Clarke #2
Clarke parked, and unlocked the backdoor of the dorm. She got her groceries out first, since it was a sweltering day. Having been closed for the summer, it was nearly as hot inside as it was outside.
The common area was huge, with groupings of couches and chairs as well as tables for eating or studying. Next to the double doors was an elevator on the left. Identical, heavily-carved wood doors were directly across the room at the front entrance.
A massive fireplace with a stone hearth was to her right. At the far end of the left side of the building was a staircase, storage room, and her office. The other door had to lead to her living quarters.
She set her grocery bags on the floor to unlock the door, and stepped inside. Already sweating with her hair sticking to her scalp, Clarke flipped on the closest light switch, searched for the thermostat, and turned on the air conditioning before looking around.
The only windows were on the back wall, and the blinds were drawn. There were plenty of overhead lights, though, to keep it from being gloomy. An open-concept layout gave an aura of spaciousness, and would allow sunlight into most of the apartment.
The kitchen, which was larger than she’d expected, and a small dining area, were to the right.
Clarke put her perishables in the refrigerator.
To her joy, she found a utility closet with a washer and dryer past the kitchen.
Not needing to share public units with the students would make her life much easier.
On the other side of the front door was the living area with a desk in one corner flanked by tall bookcases. The bedroom took up one end of the apartment, with the bathroom accessible to both the bedroom and living room. It was a larger unit than she had anticipated.
The furnishings were simple but comfortable. Clarke had everything she would need, and wouldn’t feel cramped. She was pleased.
Clarke animated the free-standing coat rack by the door, and sent it to the rear exit.
She only had two bags with shoulder straps, but that would free up room on the cart.
Even with the luggage cart and coat rack, it took three trips to get all her things inside.
Clarke was dripping sweat by the time she was finished.
She decided to shower and change before having a light lunch. No doubt, she would end up sweating again on the walk to the physical training center, but she felt too disgusting not to clean up. Driving the short distance would probably seem strange.
After unpacking her clothes and toiletries, Clarke explored the dorm from the basement to the highest floor.
It was doubtful the clue would be here with no one in residence, but it would be stupid not to check.
On the other side of the common room was a communal kitchen, dining area, student laundry, and another staircase.
The basement was mechanicals and storage with nothing noteworthy.
The student rooms were as clean and empty as the rest. Clarke went back to her apartment, wondering how easy it would be to escape Mr. Smith and search the offices. Hopefully, he would leave her to her own devices after the tour.
There was a faculty meeting on Tuesday at noon, and students would be arriving on Wednesday. Clarke wanted to go through the administration building tonight, before more staff arrived.
Wearing summer clothes had Clarke feeling exposed. But she resolved not to worry about her disguise holding up since the guards at the entrance bought it. She also had to get used to the fake penis and balls, which felt weird.
Sofia had found a soft, waterproof fabric that would be easy to wash, using pillow stuffing to add dimension and density. Everyone voted that she looked more normal with the addition in her pants. Clarke felt ridiculous, but if that’s what it took to round out her disguise, so be it.
Giving herself plenty of time to get to the physical training center, she set off on foot. Having to wear layers in the heat was not pleasant. Fortunately, her destination wasn’t very far away, and there were a few trees offering shade along the route.
Clarke opened the double glass doors, and stepped inside the cool building. This was a side entrance, opening to a large expanse where Clarke guessed students gathered for drills and exercises.
A man Clarke presumed to be J. Smith stood in the center of the room. He was about her height, wearing a tank top, athletic shorts, and running shoes. Black hair with streaks of brown and tan was cropped close to his skull.
He had broad shoulders, legs like tree trunks, and was stacked with muscles. If Clarke had to describe him with one word, it would be solid. The man looked like he could withstand hurricane-force gales.
Clarke was about to make her presence known when he turned in her direction. Something about him seemed familiar. Did she know him? Those thoughts flew out of her mind when the man spoke.
“Holy fuck! How did you do it?”
“Excuse me?”
Clarke was totally thrown off by his unprofessional speech. And what was he talking about? Had he somehow realized instantly that she wasn’t really a man?
“I knew you’d be in disguise, but this blows my mind,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. The male took several steps in her direction before stopping with a concerned look on his face.
Clarke was on the verge of panicking. From his physique, she guessed this man was a shifter. But he shouldn’t be able to smell her gender. She’d never heard of that being possible. And he had to be at least fifty feet away.
Shit! Should she just play dumb and pretend she didn’t know what he was talking about? What was the best way to handle this?
Wait, he said he knew she’d be in disguise. How did he know that? Was it common knowledge, or was he the only one?
“Clarke, it’s Jace,” he said. “Did you not realize that I work here?”
“Jace?” It took a moment for her brain to start functioning again. Was this actually the Jace she knew, here at Mars College?
Clarke didn’t know what to think or how to act. She knew that Jace taught combat and agility courses. He had changed jobs a few years ago, but Clarke didn’t remember him mentioning Mars College. Jace was a wolverine shifter, which explained his sturdy build.
She hadn’t seen him since she was nine, when Jace’s family moved. Clarke might have recognized him from the photos he’d posted when he turned to face her if she hadn’t been reeling with shock.
None of those pictures had done him justice, though. Most of them had been taken from a distance with Jace in a group of people. He’d grown into quite the hottie with a square jaw, firm chin, lips that were just full enough to be sexy without looking feminine, and a straight nose.
Jace’s voice was a deep, gravelly rumble that did funny things to her insides. Clarke briefly wondered if her dad had attempted to emulate Jace when he created the DSV potion.
His big brown eyes were as beautiful as she’d remembered, with long, thick lashes any woman would envy. Now that he was in front of her, Clarke could see hints of the boy she’d been friends with in the man he was now. But that was immaterial.
Damn common names to hell. There had to be hundreds of thousands of J. Smiths in the world. It had never crossed her mind that Jace was the J. Smith she was meeting.
Was Jace the reason she had the vision? Could he have had something to do with her dad going missing?
No, she would have drawn him if that were the case. Clarke’s instincts told her that Jace was not involved in her dad’s disappearance. He was a good person who wanted to find Charlie as badly as she did.
The sense that she could trust Jace completely helped calm her nerves. Clarke had faith in her intuition. It had never led her astray.
This was totally unexpected, but Jace wouldn’t betray her. In fact, Clarke was positive that he would help. He hadn’t hesitated to call in favors from friends in law enforcement to find her dad.
“Sorry. This was……a shock,” Clarke said belatedly. “I didn’t realize you worked here.”
“That’s why you didn’t call or text,” Jace said as he again started walking toward her.
“It makes sense now. The dean sent an email three days ago, telling us the name of the new monitor, and asking everyone to welcome you to the team. Voudrie is an unusual name. I figured there couldn’t be another person with the same first and last name, degrees, and job experience.
That would be too much of a coincidence.
“As the dorm monitor who has been here the longest, the dean accepted my offer to give you a tour of the campus. You had a vision, didn’t you?”
Eventually, she might find humor in the fact that Jace had figured out exactly who she was and why she was here due to her unusual name, while she’d been broadsided by his presence for the opposite reason. But she wasn’t laughing now.
Clarke was still thrown off that Jace was here, but decided to go with her gut feelings. And from what he’d said, he had to be the monitor for the shifter dorm.
“Yeah. I focused on getting a clue that would lead to Dad, and drew the front entrance of the college.
“Only Hannah’s family and Harry know. None of Dad’s friends can do this for me, and they don’t live close by. If I had known you worked here, I would have asked you to look, but still would have come myself.”
Clarke couldn’t just sit around while someone else took all the risks and searched for her dad. It was also possible that she could have another vision while she was here that would give her a direction to look in.