“Oh, of course,” he rushed out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hold you up.”
“It’s okay,” I lied. “However, it might not be okay if I don’t get my coffee.”
August just chuckled before saying, “I’ll be seeing you around, Sutton.”
I smiled, nodded, then got the hell away from him. I had no idea if he was lying or not, but it didn’t make sense for him to lie. While August Remington was an important player in life, he wasn’t Ross Carmichael. These guys had seriously powerful reputations, and it wouldn’t do August any favors to make an enemy out of Ross. Plus, I’ve overheard a couple of conversations between Ross and Stone Lexington, and everyone gave Stone a wide berth. He was reputed to be volatile, confrontational, and wasn’t afraid to throw a punch-or take one, for that matter. August would have to be insane to get on Ross’ bad side, possibly making an enemy of Stone Lexington in the process. So, that could only mean one thing.
August hadn’t been lying about Jennifer Polk, whoever she was.
I’ve never heard Ross mention anyone named Jennifer, and that omission came with a million warning bells. While it was true that I wasn’t the type of girl to monitor or babysit her boyfriend, I couldn’t ignore how much time Ross spent on his phone, texting people. Most of the time, they were quick texts, but still.
Forgetting about the coffee cart, I made my way to class, and the entire time, I couldn’t help but think of what he’d told Malcolm that day in my apartment. He said he’d want to know if other guys were hanging around me, so should the same go for him? Shouldn’t I know who the women in his life were, and what the relationships were?
Sitting down in the first empty space I saw, I saw that I still had a few minutes before class started, so I grabbed my phone from my purse, then sent Earl a quick text.
Me:I need a place 2 hide 2nite.
He quickly replied with a thumbs up emoji, and I let out a deep breath that I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding in.
Chapter 21
Ross~
Anyone who said that women didn’t possess superpowers was a fucking idiot. They possessed all kind of superpowers, the main one being the ability to infuriate a man like nothing else could. You’d think it’d be that treasure between their legs, but it wasn’t. Their ability to incite maddening rage topped the list. Nothing angered a man more than the women he loved.
Knowing that yesterday was a heavy class day for Sutton, I’d left her alone for most of the day, only sending a couple of texts throughout the day. The plan had been to meet up for dinner, then curl up at her place or mine. However, my plans and what had actually occurred had been two very different things.
Sutton had disappeared, and Delta’s loyalty couldn’t be shaken, no matter what I had threatened. Sutton had turned her phone off, and it wasn’t until around three in the morning that I’d finally driven off from where I’d been staked out in front of her apartment. She wasn’t coming home, and her phone was fucking off. Sure, the battery could have died, but that didn’t explain her not going home.
Luckily for me, I knew her school schedule, so I was waiting for her in front of her first morning class, not giving a fuck about classes-hers or mine. If she was ghosting me as some sort of payback, I had news for her; it wasn’t going to work.
Two minutes before class started, I finally saw her making her way over, and she looked perfect. So, she had either gone home to shower and get ready this morning, or she had gotten ready wherever she had spent the night at last night.
I could only pray that she hadn’t spent the night with another guy.
She showed no emotion when she noticed me waiting for her, and that just pissed me off further. I was pissed as fuck, and Sutton looked like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“What the fuck, Sutton?” I snapped as soon as she was within earshot.
“What?”
I could feel the tick in my jaw threaten to crack a molar. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I snarled down at her. “Where in the fuck were you last night?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “At a friend’s,” she replied flippantly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to class.”
Yeah, like that was happening.
I grabbed her arm and drug her behind me until we were around the corner behind the building. I had her back up against the building, and I was almost too pissed to even speak. Everything had been fine yesterday morning when she’d taken off from my place for class. If this was payback, I had no idea what I was going to fucking do.
“And you couldn’t call me and tell me that?” I finally asked.
Her brows shot up. “Because you tell me about all your friends?” she countered.
My head reared back a bit. “What friends?” I asked. “You know I’m not really that close with too many people. Growing up, Banks was my best friend. You know this, Sutton.”
She readjusted her book bag over her shoulder. “So, you’re saying you haven’t made any new friends at Hales in all these years?”
What the fuck was this?