Linden: Rocking Pleasure: New Adult College Romance (Coral Gables Series Book 3) (7 page)

“
Sure.” She digs around in her handbag and then holds out a broad hair band.

“
Thank you.” I quickly wrap my hair into a loose bun, after putting the key in the ignition and pushing the button that opens the top.

“
Is he at the Jackson?” Hailey asks.

“
Yes. I didn’t know where else to take him, and it was on the way. Sort of, at least.” Once the top is down, and I start the engine as well as the radio. P.O.D blasts from the speakers as I leave the parking lot.

“
Oh, God. Your rock music is awful,” she complains and makes a face.

I sigh. “We’re not going to listen to your hip-hop crap, Hailey.”

“
Mee-mee-mee,” she whines, making me smile in spite of myself.

“
If you start doing that Mozart serenade in your Muppet voice again, I swear I’m going to kick you out of the car.”

“
I dare you,” she challenges with a giggle.

“
I wouldn’t say that if I were you.” I step on the gas, wanting to put this last Linden Priest visit behind me as quickly as possible.

“
And if
I
were
you
, I would put on a little lip gloss,” Hailey says.

“
Why should I?” I ask with mounting irritation.

“
I don’t know. Maybe to show him what he can’t have?” she answers cheerfully.

“
No, thank you.” I grin and try to focus on the road ahead.

“
Whatever.”

***

Ping.
The doors of the elevator open, and the tiled hospital hallway stretches in front of us, smelling of disinfectant. “Go in and win,” I murmur.

“
Ding, ding, ding—round one,” Hailey jokes as we walk down the hallway.

“
That isn’t funny.” I grin.

“
Then why are you grinning?”

“
Because you’re making me,” I say, sticking my tongue out at her.

“
Oh, I see. But what’s so wrong with that?”

“
Could we maybe pull ourselves together now? This is his room.”

“
Okay. I’ll be on my best behavior. Promise,” she says, raising her fingers in a victory sign.

I knock on the door and wait for an answer.

“
Come in,” a voice says, and we walk into the room.

“
Good afternoon,” I greet Linden, Alexis, and the young man who must be Jayden.

“
Hello, Thalia,” Linden says, showing me two rows of perfect teeth.

“
I brought a friend, we were out shopping together,” I explain. “This is Hailey Osment.”

They all say hi and smile at her.

“
This is my brother, by the way. Jayden Priest,” Linden introduces the third guy.

“
Hello.” I nod at him.

“
You must be the lady who brought my brother here,” he says, taking a few steps toward me and pulling me into an embrace instead of just shaking my hand.

I feel trapped, letting my arms dangle at my sides. “All right. I think that’s enough,” I groan, because he’s all but suffocating me in a bear hug.

“
Jayden, let go of her.” Linden laughs, and his brother complies.

I rub the spot on my hip where he embraced me a little too hard, and then I look at Hailey, who’s standing against the wall with a wide grin on her face. “Okay, I guess we’ll be going.”

She shakes her head.

I frown at her, but she merely shrugs at me. I roll my eyes.
Jesus, any more of this, and I’ll go insane
.

“
Why don’t you stay?” Jayden suggest with a smirk. “Linden was just telling us how you rebuffed him.”

“
That was something.” Alexis chuckles.

My eyebrows travel upward slowly. “Not really, and I already told Mr. Kingston that I can’t stay long.” I force a smile so they don’t think I’m a total bitch.

“
That’s a pity,” Linden gripes.

“
I’m sorry, Linden, but my world doesn’t revolve around you. I need to study and prepare for my exams.”

“
Oh, you’re a college student?” he asks, sounding genuinely interested.

Hailey giggles. “You could also call her a lecture hall decoration, because she hardly ever does anything but sit around.”

I throw her a scathing look over my shoulder before answering, “Architecture and engineering.”

“
Interesting,” Linden says, scratching his stubbly chin.

“
In any case, I really gotta go,” I declare. “I hope you’re as good as new in no time, Linden.”

“
Thalia?” he stops me, just as I turn away from him again.

“
Yes?”

“
Wouldn’t you consider having that dinner with me?”

“
Of course she would,” Hailey chirps, before I even have the chance to answer.

“
No, she wouldn’t,” I whisper.

“
Uh, what? Yes or no?” Linden asks.

I exhale loudly. “Okay, fine. Call me when they let you out of here.”
Whatever.
I’ll spend this one evening with him, and I can leave whenever I feel uncomfortable, or bored, or cornered. And Cami still owes me one “no questions asked” card, which I intend to use for that dinner.

“
I’m looking forward to that.” He smiles at me.

Can’t say that
I
am,
my brain replies. “See you then,” my mouth says.

Hailey grins at me as I shove her out of the room. “Ouch. Watch your step.” She giggles.

“
What was that all about?” I bark at her. “You knew I didn’t want to go out to dinner with him, yet you practically forced me to say yes!”

“
Don’t make it sound like such a big deal. What’s so wrong about a nice dinner?”

“
I didn’t want this!” I march off toward the elevators. Why does my best friend think double-crossing me is fun?

“
But why? What’s the worst that can happen? Nothing!” Hailey says, annoyed now, too. “All you’re going to do is have a nice evening, that’s it.”

“
Hailey, he’s engaged. I told you!” I hit the button for the elevator with more force than necessary and then cross my arms. I’m really angry… Or maybe disappointed. I don’t know.

“
I’m sorry. I thought you were just reluctant because of his girlfriend or whatever she is. But if this didn’t mean anything to him, why would he ask a second time?” She looks at me.

I refuse to look back at her. With a snort, I step into the elevator and push the first-floor button. “How would I know? I still think it would have been better to decline.”

“
And I’m convinced that you’re going to be thankful for this later on,” she counters.

“
Bullshit.” I’m looking forward to dropping her off now, because I don’t want to fight with her, but I can’t believe she made me accept his invitation. That was dumb. Why does everyone treat me as if I can’t decide for myself what to do and what not to do? I love Hailey and Camille like sisters, but sometimes they interfere with my life in ways that overstep the line. Maybe I need to put a little more distance between us, or at least tell them more bluntly when they go too far.

We step out of the elevator and trudge over to where my car is parked. I grumpily get behind the wheel, buckle up, start the engine, and wait for Hailey to fasten her seatbelt, too.

“
Are you mad at me?” she asks sheepishly.

“
Not at all,” I answer sarcastically, hitting the gas as soon as I hear her buckle click.

“
That means yes,” she states.

“
Hailey, I just think you were totally out of line interfering,” I explain, more calm now that she knows I’m angry with her. “Maybe you really think you’re doing me a favor, but I told you in the mall why I don’t want to go to dinner with him.”

“
I don’t understand why you’re so upset. It’s almost as if … ” She looks at me for a long moment. “Oh. My. God. You really like him!” she squeals.

I make a face, because her squeal is so high-pitched that it sets my teeth on edge. “I do not like him,” I grumble. “He is nice, he is good-looking, his brain is mush due to his amnesia, and he is very friendly, but I definitely do not like him beyond any of that.”

“
With the way you react to anything remotely to do with him, that’s the only logical conclusion,” she says. “Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, by the way.”

“
I shouldn’t have brought you along,” I mumble, hoping she doesn’t hear it over the loud music. Most of the time it’s nice to have an empathic friend, but I’ve never seen her so enthusiastic about matchmaking before. For fuck’s sake, Hailey and I used to be
sistas
, the way Barney and Ted were
bros
in
How I Met Your Mother
! But when Logan entered the picture, it all changed completely. We no longer go out together, just the two of us. He’s always there, and I feel like the fifth wheel. And yet she doesn’t understand when I get grumpy about it. Cami and Delsin are a complete item, and so are Ave and Dale. I guess I should start going out with Theo. He and I could at least go man-hunting together.

“
I’m sorry, Thally,” Hailey says meekly.

I feel my anger evaporate slowly. I don’t want to fight with her—it’s just not worth it. “It’s okay,” I say. “The deal is done.”

***

I stop in front of her apartment after telling her I intend to play my “no questions asked” card with Cami, if I really go to that dinner after all. Hailey thinks I’m exaggerating what kind of deal the whole thing is, but I see my agreement with Cami as the only chance to get out of a boring evening without making a fool of myself.

“
Well, anyway. How about we meet before classes on Wednesday?” she suggests, finally dropping the subject of Linden Priest.

“
Sure. Around nine, with a coffee, by our palm tree,” I instruct. “It’s your turn to bring the coffee.”

“
I know. I’ll get it, don’t worry.” She smiles and hugs me goodbye. “See you on Wednesday.”

“
See you, Hailey.”

She gets out, and I watch her walk along the driveway and into the house. Then I step on the gas again. My phone starts ringing a few moments later. A glance at the display tells me it’s Alexis Kingston again. I reject the call, because I’m really not in the mood for speaking to anyone that wants to lure me back into Linden’s presence.

Come to think of it, he is getting annoying anyway. Who am I, the local tour guide? My ringtone ceases, only to start up again only two minutes later. With a deep sigh, I take the call this time.

“
Yes?” I snap.

“
Oh … Is this a bad time?” I hear Avery’s voice.

Another sigh. “No. I’m sorry. I thought you were somebody else. My phone is annoying me right now.”

“
Is someone stalking you?” he asks, sounding a little alarmed.

“
I guess you could say that. What’s up?”

“
I wanted to ask what you’re doing this weekend. You know, that’s when they set up the
real
party,” he explains in a conspiratorial whisper, “and I’m supposed to make you come here without you knowing what you’re in for.”

I smile to myself. “I have no plans for the weekend, but please tell me this party is going to be better than the last.”

“
I sure hope so. Cami and Dale are in charge of the planning. Delsin rented The Heat on behalf of your dad, since you’re now officially allowed in a club. And they also already invited a bunch of guests.”

“
Friday or Saturday?”

“
Saturday. Some of us have lectures until late afternoon on Friday, including myself.”

“
That sounds promising.” I’m happy they’re throwing a second party for me, but I don’t understand why. Everyone else got their one surprise party, so why would I get two? I ask Ave that very thing.

“
I don’t know,” he says. “Cami didn’t manage to get enough people together last weekend, she said. She didn’t want you to remember your twenty-first birthday like that, because it was lame.”

“
Sounds a little fishy,” I voice my thoughts.

“
Honestly, I have no idea what’s behind this,” he says earnestly.

“
Okay, I won’t probe any further. One more thing though. It’s supposed to be a surprise?”

“
Yes, it is, so please pretend to be surprised when you enter the house,” Ave pleads.

“
OH MY GOD, YOU’RE TOTALLY INSANE
!” I squeal loudly into the phone. “Like that?” I then ask in my normal voice.

Ave lets out a gasp. “Perfect, because my ears are ringing. Where did you learn such acting skills?”

“
My dear friends in Austin were never any good at hiding stuff from me either, but I learned not to disappoint them by pretending I didn’t expect their surprises
AT ALL
!” At the end of my sentence, I break into that high-pitched enthusiasm again.

“
Wonderful, but also awful,” Ave says.

“
I know. I also don’t want to wake the slumbering monster in Cami.” I giggle. “The way she’s acting right now, you’d think she’s suffering from permanent PMS, don’t you think?”