Prologue - Theron

PROLOGUE - THERON

THE PERFECT GIRL - MAREUX

NOVEMBER 2004

I was twenty-two the day I met her.

Golden brown leaves blew across the campus lawn, the wind whistling as ominous storm clouds migrated in. Occasional specks of drizzle fell, cold drops dotting bare skin, 'til finally the floodgates opened and the deluge of rain pelted down.

The few people still traveling between classes picked up the pace. Girls shrieked, hurriedly covering their stylized hair with whatever they held in their possession—scarves, books, bags, anything so as not to ruin their decidedly casual beachy waves.

I shook my head and returned my gaze to the heavy book resting in my lap— Tort Law and Social Morality . I was eight pages into a ninety-seven page reading assignment.

…it was going to be a long night.

But while the others fled from the downpour, I basked in it. I sat parked on the ledge of a large, glassless lancet window and enjoyed the tinkling soundtrack of raindrops falling.

These kinds of days were my favorite. The kind of afternoons where autumn sunlight was chased away by angry, dark clouds and the landscape morphed into a Claude Monet painting. Etretat in the Rain or Morning on the Seine . Maybe even Cliffs at Pourville .

Lightning flashed across the murky gray sky, promptly followed by a sharp whip of thunder. I looked up as the sound echoed for what must've been miles, just in time to spot the latest traveler in my vicinity.

Her.

Glancing once, then twice, torts and social morality immediately slipped to an afterthought. I found myself tracking her every harried move across the lawn. A secret spectator as she juggled an armful of books and once-springy curls lay flat and drenched around her face.

What was she thinking?

No jacket. Leather boots with a heel that stuck in the sodden grass. Books that looked like they might weigh more than she did.

She staggered through the courtyard, almost slipping in a puddle. But where she saved herself, her stack of books wasn't so lucky—they flew out of her arms and landed with a splat in the muddy water. She hung her head in frustration, then stooped low to pick them up.

I grabbed the book on top first. Her eyes flicked to my face in startled surprise. We both slowly rose to full height, shielded by the large umbrella I was holding onto. I glanced down at the book and read the title aloud.

" Inside the Criminal Mind ."

She bared her teeth in a wince, round nose scrunching up. "And now it's soaked cover to cover. "

"You kidding? Hang this baby out to dry on a warm afternoon and it'll be good as new… err, well, with some wrinkled pages. But still very much legible."

"Which is all that matters in law school." She gave a small wry laugh.

"Let me guess. Professor Vise?"

"The one and only… otherwise known as Professor Hardass," she answered, holding out her hand. I forked over the soggy law book, then bent to scoop up the rest for her. She mouthed a ‘thank you' as I did, opening her arms as if to accept them.

Instead I held them to my chest with one arm, gripping my large black canopy of an umbrella with the other.

"How about I walk you? You're drenched, and I need the exercise."

Uncertainty flickered in her carob-colored gaze, though she eventually obliged with a nod.

"Yeah, okay, alright. Thanks."

We started off slow across the sopping grass, producing squish noises with the soles of our shoes. Mother Nature continued pelting us with her fiercest, fattest drops of rain yet, though neither of us seemed to notice.

We were much more focused on the stranger we were walking beside.

"I'm Theron, by the way. Theron Adler."

A smile just as hesitant as her head nod inched onto her lips. "Josalyn Webber. First year or second?"

"Second. Thankfully. But you're first, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Wild guess. You still have hope shining in your eyes. Second years usually have dead stares. Case in point, myself. "

Her once-small smile grew, joined by an amused hum from her throat. "I guess I have a lot to look forward to."

"There's a reason I was sitting out in the rain. After a few manic episodes, you learn to embrace the chaos."

"Is it terrible that that sounds amazing right now?" she asked, shaking wet curls out of her face. She turned to me as we finally reached the dry safety of the exterior hallway.

I did the same, reacting off her, shifting to face her. It was my first real chance for close study and I more than took advantage—the second in between that seemed like a blink-and-miss-it moment but it was really an eternity of drinking her in.

Her dark curls shone, dripping wet. Her cheeks rounded and her full lips parted to reveal a beautiful smile. Even standing where I was, I could smell the scent of fresh rain on her skin. A scent I already appreciated, making my pulse elevate. My heart beat faster.

Josalyn Webber was as perfect up close as she was far away…

"Well, I guess we part ways," she said after a pause. "I can take my books now. Promise I usually carry them better than what you just saw."

"Oh. Right. Here."

We came together in an awkward dance of exchanging an armful of books. She stepped back once she had the heap secure in her arms and shot me her brightest smile yet.

"See you around, Theron."

I watched her go, tracking her every step like I had across the sodden courtyard. "Yeah, see you..."

Soon she disappeared entirely out of view. She was headed home to her apartment, in the building a few streets away from campus where most law students attending Castlebury University chose to live. She would go home and spend the next two to three hours studying.

Because that's what she always did on Tuesday evenings after class.

I knew all too well.

Josalyn Webber didn't realize it, but today wasn't the first time I had seen her.

And it certainly wouldn't be the last.