Chapter 3Taking Out the Trash

After class, a tall figure blocked my path.

His handsome face made me do a double-take before I realized – it was him, the one who passed me the note in class: Ethan Graystone!

That hadn't happened in my past life. And wasn't he a Finance major?

What was he doing in an Art major's required English course?

Still, seeing him again made me ridiculously happy.

"Dinner tonight?" he asked.

"Sure!"

He seemed surprised I agreed so quickly. "Really? You'll come?"

"Yeah, really!"

Why wouldn't I?

The Graystone Group was just as big as Sterling Corp. Ethan and I had known each other since we were kids. If something were to happen to my dad's company in the future, Graystone could at least help out.

"Okay, I'll call The Willow Creek Inn, get us a table." Ethan's eyes lit up.

The Willow Creek Inn?

In my past life, the car crash that killed Ethan happened right near there.

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm suddenly, blurting out, "What's today's date?"

"May 18th. Thesis defense is next week. You asked me to look over your paper, remember?" Ethan answered automatically.

My head spun. Memories flooded back. Ethan died in that car crash today in my past life! My hand gripping his started to shake. "Don't go there."

"What?" Ethan looked completely lost. "But you just said yes."

"Don't go!" I insisted through gritted teeth.

You'll die!

"So… reschedule?" Ethan asked, still confused.

"No rescheduling either."

"Piper Sterling, what do you want?" Ethan actually had incredible patience. How had I never noticed before? I was being totally flaky, and he didn't even seem mad.

"How about… my place? I can cook for you," I suggested after a moment. Going to my apartment felt like the safest bet.