In Too Deep Read Free Page B

girl in bed nearest the window sits up, peeling off her sleeping mask. “What the hell, you guys. Keep it down.”
    “Oh, blow it out your ass Brooklynn,” the gravelly voiced girl whispers back.
    “You’re going to get in trouble again and no one’s going to cover for you.” Brooklynn huffs and rolls over in bed, pulling the covers up over her head. 
    The boy laughs again as he tiptoes across the room, coming closer to my bed with each step.
    A light flips on in the hallway, flooding the entrance to the room.
    “Shit, Vera’s up,” the boy whispers.
    “Now we’re fucked,” his companion says.
    They hop on the balls of their feet beside my bed, considering where to hide while the footsteps advance up the stairs.
    I meet the girl’s eyes and she smiles at me. When she smiles, her face is warm and kind. I sigh and think why the hell not? And hop out of bed.
    “Put this on,” I say as I toss my robe at her.
    She wastes no time shrugging into it, concealing her jeans and T-shirt almost entirely.
    With the footsteps drawing nearer, I shrug at the boy, silently apologizing that I have nothing to offer him. Immediately he slips off his shoes and kicks them under my bed.
    Vera appears in the doorway. “What’s going on in here?” She stands looming over us, waiting for a response.
    The girl begins to step forward, but I place my hand on her forearm to stop her. “It’s my fault, Vera.”
    They all turn and look at me, along with several girls near us, who’ve now woken up.
    Vera cocks her head. “I was very clear when I explained our no fraternizing after lights out rule. You’re expected to be in bed, Taylor.”
    “Yes, I know. I’m sorry, I just had a…feminine situation and…” I look to the girl, realizing I don’t even know her name.
    “MJ,” she offers.
    “And MJ got up to help me find what me I needed.”
    Vera eyes me cautiously, as she seems to decide whether or not to believe me, and her gaze travels past me to MJ, who, thanks to my robe, appears to have just gotten out of bed. She then turns to the lanky boy with dark hair hanging in his eyes. “Logan, what are you doing in here?”
    He flips the hair from his eyes like he’s bored and quite unconcerned at being caught in the girls’ dorm.
    “Logan’s a light sleeper. He heard something and came in to check on everything,” MJ answers for him.
    I take in the full sight of him –from his poker-straight hair that hangs in his eyes, down to his long feet in mismatched socks, and pray that Vera won’t notice he’s not in pajamas.
    “Why are you dressed?” She nods to his jeans and T-shirt.
    “I sleep naked,” he says with such conviction I think he might be telling the truth.
    Vera clears her throat. “Well, take care of business,” she says to me, “and then everyone back to their beds.” She turns to Logan and points to the boys’ dormitory. “And that means you in there .”
    “You got it, V,” Logan says, taking Vera by the shoulders and steering her toward the door. She casts one last suspicious glance over her shoulder at us.
    “Taylor, right?” MJ asks.
    I nod.
    “Thanks for covering for us.”
    “Sure. No problem.”
    “Yeah, that was quick thinking.” Logan flips the hair from his eyes again. “Sorry we woke you up.” 
    I don’t mention that I hadn’t actually been asleep.
    “I better go before Vera busts an artery.” Logan ducks and fishes his shoes out from under my bed.
    MJ hands my robe back to me, and I realize just how pretty she is underneath the dark eyeliner and heavy makeup. Her skin is the color of warm honey and she has rich chocolate eyes.  She smiles at me again and then turns and punches Logan in the arm. “Next time, if you keep your mouth shut, Vera won’t hear us.”
    He rubs his arm. “Next time you want to go to a place like that, ask someone else. I probably caught Hepatitis just walking in there.”
    MJ reaches out to swat his arm again, but Logan dodges her hit and disappears