I slide over to her desk, keeping my eyes locked on her as she lies down on the bed. My dick aches to be between those long legs. Without looking, I open the drawer where she keeps her condoms and rifle around, but come up empty. Finally tearing my eyes off her, I look down and realize I opened the wrong drawer. Instead of condoms, I’m staring down into a stack of letters. My brain can’t make sense of what I’m seeing, but the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grows when I pick up the pile.

“Devin…” Jessie’s voice sounds distant as it echoes in the back of my mind.

I thumb through the papers, reading the names and addresses on the fancy letterhead. Graduate school acceptance letters. Graduate schools out of state. We’ve never talked about it, but I assumed she was staying here. Her family is here. Her friends are here. I’m here. She’d tell me if she was leaving.

“What is this?” I ask, blindsided.

“It’s not what it looks like.” She scrambles off the bed, her hands held up in surrender and a guilty look on her face.

“Then what is it?” My voice is sharp when I slap the letters down on her desk.

“They’re just acceptance letters, that’s all.” She swallows and bites her lip, looking guilty as shit when she adds, “But there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. I have an opportunity—”

I shake my head. “Opportunity,” I repeat her word, rolling it over and over in my head. Escape. That’s what she means. Escaping this town. This life. Me.

In the middle of Jessie breaking my heart, my baby sister comes bounding in with one of Jessie’s sorority sisters hot on her heels. “Jessie? How was it? Did you love the campus? Tell me everything.” My sister’s singsong voice fills the small bedroom.

“Becs,” Jessie shouts out a quick warning, shaking her head. Becs and the other girl stop dead in their tracks. Becs’ eyes go wide and she gasps in shock at seeing me standing in my girlfriend’s room.

“No, JB. Tell us. I want to know. How was the campus?” I spit venom, glaring at her with sheer loathing in my eyes.

“Devin…” Jessie’s voice is a soft warning.