CHAPTER FOUR
STRAY
When Monday morning rolled around, I dragged my ass out of bed and into the shower. I dug some clothes out of the laundry basket filled with clean items that I’d neglected to fold and put away. I was out the door before anyone else in the house was up and about.
Instead of heading to campus, I drove to Codie’s apartment. There was this persistent need in the pit of my stomach that only eased when I parked down the street from her building. I hated having this need to watch her. I’d never stalked any woman before. Was this stalking? Yeah, it was.
I sat in my car waiting until I saw her red Cadillac SUV pull out of the parking lot behind the building.
I waited until she had put a block or so between us before following.
At one point, she came upon a red light that slowed her down.
I managed to make sure there were a few cars between us as I reached the same red light.
Part of me wanted her to see me following while a more sensible side seemed to know it was better to go unnoticed. She had Athena in the car with her. I could see the two of them talking and laughing animatedly. We made it all the way to campus without her noticing me tailing behind.
Upon entering the campus parking lot, I veered off down a different row. The itch that I’d had since leaving her building Saturday night had been scratched. I felt much better. I waited for the girls to head into the building first before following.
It didn’t take long for Codie to spot me. She stood outside near the entryway, talking with her friends. They stood in a circle, gossiping about whatever before class started.
She glanced up as I passed by, hazel eyes narrowing as they locked on me. I flashed her a mischievous grin and kept going. I went to school here too. It only made sense that she would see me around. Too bad for her if she didn’t like it.
Since Codie was taking legal studies and I was taking investigative police studies, our classes were not that far apart.
She had to pass down the hall where most of my classes were located to get to hers.
Most people wouldn’t expect a known criminal to take investigative studies.
However, I had an interest in such things.
I doubted that I’d ever become a cop, but if I did, it would be beneficial to the Kings to have a man on the inside.
I lingered in the hall outside my first class, checking a message from Rebel about an upcoming business deal.
I felt Codie’s approach before I saw her.
Moments later, the fragrant scent of strawberries reached me.
I looked up to find her hurrying past, her eyes straight ahead as she did her best to pretend I wasn’t there.
“You’re in quite the hurry I see,” I said. “Is that because you remember telling me how hot I was the other night?”
That jerked her to a stop. Clutching her shoulder bag tight, she spun around to face me. “I said absolutely no such thing.”
“So you’re denying it. I figured you would. Let me guess, it was the drugs talking.” I tilted my head one side, blatantly ogling her ass. She wore a pleated plaid skirt that screamed school girl fantasy. How could I not?
Codie glanced around, worried that someone might have overheard. “Can you not talk about that? I don’t need the whole school to know my business.”
“No problem. As long as you admit that you’re attracted to me.” I offered her a half-shrug and a playful smile.
“Not happening. I never said that and I never will.” She spun back around, storming away as fast as she possibly could without breaking into a run.
I watched her go, satisfied with my ability to get under her skin. Needing to really leave a lasting impression, I called after her, “I suppose you forgot about the kiss too. We both know you kissed me back.”
As she reached the end of the hall and rounded the corner, she paused long enough to flip me the middle finger. I couldn’t have been more impressed with myself.
I went to class, doing my best to stay engaged in the subject matter. Something about Codie gave me a rush like no drug ever had. It was hard to come down from that and be in the moment when my focus had to be elsewhere.
When class ended, the hall filled with people leaving their classrooms. I did my best to blend in as I waited for her to come along. She walked with a girl I didn’t recognize. Probably someone from her class. I fell into step behind them, letting the thick swell of students block me from view.
I followed her until the hallway branched out, veering off in several directions. She took a left toward the cafeteria, and I continued straight ahead. I had a break before my next class. Some of the guys should be outside getting high. Might as well join them.
Rebel and Dominik stood outside near the picnic tables where people gathered to eat and hang out between classes. As I’d expected, they shared a joint. Inserting myself between the two of them, I swiped the joint from Dom’s fingers and took a large toke.
“Where were you? You missed class.” I hit Dom with a pointed look. He was also taking investigative studies.
“I woke up late,” he said with a careless shrug. His tousled brown hair was still a mess of bedhead. “You can fill me in on anything important that I missed.”
“I need two people to meet with the president of the Camden MC tonight. He wants to double his order.” Rebel cut into the conversation, not giving a damn about our classes.
The motorcycle club in a neighboring town was one of our best customers.
They relied on us to supply them with all kinds of pharmaceutical goods, and we did our best to deliver.
We had a guy who brought stuff in on a regular basis.
We didn’t know how he did it and we didn’t care.
All that mattered was that we kept the supply flowing and the money coming in.
Usually, I wouldn’t mind dealing with a job like this. I didn’t really want to this time though. “I’m out. I have something else to take care of.”
Dominik jerked the joint from between my lips with a scowl. “I’ll deal with it. I’ll bring Casper. What do you have to do that’s so important?”
I opened my mouth to deliver some bullshit excuse when Codie rounded the corner headed toward us. She was with Rebel’s fiancée, so they were definitely coming to join us. As soon as Codie saw me, she averted her gaze.
Rebel pulled Storm into his arms, kissing her like he didn’t give a shit who watched.
She cut him off when he slipped her the tongue, playfully slapping his arm.
I didn’t mind Storm. She was all right. She brought out another side to Rebel, one I hadn’t known existed.
He was slightly less of a dick than usual with her around.
Even I had to admit they made a cute couple. Both blue-eyed. Her with red hair and the look of innocence. Rebel with a blonde streak in the front of his dark hair and more tattoos than unmarked skin. Total opposites that somehow worked.
“I have a few minutes to kill before my next class,” Storm said, leading Rebel over to a vacant table. “Hang out with me.”
Codie stood there awkwardly for a minute before sitting at the table across from Storm.
I took the opportunity to sit next to her, leaving Dom to squeeze in by Rebel.
Storm began to bombard Rebel with wedding talk.
They hadn’t been engaged all that long but they seemed ready to move things along.
To make it official. They wanted to have an October wedding.
Because I didn’t care about wedding dresses and cake prices, I turned to Codie and said, “You’re looking like a wet dream today. Love the school girl look.”
As I’d hoped, her brows drew together, and she scowled. “You really amuse yourself, don’t you?”
“I do,” I confirmed. “I tend to be a pretty amusing guy. I’m sure you would learn to appreciate it if you weren’t so uptight.”
Codie’s scowl turned into a full on glare. “Uptight? I don’t think so. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I’m not uptight. I just don’t appreciate egotistical jerks who are completely full of themselves.”
I snickered. “And anyone who knows me would tell you that I’m not full of myself. I’m just confident and know how fucking awesome I am.”
Dom let out a bark of laughter. “Oh yeah, super awesome. You’re a real class act. Not at all your own biggest fan or anything.”
“Hey, dick. Do you want to be homeless?” I smirked in his direction. To Codie I added, “Don’t listen to him. You can’t trust a word this guy says.”
Codie rolled her eyes, pretending to be too engrossed in her phone to look at me. “I don’t trust a word you say either. I know better than that.”
Storm interrupted then, turning her phone to show Codie a picture of a dress. “What do you think of this one? You have to come with me when I try it on. I need your opinion.”
Codie seemed relieved to have an excuse to ignore me and redirect her attention elsewhere. “Of course. I’m there. No worries. That one is really pretty. What about something with a mermaid cut?”
I checked out of the conversation then. Rebel did his best to act interested when Storm shoved the photo at him. Poor sucker. He’d done it to himself though. I couldn’t imagine being so into a woman that I would tie myself to her for the rest of my life.
I got up to leave, needing to get away from Codie to clear my head. I didn’t entirely trust the way she made me feel. Before walking away, I leaned down next to her and whispered, “See you soon, strawberry.”
Storm glanced over then, eyeing the two of us curiously. Codie said nothing, ignoring me. Fine with me. She couldn’t ignore me forever.