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a horrid screech, and I turned over in bed to see who caused it. Reva stepped in, closing it behind her. "Morning little-miss-secret-keeper, someone is in the living room waiting for you."

"Huh?" I rubbed my eyes, barely awake, to register what she said.

"Preston. He is in the living room."

I sat up as though someone clamped jumper cables on my feet and cranked the voltage up to one-hundred. The mirror leaning in the corner of my bedroom revealed my current state. My hair was atrocious, my breath reeked, and my nipple poked through my tee-shirt like pyramids.

"What is he doing here?"

"Well, he dropped your car off with Aiden."

I paused. "How?"

"He stopped by this morning, and I gave him your keys."

I glanced at the clock. Ten a.m? Holy shit, I slept in. I jumped out of bed, stumbling while pulling my pajama shorts on. Reva stepped out of the way. Quiet laughter eddied from her as I ran to the bathroom. "You are filling me in after or I'm physically hurting you."

I cackled. "Okay, mom."

After brushing my teeth and the rats-nest on my head, I walked into the living room, fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. Elijah sat on the love seat with a coffee mug in his hand, his finger tapping the ceramic as he looked around. The floor shifted under my weight and our eyes locked.

He stood, tossing my car keys. "Good morning."

I caught them haphazardly. "Morning, thank you for getting my car. You really didn't have to do that."

"It was no problem, the guys were headed to campus, so I joined."

I nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Falling asleep last night was like trying to take an exam. My mind was running at high speed. I closed my eyes, my hand slipped under my sheets as I pictured Elijah looking at my lips and telling me he wanted to kiss me. That was enough thought to boost my ego.

And it surely did last night. But now, standing before him in my pumpkin pajamas despite it being spring was a much different story; one devious look and I'd buckle.

"Well, I have to get to practice." Elijah pointed to the door.

"Right."

"I'll see you around, Van Gogh."

He always said that and always lived up to his promise.

Smiling, I walked him to the door. "Thanks again," I said, as he stepped outside.

Before I closed the door, he stopped it with his foot. "Nice shorts, by the way." He grinned and then hurried down the building stairs without looking back.

"Are you gonna tell me what's going on between you and Preston?" Reva gawked, leaning against the wall. "You were with him last night, now this morning... any other times I should know about?"

I threw myself onto the couch like a rag doll. "He comes to the studio," I mumbled into the cushions.

"Huh?"

"He comes to the studio and bothers me while I paint. Now he just keeps showing up everywhere, I can't get away."

Reva's stoic face twisted into a wicked smile. "Holy shit, he likes you."

"No," I said, "I don't know why, but I think he wants in my pants."

She narrowed her eyes. "Sade, you think that puppy dog of a man just wants in your pants? He dropped your car off, drove you home last night and picked us up, took the fall for you in class..." she knocks on the side of my head lightly. "You have to get out of this skull of yours."

I exhaled.

"I know how you feel," she continued. "You had this exact conversation with me not too long ago and now look at Penelope and me."

"I'm so happy for you both. Penelope is great." I beamed and stood, telling Reva I needed to get ready for my shift. I'd love to hear about her and Penelope. I could listen for hours about how happy she was, but she would eventually turn the conversation back on me and that was the last thing I wanted.

"Sadie." She called my name before I disappeared into my cave. "Promise me you are okay?"

I paused. "Yep, I'm okay."

walked into the studio and scanned the room like an FBI agent. It was pristine, with no trace of me or Elijah. No leftover tea light candles or beer bottles, only the image of us tucked away in the furthest corner of the room.

I sat at my easel, making small talk with the other students as we worked on our current project. To say I was ecstatic to not be working on the sad girl portrait was an understatement.

However, I couldn't focus.

I hadn't heard from Elijah since he dropped my car off. As the days passed, my mind conjured so many unrealistic scenarios, despite knowing he was getting ready for a big away game this week.

Yet, my daily thoughts did not come close to my night thoughts. If people knew what I imagined in bed, my face would flush and I'd have to squeeze my thighs together to keep my cool.

You need help, my conscience scolded, but boy, did I already know.

When class was over, I hung up my apron and joined my professor at her desk to tell her my project was finished and laying on rack two. She smiled. "I saw it this morning. You did a great job. I appreciate your hard work and am still sorry for the baseball incident."

"It's not your fault," I chuckled. It's Elijah's, I wanted to say but didn't. Instead, I dug the key to the building out of my backpack and handed it to her. When she took it, my heart cracked.

No more studio sessions. No more Elijah barging in and driving me up a wall. Now, I needed to find a new painting spot.

"Ah, thank you. I'll have the projected graded soon."

After thanking her, I strolled to The Coffee Shack to do homework.

Maintenance crews were scattered around campus cleaning up remnants from the storm. I hadn't realized how hard it hit until I saw the damage to the beachfront homes on the news. I supposed being stuck in a sturdy brick building with a muscular man wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Tucked away in a soft armchair with my coffee, I watched people come and go. Like the studio, I barely paid attention to my work, but it was because I was people-watching. My skin prickled when the bell chimed and baseball players walked in. None I knew, though.

I was looking for him, yet didn't know why I bothered. The more I thought about Friday, the more I realized I had somewhat turned Elijah down. He was probably just as mortified as I was over the encounter. Did a man like Elijah get embarrassed, though?

The glass door swung open and Jayce sauntered in. His eyes naturally scanned the room for his friends and landed on mine instead. A beaming smile appeared on his face and then on my own. He waved eagerly and—oh, he was walking toward me now.

I straightened my body, but Jayce disappeared when a torso blocked my vision. Huh?

"Sadie," Dustin said, and I looked up. "Nice seeing you here."

He sat in the armchair across from me and Jayce paused, his eyes turning to slits as he held both of his middle fingers up to the back of Dustin's head. I bit my cheek to stop myself from laughing.

"Hey, Dustin," I said, watching Jayce backtrack and join his friends.

"You remembered my name this time. How are you?"

Good to know he was still butt-hurt over me 'forgetting' his name at Ruby's.

"I'm good, just doing work. How are you?"

"Yuck, school work. I'm alright." He relaxed into the cushion. "A little sad you didn't show on Friday."

Nerves rippled through my stomach as I wracked my brain for a response. Anything I would say he'd question because he saw me with Elijah. So I replied, "I was at the studio finishing a project for my art class."

"Ah, I see. Elijah was with helping?"

And there it was. I wanted to roll my eyes.

"He drove me because of the storm."

Dustin nodded. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the full truth. I glanced at Jayce across the room, who was making kissy faces and shaking his head in disappointment. I had to look away because the laughter was bubbling up in my throat again.

My phone vibrated.

"Why don't I give you my number so I can let you know when our next party is?"

I chuckled awkwardly. "I can ask Lucy, it's not a problem."

"Oh." He seemed confused. "Are you sure? It would be easier."

I shut my computer and collected my belongings. "Yeah, thank you, though. It was nice seeing you but I have to get to class."

I didn't have class.

"It was nice seeing you too, Sadie." I could tell he was trying to smile through the pain of my rejection.

What was it with men wanting my number this semester? Had my ass suddenly gotten bigger? Are my tits fuller? All I knew was I had gone up two jean sizes, cried away most of my water weight, and was Gua Sha-ing the shit out of my face to tone my skin.

I'll blame it on the Gua Sha.

I practically ran out of the cafe and booked it toward my apartment.

Would he? I wanted to ask where he was, but I didn't. I typed back 'how sweet' and shoved my phone in my pocket. Lord, help me, I've gotten myself tangled in a spider web full of baseball and frat boys.

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My boyfriend and I are going as Woody & Jessie from Toy Story (check out my Instagram tonight to see).

GUYS, @stardustedb did a Sadie Garners cosplay on her Instagram (links in the comment section), I'm crying its so good.

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annasteffeyy

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