Eastwood Academy

Chapter 35: All the Time in the World

When I wake up, I immediately check my phone, ecstatic to have a text from River asking to see me. I tell him to meet me outside my dorm in ten minutes and then realize that I should have said twenty because I'm still in my PJs with unbrushed hair. But I'm too ridiculously eager to see River to ask for more time.

I pull on my best pair of jeans and a long-sleeved navy blue top and throw a black coat over them. Then, I apply the minimal amount of makeup I know how to do and yank a brush through my hair. I barely recognize the person in the mirror. My eyes are big and bright with excitement, and my cheeks are flushed.

I spend another couple of minutes fixing my hair, and when I decide I look passable, I grab my phone and head down to the lobby. I force myself to walk, not bounce through the doors, when I see him waiting for me outside.

He greets me with a kiss that lasts longer than is probably appropriate for such a public setting, but I can't bring myself to care even when I hear a couple of passerbys wolf whistle and shout at us to get a room.

"Lunch time for my girl?" he asks when we break apart, and I think I might melt from hearing him say I'm his. All my earlier worries disappear when he smiles at me and takes my hand. I know River is a good person, and I know that we're meant to be together.

Walking hand in hand towards the cafeteria feels like something out of a dream. It feels too good to be true. For a moment, I think it is when he pulls his hand out of mine, only to wrap his arm around my waist and pull me securely into his side.

The simple act of closeness leaves me temporarily speechless with elation, which River must sense because he grins down at me before ducking to press a kiss to the top of my head. I'm smiling so widely it almost hurts, but I don't care because I've never been happier in my entire life. River is finally mine.

Arms around each other, we walk towards the dining hall, drawing a good amount of stares and whispers. I barely notice because I'm so focused on the feeling of River's arms around me.

"St.Claire! I want a word with you," a voice rings out loudly from behind us, and my stomach lurches painfully like I've missed a step going down a flight of stairs. Because I know that voice. It's Gavin. And he has every right to be as furious as he sounds.

I had hoped to talk to him in private and explain the situation before he saw us together in public as a couple.

River spins us around, so we're facing him, making no move to put any distance between us. Instead, he pulls me closer but angles his body so that he's half a step in front of me, a move that only pisses off Gavin even more.

"Gavin," River says as Gavin approaches us, looking seriously angry. It doesn't escape me that River uses Gavin's first name to address him instead of his last name, as Gavin did for River. If it's an attempt to sound friendlier to diffuse the situation, it doesn't work. I've never seen Gavin like this before.

Last night, he was blindly mad when River punched him, but today, he's different. Colder, more assertive, and intimidating. I knew that facing him and explaining that I'm with River wasn't going to be easy, but looking at the expression of cold fury on Gavin's face I feel a sense of intimidation that I've never experienced with Gavin. He looks as mean as River on his worst day.

"Can we take this somewhere else?" River asks. "Somewhere more private? I know I messed up last night, but we can talk this out."

I've been so focused on Gavin that I completely blocked out my surroundings, but River's statement makes me tense and makes me look around us. A crowd has formed.

Lunchtime is late enough that everyone has slept off their hangovers and exhaustion from the dance and gone in search offood. Given that we're standing near the dining hall, there's no shortage of onlookers around us. Sensing a brewing fight, they've stopped what they're doing, and many are now edging closer in anticipation.