Into the Stars (USC Series Book #2)

chapter thirty

INTO THE STARS
———
MALACHI

Some may consider this obsessive behavior, but I don't give a single fuck. Those same people would also think that I am obsessed and to that, I would say, it happens to the best of us.

Me - come outside

As soon as the text is delivered, I pocket my phone, not waiting for an instantaneous reply. My palms grow clammy the longer I wait, gripping onto the steering wheel of Holden's car so hard my knuckles have gone white. I really need to get my own means of transportation around campus that isn't one of my roommate's cars.

Street lamps bound the road, casting a peculiar, orange-tinged light on the asphalt. The sun set not too long ago and there are still some students from USC lingering on this side street, cars driving by every so often.

A brick apartment complex is situated mere feet away from me, and I don't even question myself why I am here. One minor detour on my route home to the one person I needed to see didn't seem like something I should second guess. Brinley's touch and presence have become a daily need and if I don't get my fix for today, I may go into withdrawal. 

I stare at the entry to the complex, willing those doors to open and for Brinley to walk right through them, looking like the beautiful woman she is.

Just a second later, there she is, dressed in a black tee that covers any skin on her upper body and gray sweatpants. Her bleached-blond hair was tied on the top of her hair in a messy bun with strands falling out everywhere, framing her face. I swear, my heartbeat hastens at just a single look at her.

Her gaze examines the lot, searching for any cars she may recognize when her eyes fall on Holden's car. Brinley's eyes dart to mine and unlike my presumptions, she only seems the slightest bit peeved at my interruption of her evening.

She saunters over to the passenger side of the car, her hips swaying in an infuriatingly sexy manner that I don't even think she knows she is doing. This girl...

I roll down the window, a slight smirk hinting on my lips.

"What do you want, Kai?" she asks, not necessarily angry but only merely irritated. Out of everything, though, the use of her newfound nickname for me is what I hyper-fixate on. It sounds so much better on her lips than it could on anyone else's.

Nonchalantly, I shrug. "Do you really want to know? Or are you a fan of surprises, instead?"

She huffs out a breath of air, her bare arms glued around her waist to retain warmth, goosebumps prickling on the skin. Brinley's gaze focuses elsewhere, but mine stays on her.

"So... what is it going to be, Brinley?" I urge, already knowing her answer when she looks back at me and an impetuous spark finds its way into her eyes without restraint.

Her eyes momentarily flick back to her apartment building before she hesitates on reaching a hand inside the door and unlocking it herself.

She bounces on the seat and only then do I notice her bra. Or lack thereof, I should say. Her breasts shift with the movement, the entire thing sending a rush of blood to my cock that I need to tame before she notices.

She buckles herself in and, as though she knows, she offers me an annoyed glance I know she is feigning. As a response, I smirk, just to provoke her.

The engine revs up beneath us and we get on our way to one certain place rather than a late night drive like I told her.

A soft, melodic song plays as background noise, and just like I get lost in the drive to the warehouse, I get lost in the solitude this moment brings me. Just me and Brinley, in silence except for the music, driving through the roads on campus with nothing on our minds.