Page 2 of No Way Out
No, those were just perks.
I’d been obsessed with plants my whole life. I learned basic herbology from my Macumbeira grandmother before I turned ten. By seventeen, I had written a book on how to kill someone and get away with it using only plants. The Nile publishing services still banned it after a week—something about its “dangerous potential”.
I don’t know—sometimes, a girl needs to know how to off a man in an untraceable way. I still didn’t see the issue there.
“N-No. Nothing funny, Dr. Harkins,” I managed to rush out of my mouth.
“Just discussing the highly severe implications drug addiction can have.” Naya barely held it together, her laugh hissing out like a gas leak between words.
“Save it for a relevant class, girls.” Before he could move on, the start of class was once again interrupted, this time by a student pausing at the door.
Remaining in Harkins’ good graces was necessary if I were to graduate a semester early. Hopefully, if I did, he’d sign a referral for my employment as the herbology specialist on campus. A job straight out of college was practically unheard of these days.
I couldn’t fuck that up.
NPC was a pretty big campus, but not large enough that I didn’t recognize most of the people in my program, and this guy wasnotin it. He was at least six foot five from the way he towered over Dr. Harkins. Naya and I had pretty much visually measured our professor for the last two years, and we felt confident in our conclusion that he was between six and six feet two inches tall. With his helmet held tightly against his side, mystery-man raked his fingers through his shiny black hair before approaching Harkins’ desk.
“Can I help you?” my annoyed professor asked.
He stayed silent, handing over a piece of paper to the professor, not turning his head to the rest of the class. I could only see about half of his face, and the half I could see was covered by hair, multiple lip piercings, and what looked to be a tattoo of a rose gracing his neck.
A black, button-down shirt and matching checkered vans were apparently enough to do it for me; suddenly, I was no longer questioning my fuck face ex’s ability to move on so fast.
“Did you find a new toy to ride?” Naya whispered in my ear, as if she could hear my lady juice dripping down to my underwear.
“You have no self control.” I shook my head, clamping my lips together to hold back my smile as our professor quietly spoke to what looked to be a new student.
It was October—it was way too fucking late to be joining the semester.
“Miss Costa, please join another lab duo for the semester and clear out the seat next to Miss Machado for our new student,” Dr. Harkins announced.
We groaned simultaneously.
“Any duo,” he reminded her, and my bestie’s loyalty evaporated, her eyes going wide as she scrambled to pick up her books and join Kyle Danvers’ lab group.
Asshole. I communicated with her telepathically, pretending like she’d receive the message.
It would make me feel better.
Then, I turned my head, my attention focused on the black hole circling toward me.
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat.
“Camila, Zeke is a late transfer from West Haven Parochial. His focus is on herbology and plant energy just like you. I’d like you to help him catch up, please.”
I nodded, my mouth slightly agape as I watched one of the most attractive men I’d ever seen in my life move toward me like a gift from the gods.
“Ican’tbelieveI’mgoing to this stupid fucking corn maze.” Naya’s eyes went wide, as if my mood offended her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I lied, taking advantage of the fact that she understood how difficult it was to hold on to those intrusive thoughts sometimes.
“Sure.” She rolled her eyes, grabbing my wrist and pulling me from the parking lot before I had a chance to even lock my car.
Rural Ohio.
Yup.
The corn maze was a joke of a holiday event, because regardless of whether it was Halloween, it would probably still exist. This entirestatewas a fucking corn maze, plus Cedar Point. Corn mazes and Cedar Point. The only good thing about this place was that when winter came, you could leave your beer outside to keep it cold.
“I swear to all that is dark and unholy, if you leave me for the Danvers kid tonight, you will feel my wrath,” I said in my most emotionless tone possible.
