“You know,” Rafe said, “the running path around the reservoir in Central Park is just a mile and a half.”
“Really?” I squeaked. “I could do that.”
“No kidding,” he said, smiling again. “My grandma could do that.”
For that he deserved the poke in the ribs I gave him. I was so bowled over by my newfound athletic prowess that I let Rafe walk me into the deli on Broad Street before I thought better of it. The place was crowded with students. “Let’s go home,” I begged. “I don’t have my wallet.”
“I do,” he said.
Great. And who said chivalry was dead?
“What’s good here?” He eyed the menu board.
“Everything.” Besides one last granola bar from my stash, I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. And it was probably almost two o’clock. “I like the Greek chicken wrap.”
Rafe pulled out his wallet and ordered two of them.
My stomach began to growl in earnest while we waited for our food. But it didn’t growl loud enough to cover the sounds of male laughter coming from the back of the room.
The sweat on my neck instantly cooled. Don’t look, I ordered myself. There was another swell of laughter. Goosebumps rose on my arms. What if he was back there? I gave a full body shiver. And then I couldn’t help myself. I turned to scan a group of thick-necked guys at the table in back.
One of them made eye contact with me. And his smile widened.
My knees felt trembly all of a sudden, and I reached out to grip the deli’s counter.
“You okay?” Rafe asked.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice thick. Somewhere in the depths of my suddenly spinning head I knew they could be laughing about anything. But it didn’t even matter. Because if it wasn’t those particular assholes having a chuckle at my expense, then it was another group somewhere nearby.
Another wave of laughter came from the table in back, and I just wanted to die. Rafe was so proud of himself for distracting me for an hour. But what was the point? Those fuckers at Beta Rho had framed my troubles for the whole world, and everyone at Harkness was going to see it.
And know.
My distress must have shown on my face, because now I saw Rafe eyeing the table in the corner, too. “Do you know them?” he asked softly.
I shook my head.
His dark brown eyes studied me warily. “You want to wait outside? I’ll get the food.”
He really didn’t understand. Outside wasn’t any better. There was no place to hide. “I’m good,” I lied. But then another guffaw burst forth from the dudes in the corner, and I must have stiffened. Because Rafe moved a little, changing the angle of his body, shielding me from view.
With a cold sweat breaking out on my back, I was counting the seconds until we could get away from here. In my whole life, I didn’t remember ever feeling this way — like I’d rather erase myself than hear another peal of laughter.
We’d discussed embarrassment in one of my psych classes. Embarrassment is just a construct you build for yourself. Nobody can make you feel embarrassed. Intellectually, I knew this to be true. But standing there in the deli sweating all over myself, it didn’t really matter.
My stomach was churning now. I didn’t even want a sandwich.
“So,” Rafe said, trying to distract me. “Your neighbor is a movie star. What’s up with that? I never see her coming in or out of the entryway.”
I looked up into Rafe’s calm brown eyes, and they steadied me. A little. “Lianne barely leaves her room. And she gets tetchy if I have music playing.” Or loud men in my room. Lucky for Lianne, there weren’t going to be any of those anymore. Probably forever. “Honestly, she’s a piece of work. I tried to be friendly, but it didn’t take.”
“Huh,” Rafe said. “Why doesn’t she live on Fresh Court with the other first years?”
“I think it’s a security thing. Anyone can walk into Fresh Court, but Beaumont has an extra set of locked gates, right?” I watched a guy behind the counter put two wrap sandwiches into a bag, praying that it was ours.
“That makes sense.” The man slid the bag across the stainless steel counter and Rafe took it. I turned on my heel and made for the door.
If Rafe was surprised I would be willing to run back to Beaumont, he didn’t say so. I even ran up the stairs, relaxing only when I’d made it back to the safety of my room.
Inside, Rafe opened the bag, handing me one of the sandwiches. “Drink some water while you eat this, okay?”