3 Conjuring Read online

  For their part, Kelsey and Laura had both purposely scheduled classes for early in the morning so they could have their afternoons free. I thought that was a terrible idea and I said just that the previous evening when we’d all been sitting around the common room watching television. Matilda had agreed with me. So, by the time I was dressed and ready to leave for classes the next day, the room was already empty. I had no idea where Matilda was, but I was hoping I would be able to avoid her. Ever since Kelsey dropped her little bomb, I had been leery of my new roommate. Unfortunately, the opportunity to question Kelsey further on that subject hadn’t arisen. I would have to find a time to get her alone.

  I was locking the dorm room behind me when I saw Paris round the corner and head in my direction. I was glad to see her. Even though she lived about five doors away, I hadn’t gotten a chance to spend any quality time with her since Friday’s apartment party. I really missed her – especially since I was suddenly worried that Matilda was going to try to kill me in my sleep.

  “Are you walking to campus?” Paris asked hopefully.

  “Yeah. You?”

  “Yep.”

  “Good, we can walk together.”

  “Yeah, it will give us a chance to talk,” Paris agreed.

  Uh-oh. I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of that. “What are we talking about? It isn’t anything evil, is it?”

  “That depends,” Paris teased. “Do you consider Brittany evil?”

  “Always.”

  “Then, yes, we have to talk about something evil.”

  “Crap. Can’t we just talk about vampires and werewolves instead? I prefer that kind of evil.”

  “I think we all do,” Paris agreed.

  We were both silent until we hit the sidewalks on the ground level and turned toward the heart of campus. Paris seemed suspiciously tight-lipped once we were in the bright light of day.

  “So,” I began.

  “It’s the first day of September and it still feels like summer,” Paris interjected quickly. “That’s great, huh? Maybe we’ll have a really nice fall.”

  “Yeah, nice try,” I said. “What’s the doom and gloom you’re about to drop on this sunny day?”

  “It’s not that bad,” Paris sighed. “It’s just something I thought I should give you a heads up about.”

  “Go on. I’m dying to hear it.”

  “Brittany is going after Will.”

  “What else is new? It’s not exactly like that’s a news flash.”

  “Yeah, but this time it’s not just idle chatter to annoy you,” Paris said. “She means business.”

  “Like?”

  “Like she’s trying to get him to ask her out.”

  “He won’t do it,” I said, and I was actually fifty percent sure I was right. “We talked the other night, and I don’t think she’s really on his radar that way.”

  “Yeah, Brittany told me about that,” Paris said carefully. “Her take on things was a little different.”

  “What was her take?” I couldn’t wait to hear this.

  “She said you were throwing yourself at Will around the bonfire and Aric found you and freaked out and you two broke up.”

  “We did not break up.” At least I didn’t think we did. I hadn’t heard from him since the party, though, so I couldn’t be entirely sure.

  “You did have a fight, though?” Paris raised her eyebrows questioningly.

  “Yeah, we definitely had a fight,” I agreed. “He’s got this bossy thing going that really turns me off.”

  “Of course it does,” Paris laughed. “You’re super bossy and he’s super bossy and when two super bossy people get together the bossiness runneth over.”

  “I am not bossy.”

  “You’re totally bossy,” Paris waved off my argument. “The good news for you is that when that bossiness runneth over it often does so in the bedroom. How are things in the bedroom, by the way?”

  “Like I’m going to tell you that,” I said. “Especially now.”

  “Later? When you’ve calmed down and you realize I’m right?”

  “You’re starting to bug me.”

  “That’s something a bossy person would say.”

  “No, a bossy person would gag you.”

  “Promises, promises,” Paris smirked. “Back to the Brittany problem, though. She’s actually considering calling him and asking him out.”

  “Good for her. She’ll just feel like an idiot when he says no.”

  “Well, here’s the thing,” Paris paused for dramatic emphasis. “I took a little something extra away from Brittany’s bonfire story.”

  “Oh, yeah? And what is that?”

  “That Will still has feelings for you.”

  I felt myself blush – and I was annoyed by my reaction. “Why would you say that?”

  “Because Brittany said Aric accused him of that.”

  “He did.”

  “And did he deny it?”

  “He did.”

  “Was he telling the truth when he denied it?”

  That was an interesting question. One I didn’t want to answer. “So, what classes do you have today?”

  “That’s what I thought,” Paris said knowingly.

  “I don’t see how this relates to Brittany asking Will out,” I grumbled.

  “Because, if Will does still have feelings for you the best way to get to you is to date someone close to you,” Paris explained.

  “Like Brittany,” I mused.

  “Like Brittany,” Paris agreed.

  “Well,” I blew out a frustrated sigh. “I guess I’ll just have to cross that bridge when I come to it.” I had better not come to it.

  “You’re not going to deal with it by killing her, are you?” Paris looked legitimately worried.

  “Of course not.”

  “Good.”

  “I didn’t promise not to beat the crap out of her, though.”

  MY MONDAY schedule started with oceanography. Frankly, I was interested in fulfilling my science class requirement with anything that didn’t necessitate cutting up a frog or looking at anything really gross under a microscope. I figured this was the way to go. I thought it would be all sharks and dolphins. What could be bad about that?

  The class was held in a large lecture hall and was taught by an instructor who had a lot in common with the teacher in the Charlie Brown cartoons. He droned on and on and on. It looked like everything in the class would be straight out of the book, though, so that was a bonus. No actual thinking required.

  After that, I had my lone journalism class of the semester: Newspaper Design. The classroom was in the basement of the English building, and I was relieved when I entered and found that Matilda was nowhere in sight. Since we were both majoring in journalism, the odds weren’t exactly in my favor. I was glad to see that luck had finally decided to make a cameo appearance in the story of my life.

  That feeling lasted for exactly sixty seconds, long enough for me to find a computer station and get settled. When I sat down and faced the front of the classroom, though, my relief washed away with the sight of the instructor.

  Professor Sam Blake, head of the monster-hunting academy on campus, was standing in front of the class talking to a student. He hadn’t seen me yet, which was a small miracle. I considered sneaking out and trying to switch classes, but that seemed like a cowardly thing to do. I took the opportunity to watch Professor Blake when he wasn’t aware of my presence. He was a young professor, early thirties and well-built. He had floppy blond hair and an easy grin that was accentuated with a dimple that caused most of the female student body to go all atwitter. I had seen his darker side, though. And, as nice as he seemed while chatting up the student, I knew there was a real darkness in his heart. Unfortunately, I suddenly realized that the student he was chatting up was someone that I recognized: Jessica. So much for luck.

  “You’re so funny,” Jessica giggled, causing me to cringe. She ran her hand up Professor Blake’s arm in a flirty na
ture. “I’m looking forward to class this semester. I’ve heard great things about you as a teacher.”

  “Well, that’s flattering,” Professor Blake looked uncomfortable. “You should probably go, though. I have another class to teach.”

  I met his eyes evenly when his gaze fell on me. Jessica followed his stare and frowned when she saw that I was his newfound point of interest. She desperately tried to draw his attention back to her and her ample bosom. “Are you available for private tutoring sessions?”

  “What?” Professor Blake turned back to her and frowned. “Um, no. Unfortunately, my time outside of class is already spoken for. I’m sure there are some teaching assistants that would be willing to help you, though.”

  “They’re not as good as you,” Jessica pouted.

  “I’m sure they’ll be sufficient.” Professor Blake smiled tightly. He seemed uncomfortable with Jessica’s pointed attention.

  Jessica didn’t look happy with his answer. “But … .”

  “I really have to start my other class now,” Professor Blake said forcefully. “I’ll see you again on Wednesday.”

  “You can count on it,” Jessica said, casting a hateful glare in my direction.

  Once she left, Professor Blake introduced himself to the class and launched into the semester overview. Since it was the first day, our only responsibility was booting up the computers and getting to know the different programs on them. I set about my tasks, occasionally glancing up to see whether Professor Blake’s attention was focused in my direction. Ever since he had tried to recruit me for the monster-hunting academy – and I had balked – he had embarked on a series of different ways to entice me back. None of those had worked. The last time I saw him had been the spring semester of last year. He was the one who tipped me off to exactly what Zach was. I hadn’t seen him since – and I had no idea whether he knew how that whole situation had remedied itself.

  Luckily for me – I think – Professor Blake seemed focused on everyone else in class.

  He stopped by everyone’s workstations to make sure they were navigating the programs correctly, but he didn’t even pause by my station. It was as though I had ceased to exist. I had no idea whether that was a good thing.

  Fifty minutes later, class was over. I realized I was dawdling as I was packing up, but when I glanced up at Professor Blake’s desk to see whether he was still there, I found the entire room was suddenly vacant.

  Well, that was a relief. He had apparently lost interest in me. That’s a good thing.

  Right?

  Right?

  Seven

  I had one more class left that afternoon, a philosophy class on the makeup of the sexual revolution and its impact on the world today. Yeah, they had me at the word “sex.” I can’t help it; I find the whole idea fascinating. As an added bonus, it made my mother roll her eyes when she saw my class schedule.

  After class, I walked back to the dorms alone and trudged upstairs dejectedly. The sex class wasn’t half as much fun as I thought it would be, and it was filled with horny guys who kept trying to look down my shirt. Yeah, I should have seen that one coming.

  I opened the door to the common room, expecting to find some combination of hungry roommates waiting for me – we had all agreed to go to dinner together after classes – and instead found Aric sitting on the small couch and watching the door expectantly. He wasn’t alone. Matilda, Kelsey and Laura were all sitting in the room with him and Matilda was staring at him adoringly.

  “Hey,” I greeted him in surprise.

  “Hey.”

  I took small and deliberate steps from the common room into my bedroom and dropped my backpack onto my bed. I expected Aric to follow me and I wasn’t disappointed when I heard the bedroom door shut behind us.

  “Are we just supposed to wait for her for dinner?” I heard Kelsey ask from the other room.

  “It won’t take long,” Laura said. “Just turn on the television and wait.”

  “I’m starving.”

  “You can wait fifteen minutes,” Matilda grumbled.

  “Fine.”

  Aric raised an eyebrow as he regarded me cautiously. “Are you all going to dinner together or something?”

  “We’re supposed to.”

  “Do you want me to go?”

  “Not particularly.”

  Aric relaxed into a tentative smile.

  “Unless you’re going to get bossy again,” I added.

  The smile dipped into a frown. “Bossy?”

  “You don’t think you were a little bossy the other night?”

  “I think I was trying to protect you, and that’s a different animal altogether.”

  I blew out a sigh. “I know you have good intentions.” And I mostly did. “But I also know that you get really pushy.”

  “Maybe I was taking a cue from you,” Aric replied pragmatically.

  “That’s what Paris said,” I mused.

  “She did?” Aric looked surprised – and also pleased that someone else seemed to have his back in this fight.

  “She said that I’m super bossy and you’re super bossy and when our super bossy attitudes collide they basically explode.”

  “She said that?”

  “Well, she used fancier words.”

  “I bet,” Aric smirked. “And did you agree with her fancier words?”

  I pursed my lips as I considered the question. “Probably,” I finally replied, nodding as I answered. “We both have strong personalities. It only makes sense that they would clash from time to time.”

  “So are you still mad at me?”

  I rolled my eyes in his direction but refrained from making actual eye contact. I knew I would melt if I actually looked into the dark pools of sexiness that resided there. “I wasn’t really mad at you.”

  “You seemed mad.”

  “I was mad at the situation.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s just so messed up,” I said, leaning back on my bed and moving the backpack out of the way to clear a place for Aric to sit. He did so wordlessly. “When Will came up to me, I was actually annoyed. Then, when he started talking, I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. It’s hard to see someone I’ve known for so long, someone I really used to care about, fall apart like that.”

  “Do you still have feelings for him?” Aric’s voice was low and wary.

  “Not like that,” I scoffed.

  “Like what then?”

  “Like I’m worried that a guy I used to sleep with is acting like a freak.”

  “Don’t remind me that you used to sleep with that guy.” Aric’s voice was a low rumble.

  “Even though you have random people coming up to you at parties and reminding me that you’ve slept with half the campus?”

  “I haven’t slept with half the campus,” Aric shot back. “It’s more like a quarter of the campus.” He was going for levity, but I could tell he immediately regretted the words the minute they left his mouth.

  I tried to let the words wash over me, but there was a sharp poke in the area of my heart when I heard them. “Well, that’s a good distinction.”

  “It’s different,” Aric said honestly. “You were with Will for years. You cared about him. You loved him. I’ve never cared about anyone.”

  I raised my eyebrows dubiously.

  “Until you,” Aric added hastily.

  A wave of sudden warmth coursed through me. “It’s good that you added that caveat,” I smiled smugly.

  “You are the single-most frustrating person I’ve ever met,” Aric continued. I wasn’t feeling so warm now. “You are stubborn. You’re obnoxious. You never think before you speak. You never do what you’re told.”

  “I get it,” I snapped.

  “You’re also funny and warm and … sexy.”

  Okay, I was feeling warm again.

  “I like the way you challenge me,” Aric said.

  “You like the way I challenge you?”

  “Thi
s might come as a surprise to you, but most of the women here fall all over me and tell me how great I am. They’re impressed with my body and my dad and the family money.”

  “I’m getting bored with this conversation.”

  Aric grinned. “You have never told me how great I am. Not once. You make me prove how great I am, and I like that.”

  “I don’t know what to say to that.”

  “Well, that’s a first,” Aric laughed.

  “What is?”

  “I’ve actually managed to render you speechless.”

  “I’m not speechless,” I protested.

  “Close enough.”

  I didn’t hesitate. I shifted my body until I was straddling Aric and pressed my lips to his suggestively. Aric accepted the sudden burst of affection by wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close to him. I sank into the kiss, relishing the feeling of his mouth on mine, until finally pulling away a few minutes later.

  “Don’t stop now,” Aric breathed. I could feel his heart racing in his chest as it pressed against mine.

  “If I don’t stop now, I’ll miss dinner.”

  “I’ll feed you.”

  “We’re having dinner with my roommates,” I reminded him.

  “We?”

  “Yeah, you’re coming with us.”

  “And why is that? What makes you think I would want to have dinner in a dorm cafeteria? I’m way too cool for that.”

  “Because, if you sit through dinner I’ll make it worth your while,” I answered suggestively, shifting a little on his lap so he’d understand my intentions fully.

  Aric blew out a sigh. “You don’t play fair.”

  “How bad can dinner in a dorm cafeteria be?”

  “YOU’RE RIGHT, this is fun,” Aric said wryly when we were seated at a table in the first-floor cafeteria.

  I shot him a silencing look and then shoveled a forkful of macaroni and cheese into my mouth enthusiastically.

  “How can you eat that?” Aric asked distastefully.

  I glanced at his steamed broccoli and rice and arched an eyebrow. “How can you eat that?”