She pouted. “But, Will, I’ve been flirting with you for so long. I finally had to do something.”
That was enough of that. I shoved open the door. “Nice to see I’m still your top priority, Dad.” I would have laughed at their shocked expressions as the two exploded apart if I hadn’t been so disgusted.
“Lexie! I, uh…” Dad tugged at his collar and flicked a glance to the girl. “Lex, this is Jordan Sellers. She works here at QT.”
Jordan stepped away from Dad and extended a hand.
I ignored her.
“I thought you were going to come get me in the library. Class finished a while ago. But, no, I find you here with this…person. Let me guess. You forgot about me. Again.”
“Of course not, Lexie. I swear…”
“Stop lying. I know the signs. They’re the same as they were ten years ago when you forgot me at school. Or got too busy to remember my class recital. I’ve had enough. I don’t want to be here in the first place, and if you don’t want me here either, that makes it really easy. Doesn’t it?”
Dad’s mouth gaped, and Jordan blinked rapidly.
“Since you’re obviously busy — ” I made sure to emphasize the last word. “ —I’ll just call the shuttle. Don’t worry about me. I guess I’ll just get used to taking care of myself.” I spun on my heel and marched from his office. And just to make myself feel better, I slammed the door so hard it echoed down the hall.
I rushed to the elevators and hammered on the button. It seemed to take forever, but there was still no sign of Dad as I stepped into the metal box and barked, “Main floor,” before Ellie could even ask me what division.
Why was I surprised at his behavior? He’d never told me the truth about anything in my life. Why should it be any different now?
And what about Mom? Last time I’d seen them, they’d been kissing. Was he cheating on her with that…girl?
The elevator stopped at my floor, and I exited at a sprint.
And ran smack into a wall of muscle.
7
Asher’s hands gripped my arms so I didn’t fall, his voice throaty as he laughed at me. “Whoa there, speedy. What’s the rush?”
I glared at him, and he dropped his hands. He was the last person I wanted to see right now.
“Sorry, sorry.” He studied me. “Hey, is everything all right? You look upset.”
I was upset. And obviously not thinking clearly because I said, “Would you be all right if you just found some hot college girl trying to make out with your dad? After he forgot about you?”
Asher let out a low whistle. “Let me guess — Jordan Sellers?”
“How did you know?” I demanded.
“She’s been throwing herself at him all summer. I suppose it was only a matter of time before he gave in. I could see where she’d be tough to resist. If you were into girls like that, I mean,” he added at my ferocious glare.
I crossed my arms and tried to push away the wave of loneliness welling up from the deepest part of me. I’d been stupid. I’d let myself hope we could start over, that Dad actually wanted me here. But on my very first day, he couldn’t even remember me.
“Whatever. I’m catching the shuttle home. I hate this place.” I couldn’t bring myself to look at Asher. I didn’t want to see pity — or, even worse, amusement — in his eyes.
“Ah, yes, the QT shuttle service, savior of many a late-night science experiment. But let me take you home. I was leaving now anyway.” His tone was perfectly normal, not a hint of pity, but I shook my head. I just wanted to be alone, to get my thoughts together and not have to worry about saying the wrong thing to Asher. Especially now that I knew he was not only the resident genius, but the resident player, too.
“I’ll be fine.”
“I know, but I want to.” He checked his watch and shook his head. “Besides, there’s not another one until seven. You don’t want to wait that long.” He walked to the door, but I stood frozen in place. I didn’t want to owe him and I definitely didn’t want to keep talking about Dad, but waiting around for the shuttle was even less appealing.
Finally, I nodded and followed him. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He pushed open one of the heavy glass doors, stepping aside so I could pass. His smile was sad. “No problem. I know how it feels to want to escape this place.”
I wondered what he wanted to escape. Asher seemed to have it all here at QT — popularity, a cute girlfriend, resident genius status. But I pushed aside my questions as we exited the building. I barely knew the guy; there was no way I was going to pry into his personal life, no matter how curious I was.
Outside, the sun hung low in the sky, turning the sky peach and blue and orange. The smell of leaves starting to turn lent a hint of fall to the rapidly cooling air. I followed Asher to a black BMW and opened the passenger door.
“Nice car.” I slid into the leather seat. The scent of his cologne still lingered, something spicy and clean. I wanted to relax into it, but instead, I forced myself to stay on my guard. Asher confused me more than any other person I’d met. One minute, he was flirting or making fun of me; the next, he was offering me a ride home and a sympathetic ear.
Asher shrugged. “I won some prize money from a robotics competition, so I bought it to piss my parents off. If Dad had his way, we’d all ride bikes or invent some magical flying car with no emissions. He’s a little…strange.” A muscle jumped in Asher’s jaw as he started the car. “My dad doesn’t forget me because he’s making out with his assistants. He forgets me because he’s too wrapped up in work to give a damn.”
Looked like I wasn’t the only one with parent problems. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and my dad will feel so guilty about his latest screw up he’ll buy me a new laptop. A girl can hope, right?” I risked a smile at him, and the sudden heaviness in the car faded away.
Asher eased the car to a stop at the gate, and we waited in silence as it rolled open for us.
“I know it’s none of my business — and you can tell me to drop it — but what happened to make you come to QT now? You’re a little…older than the typical first-year student.” Asher glanced at me from the corner of his eye as we wound our way back toward town.
I stared out at the shadowy forest. I still wasn’t entirely sure of the answer to that question myself. The trees flashed past for almost a mile, but still I didn’t answer.