Linden: Rocking Pleasure: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 3) (5 page)

Cami sighs. “You’re still pining for Colton?”

“
No,” I hasten to say. But actually, yes. I miss him. I don’t want to admit it, though. It’s not even love, more of a sick kind of dependence. We were great together—in bed, I mean—and that has kept me from letting off steam with a bunch of other guys. I was so content with this one man, because he looks really good and he’s a great lover.

“
Okay, you are,” Cami interprets my lie. “But you have to forget him. What you had was only a casual thing anyway. Dinner with Linden Priest is not going to harm you.”

“
Honey, people like him tend to be hounded by paparazzi,” I say. “Imagine someone snaps a picture of me and him having dinner. I’d be hounded, too. No, thank you. I can do without that kind of drama.”

“
I dare you,” she teases.

“
Ha. Wait till I dare you to do something you don’t want to do,” I counter with a grin.

We keep talking about Linden, and why I don’t want to see him again, until I rise and say that I need to go home. I want my bed. I still need to catch up on sleep.

“
I’ll call you guys soon. But I’m going to spend the next two class-free days sleeping,” I declare. “So please don’t call. And tell Hailey, too.”

“
Okay,” they grumble, one after another, as I make my round hugging them all goodbye.

Chapter 3

I’m standing in the midst of a bunch of yelling and screaming groupies when Linden gets out of the limousine. There’s a red carpet, which he and Alexis walk down slowly. All the girls are cheering and yelling, including me. “Linden, can you see me? I’m right here! It’s me, Thally!” I scream, but he doesn’t look in my direction. “
LINDEN
!” I scream at the top of my lungs. But again, nothing.

Now girls are pushing from behind, pressing me against the steel barrier, which stabs me in the belly. I pray that it doesn’t break, or topple over. I can feel panic wash over me, a prickling, swarming feeling as if a thousand spiders were crawling across my body. I’m getting dizzy, and the world is spinning around me, and then I fall over the barrier, unconscious.

I open my eyes and sit up, my heart beating a fast cadence. “What the hell was that?” I ask my empty room in confusion, rubbing my cheeks. Why am I suddenly dreaming of this guy? The question haunts me as I lumber into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

The moment I put the glass to my lips, I hear, “Good morning, Thally,” from behind me.

I give a start, spilling the water down my nightshirt, and turn around. Nathaniel.

“
Good morning, Nate. What time is it?”

He grins at me. I would grin, too, if
he
were standing before
me
looking like someone who’s failed a wet t-shirt contest. He looks at his watch. “Nine.”

“
I feel like I’ve hardly gotten any sleep,” I sigh.

“
Were you having nightmares? In the last half hour or so, I heard you curse and yell a few times. Something about how someone should piss off.”

I nod. “Yeah, that was definitely a nightmare.”

“
What was it about?” he asks, pushing the button on the coffee machine.

“
I was the princess of groupies,” I answer, already lost in thought again.

Nate bursts out laughing. “You? A groupie?”

I smile and lower my head. Yeah, it’s embarrassing. “Exactly my thoughts upon waking.”

“
That’s hilarious.” He laughs as he sits down at the table.

I sit, too, leaning back in my chair. “I have no idea where that came from.”

“
Well, they say that in your dreams, you work through the stuff that happened during your day.”

I perk up at that. “Really? Then tell me what happened that made me see myself as a screaming groupie.”

“
Did you maybe do anything yesterday that reminded you of your favorite band?”

“
Nope. You know I don’t even have a favorite band.” I grin.

“
Did you meet a man?”

My grin vanishes.

“
I see. I bet he was in your dream, too!”

I give a curt nod. “Yeah.”

“
What do you know about him?” Nate asks.

“
Not much,” I explain, “because I picked him up on the side of the road and he couldn’t remember where he was, or much else …”

Nate cocks his head to the side. “Then—”

“
Then what?” I cut him short, hoping he can enlighten me about my crazy dream.

“
Then I have no idea where that groupie bit came from,” he says with a shrug.

I roll my eyes. “So why am I telling you my dreams?”

He shrugs again. “Dunno.”

My laugh sounds a little desperate, and I slap my palm to my face. “I guess I know why.”

“
Why?” he prods.

“
Because you are a nosey person, Nate,” I answer with a smile.

“
Damn.”

“
Yeah. Gotcha.”

He chuckles. “And here I thought you wouldn’t notice.”

“
Duh,” I say with a shrug. “I’m a clever girl, in case you didn’t know that.” My grin is wide.

“
Morning,” Draven croaks, shuffling into the kitchen.

“
Morning,” Nate and I echo simultaneously.

I rise. “I should get dressed. Anyone need the bathroom urgently?” They shake their heads. “Fine. I’ll camp out in there then.” I turn away and go to my bedroom to fetch my clothes, before locking myself in the bathroom to have some peace.

In the shower, I find the relaxation that eluded me during the night. I’d love to go back to bed and sleep the whole day, but I bet it wouldn’t take two hours for someone to call, just to ask me how I am. Or maybe to ask whether they woke me. I tend to answer that with:
No, I was doing Zumba in my bed
.

After toweling myself dry and getting dressed, I look at my reflection in the mirror. There are dark circles under my eyes, a fact that bothers me a lot. With a sigh, I grab the concealer and try to cover up the dark smudges. I’m just glad I have a lot of makeup, so I can make myself presentable. Most of the time, I only use it when I go out.

***

Everything is in place, and the new dress I bought wraps around my curves in a decisively flattering way. The only thing that needs tending to is my hair. I should get it cut again, but I feel much more like having my long hair back. A makeover would be nice. Maybe I should just call my dad and ask him for a little extra cash so I can pay for some extensions. It’s worth a try, even though I doubt he’ll give me any money. As my grandma used to say, I’ve already got a no, but I could also get a yes. I know long hair isn’t a necessity, but I want it anyway, and I want it now! I’ve been cursing my decision to cut off my hair for a while now. It used to fall down to my hips, and now it’s a stupid bob! With a sigh, I sit down on my bed and call my dad.

“
Hello, darling, how are you?” he says when he picks up.

“
Hey, Dad. I’m fine. How are you?”

“
Fine and dandy, thank you, my dear.”

I take a deep breath and muster up some courage. “Daddy?”

I can hear his smirk. “How much do you need, Thally?”

“
I wanted to get some hair extensions, and I wondered if you could advance me some money …”

He sounds calm. “Will you work off your debt during school breaks?”

My father has his own company, and I help out whenever I’m home, to pay off my debts. I mean, he’s giving me a sum for rent and such every month, but I often borrow extra money, you know, because a girl has needs. “Sure, Dad, I always do,” I promise.

“
Okay. I’ll send you $500, but try to make that stretch, darling, please.”

My lips curve into a half smile. “Thank you, Daddy! You’re the best!”

“
You say that every time.” He laughs.

“
Because it’s true.” I giggle.

“
Send me a picture of the new hairstyle,” he says once his laughter has ceased.

“
Aye, Daddy. Talk to you soon. I love you.”

“
Love you, too, Thalia.”

“
Bye.” I hang up and feel that my mood has suddenly become awfully bubbly. As I walk to my car, I’m exuberant that he didn’t raise a fuss this time. That would have meant no extensions. Then I call Theo to ask whether he has time for me today, though I know it’s supposed to be his day off.

“
Hello, honey,” he greets me. Theo’s gay, and he’s not merely my hair stylist, he’s also sort of my best friend. There was still space left in my heart for him, next to Hailey, Cami, and Ave.

“
Hey, Theo. I was wondering if you could do my hair today?” I come right out with it. “How are you, anyway?”

“
I’m splendid, and of course I can do that. Come over to the salon in … half an hour?”

“
Oh, awesome. You’re awesome!” I gush. “I’m already in the car, so I might be there a little earlier. I hope that’s not a problem?”

“
Honey, that just means I need to get fluffed up and ready in fifteen minutes instead of thirty. Piece of cake,” he says cheerfully.

***

“
There she is,” Theo calls when I come in.

“
Hey.” I grin and sit down in the chair he indicates.

He comes over and clicks his tongue as he looks at my outgrown bob. “You took your time, honey.”

“
I know.”

“
So now you want me to whip that back into shape, yeah?” He runs his fingers through my hair, feeling its texture.

“
No. Actually, I want to wear my hair longer again. I’ve had it with this bob. I want extensions.”

Theo looks my reflection in the eye. “Ooh. How long?”

“
Down to the middle of my back?” I suggest with a smile.

He shakes his head. “Too short for you.”

I heave one of my trademark sighs. “How long do you think they should be?”

“
Down to the hips or even below your ass.”

Below my ass? Far too long. “Hips it’ll be,” I say.

“
And back to black?” he asks, chuckling at his Amy Winehouse reference.

I nod. “Yeah. I don’t want to dye them. It’s annoying to have to re-dye the roots all the time.”

“
Right. Sit tight, and I’ll get the extensions. I hope you have enough time. This is going to take a while.”

I smile. “No other plans for today.”

Theo disappears into the back, and I look in the mirror. I can’t wait to have long hair again, to be able to sweep up elaborate ’dos that weren’t possible with the bob. This is going to cost me the next few hours of my life, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it.

When he returns, Theo says, “All right. First we’ll see if I need to cut it a little bit, and then I’ll do the extensions.”

“
Okay.”

“
Come along to the washbasin.”

I rise with a nod and walk over to the weird-shaped basin, sitting down again and leaning my head back into the indentation. I don’t like the sensation of cold ceramic around my neck, but that’s the price for getting to look good again. That bob was nothing but a knee-jerk reaction when I thought I was getting boring. I’ve regretted it ever since, but I guess everyone makes mistakes.

“
So how are you doing?” Theo asks. “How’s college?”

“
Good. Well, classes are so-so. I don’t know, I seem to have missed a lot this semester. Too lazy and tired.”

“
Too many cute boys crossing your way and distracting you?” He smirks.

I blush. I didn’t see that coming. “I guess you could say so,” I stall.

“
I
could
say so? Or is that a fact?”

“
Okay, there was one guy who distracted me for a while. But then he replaced me with someone else.”

“
Oh, no! I’m sorry, honey,” Theo pouts in my stead. “And that’s the reason you feel you need a makeover, huh?”

“
Maybe.” As he shampoos my hair, I decide he has a point. “Yeah, I guess I want to close that chapter with a new hairstyle.”

Theo focuses on his work, and I’m glad he doesn’t probe any further. I don’t want to talk about Colton, who replaced me with Pearl.
PEARL
! The same bitch who came close to driving a wedge between Ave and Dale, simply by sitting at her daddy’s computer and researching Dale’s background. I’m glad the pair made it anyway, and that Dale gave Pearl a good fright. Whenever Pearl and Dale meet now, it’s hilarious to watch Pearl take to her heels and run. I smile at the memory of their last encounter.

“
What is it?” Theo asks.

I tell him the short version of the story, and it takes just as long as he needs to finish washing my hair. He giggles like a child.

“
Ave chose a girl with a talent for repartee,” he says appreciatively.

“
Yeah, he did, and what’s even better is that she makes him happy. He’s very relaxed these days.”

“
Haven’t seen him in a while. I wonder who’s doing his hair,” Theo muses.

I grin. “I don’t think anybody is, so maybe I should send him in for an appointment with you.”