186
with you, and Briana Leigh was the only person who came to mind. But I didn't have her number, and the last thing Teo wanted to talk, about was Briana Leigh. I couldn't get it from him, so . . ."
"You talked to Teo?" Ariana asked. "How is he?"
Not that she cared. She just wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be making any surprise visits anytime soon.
Hudson pressed his lips together as she sat next to him. "He's, um, pissed. He couldn't believe Briana Leigh actually broke up with him by mail, but. . . he's using his anger in constructive ways."
"Such as?" Ariana asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh , you know, he's in Ibiza, so . .. you can pretty much use your imagination."
He laughed unc
omfortably, and Ariana made a disgusted face. Maybe it was a good thing Briana Leigh never got the chance to marry the guy. She decided to change the subject.
"So you drove all the way down here. From Connecticut."
"School doesn't start until next week for me, so I figured ... what the hell?" he said, lacing his fingers through hers and holding their hands atop his thigh. "I thought I'd find out where you were, but instead I found you."
Ariana looked down at her lap. Did he have to be so damn joyful about the whole thing? It was going to make it that much harder to break his heart. And maybe that much harder to get rid of him if it came to that.
"Is this totally pathetic?" he asked.
With a deep breath, Ariana was about to answer, but at that
187
moment the door to the dorm was flung open and out strolled Allison and Zuri. Ariana's words died on her tongue and her throat closed over.
If you two say anything that gives me away, I swear I will--
"What's up, Love?" Zuri said, throwing Allison into a giggle fit.
Ariana bit her tongue as they walked by without another word. She'd never embraced that nickname more. But her heart was still pounding painfully. Having Hudson here was dangerous, for both of them. She had never been more convinced that he had to go. Fast.
"What was that about?" Hudson asked, watching the girls as they disappeared around the corner.
"Just a stupid nickname," Ariana said with a wave of her hand. "They give them to all the transfers and freshmen. Like a hazing thing."
Wow. Her forked tongue was really on a roll. At that moment her cell phone let out a beep. She knew who it was, what the message would be, and chose to ignore it. It beeped again.
"You need to get that?" Hudson asked.
Ariana rolled her eyes and yanked the phone out, checking the screen. Predictably, the message was from Kaitlynn. This time it read:
Wheres the $$$ BL? tick tick tick ...
A new wave of frustration and anger and fear crashed over Ariana's shoulders. These people from her past were everywhere. Closing in.
188
Choking her. Smothering her. She shoved the phone back in her bag and stood up.
"What was that?" Hudson asked.
"Nothing. Come on," she said, pulling him with her. "Let's go somewhere more private where we can talk."