26

Adam

Grow Up

Fuck it. If we were doing this, I was going all the way.

Check the record. Piper pushed me first. It was only right that I returned the favor. She bobbed up to the surface and started yelling immediately. Her blonde hair framed her face as she jabbed a finger at my chest. After catching my breath again, I remembered something.

"Oh, shit." I frowned. "Your phone. I didn't ruin your phone, did I?"

"That's all you have to say to me?!"

"We'll pay for it," I promised immediately. "I'll pay for it, don't worry."

"No! I—I left my phone back at the dorm!"

My frown deepened. "Why?"

She splashed me, but that didn't answer my question. I didn't understand why she would leave her phone in the dorm. Didn't she want to take photos or something?

Someone cleared their throat next to the pool.

"Hey." June didn't look at all happy to see us. She crouched down, careful to keep her voice low. "Guys, come here."

"June, I'm so sorry," Piper threw me a mean look. "I'm this close to tying him up and stuffing him in the trunk."

I shook my head. "Don't put your fetish shit on me, Piper. You haven't even taken me out to dinner."

"You are the worst! "

"Guys," June repeated, a little less soft. "We're representatives of Marrs University."

I turned to the side and saw all the peering faces and a few of them laughing at the side. Oh, shit. I'd been so focused on getting Piper, I didn't think ahead. It was an impulsive decision. I forgot everybody would be part of the package too.

June crossed her arms over her chest. "This isn't high school. The fire department is on the way."

My stomach clenched. We were on a different campus. I didn't know security here, my connections were limited to people recognizing me.

Piper drew in a sharp breath. "This is all your fault."

"I need you two to leave." June averted her eyes.

It was a punch in the gut. Maybe June wasn't dating King for real, but she'd been part of our group for years. She always rolled her eyes at whatever shit I got into now but the look of disappointment on her face…

"June, I'm so sorry," Piper whispered.

"You're welcome to use our room if you want a shower," June said, standing up again. She rooted around in her purse and produced one of the bronze keys. "But I need you two to get out of here."

Embarrassment rolled off Piper in waves. That made my stomach twist even more than June's disappointment. I'd been furious when those dumbass RA dudes passed around the photo, but seeing the stunned faces of the audience, I had to realize I just personally created a new one.

Fuck.

We sloshed out of the pool, dripping wet, and everyone made an open corridor for us. The two of us walked in silence and June pulled Piper aside to grab towels. The other RAs from our school wouldn't look me in the eye, but Zariah didn't have that problem. She stomped up to me, furious.

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Zariah demanded.

"Hey, Big Z."

"Don't try that shit with me. That wasn't cool, Adam."

My excuses sounded about as shitty as I felt. "I didn't think—I wasn't thinking. I was just trying to do something funny, I thought—"

"Is this fucking funny to you?"

Zariah wasn't Piper's five-foot-ten, and she didn't touch Kassie's five-foot-six, but her pissed-off attitude added a couple of feet. I shoved my hands in my pockets, soaked, and gave an apologetic shrug.

"It won't happen again—"

Zariah shook her head, disgruntled. "When are you going to grow up?"

She didn't wait for a reply, and I had a feeling she didn't want one. With June, the two of them walked back to the others, and Piper returned with two towels. One of them she wrapped around her hair, the other, she tried to dry off her dress.

I deserved that too.

In complete silence, we made our way back to the dorms.