats down as he waves a fingerless glove at us. “Good morning, ladies.”

The redhead to my right arches a brow, and her mouth lifts into hermy one true lovesmile. Between her, Axl Rose, and Towel Boy, it’s all growing far too outrageous to experience uncaffeinated. I grab Felicia’s arm and drag her down the sidewalk before she further engages.

“One minute ten seconds,” Johnny shouts.

“One of us should have kissed him.” Felicia glances back. “A sexy guy in a towel this close to Valentine’s Day? A gift from Aphrodite herself.”

I peek over my shoulder as well. Another girl looks ready to slap Towel Boy, but she storms off without physical violence. His shoulders seem to heave in a sigh, and he rubs his forehead, letting his head fall back. Only it jerks up after a second, and our eyes meet.

Oh no.

Recovering from his initial rejection in record-breaking time, he sprints back over until he’s blocking our path.

“Ladies, I apologize for earlier.” He sounds much calmer, a confidence about him this time. “I understand the oddity of my behavior and will gladly explain—”

“Forty seconds.”

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