if it bit him in the ass.” She snorted as though picturing just that. “Are you sure you’re just tired, birthday girl?”
With her classes and her part-time job, Felicity was grateful for early nights where she could find them—and the prospect of staying up into the wee hours and endangering her beloved dress didn’t hold much appeal. No, the sweet song of a comfy bed and a few hours of oblivion was calling to her.
“I’m good!” she insisted. “Go have more fun and don’t worry about me. Go find Tanner before he realizes you’ve ditched him.” Felicity pointed to Layla’s boyfriend, who was politely escaping the group of bunnies and searching about for Layla.
Tanner Redmond and Layla had hooked up the first day of classes five years ago and had been together ever since. He was hot, smart, and totally nice, not at all like some of the entitled jerks she had to deal with when she handled rich clients at the gallery where she worked, which was a shocker given that he was a rich kid. He and his older brother, Jared, shared this beautiful apartment. She’d never met Jared. Even though she’d spent the last three months around Tanner and Layla, the mysterious older brother had never once shown up.
Layla’s dark eyes ran up and down Felicity with concern. “You sure you don’t want to stay out here? You don’t have to crash now. Unless you’re not feeling well?” Layla cocked one hip, her hand perched there as she continued to study Felicity. Felicity swallowed down the flutter of nerves that always came whenever her friend tried to make her participate more in the student culture, but she shook her head. She wasn’t good at being fun and spontaneous or wild. Graduate student life seemed to be built on those three things when one wasn’t studying or writing papers. It was just her luck that she was too shy to be bold in life like Layla.
It never ceased to amaze Felicity how much of a mother hen her friend could be.
“I’m good,” she answered Layla, her voice firm. Sometimes she had to use a “parent voice” in order to get Layla to stop mothering her. “Go and have fun. You said the bedroom is the last on the left?”
“Yup. And seriously, stay the weekend. Just come back here after your midterm, and we can hang out.” Layla’s offer was tempting, and Felicity found herself more than considering it. It sure would be nice to crash here for a few days. “I still can’t believe you have a term paper due on the Saturday after Halloween,” Layla muttered. “Ugh.” Layla wrinkled her nose. “Some teachers are jerks. I’d be happy to make a voodoo doll of him, and we can shove pins in him.” Her friend was grinning wickedly as she suggested this.
Felicity bit back a laugh. “If I didn’t like Professor Willoughby as much as I do, I might take you up on that.”
Layla escorted her all the way to the door and then curved her arms around Felicity in a hug. Her throat tightened as she fought off the fierce happiness that came over her whenever her friend hugged her.
Layla didn’t hug by halves—she gripped you hard, squeezed the air out of your lungs, and made you feel loved.
Felicity just wasn’t used to that—unlike Layla with her sprawling and loud family that found it natural to hug and kiss constantly, Felicity’s parents were not overtly affectionate. They were sweet, and she knew they loved her, but they didn’t put their affection on display like Layla—unbridled and consuming.
“Just do me a favor. Get some rest and kick butt on your research tomorrow.”
“Yes, Mom.” Felicity stuck her tongue out, and they both giggled.
As Layla turned back to the party, Felicity slipped into the sanctuary and relative quiet of the dark bedroom. Her breath caught as she took in the view of the city through the tall windows. The skyline of downtown Chicago was a man-made mountain range of lights twinkling in a sea of black. The sky behind the buildings was a soft purple, cutting a contrast against the silhouettes of the buildings. It was one amazing view, and it always made her breathless when she caught a glimpse of the monolithic buildings. Her hands ached to sketch the sight, but she hadn’t brought her pad with her.
Fifteen stories up, none of the city sounds that kept her up at night could be heard from Jared’s bedroom. She liked