Page 22 of No Way Home
A group of girls from the second row turned and raised their solo cups at Bowen. “That boy is six-feet-two inches of God’s finest work,” a curvy blond hooted shamelessly.
Bowen stood perfectly still, like he couldn’t hear. But that was impossible.
Abilene’s eyes rolled so hard it looked painful. Her megaphone hands were back. “You wouldn’t have even noticed if his last name wasn’t Dupree!”
Bowen’s friend cracked up, but the man himself was a statue.
The girl who’d catcalled Bowen hollered up at Abilene, “Oh, I’m positive I would!”
Abilene cupped her hands again, and I clapped my hand over her mouth.
She shook free and huffed. “Fine.”
“Why is he in the student section?” I mumbled.
“Because he’s a student here,” Abilene said, voice dripping with duh.
My head whipped around to look at her. “No, he’s not.”
She gaped at me like I’d just confessed the Earth was flat. “Yes, he is. I see himwalking across campus every Tuesday-Thursday at 10:50 am. Everyone knows Bowen Dupree is an architecture major. Here. At UVA.”
I blinked, heat prickling my cheeks.
“Maggie,” Abilene asked way too loudly. “Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“Because he lied. And when I asked Griffin about it, he lied too.” At that, Bowen’s shoulders tensed more, and I suspected he’d heard this entire conversation. “They both told me he was going to live at home and attend community college.” I shook my hands, trying to release the hurt. “Why would he lie about that? And why would Griff lie? Like, if he thought this relationship was going to have a future, why would he say something flat out not true? He’d have to know I’d find out eventually. Lies, lies, lies, all day and all night. They’re just a family of freaking liars, and you know I can’t stand a liar.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and, with trembling fingers, angry-swiped to Griffin’s and my text thread. “I am so done.”
Abilene yelped as a hand clamped around my wrist. A guy’s hand—strong, sure, and not letting go. I looked up to see Bowen standing in front of me. The students between his seat and mine had parted like the Red Sea to let him through so fast.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked, voice low but intense, gray eyes hooking mine. “Privately?”
My pulse stuttered but I wrenched my arm free. “Fine.”
He gestured for me to go first. When we made it to the aisle, I let him take the lead. He took off so fast I had to jog to keep up—down the stairs, through the gate, into the concessions area.
He stopped against the concrete wall, bracing one hand against it. “Griffin only lied because I asked him to.”
My head snapped back. “What? Why?”
“Because,” hebit out, shoulders hunching, eyes flicking around like he didn’t want to be seen talking to me. Too bad for him—two girls were already filming. I thought he couldn’t see because they were behind him. But then his nostrils flared. “That’s why.” He swung a glower at them over his shoulder and didn’t stop until they lowered their phones and hurried away.
He threw his head back, fists shaking at the sky.
I snorted. “Dramatic much?”
He pounded his forehead. “Not really. I can’t even go into freaking public without people recording my every micro-twinge and turning it into?—”
“Oh, poor baby. It must be so hard?—”
He snapped his fingers right in my face. “I don’t need the two of us appearing on TikTok, making things worse.”
I almost laughed. Not because it was funny—but because if I didn’t, the lump in my throat might win. His message was loud and clear. We might’ve had that epic date on Serendipity Night, I might be his brother’s part-time girlfriend, and we might both be Hoos, but we werenotgoing to be friends. Ever. We weren’t even going to be acquaintances.
“Let me get this straight,” I said, voice shaky. “You can walk all around campus, come to football games and whatever else, the entire student body knowing full well you’re a Cavalier. But you asked Griffin to lie tomebecause you’d rather die than for me to find out we go to the same school?”
I thought he’d look at least a little guilty. But no. He jammed his hands in his pockets and shrugged like the tool that he was. “Pretty much. You stay in your lane, I’ll stay in mine.”
My mouth fell open. “Gladly. How were you and Griffin raised by the same parents? Your mom would be horrified if she could hear you right now.”
