[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

through a baggage check nor have a wand passed over my person.
 Excuse me, a girl behind a large desk called, waving in my general direction.  May I help you?
There were a few people milling past me, and at first it didn t register she d spoken to me specifically.
When I turned to catch her gaze, I frowned.  Me?
 Yes, you need to check in here, please.
Baffled, I tried to figure out how exactly she d figured out I didn t belong, until I saw that other
people had little cards in their hands. Every person with a card swiped it while walking through the
turnstile, while, of course, I had not.
www.samhainpublishing.com 85
Dee Carney
Blowing out a breath, trying not to focus on the fact Josh might be somewhere close by and I was
being delayed in getting to him, I went to her.  Yes? I asked, more to get her attention than anything since,
for some reason, she d chosen to start ignoring me as soon as I headed her way.
Seconds crawled by as I waited for an acknowledgement while my impatience grew. She d gone back
to perusing a stack of books piled next to her. I shifted into her sightline.
She looked down at her monitor. I drummed my fingers on the desk.
Either she would look up soon, or I would lose my cool.
Dear God, finally, she pushed a scrap of paper in my direction.  If you re not a student, please fill this
out. The fee for temporary library access is five dollars.
 Five dollars? For what? I m just looking for someone& 
Bored brown eyes rolled in my direction.  That s fine, but you still have to pay the access fee. Five
dollars today, or you ll have to go to the Student Union and get a student ID, which is ten dollars. Your
choice.
Scowling, I snatched a nearby pen, got to scribbling my vital statistics for her before whipping out a
twenty and slapping it on the table.  Here you go, I said with a toothy smile plastered on my face.
She frowned this time.  Hmm& not sure if I can break that. Her gaze moved past me, and she leaned
forward, obviously intent on finding someone to assist in the financial dilemma.  There s a Starbucks just
outside to the right. If you could please ask them 
I leaned forward, obstructing her view until all she saw was the determination in my eyes.  Honey,
keep the change. I shoved the paper forward.  Are we done here?
 Y-yes, I think so.
Still grinning with intentional syrupy fakeness, I said,  Now if you ll just point in the direction of the
physics section, I would be ever so grateful.
 Third floor stacks. Take a right off the elevator and head to the back. You can t miss the signage.
The smile fell from my face.  Thank you.
Fortunately for my shattered nerves, her directions took me where I wanted to go. The elevator sat
next to an elegant set of winding steps, and only the idea of trudging up three flights, to meet Josh while
breathless, made me settle for waiting on the slow contraption.
The sign reading  Physics hung in white lettering on black where she d said it would. Beneath, two
rows of tables were littered with dozens of books, some cracked open. A few had pencils or pieces of paper
marking spots the reader didn t want to lose. At set intervals, old-fashioned lamps illuminated the tabletops
for the three people sitting in wood chairs. None of them interacted with his or her neighbor. None of them
was Josh.
86 www.samhainpublishing.com
Keeping Pace
I knew this might be a possibility, I tried to tell myself. Still, no matter how many times I swallowed,
I couldn t get the lump in my throat to move. Disappointment at missing him, assuming he d ever been
here, tightened my insides until I could barely breathe.
Not knowing how else to handle my roiling emotions, I stepped into the stacks and let the musky
scent of books envelop me. As someone who lives for academia, I felt some measure of comfort from that
aroma, enough to battle my disappointment into control. Not finding Josh now didn t mean I would never
find him. It was just a temporary setback.
About to turn toward the exit maybe see if I could negotiate the return of my money I hesitated at
the sound of tinkling laughter. It wasn t so much the feminine giggling that caught my attention, but the
familiar male chuckling harmonizing with it.
I stood rooted. Unable to move. Unable to speak. So desperate to run to him, to babble everything I
was feeling, to beg his understanding, I could do none of those things. Instead Josh rounded the corner,
holding a stack of books yet staring into the face of a young woman who looked adoringly back at him.
Time stretched on as I memorized them, their body language. Josh, my Josh, huddled so closely to
this woman. Her dazzling white smile next to flawless skin. Her hair tied up in a ponytail while careless
wisps dangled past her ears and onto bare shoulders. Pert breasts above a barely there waist. Short shorts.
Long legs.
Youth.
Eyes burning, I whirled and bolted for the elevator. I pushed past a startled patron, making my way
away from the twin rows of desks. My scalp tingled from the heat blazing across my face and leaking to the
rest of my body. How foolish I ve been. I thought we stood a chance. I thought maybe&
 Regina?
Heart lodged in my throat, I stopped and then turned to face the quickly approaching man. My man.
At least I hoped he still was.
He looked frazzled yet stern. There wasn t happiness in his eyes to see me.
I licked my dry lips.  Hi Josh.
A tentative smile.  What are you doing here?
 I was in the neighborhood, I said, with a shy smile of my own.
The girl he d been with moved beyond him to a cozy little table set up for two. Notepads and paper,
Josh s preferred writing utensils, had been spread out while she set up camp behind a laptop. She didn t [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]