I Just Need You - J. Nathan Page 0,11
of my eye in the hallway trailing us out of the building, but again I didn’t acknowledge him. “Oh, I have an hour to kill before I’m meeting my friend for lunch. How about you?”
“No class until later. You wanna chill on the quad and get some sun while you wait?”
“Oh, I…” My counselor’s voice popped into my head telling me to live in the moment and not assume every person who is kind to me is out to get me. I sighed. “Sure.”
He pointed to a grassy area in the corner of the quad, away from the crisscrossed paths students took to classes. “Looks like a perfect spot.”
We sat down, Jeff lounging on his back using his backpack as a pillow and me tucking up my knees and wrapping my arms around them.
“So, where you from?” he asked.
I looked around the busy quad and spotted Tristan watching us as he stood under a tree in the shade. I looked back to Jeff. “California. You?”
“Montana.”
“What brought you here?”
“I like exploring new places. This is my fourth college.”
“No way.”
He nodded. “A new school every year. At the rate I’m going, I’ll be at eight before I graduate.”
“Why eight?”
“Not all my credits transfer over when I start a new school. But it’s no biggie. I’m in no rush to get into the real world.”
I laughed, wishing I was that much of a free spirit. I’d thought I was when I packed up and left for France. But now I see that being free had just been an illusion. A foolish dream that didn’t actually exist in my world.
***
At lunch with Elodie, I learned that everyone on my floor had questioned her about my bodyguards. I would’ve been surprised if they hadn’t. She explained I was a pop star from overseas who was laying low and trying to blend in. Oddly, they bought the story and my need to keep my presence there quiet.
After lunch, I struggled to stay awake during special events marketing, not having slept more than a couple of hours the previous night. Once the professor dismissed us, I hurried out of the building in an effort to get back to the dorm so I could nap. The campus was less lively in the afternoon, so it gave me a chance to admire the Coral trees as I made my way toward the path leading to the dorms.
“That guy you were with,” Tristan murmured from behind me once we were alone on the path. “He doesn’t stay in one place for long.”
“I know,” I said without turning to look at him.
“He’s moved around his entire life,” he continued.
“So?”
“So, there’s got to be a reason. People like that come with a lot of baggage which means they may be willing to do whatever it takes to make things happen.”
I spun to face him, my long hair whipping over my shoulder. “I’m not sure if this is your first gig or what. But in my world, I meet people and get to know them. I don’t need a guy’s dossier from you. He’ll tell me what he wants me to know.”
“And what if he doesn’t? What if he lies about who he is?”
“Like you did at the bar?” I countered.
“I didn’t lie.”
“You omitted. Just as bad.”
He rolled his eyes. “As I was saying, you have no idea what that guy’s intentions with you are.”
I scoffed. “His intentions? Who even talks like that?”
Anger brewed in his eyes. “I meant money talks. Those men who tried to—”
A girl brushed by us and Tristan stopped speaking until we were alone on the path again.
“Those men could reach out to anyone. They could offer anyone money to get close to you. Have you ever thought of that?”
“How do I know they didn’t offer you money to pretend to be my security?”
He dropped his head back and growled. “They didn’t.”
“You sure? Where’s your dossier?”
He didn’t say anything.
“See? Sometimes you just need to trust your gut and trust people.” I turned away from him and walked toward the dorm, knowing if I’d trusted my gut about him, I would have fired his ass for real. But I trusted Marco who’d vouched for him. And I trusted my parents who hired him because he was the best out there.
I was the one who wasn’t so sure.
I was the one who needed more proof that he’d be the one I could rely on if things went south.
Because nothing so far had proven that Tristan Stone would be there if I