Dust Read Online Free PDF Page B

said I needed help with my term paper. If we're going to help each other out with our classes, then we have to keep things strictly friendly."
    Any normal girl would feel insulted by what he'd just said.
    Good thing I wasn't normal.
    Even more so, I was relieved. I didn't need the pressure of a man making a pass at me and trying to hook up. No way. No how. No thanks. I hadn't shrunken away at his touch, but the thought of a man doing anything more made me want to vomit a little. It was too easy to get lost in the past, to remember the smell of alcohol-laden breath and unforgiving hands. Hell no.
    I hadn't missed his comment about tutoring again, but if helping him with his paper gave me a free pass not to be on the defensive with any offensive flirting maneuvers he used, I was willing to consider it. Later. We had a more pressing issue to deal with right now. I took a deep breath before answering. "Well then, I accept. As long as you know my panties are off limits."
    He chuckled as he placed his right hand over his heart and lifted his left hand in the air. "I promise never to breach the limits of your panties."
    He really was a nice guy and easy to talk to. I wasn't sure how I felt about that since discussing personal stuff was usually off limits and blabbering about useless crap was too—on principle. But he could help me with my art class, and at the very least, he could make my time in the classroom more tolerable. Chatting with him was already pushing the boundaries of my comfort level, but if I was going to be working for Hallmark or Shoebox or any other greeting card company, I needed to get used to talking to artists. Learning the basics of art and how artists worked were the reasons I even bothered taking this class. This would be good practice, not just a highlight on my resume to give me an edge over other applicants.
    And if his declaration about my panties stung any, I ignored it.

4
    H e was late .
    I looked at my watch for the hundredth time, and then cursed myself for agreeing to go to the fundraiser with Killian. I knew better than this. The night had big-fucking-disaster written all over it. I did not do social engagements, and college parties disguised as charity events qualified as such.
    "You can ride over with me, Liv."
    I glanced at my roommate and shook my head. She'd been decorating at the student union building all afternoon. She'd come to the dorm a few hours ago spouting off some nonsense about needing to make an entrance, so she'd come back to freshen up before arriving fashionably late.
    I wasn't fashionable. Just late.
    "Did you text—" She stopped and looked at the door when a knock sounded. I gritted my teeth and stomped over to it, knowing exactly who it was— or who it better be —and yanked it open.
    "You're late."
    "I'm sorry," he said at the same time. "My grandma was missing. If I hadn't found her before I left, my grandpa would've blown up my phone when he realized he'd hidden her."
    I frowned at him. I wasn't used to any social engagements, so I had no idea what proper etiquette was at a time like this. I knew he was late and my time was important, regardless if I was just going to stay hidden in my room for the night reading. I was pretty sure an acceptable form of punishment was introducing my Sperry's to his balls. I couldn't help it if I lacked societal knowledge and embraced a violent protocol. I'd be erring on the side of caution, really. But what he said momentarily threw me, confused me to distraction. "That probably makes sense in here," I tapped his forehead. "But what came out of your mouth sounds jacked up."
    "Come on. I'll explain on the way."
    "Have fun, you two," Jewel said, singsong.
    I rolled my eyes and left the dorm, not waiting for Killian. I'd told Jewel it wasn't a date, but that hadn't stopped her from implying it was every chance she'd gotten in the hours since she'd been back. I'd had to endure her innuendoes as she'd primped for the evening, donning a skirt