Forty-Six: Hit The Road

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COLLINS OPENED THE DOOR, and I internally swore

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COLLINS OPENED THE DOOR, and I internally swore.

She was just as gorgeous as last night, but her eyes looked worn, exhausted. The confident, dazzling girl I'd met at the gala was miles away. That girl was only a part of Collins Bryant.

"You're hiding from me," I said plainly.

"No shit."

Collins tried to push past me, but I stepped in her way. And then I went even further and stepped her back into the bathroom. Her gaze widened, and I saw something flash in them when I pressed her against the sinksomething I tried damn hard to ignore.

Retreating to give her space, I leaned back. "It doesn't have to be like this."

She bristled, raising a brow, and I knew I had my work cut out to convince her.

Luckily, I had nothing else to do today.


I was overly eager for this week. Seven whole days on the beach with Collins running around in the bikini I'd bought for her last weekend? Sign me the fuck up.

It was red. It was stringy. It was going to test my sanity, and I couldn't wait.

With the winter season officially over, it was time to move on to sun, sand, and spring. I'd skipped the final snow club competition, feigning that my twisted knee still bothered me from my last run. Whether or not Professor Evans thought I was fucking around, I couldn't tell. He gave me a pep talk about not taking my losses to heart, which I supposed I should have expected considering how shitty I did last time.

Of course, it had nothing to do with losing and everything to do with what had happened when I'd left town, and Mr. Colorado stepped in. Plus, I wasn't in the mood to get ambushed by Cato again.

Now that we were dating, I would have loved to bring Collins back to Mammoth Lakes, but I guessed that would have to wait until next season. Oh, well. I'd add it to my list of shit to look forward to—the running tally of all the places I wanted to bring her.

"I texted you the key code to get into the house if you get there before us," I said, sidling up to Bren in his convertible. Madie sat in the passenger seat, her converse-covered feet propped up on the dash and one arm hanging out the window. I smiled at how eager she looked—almost as eager as me. "You'll probably get there before us. I still have to wait for Grayson to get his ass over here and then we're picking Collins up from campus."

Bren side-eyed Madie and then flicked his sunglasses down. "Well, we might make a stop or two on the way."

I made the smart decision not to ask too many questions about that.

"Sounds good, man. Safe travels." I patted his car door. "Hope this thing makes it there."

Though I couldn't see it, I assumed that Bren rolled his eyes at me behind his sunglasses. Chuckling, I began to turn away, but he called after me before I could get too far.

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