Hope for Her (Hope #1) by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle Read Free Book Online Page A

tried to get comfortable without touching her.
    It only took a few hours to get the image of her standing in my room in her bra out of my head. I managed to fall asleep before the sun came up.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Carrington Olivia Butler
    I woke up as another sexy dream with Josh got to the hot part. My head pounded, and I turned over and the pain that shot through my skull made me miss the pounding. I pried my eyes open and scanned my surroundings. Bits and pieces of last night came flooding back to my memory, but not enough to place together what happened.
    Did I meet someone? Did I come up to their room?
    I moved my legs, and one came up against something solid. I moved my leg back, so as not to wake him, but forced my eyes to focus. It was Josh sleeping on his side, his back facing me.
    I remembered knocking on Josh's door last night, and he let me in without hesitation. After the way I acted, I dropped my head back on the pillow and concentrated on remembering what happened between us last night.
    I sat up but stopped when Josh rolled over on his back. I froze until his breath remained steady. The blanket slipped down exposing his bare chest. His arm covered his eyes, and I took in the unobstructed view of the tattoo down his left side. It read, Every day, I write a new page!
    I wanted to reach out and touch it, trace the ink with the tip of my fingers, but the shame of last night weighed on my brain. I wasn't ready to face him. Last night was not my proudest moment.
    I slid the rest of the way off the bed and rested on the floor, surveying my surroundings. I let out a sigh of relief, happy to discover I had clothes on. They weren’t my clothes, but I figured being clothed was a good sign. Nausea hit me, and I focused on a spot on the wall. An FSU emblem calmed my stomach. I found my jeans folded and sitting on a chair next to the bed. I grabbed them and slid them on.
    I found my t-shirt hanging on the bedroom door. I used the nightstand as leverage to pull myself up and grabbed my tank top. I searched around for my flip-flops, and they sat in order next to two pairs of Josh's tennis shoes in the corner. They looked out of place, but it made me smile. Everything in his room was in order.
    His class books were lined up on the desk and no clothes were on the floor. The room decor seemed too organized for a guy's room. I stepped into the bathroom and splashed water over my face. It cleared my head, but the pounding in my temples remained.
    How much did I drink last night?
    I needed to use the bathroom, but thought against it. I needed to throw up, but wanted to do it in the privacy of my dorm room.
    I dreaded having to explain this to my roommates, but their insight might be helpful. I needed more clues to figure out what happened last night.
    I opened the bedroom door and peeked out. A memory made me pause, but I headed out. I followed the hallway to the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks. My heart raced and I couldn’t catch my breath. Jackson was headed the steps.
    He wore ear buds in his ears and as he jogged up the stairs, his head moved back and forth to the beat. I waited for him to notice me thinking, w hy is God so against me? 
    He looked up and tripped on the next step.
    “Whoa, hey, Carrington." He blinked a few times.
    "Oh, hi."
    "Where are you sneaking off to?"
    "Please don't give me a hard time. I’m not in the mood."
    He laughed and his smile made me want to laugh, but my head hurt.
    "Okay, I guess you’re entitled to one walk of shame a semester." He laughed but blinked and turned away. I caught a glimpse of something behind his smile, maybe regret or disappointment.
    "This is not a walk of shame," I said as I balled my fist and stomped my foot. Of course, I defended myself, "I passed out in someone’s room."
    "His name is Josh."
    "You know Josh?" Of course, they knew each other.
    "We grew up together. He's a good guy."
    "Yeah, he is."
    "I just got back from a run and no one is up yet. Coast is