Page 7 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

“How was the library?”

“Good.” Lucy smiled back at her roommate and set her backpack on her desk chair before flopping onto her bed. “And I think I’ve figured out my statistics report.”

“That’s great. What worked?”

“Well, my brother’s friend Elliot offered to help me.”

“Ooooh, did he?” Karin sat straighter, her eyes lighting up as she closed her laptop. “Now, remind me. Elliot is the handsome one with the blond hair and brown eyes, right? The one who’s all tall and dreamy and muscular?” Karin’s voice went a little sing-songy on the last bit.

“Um, I suppose.” Lucy felt her cheeks redden and quickly turned away from her roommate. She busied herself unpacking her laptop and notebooks.

“Come on. You have to know that he’s probably hitting on you.”

“No.” Lucy felt her blush deepening. “I’m sure he’s just being nice. He’s Dominic’s friend, after all.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Lucy could hear the smile in her roommate’s voice. “You’re gorgeous, Lucy. Who wouldn’t be into you? Anyway, I need all the drama. My boyfriend can’t come visit for at least another two weeks.”

“Really? Why?”

The conversation veered down another path about Karin’s high school boyfriend, who she was still in touch with. He went to a nearby college but was apparently swamped with getting settled into all his classes. Lucy listened sympathetically, but a part ofher mind was still focused on Karin’s comment about how Elliot was probably hitting on her.

Lucy knew he was just being nice. And even if he wasn’t, Dominic had warned her that Elliot wasn’t looking for anything serious. Still, the thought that Elliot might be into her was… interesting.

The next day, Lucy flew through her classes. She met Karin for lunch at the dining hall, went for a quick swim in the sports center pool to clear her mind, and then went back to her room to get ready for her study session with Elliot. Lucy was tempted to put on a little extra makeup and a nice sundress, but it was too chilly for that, and this was just a study session, anyway. In the end, she just washed her face, redid her hair, and grabbed her backpack.

Elliot was waiting for her outside the library with his own backpack. Today, he wore a pair of jeans with rips at the knees and his own Eastwick sweatshirt. He was leaning against a wall, but he straightened when Lucy approached and came to meet her.

“Did you encounter any ghosts last night?” he asked as they entered the library through the double doors.

“No, I was lucky.”

Elliot turned away from the main study hall, and Lucy paused. “Where are we going?”

“The study hall is a complete mess most of the time. You can hear every little noise. But there’s a quiet study room with comfy chairs on the fourth floor. We can have more privacy there.”

Privacy to study,Lucy reminded herself sternly. It wasn’t like Elliot was thinking about anything else, so she shouldn’t be, either.

“Sounds great.”

They rode the elevator to the fourth floor, where Elliot led Lucy past a few stacks of books and into a quiet alcove. Two armchairs stood facing each other with a low table between them. The window beside them looked out over the golden-leafed maple that stood on the quad just in front of the library.

“It feels like we’re in a treehouse,” Lucy said, setting her backpack down and claiming one of the chairs.

“Isn’t it great?” Elliot grinned as he sank into the chair opposite her. “I always like to study here. Sometimes it’s occupied, but I think most people don’t know about this place.”

“Do you and Dominic study here?” Lucy asked. It seemed best to talk about her brother plenty to remind them both of who he was to them.

“Nope. I come here when I’m studying alone. I never bring anyone here. It’ll have to be our secret.” Elliot’s brown eyes lifted to Lucy’s, and she felt warmth flood her. Quickly, she looked down at her backpack.

“Let me grab my laptop, and I’ll show you the report.”

“Great.”

Lucy fished out the laptop and opened her document, then spun the screen so Elliot could see her work. “My problem is that I can’t figure out how to make the graphs match what the teacher was showing.”

“That’s an easy fix. Your x-axis doesn’t start from zero, which is why your line looks so jagged like that. Let me show you.”

Patiently and expertly, Elliot walked her through sprucing up her report. Lucy couldn’t help being impressed that, as well as being handsome and charming, Elliot was also helpful and considerate. He also seemed to know a lot about the subject. Within half an hour, he’d explained everything that Lucy was struggling with in such clear terms she was sure she’d never forget it.

---