I cut the thought off as I pushed from the door. A weight settled over me as I tugged the covers back and slipped into bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin, and as I lay there, the image of my grandparents formed in my thoughts—them at the kitchen table, sweet tea in hand and pie on plates between them. A sharp pain whipped through me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing thoughts of them away and focusing on taking deep and even breaths until my eyelids became heavy.

And Seth never showed.

Chapter 21

SETH DID show up the next morning, about fifteen minutes after I dragged my butt out of bed. I opened the door to him, still half-asleep but aware enough to note that he looked damn good in dark nylon pants paired with a black henley. God, he always looked damn good.

He handed over a coffee that I took without thinking. “Get moving, Joe. We’re training today.”

Scowling, I took a sip of the coffee. “Don’t call me Joe.”

“But I want to.” Placing his hands on my shoulders, he turned me around, toward the bedroom. “By the way, you still look great in my shirt.”

Heart skipping, I looked over my shoulder at him. I wanted to ask why he hadn’t come over last night, but the question seemed wrong and needy, incredibly needy. So I said nothing as I sipped my steaming coffee.

He cocked a brow. “Anytime now.”

“I don’t like you,” I murmured.

A quick smile appeared and disappeared. “Yeah, you do.”

“I really don’t like you.” I turned, using the rim of the Styrofoam cup to hide my grin.

Seth was sitting on the bed, chin in his hand and elbow propped on his knee when I was finished getting ready. His gaze tracked from the tips of my sneakers, over the black pants and gray shirt, to where I’d pulled my hair into a ponytail.

“The training uniform also looks good on you,” he murmured.

A pleasant rush invaded me, and I wanted to ignore it, because I shouldn’t be so easily flattered.

“The tag has already starting to fade,” he commented, and he was right. It was a faint pink when I peeked at it in the mirror. “How’s you’re head?”

“Okay.” That bruise was also nothing too serious.

He stood fluidly. “You sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I nodded, just in case he didn’t get it. “I—I need to do this.”

Holding my gaze for a moment, a look that was akin to pain flickered across his face, but then it was gone as he extended an arm toward the door. “Then let’s do this.”

I followed him out into the hall, but he stopped and said, “Hold on a sec,” and then disappeared into his room. Yawning, I waited the few seconds it took for him to come back out, holding a zipper hoodie and a gray scarf.

“For me?” I asked.

“Yep.” Not meeting my gaze, he handed the items over. “I picked them up yesterday and forgot to give them to you. It’s cold here at the beginning and the end of the day. Will be until sometime in May.”

“Thanks.” I slipped the hoodie on.

His lips curved up on one side as he stepped in front of me and reached out, catching the sides of the hoodie. He slipped the zipper together and dragged it up, and I stood there, holding the scarf like an idiot.

He winked and then turned on his heel. “Time’sticking,Josie.” God, I really disliked him.

Wrapping the scarf around my neck, I hurried after him. We didn’t talk as we made the trek outside, and I immediately huddled down in my hoodie. The wind whipped across the courtyard, catching thin wisps of hair and tossing them around my face.

The boys hadn’t taken me to the training facilities that were situated just beyond the library, so I was eager to see what they looked like inside. As we passed the library, the tiny bumps on my skin returned, and I couldn’t fight the urge to keep my gaze on it once again. Something stirred inside me restlessly, and I figured maybe it was a sign of needing to gobble up an armful of books to pass my extra time. Or maybe it had to do with the fact I had spent many weekends inside the tiny library back home.

“You’re going to trip and break your neck before we even get started,” Seth commented.

I forced my gaze toward him. “Whatever. I’m not a complete klutz.”

His shoulders shook with silent laughter, and my eyes narrowed. “Soon I’ll be able to kick your ass,” I warned.

The laughter was loud and clear now. “Yeah, keep dreaming, Sweet Cheeks.”

“Sweet Cheeks?” I caught up with him. “That’s the worst nickname ever.”

“Then Joe.”

“How about just ‘Josie?’”

He cast a glance at me as he veered off onto a walkway leading up to double doors at the back of the large, square training building. “That’s boring.”

“Then I’m going to call you ‘Sethie.’”

Opening the door, he tipped his chin down. “I like that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, there’s no fun in that, then.”

He chuckled. “Figured.”

The hallway was wide and traveled the length of the building, ending in a burst of sunlight that came through large windows. On each side of the hall there were doors every thirty or so feet. No windows on any of them.

“It’s early. Most training classes start in the afternoon, since the students do academic classes in the morning,” he explained, walking toward the fourth door on the left. “This room is going to be ours. Get used to it, because you’re going to be in here a lot.”