I laugh at his shock. I guess it really is unusual for Terrance to bring home guests.
PsychoPsychic: Thanks. Me too, though I’m still trying to wrap my head around the concept. Anyway, listen, you said you were taking criminal justice classes. Does that mean you go to Wayne State U?
SorcererX: Yeah. Finishing up my master’s here. Not my school of choice, but my budget disagrees.
I laugh. I know how it feels to settle for less than what you want because you’re strapped for cash.
PsychoPsychic: Are you on campus now?
SorcererX: Yeah, my last class just ended. I usually head to the library by your place to do my homework right about now, but I guess I don’t need to go all the way over there, since you won’t be there. Why? You need something?
I hesitate before I respond, my heart speeding up at what I’m about to ask him. The idea of hanging out with Oliver in person is both exciting and terrifying. Right now, as things are, we could still continue to be just random Internet buddies. He can keep feeding me info about the underworld and answering my questions, but things would stay the same. If I ask him to meet me, that changes things. Then, I’m acknowledging our friendship as something more. Something real. I’ve never had a real friend before. He would be my first.
“Suck it up, Nora,” I whisper to myself. “It’ll be fine. He already knows your secret. You don’t have to hide from him, so maybe he could be a real friend.”
With a deep breath, I reply to his question and try not to have a heart attack.
PsychoPsychic: I need to go over there and check something out. I thought maybe if you’re there already, you could give me a tour? Help me find what I’m looking for?
SorcererX: Of course. I’d love to.
I wince. Oliver is going to be hard to have as just a friend. Normally his interest in me would have me running for the hills, but I like Oliver. I want to find a way to be friends without hurting him.
PsychoPsychic: Thanks. I’m on my way. T-man gave me your phone number, so I’ll text you when I get there.
Sighing, I close the laptop and grab the set of keys from the counter. I still can’t believe Terrance is letting me use his car. I’ll try not to make a habit of it, but for now it’s my only option. I’m a good seven or eight miles from the college right now, and I don’t know the bus routes on this end of town. I doubt there’s a stop anywhere near me, anyway. I’m under the bridge, for heaven’s sake.
As I leave, I’m shocked to find the stairs to the exit are already lit up with built-in overhead lights that give off a soft glow like the rest of the house. When the hell did Terrance have time to install a whole lighting system?
An even bigger shock comes when I get outside and click the lock button on the car key fob Terrance left me. After taking a moment to let my eyes adjust to the harsh afternoon daylight, I realize the key on my ring is not for his candy-apple red Caddie. It belongs to the smaller silver sporty-looking coupe parked next to it. This car is a Cadillac, too, and I happen to know it’s an expensive one. Not as expensive as Terrance’s, but close.
My stomach drops as suspicion creeps in. I hadn’t seen a second car parked out here last night. I scan the temporary license sticker in the back window and curse. He’d bought the car this morning. He’d purchased a whole second car just so that I’d have something to drive, even when I told him I don’t plan on sticking around more than a few days. “Damn you, Terrance,” I whisper as I walk around to the driver’s side.
It was a kind gesture, but I hate feeling beholden to anyone, and how could I possibly not be indebted to Terrance for this?
Oh, well. Nothing to do about it at the moment. I’m not going to wake him up to argue with him when he was awake all night making sure I was taken care of. And he’d probably be insulted if I refused to use the car, so I climb behind the wheel and head over to the college in the nicest car I’ve ever driven.
I’m in heaven with each acceleration, each stop, and each turn I make. I get to the college way too soon and find the visitor’s parking lot. I’m afraid for such a nice car to be parked in Detroit, but as I get out and lock it, I feel the slight zing of magic surrounding it. I smile to myself. It’s protected by wards. I’m not sure what they do—do they make people not see it, or zap them if they’re not supposed to touch it and do—but I know it’s safe to leave it where it is.
I head toward the nearest building, about to text Oliver when he calls my name. He’s wearing jeans and a Zelda hoodie. I recognize him instantly. His warm amber eyes are locked on me, sparkling with delight, and his smile is wider than I’ve ever seen it.
“Oliver!” I wave and close the distance between us quickly. “Hey! How’d you find me so fast?”
He shrugs. “I traced your phone number. I saw you park in this lot.”
I cock a brow at him. Tracing phone numbers? So he’s a bit of a computer hacker? Honestly, I’m not surprised. “Sorry.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “It’s just, this isn’t the best neighborhood, and now that the underworld knows about you, people are going to be curious. Not all of us are nocturnal.”
Sighing, I give him a small smile so he knows I’m not upset. “Looking out for me, as always.”
The twinkle in his eyes comes back. “Of course. Always, Nora. I promise.”
I have no idea what to say to that, so I clear my throat and shrug toward campus. “Okay, so here’s the thing…I need to find a fraternity.”
Oliver jerks his head back and gives me a peculiar look. “I think you mean sorority, and you’re interested in rushing?”
I shake my head, thinking back to my vision and the meatheads who stole Shandra. “Oh, no, I mean a frat.” I shoot Oliver a look as dry as my next question. “And do I seem like someone who would rush a sorority to you?”
Oliver grins. “No.”
“No is right. We’re not here to rush, Oliver, we’re looking for clues. The car Shandra was taken in had a decal on the back window. It looked like the Greek letters of a fraternity name, but I couldn’t find it on Google. I’m hoping since Wayne State is the only university in the area, the sticker I saw belongs to a fraternity here. If we find the fraternity, we find the car. We find the car, I can do my Sherlock thing and find the clues.”
“We?” Oliver asks in a quiet voice as he holds the straps of his backpack.
I can’t tell if he’s nervous because he doesn’t want to get involved, or because I invited him along. “Well, I suppose you don’t have to play Watson to my Sherlock, if you don’t want to,” I say. “It might get dangerous. Powerful underworlders are getting snatched, and Nick Gorgeous mentioned you’re crazy-ass strong. These psychos might want you. Maybe you should just point me to the student union and—”
“No, I want to help,” Oliver blurts. “I was just surprised you’d include me.”
“Why?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Nora, but…well…you’re a loner. You aren’t the type to work with a partner or ask for backup.”
He’s not wrong about that, but what he doesn’t know is that I’ve always been a loner out of necessity. “Only because I’ve never had anyone I could trust with my secret before.”
“You can trust me, Nora,” Oliver says quietly.
His declaration makes me feel all kinds of emotions I’m not used to experiencing. Warm and fuzzy are not words I’d use to describe my life.
Ignoring the heat in my cheeks, I casually bump his shoulder with mine. “I know I can, or I wouldn’t have called you.” There’s a brief, awkward pause, which I break up with a clap of my hands. “Come along, Watson. We’ve got a troll to find.”
Even though Wayne State University is no Notre Dame, it’s still fun to be walking around campus with Oliver as if I belong here. It makes me wish this were my life—that I was normal, and had friends, and went to college. I almost see myself graduating, getting a job, having a boyfriend. For the moment, I feel normal. Of course, I’m a psychic strolling across campus with a sorcerer, looking for a group of supernatural kidnappers who’ve snatched my troll roommate’s potential mate, so…normal is relative, I guess.