Chapter 13 Walk of Shame
Thirteen
Walk of Shame
The next morning, I watched Dallas standing next to his fancy coffeemaker with his Minnesota University mug in his hand, his elastic waistband slung low on his hips. His white T-shirt had bunched high enough to show the bottom of his toned abs.
I rolled onto my side and sat up. The room looked different with light streaming through the blinds.
A black hockey bag sat in the corner, slightly unzipped but no equipment poking out.
A couple pieces of clothing were strewn across the floor.
The top of a mini refrigerator held a few crumbs and unorganized snacks.
“Do you want a cup?” he asked.
“No thanks.” I rubbed my eyes, sorting out what had happened last night. He’d been true to his word. He hadn’t touched me. He’d stayed in his bed. I could attest to this. I’d tossed and turned while he’d lain over there in the deepest slumber I’d ever witnessed.
Now that I was upright and wishing I’d taken an Ambien, I remembered the worst thing about my decision to stay here. I didn't know how I was going to get back to my room without someone seeing me leave.
He sat on his desk chair.
I rolled my head in a circle to get the kinks out. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what?”
“I probably shouldn’t have stayed here last night.”
“It’s no big deal.”
But it was big deal. It was huge. If anyone saw me leaving this room at this time in the morning, I would, without a doubt, be the talk of the dorm. And when people talked, they dug.
I glanced at his closet. “Do you have a hooded sweatshirt I can borrow?”
“I think so.” He walked to a bank of drawers, rifled through one, and tossed me a hoodie. “Are you cold?”
He didn’t get it. He didn’t get it at all.
I put the oversized garment on over my head and pulled the hood up and as far over my face as it would go.
I stuffed my toiletry bag in the front pocket and my phone in my pants.
“If I walk out of here without a disguise and someone sees me, not only will I be the brunt of everyone’s jokes, but people might figure out who I am. ”
“I doubt it. For all they know, your last name is Blankin.”
I gave him a dead-on stare. “Remember what I told you. You have a reputation. When a person becomes associated with someone who has a reputation, people start gossiping, and they start asking questions.”
“Hmm.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Is it really that bad being Bianchini’s daughter?”
“Worse.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
“Into the hallway?”
“Yeah.”
“No.” I wanted to scream. “I need you to stay right here.”
He set his coffee mug down and came to me. He lifted the hood away from my face and kissed me. It wasn’t like last night, when his kisses had sent me reeling. It was smooth, gentle, and sent rays of sunshine shooting through my heart.
He pulled the hood back down over my forehead. “Okay, soldier. Be brave, you’ll make it.”
A smile slipped across my face. I moved to the door, and just as I was about to turn the knob, someone pounded from the other side. “Dallas, wake up.”
I darted into his closet, my breath lodging in my throat, my pulse thundering in my ears.
The pounding started again, and Dallas opened the door with his coffee in hand. “Hi,” he said.
“Hey, bro. Thought we were going to play racquetball at the rec center this morning. Why aren’t you dressed?”
“Sorry, I overslept.”
“You got a chick in there?”
I buried myself behind Dallas’s hanging clothes.
“Nah.” Dallas cleared his throat. “But I am going to pass on playing.”
The guy chuckled. “I knew it. You do have a chick in there. Awesome, man. Totally awesome.”
My back slid down the wall, and I sat on a pair of shoes with my knees up.
“Sorry, dude,” Dallas said. “Wish it were so.”
“Whatever, man.”
Dallas shut the door. He turned on his overhead light and came to the closet.
He separated the hangers, and his face appeared above me. “Sorry about that.”
“And you don’t think you have a reputation problem?”
“That guy thinks everyone is sleeping with someone.” Dallas held out his hand.
I took it, and he pulled me up. “Right,” I said.
Straightening his hoodie, I looked at the door, and my heart skipped a beat. It was like a war zone out there. Getting back to my room undetected was going to be difficult. And worse, I wasn’t sure who would be waiting to interrogate me when I got there.
“Okay. See you later.” I took a deep breath and exhaled.
Cracking open the door, I glanced down the hall to make sure it was clear. I slid out and walked with my head down as fast as I could. I didn’t know if anyone saw me. I just kept going all the way up the stairs to my room.
Inside, I saw a lump in Priya’s bed. Whew. She and Luke were still sleeping.
I went into my closet, pulled off the sweatshirt—which smelled like Dallas—and buried it deep in the back. I peeled off my yoga pants and put on my robe. A nice hot shower was what I needed.
“Where have you been?” Priya’s voice stopped me in my tracks. She was on my side of the room, under my periodic table blanket, and sitting up on my bed.
“Why aren’t you in bed with Luke?” I whispered.
“Oh.” She brought her hands to her lap. “I was hot, then he kept rolling on top of me and I couldn’t breathe. Since you were gone, I moved over here.”
I thought when you had a boyfriend, you never wanted to be apart from him. Especially when you saw him only every other weekend.
Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t answer my question. Where have you been?”
I stayed silent. Mostly because I had nothing to say. I wasn’t going to tell her I’d been in Dallas’s room. I didn’t want to go there. But then where had I been? Everything I came up with could be proven a lie.
“The lounge.”
“You slept in the lounge?”
“Sort of. You know how I have trouble sleeping? I started reading one of those novels that are on the shelf, and I fell asleep on the couch.”
“I’m sorry, Ade. That must have been really uncomfortable. I should have come looking for you.”
“It wasn’t bad. I’m fine. Just off to take a shower.”
I walked out of the room, and an ache shot across the back of my throat. I hated lying to Priya. She didn’t deserve that. Eventually, I would tell her the truth. As soon as I was ready. As soon as I had Dallas all worked out in my brain.