Read Hopeless For You for Free Online

silly," Gina said. "What if it had been a bear or something? Good thing you screamed."
    "You're just trying to make me feel better. Screaming over a raccoon. Who does that?"
    Gina smiled gently. "Hey, it happens to the best of us." She gave me a last hug and then rose to shut off the light.
    I closed my eyes and after I calmed down a bit, I replayed the day in my head. My thoughts kept drifting back to Kade. I saw him rush into my room, ready to beat off whatever attacker he found. I saw his bright, emerald green eyes from earlier, full of lust and promise. A sense of warmth suffused my nether region and I wanted to reach down and stroke it.
    But I didn't. Instead, I tried to deny that I'd ever seen that look on his face. I told myself Momma Jeanne was wrong and even if he did want me, he wasn't my type and never would be. I reminded myself how rude he could be. That he played girls. I'd seen fear in his eyes too, hadn't I? Maybe he was worried about losing his job if he played me.
    I wrapped my hands around the ring at my neck and the warmth inside me shriveled.
    I was left feeling cold, numb and alone.
     

CHAPTER THREE

Kade
     
    I left Ash and her friend Gina behind in their dorm and returned to my own building.
    Ash had scared the shit out of me. When I heard her screaming, I was out having another smoke. She had one of those voices you could recognize even when she yelled so I ran straight to her dorm and grabbed the baseball bat from the storeroom, then took the stairs four at a time. And what thanks did I get for being her white knight? She basically told me to screw off. I guess she was just embarrassed about being caught screaming her mouth off over a raccoon.
    Mmm. She probably wouldn't sound too much different screaming my name in the sack...
    With a sigh, I collected the dirty dishes from the common area and carried them back into the kitchen.
    Momma Jeanne's presence dominated the small room. She hummed to herself by the sink, scrubbing away at the dishes.
    "Kade." She nodded when I set the load of dishes down.
    I nodded back, grabbed a napkin and began raking the scraps off the plates and into the garbage. It was pretty gross work but I'd gotten used to it. I placed the empty plates in a pile beside Momma Jeanne.
    Once I finished scraping the plates clean, I picked up a dishrag, moved to the other side of her, and started drying the dripping pots.
    "What do you think of the newcomers?" Momma Jeanne said.
    "Too new." I shook my head. "I bet the two from Tennessee won't last a day of roughing it. One of them couldn't even handle a raccoon in her room..."
    Momma Jeanne smiled but didn't say anything. I couldn't tell whether she agreed or disagreed with me.
    "They're certainly easy on the eyes," I added.
    "They are." She wore a mischievous smile. "Especially the little dark-haired one."
    Ash. I remember thinking about her picture for hours after I'd seen it on my phone. She was even more captivating in person. When I first saw her for real, I'd never wanted anyone so badly in my life. I wanted to take her away and make her mine. I wanted to protect her from everything bad in the world and hold her in my arms and fuck her until she forgot about her troubles. Yeah, I'm quite the romantic, I know.
    Momma Jeanne's voice brought me out of my head. "You're going to leave her alone, right?" She was watching me carefully. "Don't act so surprised. What, you think I'm blind?"
    I couldn't meet her eye. Something in her voice told me I had to be very careful how I answered. "I wouldn't put my job on the line for some intern." Not to mention there was no way I was going to let myself get hurt again—not that I was what Ash wanted, anyway.
    Momma Jeanne looked at me a few seconds longer, then nodded to herself, apparently satisfied with my answer. I felt a little ticked that she'd even have to ask me something like that, but she was only looking out for Ash, I reminded myself.
    I finished drying the last dishes and then grabbed