Free Until Alex by J. Nathan

the face of the earth three days ago. A guy whose crystal blue eyes were locked on mine.
    Unexpected relief flooded my body. The tension I’d been feeling released in one fell swoop. I couldn’t hide my smile at the sight of a familiar face. I practically floated over to him.
    Brushing by the trio, I planted myself at Hayden’s feet. It was ridiculous how quickly his presence comforted me. And though I had a strong desire to, I refrained from throwing my arms around him again. “Hey.”
    Given his deer in headlights expression, he was equally surprised to see me.
    “What happened?” I lifted my hand, indicating the black and yellow bruise under his left eye.
    “What’s this?” Creepy guy pushed his wrought iron chair noisily back and stood. His dark sunken eyes crept over my body, putting me on edge. “Oh, I guess you didn’t get the memo. Our boy Hayden never calls. One night’s all you’re ever gonna get. Hope it was memorable.”
    He and the other two burst into laughter. Hayden didn’t. It was like he couldn’t fathom why I stood before him. Like he didn’t know I’d be there. Like he didn’t know me at all. 
    I glared into his distant eyes, mine narrowing in frustration. “Are you gonna speak?”
    The muscles in Hayden’s jaw clenched. His eyes grew darker, colder. “Sorry, darlin’.” The deep voice that came out of his mouth didn’t even sound like his. He averted his gaze, his eyes scanning the flow of human traffic behind me. “I think you’re confusing me with someone else.”
    I stared up at him, my eyes flaring. Was he freaking serious?
    I spun around, hoping his comment was directed at someone behind me. But the only people there were girls who’d slowed to witness the bizarre scene unfolding between us.
    I shook my head, both in bewilderment and total disgust. Screw this. I took off without turning back, walking away with as much of my pride as I could muster. I didn’t need that from him. I didn’t need it from anyone. He knew who I was. He was the one who neglected to mention he was still in college. The same college I’d be attending where I didn’t know a single soul.
    I’d been honest when I told him I didn’t believe our first meeting had been a mere coincidence. That he’d been placed in my life for a reason. But as I raced away from the humiliating scene, with shaking hands and heated cheeks, I realized I’d never been so wrong about anything in my entire life.
    * * *
    I entered the sunlit dining hall, needing to grab something to eat before my fourth and final class of the day. Its floor to ceiling windows provided a beautiful panoramic view of the campus. But the view inside is what stopped me in my tracks. Until that moment, I had no idea what being in a room full of strangers felt like. Sure I attended UT with fifty thousand other students. But never once did I feel alone when I had my girls and Preston there.
    But now, with only three thousand students, I felt daunted by the unfamiliar faces. The tables already occupied. The friendships previously established.
    My head whipped around, trying to locate a vacant table in the corner. A leggy blonde in a pink top and short jean skirt stopped in front of me. “I’ve been dying to meet you all day.”
    “Me?” My skeptical eyes widened as she linked her arm with mine and tugged me to a table in the front of the room.
    “Yeah, you.” She flashed a huge smile accentuating her perfect white teeth. “You’re all anyone can talk about.”
    “What? Why?” Leaving me no other option, I sat down on the seat beside her.
    “Well, honey, first off, you’re hot. Second, you drive an amazing car. And third, that scene with Hayden. Did you get him confused with someone else?”
    I thought back to our encounter. The distance in his eyes. The hasty way he dismissed me. The way he allowed his friend to talk to me. “Yeah. I definitely thought he was someone else.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    ALEX
    The only thing I wanted to do after