Page 34 of Patrick

“I’ll see you later.”

“Meet for dinner?”

He shakes his head. “We have team dinners. I’ll call you afterward.” The intensity of the bedroom-eye stare he levels at me reaches all the way down to my belly and lower, between my thighs. Oh my god. How can I be so hot when it’s so cold out? I’m practically dripping with sweat and desire when I walk into my most important class, an advanced design seminar I had to submit a portfolio to in order to be accepted.

Before I reach the door of the small classroom, my phone buzzes. Checking it quickly, I almost stumble. “Shit.” I’m a few minutes early, and I have to take this call, though the last person I want to talk to right now is my father.

“Dad, I’m on my way into class. Make it quick.”

“That’s a fine hello.” He doesn’t sound upset. Good. “I wanted to let you know we got you a ticket to sit with us for the hockey game, and we’ll be going out to dinner afterward.”

Shit. “We will? Doesn’t Vincent have to go back to Boston with his team?”

“No, I spoke to his coach. I’ll drive him back to B.C. after dinner.”

“You will?”

He chuckles. “Or Frank will.”

That sounds more like it. Not that Dad wouldn’t do anything for us, but he doesn’t drive at night. Hardly drives at all anymore since his eyesight’s been going.

“Okay. Where should I meet you?”

“I thought we could come to your apartment before the game and meet your roommates.”

“You know my roommates—Nina and Ricci from high school.”

“Your mother wants to see the place. I think she has a housewarming gift for you.”

“I don’t know.” Struggling to find an excuse why I don’t want my family there, I’m not even sure what the real reason is, but it’s strong. “It’s not up to me. The place is⁠—”

“You can call your mother and work out the details with her. I have a meeting. I’m looking forward to seeing you, Sofia. It’s… different without you around the house. Make me proud.” It’s his usual sign-off, but I thought I could swear I heard a little wistfulness in his voice. I think he may even miss me.

That notion should be cause for a smile, or it would be if I didn’t feel so suffocated by my family. That’s why I need them to give me space and not invade my world. I don’t want them to visit my apartment with such unreasonable urgency I feel guilty.

Between that and my guilty conscience about being with Trick, I’m buried in guilt and not thinking rationally. There’s no way my family could find out about him from a quick visit.

Not unless my too-talkative roommates are around.

Shoving my guilt and my irrational paranoia aside, because I deserve a life of my own, I hurry into design class a minute late and take the only empty seat. Next to the one person I know—and don’t know. My roommate Darcy.

I smile at her. Sharing this class will be a good chance to get to know her better and make us both feel more comfortable as roommates. But when she nods, without even a flicker of a smile or any friendly intention, I’m taken aback.

For a second, I wonder about her until I realize where she’s at. She’s afraid of competition after her bad modeling experience and needs some true friendship to bring her around. I’m certain of it.

Doubling down on my friendly smile, I cover her hand with mine. “I’m so glad to see a friendly face. I know so few people.”

“What are you doing in design class?” She flicks her hair over her shoulder and straightens, looking down at me in an obvious power-play move.

“I’m a design major, same as you.” I grin, feeling the happy coincidence, even in the face of her bristling frown.

“Girl, you may be a design major, but you’re not the same as me.” She flicks her eyes up and down, looking me over like I’m a stained dress.

I laugh. “True. You have it all over me in the looks department. You’re so tall, and I bet you can wear anything. Talk about a major advantage in design class. You can be your own model.”

Her frosty expression cracks, and I see some melting as the professor begins by turning off the lights for a slide show of last year’s fashion design award finalists.

“You’ll all be entering the design contest as part of your class assignments, the most important assignment. You’ll be competing among several New England area college design departments, and I’m sure you’ll make UNH proud.”

The contest. The New England Fashion Design Contest college-level award is one of the two reasons I transferred to UNH. In fact, I’m not sure which reason is more important, Trick or the contest. Maybe that’s because my competitive juices are flowing now, because, of course, Trick is more important. Tamping down my zeal to win, I turn back to Darcy.

“Don’t even think you have a chance to win,” she says. “I’ll be taking home the prize.”

I smile, but I silently disagree.