Page 38 of Quiet Obsession
And no one warned me.
I thought I had friends. That I was likable, but the comment sections said something else entirely.
I was too much. Too loud, too eager, too happy.
13
Millie
Curiosity killed the cat.
That’s what I tell myself as Dash leads Abby and me toward the derelict theater. He found me in the library and insisted I come because he accidentally invited my roommate and didn’t want her thinking it’s a date.
Somehow, that turned into me being their third wheel.
I could’ve said no. I already told Hyde and Noah that I’m not interested in watching men throw fists, but the truth is, I’m curious. The campus has been buzzing for days, and too many people have mentioned Creed’s name. Everyone’s been looking forward to tonight, their excitement contagious.
Yellow tape and chain-link fencing surround the building and most of the windows are boarded up. Hyde told me it’s been like this for two decades. Apparently, everyyear the faculty makes renovation plans and applies for grants. And every year, something else takes priority while the theater wastes away.
“This way,” Dash says, glancing back at us.
Abby’s slightly ahead of me, hips swaying, the little black number she wears rolling up her milky thighs every few steps. Her heels click against the stone path and her skin prickles with goosebumps, but she doesn’t stop beaming at Dash.
And he doesn’t stop sendingplease helplooks my way.
It’s painfully obvious that, despite my warning and her saying she just wanted one night of fun, mind-blowing sex with the hottie, she’s hoping for more than Dash can offer.
We follow him around the back, a thin line of pine trees obscuring the view of the ocean. Somewhere beyond them sits the post-grad dorm, the most remote building on campus, its inhabitants enjoying privacy no one else gets.
Dash stops and points to a cut-open section of the chain-link. “Through here.”
“How has this been kept secret from the faculty all these years?” Abby asks.
There’s an edge to her voice as she carefully steps through while Dash widens the gap.
“Oh, they know all about it. They tried to shut us down at first, so we kept switching venues. We took over an abandoned warehouse a little south of here and the roof collapsed. A few students got hurt, some uptight parents threatened to sue, and the dean decided it was better toturn a blind eye.”
He gestures for me to go next, his hand settling briefly on my head, so I don’t catch my hair on the wire.
“Besides,” he continues once we’re both through. “Half the wager money finds its way into the campus fund.”
Right. Isn’t that how the world works? If something shouldn’t be allowed to happen, money’s usually the reason why it does.
“Up there?” I ask, watching a group of guys climbing into the building through a busted window.
“I’m afraid so.” Dash steps in front of me and cups his hands, ready to give me a boost. “Come on, Mini Ward.”
“I’ve got her.”
I turn at the sound of Noah’s voice. He comes out of the shadows, hood up, cigarette expiring between his fingers.
“Get up there, Dash,” he adds, jutting his chin at the window. “You’ll pull her in.”
“I thought you were sitting this one out,” Dash says, climbing the stone façade.
“Changed my mind.” He drops the cigarette, crushing it under his shoe, eyes on me. “Ready, beautiful?”
I pinch my lips, holding back a smile that endearment evokes, but Noah notices, anyway.
