“He’s way too old for you,” Julie said with indignation.
“And besides, he’s off-limits to you.”
Grace was right. There were rules at this university that strictly forbid romantic relationships between professors and their students. But I couldn’t take Larissa seriously right now anyway.
She just laughed and tossed her loose dark blonde hair back over her shoulder.
“You guys know I’m just kidding. There are much sexier guys running around here.”
Okay, I expected that reaction from her, too.
“Nash looks cute.”
“But he’s an asshole,” I said quickly, aware that wasn’t a stop sign for Larissa.
“Or that mysterious black-haired man who just walked into the room earlier...”
“You really should stay away from the DeLoughreys.” Now Grace sounded seriously concerned.
“Are they dealing drugs, too?”
Larissa just had something like her five minutes; only then everything felt funny, and every guy within a mile was hot.
I might have even joked along, but I remembered Mum’s words.
“DeLoughrey? Are they the ones who own the DLSC?”
I had wanted to ask earlier, but everyone had rushed to the room as quickly as if it were a matter of life and death.
“They are. How do you know about them?” Julie asked me with interest.
“My mum remembers them from her youth, no idea how exactly...”
We were just on our way out when Julian walked past us.
I had made up my mind during the seminar to talk to him again, as I regretted my prickly reactions toward him in retrospect, especially after he returned my necklace to me.
“Your mum? Who...”
Julie was about to ask me something, but I had to catch Julian before he was gone for good.
“I’ll be with you soon. I just need to talk to someone for a minute.”
Before either of them could say anything, I was already past the crowd of students all streaming outside.
Chapter 18
Julian
I had just stepped through the open archway of the east wing when I heard her call my name.
“Julian! Wait!”
My steps quickened.
I had lost all desire for any social contact after today.
First, there had been Nash and his friends, and then, these DeLoughrey guys.
I knew them. I had never met them in this part of town, let alone anywhere else, but their reputation preceded them, as did their name.
Their sudden arrival here on campus had not only triggered an everlasting spiral of thoughts in my head but also caused quite a turmoil.
I wonder what must be going on at the Copelands, now?
I grinned gleefully, but then another shout snapped me out of my thoughts. I became even faster.
In general, I wasn’t one to talk to anyone in this miserable small town. Just the thought of all the problems I had already avoided this way made me groan inside.
“Julian, I want to talk to you.”
That was clearly Bay’s voice, not Emely’s.
How had I been able to confuse them?
Abruptly, I stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face her. As I did so, another girl bumped into me, giving an annoyed “Watch it!” before finally hurrying on.
“I’m sorry,” Bay said, slightly out of breath. She had apparently run all the way just to catch me.
