Free Hung Out: A Needles and Pins Rock Romance by Lyrica Creed

Ignoring him, the starlet always left him to take a back seat while she held court near the front of the class. I tried to follow her example but it proved impossible.
    Most days, like today, he was a visible inclusion in whatever I was doing. Swinging around with a coffee in each hand, I made my way around tables and back to him. He accepted the steaming cup from my hand with a grateful smile.
    “I’ll just be a few minutes. I need to cram a bit before this next test.” Stifling a yawn, I scanned the area for an available place to study.
    The fall schedule was already grueling. I hadn’t been able to scrounge together everything needed to be considered for admission to Bastyr in time. Instead, I’d begun an accredited school of allopathic studies here in L.A. and shuttled between it, USC, and clinicals. The previous night, I’d been up until the wee hours of the morning studying for mid-semester exams.
    “Scarlette?”
    I looked up from powering up my tablet to find Logan bearing down on me, wearing a huge smile of greeting. Great. Now I had to pull a smile from my miserable soul. “Hey.”
    “How’s it going? Surviving midterms?”
    “Barely.” I skimmed my gaze down his attractive features and tried to disassociate him from Gage’s assistant and reallocate him as a friend who had helped me. A friend on Gage’s payroll.
Sigh
.
    “Mind if I sit?”
    “Not at all. I’ve got to brush up on these chemical compounds though.”
    “I’ve got statistics to cram before next class.” He waved his own tablet as he lowered into the adjacent chair.
    Silently, we studied until the stir of people around us indicated time was ticking down to the next hour. Slipping the tablet into my bag, I stood. “It was good seeing you. Good luck on your statistics.”
    “And likewise with your…”
    “Organic chemistry.”
    “Right. Listen, I was going to call you in a couple of days, but since you’re here… Gage texted me to make his flight arrangements. Should I make yours too? I wasn’t sure if you were flying down and then back with him, or staying here.”
    The room seemed to fade for a moment as the implication of his words settled like a lead weight. I knew his release was coming up. Since the day Gage had closed me into a cab bound for my flight out of Utah, a mental clock had ticked in my head. The maximum estimated time of treatment versus the least. And the present time was now somewhere in the middle. We had only spoken a few times in a month. But regardless, I’d expected a phone call or at the least, a text when he had a specific release date.
    “I’m staying here.” I informed him and almost dropped back to the seat. But with a worried look at the clock, I shouldered my bag. “I need to talk to you. I’ll text later?”
    He agreed while gathering his own belongings. Trailed by Mike, I sprinted to class. Despite the distraction of what I’d learned about Gage, I knew the material well enough to ace the test.
    The rest of the day was mine to immerse in self-pity and anger. Mike held the door as I folded into the passenger seat of the Escalade.
    “I need to pick up a few things.”
    We stopped at the Canyon Store, an eclectic shopping experience just a few minutes from Runyon canyon. After pursuing the snacks and frozen treats, I paid for my selections and allowed Mike to relieve my arms of some of the bags.
    The radio was the only sound until we neared the dragon gates. When the volume lowered to almost nothing, I glanced over and saw a frown line above his shades. He braked, letting the vehicle poke slower than normal, and spoke.
    “The white Accord parked there on the other side of the street. You know it?”
    A film of reddish sand dusted the nondescript vehicle. I shook my head and chalked his inquiry up to the extreme caution that was part of his job description. It was common further down the road to see cars parked since there was a popular hiking trail entrance to the canyon. But he was right.