The professor began lecture just as I slid into my seat. Kim leaned over to whisper in my ear.

“Beth and I are going for coffee after class. You coming?”

“Sure. I’ll drive,” I offered.

I felt like I hadn’t spent enough time with Kim and Beth lately. An afternoon at the café would give us time to catch up. At least I would get caught up on their lives; my news included almost getting kidnapped and tortured, and my boyfriend nearly beating the man to death who had tried.

The three of us huddled at the table of the coffee shop, waiting to thaw. The temperature had dropped significantly after lunch, and the wind was brutal. I was glad that I would be lying on a beach somewhere in just over a week.

I sipped my coffee as Beth chattered about Chad. Things between them were progressing, and she mentioned she wasn’t homesick for the first time since she’d come to Brown. She was even considering getting an apartment in the summer instead of returning to Oklahoma.

I tried to concentrate on the conversation, but I found myself focusing on the new information Jared had forced out of Dawson. I wanted to know what it was that Jared was keeping from me; it couldn’t be good news.

“Nigh. Nigh! Where are you? You look like you’re a million miles away,” Kim said. She and Beth were both staring at me with matching expressions.

“Ugh, I’m sorry. I just have a lot going on,” I said, blinking.

Beth’s cell phone hummed. By her tone I knew that it was Chad. Apparently he was out and about, and she invited him to join us.

“I hope that’s okay,” Beth said to us after disconnecting the line.

Kim shrugged. “Fine with me.”

“Ryan is with him,” Beth added, eyeing me.

I made sure my face was smooth. I hadn’t seen Ryan since Jared had told me that Ryan and I were meant to be together. I wasn’t sure how to act around him with that knowledge.

Ten minutes later, the door chimed as Chad and Ryan strolled through it. They were both in gym clothes, sweaty and tired.

Ryan had his white hat pulled down over his eyes and didn’t speak when he sat across from me at the table. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

“What have you two been up to?” Beth asked, standing up to sit on Chad’s lap.

“We just finished a basketball game. We lost,” Chad said in an embittered tone.

“They cheated. Repeatedly,” Ryan chuckled, only his smile visible.

“What? You can’t handle prison rules?” Kim elbowed him, making him sway for a moment.