Chapter 26
Conrad
The starting gun blared into the dissipating morning fog, and for the next fifteen minutes, my mind was completely clear.
The salty mist from the oars, the water rushing against them, the muted sound from the crowds as we neared the three-mile finish line—all of it filled my ears and narrowed my focus to this moment.
I loved rowing.
You could change the outcome of a race. You pushed harder, moved faster, trained more. It was completely within your control. There was a high that came along with knowing that I could eke out a win when a loss seemed inevitable.
We crossed the final finish marker, and everything went from moving in frames to full speed. I glanced up to the time.
After our performance yesterday and today’s time, we won.
I grinned as everything else I was thinking before the race flooded into my mind.
Pinpoint taps cascaded along my fingers, waiting to get back to the dock so I could look at my phone. Mal hadn’t texted, but I got a militant call from Sabrina Alders early this morning.
I didn’t even know how she got my number, but she said You will end up in an unsanctioned black ops facility if anything happens to Mal, and then refused to tell me if Malena had made her decision about Paris.
Either way, I was seeing her. On the trip or on campus.
James’s hand slapping down on my shoulder yanked me back to the present. “Hey, look up at the dock on the north end.”
“Huh?”
“I think you should look,” James called again, giving my shoulder a shove this time as we waited on the water for our signal to row to the dock.
My brow crinkled against the sun as I looked over to the newly constructed stands along the water. There was Isha and Lucy, which was unexpected, since I figured they’d stay the night on campus after the Diwali party.
But it was when I looked at the person next to Lucy that my heart skipped.
In a crimson sweater, with a Winchester Rowing pennant in her hand, stood Malena. Her entire face brightened when my eyes caught hers, and she waved almost sheepishly.
My lips stretched unabashedly across my face and I lifted a hand to wave back.
Growing up, spending so much time away at boarding school, I didn’t let myself rely on many people showing up. And while a part of me half expected she’d text me today or call to tell me her answer regarding the trip, I was so stunned to see her there that I stopped rowing.
She’s here. For me.
“Jeez, Con,” James shouted from behind me. “Pick up the pace, you can’t finally close unless we get to shore.”
Everything after I got to shore was a blur. It only cleared as I jogged up the wooden walk where some of the spectators still lingered.
She was here.
I finally spotted her at the corner of the walk, in front of a tall post. The breeze off the bay tossed at her hair gently. She fidgeted with her fingers and stood, waiting for me.
My heart slammed against my ribs with every step until I was finally in front of her.
“You’re here.” The high from winning, from seeing her in the stands and knowing this was just the start—all of it made my muscles tremble.
I skimmed a hand over her hip. The other ran up the column of her neck, my thumb pushing her chin up until her eyes met mine. Her hands smoothed over the shirt I’d thrown on in my rush to get to her.
“People might think you enjoy my company.” I added, dropping my forehead to hers.
My thumb brushed over the skin just above the waistband of her skirt. I let it dip below, barely grazing lace.
Her breath hitched.
“I’m actually here for the race,” she whispered, and her breath wisped across my cheek.
Goose bumps waved down my back.
“Liar.” I stepped her back until she was up against the post. My heart roared in my ears.
The air between us thinned.
She grinned, her cheeks flushed, and yanked on my collar. “Then call my bluff.”
I finally pressed my lips against hers, and she melted into it with a tiny gasp. Her hands closed into fists around my shirt.
My nerves cracked and popped. Pins and fucking needles that I never wanted to end. Her lips, soft and sweet, parted for me.
A contented sigh sailed up her throat and I kissed her deeper.
My arm tightened around her, pressing into her body that was flush against mine. Her hand spanned up my chest and carded through my hair at the base of my neck. My fingers dug into the skin that was as soft as I remembered it.
The world around us muted. All I could hear, think, feel was her.
Then, like thunder cracking through a storm, an airgun’s boom shook us apart.
She pulled back, and the early afternoon light brightened her irises so they were almost amber.
“Con…” Her lips were a little red and swollen, and the sight unlocked a new thrill. I stayed close, our breaths tangling. She looked down at my shirt and asked, “Why did you send Isha and Lucy?”
My heart stumbled seeing her like that. Was she nervous?
“You know, they’re pretty difficult to steer. Sending them anywhere is—”
“Conrad.” She looked up, her tone serious but her eyes soft.
The Mal I was getting to know was fearless.
Even still, I’d recognized that reluctance in her eyes when I showed up at her apartment the other day.
Not from my own experience, but from Isha’s.
There was a reason she transferred to Winchester after only one semester at Oxford.
I couldn’t help Malena with that feeling, but I knew Ishani could.
“They’re a push in the right direction if you’re looking for one,” I tried to explain.
Lucy and Ishani were a kind of supportive that didn’t smother.
James, when concerned, tended to be direct.
We Hastings men didn’t talk about anything.
But Isha and Lucy had a way of nudging you in the right direction.
All while being a little ridiculous. “Seemed like you wanted one, and I thought Isha would be better for it than me.”
“She was. They both were.” Malena rocked forward and pressed another short kiss against my lips. Her fingers tapped down my chest, stopping at my waist. “And she came bearing Rahul Mishra.”
I smiled and kissed her again. Dizzy and unable to think of anything else, I wanted to get her alone.
This time what pulled us apart was my phone. It buzzed a few times in my pocket and Mal pulled away, motioning for me to answer.
“It’s nothing,” I whispered, leaning back into her, but she bobbed her head back.
“It could be important.”
I checked the screen and tucked it back in my pocket. “It’s the midterm.”
Her eyes widened. “And…”
“I’m sure I aced it.” When she dodged me a third time, I finally gave up, tipping my head back with a groan. “And I don’t know that it matters.”
“It does. Regardless of the Hastings legacy on standby to sweep in and save the day.”
Without another word, her hand slipped into my pocket.
“Careful.” Startled—and avoiding thinking about how good she felt that close—I cleared my throat. “Malena, we’re in public.”
Undeterred, she shook her head, pulled out my phone, and held it to my face to unlock it. “I can tell you or you can tell me.”
When I didn’t answer, she took it upon herself to look. My pulse picked right back up, and this time it wasn’t the beautiful girl in front of me but rather her fingers flying over my phone, the results she was about to reveal.
Her lips arched as she looked up at me. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it turns out you might not be ne’er-do-well material.”
Relief ran down my body. “Yeah?”
“You unfortunately have potential.”
“Oh no,” I teased, glancing down at the screen and seeing the bold B+ listed beneath my name. A foreign feeling warmed me. I was a little proud of myself.
“A life of ambition and maybe… achievements.”
“Stop.” I brushed my lips over hers. “You’ll ruin my reputation.”
She giggled and I kissed her again.
We stayed like that, delirious and caught in our own bubble, until the grating sound of Ishani and Lucy clamoring a few feet away broke through.
Interrupted once again, I gave up on kissing her until I could finally get her alone.
“So, you’re coming to Paris with us?” I asked, hoping what I’d planned for over there wouldn’t be for nothing.
I was sure Ishani had already taken over and done more than I asked anyway.
All the excitement deflated when she took a step back though, her slightly dilated eyes returning to a clear focus and cutting away the high we were floating on.