Sunrise at Sunset by Jaz Primo

eyebrow. “Well, sure, Mel. I don’t mind if you go without me.” He wasn’t sure exactly how much time he’d have to devote to her on the upcoming weekend anyway. And if it makes her less angry with me, so much the better.
    “Great!” she replied with renewed excitement. “I knew you wouldn’t mind.”
    She must know me pretty well after six months of dating , he considered.
    “Jodi said that a friend of hers, Greg Betwich, was going by himself. So it evens up the couples count again.”
    “Greg Betwich?” he asked with uncertainty.
    “Yeah, you remember Greg? He was the guy at the Valentine’s costume party we went to who was dressed as the peanut M&M,” she explained. “The accountant with the odd sense of humor.”
    Oh, that Greg . He recalled Greg Betwich, all right. Greg was the guy dressed as the M&M who kept asking women if they wanted to prove he melted in their mouth and not in their hand. What a creep!
    “So, this Greg thing,” Caleb began carefully. “Are you planning to be with Greg while you’re there?”
    “Huh?” she asked. “Me and Greg? No silly, he’s just going to even out the numbers for our group.”
    Much better , he corrected. At least she seemed to appreciate his concern. “Oh, well, that’s okay,” he replied more smoothly.
    “I mean, we’ll probably sit together and may do some dancing,” she casually added. “But it’s not like we’ll be staying in the same hotel room together. He already booked the room across from me.”
    They already booked the rooms, and she’s just now calling me? Okay, so maybe she doesn’t appreciate me as fully as I thought , he considered as an afterthought.
    He grit his teeth. “When are you guys leaving?” he asked with an edge to his voice.
    “Well, probably early tomorrow morning so we beat the Friday afternoon rush,” she answered. “We’re all piling into Candace’s minivan.”
    “Well, call me when you get there, so I’ll know you’re okay,” he insisted in a resigned tone.
    “Will do,” she replied matter-of-factly. “And don’t stay too late up at the college. There might be more muggers out there or something.”
    “Sure,” he replied. “Talk to you tomorrow then.”
    “’Night!” she said before the line went dead.
    Caleb shook his head and stared out the window at the campus, although it was so dark outside and so much lighter in his office that he really couldn’t see anything. Reaching up, he turned the blinds down so he wouldn’t feel like a fish in a bowl. He noted how eerily quiet the building was. It was only around eight o’clock, but most of the faculty had left for the day, and finals were over so there weren’t any students around anymore. It felt lonely to him, actually, and sort of matched his mood at that moment.
    “You’re quite the night owl.”
    Caleb nearly bolted out of his chair, and his heart felt like it stopped in its tracks. “Holy –” he exclaimed with a start.
    Katrina smiled down at him with a mischievous grin while folding her arms across her chest.
    His breath was having a hard time returning to him, but it wasn’t because of surprise. Caleb took note of her snug black denim jeans and brilliant blue, long-sleeved turtleneck sweater. Her red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, giving her a sexy, yet edgy, appearance. She was simply beautiful.
    “Sorry to startle you,” she playfully offered.
    He grinned and shook his head despite himself. “You got me there,” he conceded.
    She raised an eyebrow at him and muttered, “Lucky me.”
    He stared at her for another moment in silent admiration. “So, Katrina, what brings you up here at this time of night?”
    “I thought I might find you here,” she answered simply.
    “Oh, really?” he asked with raised eyebrows. “Were you wanting to know your final grade? It should be no surprise that you made a perfect score on everything, including the bonus questions.” The completely unusual nature of that registered on