Page 28 of I Don't Need Your Romance

She twists her nose. “Or we can throw a rock there and the guard will go check it out. Then you can unlock the door and we’ll both run inside.”

“Okay, that works too. Do you have a good arm?”

She glances down at her thin arms. “No. But you’ve got some impressive muscles there. Do you work out? I mean…you can throw the rock much farther than I can. We need to get the guard as far away from the door as possible.”

“Yep. Got it. Once the coast is clear, we’ll make a mad dash to the door. I’ll unlock it and we’ll run inside. Sound good?”

“Yeah.”

We search for a large enough rock that will make noise, but one that’s not too heavy so I can throw it a good distance. Once we find it, I launch it toward the other end of campus. It makes quite a noise that gets the guard’s attention right away. He says something into his walkie-talkie about a strange sound and that he’s going to check it out.

I nod to Sophie and we jet from the bush to the door. We scurry inside before Sophie shuts the door quietly.

The place is dark, but we can see each other well. She’s wearing fluffy pink pajamas that look very warm and cozy. Pretty cute. I’ve got on a large shirt and warm pants.

She’s checking me out, too. Except my pajamas are lame compared to hers.

Her cheeks are a little red. “I wanted different pajamas, but the store only had this one.”

“They’re cute. And warm.”

“Oh, yeah. They’re very warm. Sometimes the dorms get cold at night.”

“Hmm. You’d think my mom would make more of an effort to make sure the students are comfortable at night.”

She shakes her head. “No, it is warm. Just sometimes it gets very cold. Do you sleep in the dorms?”

“Nope. I sleep in my mom’s apartment.”

“Oh. Lucky.”

“Not really.” I glance around. “Let’s find that food before someone catches us in here.”

She follows me as we head for the large refrigerators. There is a ton of food here and we take some time searching for the leftover Chinese, if there is any.

After a short while, Sophie pulls out containers. “Jackpot! And there’s so much that no one will suspect we stole any.” She takes the containers over to the microwave and we heat them up. Once that’s done, she settles down at a table. I’m not sure if she wants me to sit near her or if she wants to eat alone.

She looks at me. “Aren’t you going to sit?”

“Yeah.” I clear my throat and drop down across from her. We don’t say much as we eat. Sophie sighs like she’s in heaven as she scarfs down the food. I like it, but I’m not as excited as her. I guess nothing can make me happy, but watching her enjoy the food makes me smile inside.

Actually, being in this dark room with her makes me feel okay. Maybe even good. She has this way of bringing calm to my stormy life.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks as she eats some noodles.

I shift in my seat, playing with some chicken. “I’m not.”

“Liar.”

I shrug. “You’re just different from what I thought.”

Her brow lifts. “Good different or bad different?”

“The most terrible different.”

She laughs.

I lean toward her. “I mean, you’re not just some goody-goody who always follows the rules. You’ve got a rebellious side.”