Their Paid Girl

Their Paid Girl - Part 44

[RE-CAP]:

            I laughed. “This conversation is dragging on for a ridiculously long time. I keep trying to end it, and you keep—”

            “Stalling? I know,” Adam said smugly. “That’s because I’ve been jogging towards your dorm since you mentioned the library. I’m almost there, I can see the building.”

            My mouth dropped open. “But you don’t even sound out of breath!” I protested.

            “Like I said, I’ve got great legs too. The two of us make a pretty hot coup—” I hung up on him, grinning.

            I raced to the door and let it shut with a bang behind me. I was bringing my Es back home.

           

Part 44

            I finally made it to the library, gasping for air and clutching a stitch in my side. Remember when I said that I try to avoid the gym? Maybe, I thought to myself as my lungs forced my body to slow to a walk, I needed to re-think that aspect of my life. Because if the apocalypse ever happened, I would be the newspaper headline, my early death a surprise to absolutely no one who knows me.

            I stood for a minute outside the building as I struggled to make my breathing even again, and I laid cool hands to my flushed face before walking into the library. I’d rather eat grass before giving Adam the satisfaction of knowing how much my little jog had cost me.

            I walked through the revolving doors, right into a crowd of people. Frowning, I tried to figure out what was going on, especially at this time of night in the library of all places. What, was there free food or something? Leaked exam questions being photocopied and distributed to all who showed up? Was J.K. Rowling doing a guest appearance and a Q&A to take back what she said about Harry and Hermione being meant for each other?

            Those were the only reasons I could come up with to explain why college students were clustered in the library’s lobby, instead of clustering around tequila shots at all the campus bars.

            As I squeezed my way through people, an auburn-haired girl moved slightly to the left and what I saw made me realize that I’d been wrong. There was actually one other reason on this campus who could draw such a crowd, and he always drew crowds, wherever he went.

            Adam stood in the midst of the sea of people, looking as bad-tempered and annoyed as I’d ever seen him. And that was saying a lot.

            At least six girls stood in front of him and the rest of the crowd, three clutching at his arms and looking adoringly up at him. They kept tugging at him, pleading, and a couple of guys nearby also seemed to be trying to convince Adam to do something. Probably to go to one of their parties. The more the girls tugged, the more immovable Adam became, refusing to budge or to say a word. His face said it all, and frankly it was both terrifying and hilarious at the same time.

            I tried to quell the flare of jealousy I felt inside me as I looked at the girls flaunting themselves in Adam’s face, but it was incredibly reassuring that he didn’t look at me with the glare of a murderer exercising the last dregs of his self-control. At least, he didn’t look at me like that anymore. I stifled a laugh.

            Now that I’d seen Adam, I changed the angle of the direction I’d been going in, and began to plow through the crowd. It was a mission that took all my focus and energy, but I knew the moment when he spotted me.