burn on the inside. She pulled away, putting all her weight behind
her hips.
“I do, Red,” she said against my lips. There was something
more she wasn’t telling me, but as much as I could let her in, I didn’t
• 228 •
Better Off red
have the power to wander around through her thoughts. And I never
would. She dropped a gentle kiss to my ear. “I love you.”
It wasn’t what was on her mind. Well, maybe it was, but it
wasn’t all of it. But it was more than enough. I leaned in close, and
this time, I pressed my teeth into her neck, pinching her smooth
skin.
❖
Something in the middle of my back popped when I stretched.
It felt great. I was sore as hell, but the whole room didn’t want or
need to hear the sounds of me rearranging my spine. I snorted softly
as I muttered my apology. Then I looked at my phone again. The
library was closing in three hours and I knew I would spend every
second of those three hours with Greg and our newly formed study
group. Our first big test of the semester was on Friday, and we’d
been studying since dinner with three other kids from our class—
Vince, Jamal, and Alison, and this forty-year-old guy named Judd,
who’d decided to take another crack at his degree.
“I need a smoke. Let’s take five,” Judd suggested.
“Let’s take ten,” Greg said.
We all agreed and I stretched again, watching Judd stride down
the aisle. I would have been fine studying by myself or just with
Greg. I was hesitant when Judd asked us if could study with us. He
was a little too grizzled for my liking, but it turned out the guy took
meticulous notes and he recalled everything our professor had said
with an accuracy that redefined anal retention. I took good notes, but
I had been a little distracted lately.
Camila liked to text me, a lot. She would have stopped if I
asked her to, but my heart took off, sparking brainless, lip-biting
grins every time the name Mila flashed across my screen. I was
doing well in all my classes, but after seeing Judd’s notes, it was
obvious I could do better. I was willing to overlook the second hand
smoke if it meant I was getting a supplement to my education.
I’d asked Camila to spare me at least while I was in the library.
It was easier to sneak texts in a crowded lecture hall than it was at a
• 229 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
small table, but it wouldn’t hurt if I took the ten minutes to call her.
I stood to make a break for the door, but Greg was on his feet at the
same time, an expectant look on his face.
“You want to go for a walk?” he asked.
Damn it. “Yeah, sure.”
He nodded toward the stacks and I followed.
“Marshall gave me a skeleton key to the whole campus,” he
whispered, pulling a golden key from his pocket. My mind went
right to the gutter. I bit my tongue because the only thing I wanted to
ask him was what he had to do to get that key. Greg was cool and all,
but he was not up for that kind of making fun. I just nodded back.
I imagined there were plenty of neat nooks and forbidden places
all over campus. I found the most important space under a certain
sorority house. I didn’t feel the need to go searching for more. Greg
was probably still looking.
He led me to a door in a spooky, quiet corner in the back of the
building. The corner was a perfect make-out spot. It was dark and
lined with stacks filled with books that looked like they hadn’t been
checked out since the late seventies. He checked behind us before
opening the heavy door. Then he ushered me onto the dark landing.
I looked around as he closed us in. I’d seen the stairwell from the
outside every day, and every day, I’d ignored it.
“Okay,” I said quietly, trying to avoid an echo. “This is cool.”
The fourth floor of the library was just like every other building on
campus, beige and blue with white walls and wood trim. The brick
encased stairwell was made of a dusty concrete that ran the height of
the building against its rear. Every landing had a large window that
looked out over the campus. The lights were out, and the ventilation
was crappy, but the air was cool. I peeked over the railing and looked
Greg. This was the perfect study break spot to hide in.
“Come on. The stadium looks awesome from there.” He
pointed up. We ran to the top floor, taking the steps two at a time.
When I reached the top, I was laughing breathlessly.
Greg was right. You could see the whole campus, including
the football stadium that was lit up for a night practice. I couldn’t
• 230 •
Better Off red
stop myself from thinking of Camila and the night we’d spent in her
penthouse only a few short weeks before. I was over the mishaps of
that morning after. She was caught up on her sleep. I didn’t see why
we couldn’t spend another night downtown with our toys and an
alarm clock, just in case.
“So how’s it going?”
I turned around. Greg was leaning against the brick wall.
“Pretty good, I guess. I want to get this test over with, but
everything else is good. How are things with you?” I asked, raising
an eyebrow to him.
“Better. I mean, same shit, but better.”
“How’s everything with the guys and stuff?”
His throat contracted as he swallowed and straightened up
against the wall. “It’s cool. I—I’m not gay.”
“Greg, I know. You’re with Samantha, remember? How are
things with her?” Great job, Ginger. Bring up the girlfriend, not all
the anal sex you know he’s having and maybe loving. I figured he
would appreciate that, but he just grunted and shrugged.
“She’s all right.”
“I thought things were going pretty well with you guys. She
missed curfew twice because of you.” I tried to tease him.
“Yeah, well, I heard you got promoted to like Most Important
Freshman or some shit.”
I snorted, instantly annoyed. Here I was trying to talk to Greg,
trying to see if he was the type to go mental and snap Samantha’s
neck in a fit of sexually confused rage. I was looking out for her, and
her nosy, big-mouthed ass was talking about me and Camila behind
my back.
“Is that what Samantha told you?”
“She said you’re dating the head bi—” He caught himself right
before I punched him in the nuts. “Sam said things had actually
gotten serious with you and the sister-queen Camila. You guys are
actually dating.”
“We are. And I wouldn’t refer to her as a bitch, Greg. Rodrick
answers to her. And she is my girlfriend.”
• 231 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“I know. My bad. I just…” he said. “I’m sorry. For real.” He
took my silence as a cue to keep his mouth shut while I cooled
down. I knew he was confused and going through a rough time
, but
manners were manners and casual name-calling, especially in this
case, was not okay. He didn’t know Camila, and he obviously didn’t
know what she meant to me.
“So you can do that, like, date them?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. His question reminded me how clueless he
was to my situation. “I mean we just clicked, I guess. Dating them
isn’t off-limits; it’s just not the norm.”
“What happens when you graduate or if you want to break up
with her? Not afraid she won’t suck you dry in a fit of vampire
madness?”
“No. I’m not,” I replied, shaking my head. “It’s been ten
minutes. Let’s go back.”
“Okay. So you’re a lesbian now or what? You’re done screwing
dudes?” he asked as we started back down.
I didn’t know how to explain things to him so he would
understand, because he wouldn’t. I had no desire to be with a guy,
but then I had no desire to be with anyone but Camila.
My throat ran dry at the thought. I didn’t want to be with
anyone but her, ever. And here was Greg, casually playing off his
relationship with Samantha who did walk around campus, hanging
off his arm like she was the head bitch. All the while he’s taking
to his secret sex life with an aggression that was making vampires
nervous. He wouldn’t get a simple explanation of love that saw past
whatever was between Camila’s legs and right to her amazing heart
and her immortal soul. Greg didn’t deserve an explanation.
He accepted the silent treatment I gave him, keeping any other
questions he had to himself. I pushed open the door, grateful it didn’t
make a sound, and marched back toward our group.
Samantha was standing next to our table talking to Alison.
“Hey,” she whisper-shouted when she saw Greg. She scowled
when she saw me. I rolled my eyes right back at her. As if I would
mack on her pig of a boyfriend. “Hey,” she muttered at me.
• 232 •
Better Off red
“Hi, Sam,” I said, taking my seat next to Judd. Greg leaned
down and let Samantha kiss him. Her face lit up all over again.
“How’d you find me?” Greg asked.
“Your hat.” His Cubs hat was sitting on the table. I wanted to
burn that hat. “Is there room for me?”
“Yeah,” I said. I ignored Judd’s frozen shock and started
packing up my books. “I’m going to go.”
“We haven’t started chapter four yet,” Alison whined. Her eyes
were begging me to stay, but I couldn’t. Judd offered to cram with
me the night before the test if I was still up for it. I told him I’d let
him know. For now, I had to get the hell away from Samantha before
I slapped her or Greg. Or stabbed one of them with a pencil.
I grumbled my good-byes and headed for the stairs.
“I don’t know what the fuck her problem is,” I heard Samantha
mutter as I went. I almost reconsidered the pencil. And the slap.
I stepped out of the library and got a few feet closer to the
engineering building before I realized I hadn’t called for an escort.
It was dark and windy and there was no one around. Perfect setting
for me to get mugged by some transient passing through campus.
I was so pissed, I didn’t know who to call. I didn’t want to bother
the OBA boys. Micah was busy with Anna-Jade, and I wasn’t in the
right frame of mind to deal with Cleo’s comedy hour.
I pulled out my phone and stared at my list of recent contacts.
I called Camila.
“Miss me already, baby?” she said as she answered. I felt
terrible for not being in a playful mood, but a sudden sob bubbled
from my chest.
“Red, what’s wrong?”
“I’m at the library. Can you come get me?” I walked back
toward the entrance and hid behind one of the marble pillars.
“I’ll be right there.” She hung up, and not four seconds later
she was there, gently holding my cheeks in her hands. She still
spent most of her time in her apartment in her underwear, but she’d
thrown on some jeans and she was wearing my black ABO hoodie
with my name stitched into the arm. She looked like another college
student, minus the fangs.
• 233 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
“Querida, what’s the matter?” she said. She still only whipped
out her Spanish when she was really upset. I looked into her eyes
and just burst out crying. She took my hand and led me over to a
small bench on the side of the building. Two guys came walking
from the direction of the cafeteria. They didn’t notice us, which was
good. I felt like enough of a complete fool for crying in the middle
of campus. I didn’t need people pointing and laughing.
I took a few deep breaths, trying to flush out the irrational tears.
I couldn’t believe I’d let something Greg said and then Samantha,
make me cry. I swallowed and wiped my face with the back of my
hand.“Greg—he. God, he’s such an asshole.”
Her gentle expression fell. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, he was just asking me about you and then he called
you a bitch.” I sniffed and huffed some more before I kept going.
“Well, he started to, but he stopped himself. And then Sam showed
up and the two of them were acting like I’m the one who had the
problem.”
She laughed gently, pulling me toward her. “Aw, baby. Don’t
let them bother you.”
“You’re not mad?”
“No,” she said, stroking my cheek gently. “Between myself
and Greg, I’m pretty sure I know who would win in a fight. And
Samantha is just Samantha. Ignore them.”
“I—the way he was talking about you. I love you,” I said. “I
don’t want anyone talking shit about you.”
“I love you, too. And I’m not worried about anything Greg
has to say. You should have heard Tokyo when I banned her from
bringing her feeders down to Moreland’s. She called me a lot worse.”
“She did?” I gasped. “What did you do?”
“I punched her across the room. But we’ve gotten along great
ever since,” she said with a fangy grin.
“Greg said Sam told him that I got ‘promoted’ to most important
freshman or some crap just because I’m dating you. You know I
don’t even give a crap about all this Greek stuff or being popular. I
just—I just want to be with you. And pass chem.”
• 234 •
Better Off red
“Come on.” She stood and took my hand. “I’m taking you
home. I’ll help you study for your test and then we can have sex,
okay?” she said, playfully pouting her way through the last bit. I
laughed, sniffling one last time, and stood beside her.
“Are you just going to vanish us back to the house?”
“No,” she said as we started walking.
“Why not?”
“Because we can only travel with inanimate objects. If I poofed
you back to the house with me, your heart would stop, and that’s if
the stroke didn’t kill you first.”
“Nice night for a walk isn’t it.” I sm
iled cheerfully.
Camila’s middle finger tickled my palm. “It’s just what I had
in mind.”
• 235 •
• 236 •
Better Off red
Chapter thirteen
We walked slowly back to her place, hand in hand. I was
happy just to be with her, and by the time we got back
to her apartment beneath the ABO house, I had almost completely
forgotten about my stupid lab partner and his stupid girlfriend.
Camila and I crawled into her bed and she helped me review my
chem notes. And then as she promised, she sexed me perfectly to
sleep. She was dozing peacefully beside me the next morning, and as
I looked at her beautiful face I couldn’t believe I had let Greg and
Samantha get under my skin. The two of them were so screwed up
and in a way, so perfect for each other. If Greg’s refusal to deal with
what was going on in his head got Samantha hurt, well, that would
be awful, but that didn’t mean I had to care what they thought about
things that were so clearly not their business.
I kissed my sleeping beauty on her soft lips and smiled as
she shifted closer to me under the sheets. I had the most amazing
girlfriend in the world. She was intelligent, sweet, funny, not to
mention drop-dead gorgeous, immortal, and mutant strong. And she
loved me. I had made some great friends in Alpha Beta Omega, plus
I had my ever-perky roommate, but Camila was the most important
person in the world to me. Her happiness mattered, not the stupid
things the likes of Greg and Samantha had to say.
Camila’s eyes fluttered open when I kissed her again. And
as she greeted me with her own hello and special brand of good
• 237 •
reBekah WeatherspOOn
morning, I made up my mind I wasn’t going to care anymore about
people who meant so little to me.
The first thing Greg did the next time I saw him was apologize.
He pulled me aside a couple days later on our way out of class and
said a bunch of crap about being out of line and understanding just
how important Camila was to all of us, how much she cared about
all of us. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but it wasn’t worth
it. I accepted his apology and made a point to keep a cordial distance
from him for a few weeks.
Things eased, because I’m just that nice of a person, and Greg
wasn’t so bad when he watched his mouth. I had no idea what was