Outcast (Wiltshire University Book 1)

Chapter 5

Winding my way down the tower stairs, I distracted myself from the pain and worry by devising all sorts of ways to get revenge on whoever did this. It didn't take long for me to conclude I totally suck as a revengist. Revenger? Revengerist? Is there a word that describes the person who dreams up revenge plots? That has to be a job title somewhere. I stepped out of the tower and back into the dim subterranean path surrounding its base completely spent.

Somewhere around the hundredth step, I decided revengist was the term most appropriate to describe a person who carries out revenge and moved on to figuring out what the typical revengist looked like. I was so focused on trying to figure it out, probably shadowy like a cold war era Russian spy with a hint of Liam Nelson in Taken, I forgot to pay attention as I turned the corner colliding with a wall, a wall with arms that were currently latched onto me. Wait, walls don't usually have arms, my brain helpfully provided as the arms steadied my unstable load and me.

"Woah there," a masculine voice called. Ok walls definitely don't talk. Yeah, this was the brain that supposedly got me into Wiltshire on the best scholarship in the history of academia; it's no wonder I'm waiting for them to realize they made a mistake admitting me with gems like that popping into my head. Once the wall-like but not a wall owner of the hands was confident I was stable, he released me taking a step back.

"Running away already? I promise, college isn't that bad. Just give your professors another week to settle down," the voice chortled. I didn't bother to look up as I focused on shifting the weight of everything in my arms to a more stable position. Even without looking I could hear the smirk in his voice. Douche.

"Yup, you got me. Running away. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a circus to go join," I responded with a dry, sarcastic tone. I didn't have time for this guy. Stepping around señor douche, I made it a few steps before realizing he may be of some use. Ok, so he might be here to ambush me or gloat in my misery, but if he had nothing to do with this predicament then maybe he could tell me where to look next. At this point, I would accept an ambush if it meant not having to walk all over God's green earth to get all of my stuff back.

Speaking as I spun back around, I called out, "You wouldn't be able to identify the top ten places on grounds for student hookups for me, would you?" As the last words left my mouth señor douche came into focus. Damn. He was hot. Like seriously hot. He did not look anything like the senior douche I'd pegged him for a moment before.

He was slightly shorter than Zane, but much taller than me, with a baseball player's build. His light brown hair was neatly combed with a deep side part, and while the space was too dim to see his eyes, I couldn't help but notice how his royal blue polo shirt fit just tight enough across his chest and arms to reveal they were well muscled. That explained mistaking him for a wall. Pairing his polo with tan chino shorts and running shoes he was drool-worthy. There was also something about the way he held himself; it left me with the impression he was an upperclassman or maybe even a grad student and only added to his attractiveness. He still might be señor douche, but he was an attractive señor douche.

"I'm sorry, what?" He'd obviously been studying me as I walked away and wasn't prepared for me to ask him about hookup spots. Wait, does he think I'm asking him to go hook up with me? Probably. Looking like that he must have women just randomly asking to hook up. That would happen to Zane out at the clubs, a girl would just walk up to him and ask him to go hook up right then and there; sometimes their requests were super graphic. Oh my god! How embarrassing! I totally didn't mean it like that. Shit.

"I wasn't asking you to hook up with me, I just need to know where the top hook-up spots are," I clarified. This was mortifying. Too embarrassed to look him in the eye after putting my foot in my mouth, I fiddled with the edge of something from my pile. I could feel his eyes on me as the silence hung between us like a suffocating veil. I really need to learn to think about how things I say are going to sound before I say them.