Page 6 of Unforgettable
I laughed. “Maybe the tree is pressing charges.” Okay, I was outright giddy and stupid at the moment, and I really needed to finish what I’d started before she walked in.
She joined me, and we both giggled uncontrollably. I felt as though I were the one who was drunk.
I caught my breath. “In all seriousness, maybe the chancellor is pressing charges. You know, destruction of property.”
She dragged a finger underneath her eye. “Nah. He’s a football god. He brings in money for the university. The school isn’t going to do anything to mess that up.”
I agreed, but Ryker had more to deal with than football. The guy had recently lost his entire family in the blink of an eye.
“The funeral for his family is next Sunday,” Vicki said. “We should go.”
I nodded. “I think the whole school will be there, especially since classes begin the Monday after the funeral.”
Students were slowly filling the dorms, buying books, and getting ready to settle in. Lakemont allowed students to move in up to a week in advance of classes, and I took advantage of that time only because I couldn’t stand to be in the same house as my stepmother. Vicki, on the other hand, wanted to get a head start since her family had driven her down from Maine. Plus, she hadn’t wanted to miss her sorority open house.
“So we got off track. How did your sorority gig go?”
“Just a lot of excited girls who either looked scared or are salivating to get in. We’re meeting again Wednesday if you want to check it out with me.”
I shook my head. “No way. I don’t want to be tied down or following rules this year. I had my fair share of that in boarding school. This is my time to explore and have fun.”
“But you can have fun in a sorority,” she protested.
“I beg to differ.” I waved my hand around the room. “I like the cave I’m in. And I can have fun without some high and mighty sorority in charge. No offense.”
“But you can meet more guys at a sorority party,” she said, not sounding that convincing. “Please just come to a meeting with me.”
I sighed. She was my roommate, and I wanted to support her. Besides, it wasn’t like I was signing up.
My phone buzzed on the bed between us. My father’s name brightened the screen.
“What the heck does he want at this time of night?” Something bad must’ve happened. I knew it wasn’t my mother. She’d passed away years ago from ovarian cancer. Maybe something had happened to my stepmom. But he knew how I felt about her.
My phone continued to buzz.
I sighed. “I better answer this. He’s relentless when he wants something.”
Vicki bounced off the bed. “Come get me if you need me to give him a talking to.”
That would actually be a funny thing to see. Vicki was a political science major, and her goal was to work in Washington DC one day. Yet if she met my father, she might decide to change her major.
I wanted nothing to do with the limelight or politics. My major was English with a minor in secondary teaching.
I tapped the screen on my phone to answer. “Yes, Father.”
“Young lady, do I have to remind you of our deal?” his voice roared in my ear.
I scrunched my nose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I really didn’t. Aside from Ryker’s party, I hadn’t been anywhere else except to the bookstore and out to dinner, which hadn’t brought out the reporters or cameras.
“I have a picture of you dry humping Ryker James. Again, have you forgotten the rules?”
I should’ve been screaming about his rules, but I couldn’t get past dry humping Ryker James.What the hell?No one other than him and me was in that room.
Unless…Oh my God.After I’d gotten a towel out of the bathroom, some girl with blue eyes and bleached-blond hair had been waiting to go in. I’d lost all sense of my surroundings when Ryker had grabbed my hips and set me on his lap.
“Do I have to put a security detail on you, Haven? I can’t have this kind of crap when elections are coming up.”
It was always about him and elections, or him and his crazy wife, or him and his golf game. He didn’t have time for me unless he wanted to point his finger and tell me what I could or couldn’t do. I swore I’d ruined his life by being born.
