Alicia startled and almost dropped the heavy book she was holding when Beverly careened around a bookcase and nearly jumped on their table. "Jesus, Bev," she giggled breathily, setting the book down safely on the table and sending Beverly a questioning look. "Where's the fire, girl?"

Beverly let her eyes drift over their surroundings, checking for eavesdroppers; her senses were on overdrive, and her paranoia was immense. Satisfied that there was no one nearby, she stepped closer and held out her phone. "Look at what I saw in the bathroom."

Alicia's nose scrunched up. "Beverly, you're great, but like . . . ew. Tell your doctor, not me."

Rolling her eyes, Beverly shoved the phone into Alicia's hands. "Just look, please."

This time, Alicia took the phone, her blue eyes widening almost comically when they absorbed the picture on the screen. "Holy crap." Her gaze drifted between Beverly and the phone several times. "Holy crap, Beverly. Shit. Damn. Fu—"

Beverly slapped her hand over the girl's mouth. "No need to be vulgar, but yes. Exactly. What do we do?"

"What do we do!" Alicia echoed in a harsh whisper. "What do we do?! Beverly, you found a packet of cocaine in the bathroom. We don't want to get killed, so we'll leave it alone, turn the picture into the campus police, and call it a day. Right?"

Beverly faltered, inwardly grimacing when she realized that her inner detective had slipped out before she was able to really think about her actions and their possible consequences. "Right. Except no."

"What do you mean, 'except no'?" Alicia asked, her brows furrowing suspiciously. "What did you do?"

Shuffling her feet sheepishly, Beverly dug into the front of her loose sweatshirt and pulled out the packet of drugs from her bra, where she'd wrapped it in toilet paper to protect possible prints. "I didn't want the evidence to disappear, so I . . . took it with me. For safekeeping, you know."

If it had been possible, there was no doubt in Beverly's mind that Alicia's jaw would've fallen off with how low it was hanging. "What. The. Shit. Beverly! Bev-er-ley! Beverly! You cannot just waltz into a drug lord's bathroom, take their drugs, and shove it down your bra! Are you trying to die? Oh, God, this is it."

"What?" Beverly asked, looking at the object with bewilderment. "They won't know it was me." She doubted they put cameras in the bathroom.

Right?

Ew, that would be nasty.

"Oh, sure," Alicia huffed, rolling her eyes so far heavenward Beverly almost worried they would never sit right again. "Look, just . . ." she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay." With her eyes open, she began to gather up their textbooks. "We'll take it to the campus police, and you can show them the photo, too. Now, please, for the love of God, hide it in your backpack for now."

Doing as told, Beverly waited until Alicia was ready before striding out of the library with the other girl, ignoring her friend's grumbles of, "We are so going to get killed."

***

Thankfully, the campus police believed Beverly's story, and were more than happy to take the drugs and pictures off her hands. According to the officer they'd spoken to, "The situation is probably isolated, and should be handled quickly. Thanks again, and have a nice day."

Beverly originally hadn't felt like having a nice day after that, especially with Alicia's constant groaning about how, "the incident certainly isn't isolated if they're showing up in bathrooms, of all places! Have I mentioned we're going to die?" The other girl, for all her whining, had a fair point.

Did the officers really think they would buy that explanation? Surely they knew that college kids had cell phones, social media, television, and weren't unaware of the news stories centered on their campus and its issues.

Beverly's mood changed considerably when her phone rang as she was entering her dorm room after leaving Alicia at the daycare where she worked. Seeing the caller ID, she smiled and slapped the phone to her ear to hear Griffin's customary greeting of, "Hey, Beverly," on the other end of the line.

She blew out a happy sigh as she dropped into her desk chair, her shoulders relaxing at his comforting rumble. "Hi, Griffin. How're you today?"

"Not bad, but I'd be a bit better if you, uh, wouldn't mind maybe joining me on a supply run?"

"Oh?" she perked up. "A supply run? How exciting!" She was only half-teasing—she would still much rather be with Griffin than at school. Especially now. Anything was better than running around on a campus that apparently had a drug problem that was far more severe than the news and school officials had indicated.

Griffin chuckled. "I'll take that as a 'yes.' Can I come get you?"

"Yeah, I'm all set."

"That's good, because, well . . . I'm sort of already here." She heard his voice both over the phone and through the dorm's door.

Unable to stop a giddy grin from spreading on her face, Beverly flung open the door and jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on tightly. He faltered for only a second before returning the embrace, his amused grunt echoing through his chest and brushing the top of her hair.

She hadn't planned to assault him, of course, but the incident with the drugs had unsettled her far more than she'd originally realized; she felt safer, now that her hulking giant of a friend was present. "Sorry," she apologized as she released him, dropping back to the ground and smiling shyly.

Griffin's own grin was wide and toothy (So cute, she couldn't help but think). "It's alright, Beverly. I don't mind." His brow dipped in concern. "Are you okay, though?"

She shrugged, her gaze unintentionally drifting to his side as she looked for any possible listeners. "Tell you in the car?"

He nodded. "Deal."

***

"So . . . yeah." Beverly finished, shifting uncomfortably in the passenger seat of Cynthia's large SUV. They were sitting in the parking lot of a supply store that resided fifteen minutes outside the city, and Beverly had just finished telling Griffin what had occurred earlier that day.

Said man appeared less than pleased. His features were stormy, his knuckles white against the steering wheel, and his jaw was clenched tightly. Just when Beverly began to worry that she'd broken him, he spat a single word. "What."

"I know," she nodded, her fingers tapping nervously against her jean-clad thighs. "It's crazy. If I ever run into it again, I might—"

"Beverly." His tone was firm, and she whipped her gaze to his, her own eyes wide. "If you ever see something like that again, you need to run in the opposite direction."

"Alicia told me the same thing, though I'm not quite sure why—"

"Listen," he took her hands in his own, his expression pleading. "I don't know why or how it got onto your campus but getting involved—whether intentionally or not—in this is dangerous. People who run drugs are criminals, Beverly, and they don't care who they hurt. I need," he swallowed heavily, his Adam's apple bobbing, "I need you to be safe. Okay? Remember how you told me you'd be careful? I'm asking you again: Please, please be safe."

She knew he was only saying the words because he was genuinely worried, and she smiled softly, pulling her hand from his to place it on his cheek. "I understand, and I will be safe. I don't mean to make you worry, I just don't quite understand what's going on, and I'm not used to dealing with this type of stuff."

"And you're curious," he murmured, more to himself than her, but she spared him a sheepish grin.

"And I'm curious," she agreed. "But I'm cute, so I get away with it," she added teasingly, only to bite her lip when his expression melted into something soft and sweet.

"And you're cute." He sucked in a slow, steadying breath. "You'll call me, right? If you have a problem, I mean, and you need help. You'll call?"

Leaning over the center console, Beverly pressed a soft kiss against his cheek. "Yes, I will. Thanks, Griffin. Now," she settled back in her seat and wiggled her brows, "can we go shopping?"

He nodded in confirmation, climbing out of the SUV and walking to Beverly's side so he could help her out as well. A beat passed as he no doubt gathered his thoughts, before he grumbled jokingly, "I should've known that you only spend time with me because of trips like this."

Heaving a dramatic gasp, Beverly hopped onto the sidewalk leading to the store, throwing an arm over her eyes and exclaiming, "Oh, you've caught me! Whatever shall I do now that I've been figured out?"

A small smile quirked his lips. "C'mon, drama queen. Let's go pick up Cynthia's stuff."

She laughed, practically dancing over to him and squealing inwardly when he snatched her hand in his own and squeezed her fingers with nothing but care. The day may not have started well, but perhaps it would end well.