Free College Girl by Shelia Grace Page B

Full-sleeve
tats?”
    “Mom passed judgment on me a long
time back.”
    Becca snorted.
    “You, Ryan, are Mom’s favorite.”
She paused. “Believe me. I don’t envy you that honor. Mom doesn’t give a shit
what I do. It’s liberating. Now, are you going to fucking tell me something
about your little date?”
    I smiled.
    “She’s five-four.”
    Becca laughed.
    “She’s a first-year—”
    “In the math program?”
    “English.”
    “You and a tiny English doctoral
student?” my sister choked.
    “She’s not a doctoral student.”
    “Master’s?”
    I shook my head.
    “She’s an undergrad ? Gretchen must have really fucked your shit up.”
    “She’s not a kindergartener, Bec.
You’d like her. She has a fucking foul mouth, just like my big sister. Besides,
how old is Mason? He’s turning forty-five this year?”
    “Forty-two.”
    “And you’re thirty …” I trailed
off.
    “Four. Yeah. Shut up, young one.”
    “Her name’s Alex, and I expect at
least one member of our family to be well-behaved next weekend, got it?”
    “And you think it’s going to be
me?”
    I smiled.
    “It’s not going to be Mom.”
    “You must really like this girl if
you’re willing to expose her to the family.”
    “I like her more than I should.”
    “That sounds ominous. All right.
I’ve gotta get back. I’ll see you next weekend. Can’t
wait to meet your freshman.”
    Smirking, I watched her walk out
before checking my watch. If I pushed the speed limit, I could make it back to
campus, take a run with Finn, and squeeze in a shower before heading over to
1500. When I got to the curb, I unlocked the Audi and hung the dress in the backseat.
I hadn’t even bothered to look at it, but I trusted Becca.
    By the time I got on the bike and
rode over to campus, it was colder than it had been, which made me think of
what Alex had said about being cold all the time. I still couldn’t imagine her
in Southern California. Stopping by the department, I picked up Robertson’s
laptop and reassured him that I would have it set up before class. The lecture
hall was still empty when I got there, and after setting up the presentation, I
sat in the front row and waited for Alex to show up.
    When she walked in and saw me, her
cheeks turned pink and she gave me a half smile. It felt like fucking forever
since I had seen her on Tuesday night, and I realized that I wanted to see her every night, which scared the living
shit out of me. Maybe Becca had been right. Maybe Gretchen really had fucked me
up. If that was the case, then I had no right to foist my fucked up shit on
this girl. Watching Alex sit down, I thought: Fuck that . Gretchen and I had been over a long time before I saw
Alex. The only one holding on to anything between Gretchen and me was my
mother. Walking over to where Alex was sitting, I handed her the
assignments—the one from Tuesday and the one I hadn’t given her from last
week.
    “You suck at math,” I said.
    She turned red.
    “No shit. I told you that. I’m
just trying to pass this fucking class so I don’t have to retake it.”
    “I could tutor you.”
    She laughed.
    “Uh huh. Right. You’re a math
teacher. You try tutoring me, and we’ll fucking hate each other. Just let me
fail in peace.”
    “All right. Well, I have something
for you. Can you come back to the house with me after class?”
    Alex frowned.
    “Another late night trip to your
house? Do you think that’s a good idea?”
    “Can I bring it by your dorm,
then? Safe enough?”
    She nodded.
    “Tomorrow. I’ll be back from class
around four-thirty. I’m usually around on Friday nights unless my friend shows
up and drags me out.” She smiled. “I guess I’m getting a head start on grad school.”
    I turned as Robertson walked in
and then paused and looked back at her.
    “Walking back to Mercer by
yourself again?” I asked more hopefully than I should have.
    She shook her head and waved at a
chubby kid who had just walked in. The little