by E B Brooks
When Skylar ran off like a kid in a candy store, she laughed. “Is he always like this?”
“He’s a little more wound up today, but yeah, he’s been like this since the day I met him.”
Skylar came running back with two flyers. “We are sooooo going to do this after the freshman meet and greet.”
He handed Maddy a flyer. On top, it said Alpha Delta PI 10th Annual Meet and Greets Water Slide. There was a picture of a giant blue slide going down a hill, with people were sliding down it.
Skylar shifted excitedly from one foot to another.
She beamed with excitement. “It looks like fun.”
Then Skylar had to ruin it. Jace should have known it would happen. He had that look Jace knew all too well. He was up to something Jace wasn’t going to like.
Skylar did his crazy up and down eyebrow thing. “I thought you could do this.”
He handed Maddy a different flyer. Jace wasn’t sure what she read, but her eyes shot off the flyer and landed on Skylar who had a smirk on his face.
Maddy started hitting him with the flyer. “Not in this lifetime or the next, Skylar!”
Skylar laughed. “Oh, come on! You said you want to experience new things!”
Jace grabbed the flyer from her and scanned it. Alpha Sigma Phi’s Annual Wet T-Shirt Contest. “Seriously, Skylar? A wet white T-shirt contest? I can’t believe you.” He shook his head. It was a good thing Maddy had a sense of humor. “It’s time for us to head over to the freshman meet and greet.”
Skylar bumped his shoulder. “You know you were thinking about it, too, Jace.”
Sometimes Skylar knew him better than he knew himself. Hell, yeah, he’d love to see Maddy in a soaked white T-shirt. Who wouldn’t? She was gorgeous. But there was no way he would say that out loud.
As they walked, Skylar put his arm around Maddy’s shoulders, a feeling of contentment came over Jace.
Why did this feel so right? They’d just met her, and it was like finding a missing puzzle piece.
They arrived at the auditorium where the freshman needed to head to.
Skylar dropped his arm and grabbed Maddy’s hand.
An older gentleman held the door open. A sticker with his name on it said Professor Callahan. He told them to find a seat anywhere they wanted.
Maddy thanked him as they stepped inside. She took about four steps then stopped. She had a look of awe as she gazed around.
A stage sat to the right and they could only see part of it. The other half was covered by a large blue curtain with the Lock Haven University logo within a circle, and in the middle was a large Husky. In front of the curtain waited a podium with five chairs off to the side.
They climbed halfway up and started walking down a row.
Skylar stopped and looked at Maddy to see if it was okay to sit down. When she shrugged, they sat.
“I’m guessing by your reaction you’ve never seen an auditorium before?” Jace asks.
“No. I saw pictures on the internet of this place when I decided to come here, but it didn’t do it justice.”
“That reminds me.” Skylar leans to his right and started talking to the girl beside him.
Jace didn’t know what he was telling her, but her face was turning red. She reached into her backpack and pulled out some paper and a pen, then handed them to Skylar.
“What are you doing? Are we supposed to take notes?” Maddy questioned Skylar with her green eyes wide.
“No, I’m thinking of things we’ve done that you need to experience. Give me a few seconds, and I’ll hand it over to you.” Smiling, he got to writing.
She hung her head. “You know the likelihood of me seeing you after this is zip, right? So making a list is useless.”
Skylar’s eyes got huge, and his mouth fell open. Falling to the floor on one knee, his right hand slammed up against his chest. “Don’t say that, Princess, I shall find you no matter what.”
When Skylar took her hand and kissed it, Maddy pulled it away to cover her face as she chuckled.
She had such a beautiful laugh. Even though Skylar was acting like an ass, Jace was glad he was making her laugh.
11
Maddy
She sat between Jace and Skylar. Skylar had been making her laugh and was now writing a list of things he wanted to know if she had done. She was not looking forward to letting them know how naïve she was.
There was a loud tapping noise. “If everyone can please take their seats, we can get started.”
There was a lot of shuffling around, then quiet.
“Welcome, freshman, to what we hope will be the best year of your life. We strive for academic excellence here at Lockhaven University…”
Skylar handed her the paper, and Maddy started reading.
Have you:
Been to a movie
Seen an ocean
Had sex
Had sex with more than one man at the same time
Driven a car
Rode on a motorcycle
Been to a party
Got drunk
Been to an amusement park
Been to a fair
Went camping
Gone snipe hunting
Been to a zoo
Ever gone dancing
“I’m not going to answer these, Skylar.” She handed back the paper.
“Oh, come on, Maddy. Please?” He gave her a sad puppy dog look that she didn’t think anyone could ignore.
Shit!
She huffed. “Oh, stop it. I’ll answer your questions.”
She grabbed the paper once more, and with the biggest smile, she’d ever seen, he gave her the pen.
Been to a movie
No
Seen an ocean
Only in magazines
Had sex
Not answering
Had sex with more than one man at the same time
Definitely not answering
Driven a car
No
Rode on a motorcycle
No
Been to a party
No
Got drunk
Had my first drink Friday night.
Been to an amusement park
No
Been to a fair
No
Went camping
No
Gone snipe hunting
Don’t think they exist
Been to a zoo
No, unless you count living in the group home
Ever gone dancing
Yes, last night, it was fun
Jace read the list of questions as she answered them.
When she was done, Jace grabbed the paper, point to the sex one, and mouthed, “Really?”
Skylar shrugged and mouthed back, “Had to ask.”
Skylar reached over, grabbed the paper, and started reading her replies.
When Maddy passed him the pen, he started scribbling something on the bottom, then handed it back to her.
He’d written: The sex question. I’m not taking that as an answer, but I’ll let it slide. Or maybe you want me to find out? I’m willing!!!!
She looked over at him, and he waggled his eyebrows.
She covered her mouth as she started laughing.
Maddy took the pen from him and wrote. You’re such a goofball! Now, pay attention.
Handing the paper and pen back to him, she tried to pay attention to the speakers.
Each department head had to say something. There were five, and by the time the second department head started talking, Maddy was having a hard time staying awake. Her head kept bobbing, and a couple of times, she heard Skylar snicker.
Jace finally took pity on her and laid her head on his shoulder. When she peeked at him from under her lashes, he smiled down at her. She hoped no one important saw her. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep.
She was jolted awake by the sound of clapping and people moving around her. Sitting up, she stretched.
“What did I miss?” she mumbl
ed, wiping her mouth and hoping she didn’t drool all over Jace.
“Nothing important, trust me. They’re breaking up into two groups by last names. A-G, then H-Z. They’re going to show us the Cafeteria, Library, and the Student Union, then take us to register. After that, we’re free.”
Skylar swore. “You’re always the lucky one. Damn you, Jace, I’m changing my last name. Just don’t bore her to death. Oh, well, I guess I’ll see you two later. Meet you at the water slide when you’re done.”
Maddy gave Skylar a hug, which was so unlike her. “Behave.”
He laughed. “I never behave. It’s too boring!”
She watched him walked away, appreciating his nice ass, before she turned and followed Jace out the auditorium.
The campus tour was useless. Maddy had been there for a week and knew where everything was. She was never happier than when they finally got to where they could register for their classes.
Before they entered the building, Jace pulled her off to the side. “I’ll meet you right outside the door when we’re done.”
At her nod of agreement, they went inside.
Six regular tables were set up end to end across the back of the room. Alphabet letters dangled from the ceiling by wires. It looked like they broke the names down to smaller groups. Under the letters sat counselors, with large, expandable file folders filled with papers sitting beside them.
Jace leaned closer to Maddy. “It looks like you’re over there. I’ll be right over there.” He pointed to a line two over from hers.
With this many people in this small of an area, it was hard to hear anything, so she gave Jace a thumbs up and headed to her line. It looked like it would take a while.
As she waited, her mind drifted back to last night. That whole night was screwy. She’d been so angry at being brushed off twice in one night that she’d taken her frustration out by painting for a few hours, which only contributed to how horrible she felt when she woke up with a hangover this morning.
But while she painted, she’d decided that even though the chemistry with Player was off the charts, she refused to get hurt. As for Cody? Maddy didn’t think he was ready for a girlfriend. She’d love to try, but those walls of his were so damn thick it would take a wrecking ball to bring them down.
After meeting Cody’s brother, Skylar, and his best friend, Jace, and feeling the same damn chemistry with them, she decided there must be something in the water.
“Next!”
Maddy snapped out of her daydream with a jump. “Oh, I guess that’s me.”
This all was a complete waste of everyone’s time. She’d already registered online, but because of some computer glitch, they had to make sure all the classes were available and not overbooked by hand. No wonder these people were cranky. She was cranky. It was too damn hot in there.
Maddy wiped the sweat off her face as she got her schedule and was told there were no dorm rooms available, which didn’t matter to her. Without glancing at Maddy, the counselor rambled on that, to keep her scholarship, Maddy needed to keep a 3.0-grade point average. The lady kept talking like she’d said this two thousand times already.
Then, she dismissed Maddy by screaming, “Next!” in her face.
Scurrying away so the next person could be helped, Maddy stepped outside and dragged in a deep breath of fresh air. Too many kids in a small room and poor ventilation was not a good thing.
She looked at her schedule.
Principles of Sociology - 9:00 am to 9:50 Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
General Psychology – 10:am to 12:30 pm Monday and Wednesday
Elementary Statistics – 10:00am to 12:30pm Tuesday and Thursday
Early History – 6:00pm to 8:30 pm Tuesday and Thursday
Plus, three days in the cafeteria every week. They had decided she’d work Monday and Wednesday, six to close. They locked the doors at ten, but they have to put everything away and clean-up. Friday was from six in the morning to one in the afternoon.
Jace appeared by her side. “Did you get your schedule?”
She huffed. “Yeah, I’m going to be busy.”
“Can I see?”
Maddy handed the paper to him, and he compared their schedules.
“We have two classes together, Principle of Sociology and General Psychology.” Jace handed the paper back to her with a frown. “This is a lot to take on. Are you sure you can handle all this? Even I didn’t take this many classes.”
She folded her schedule and placed it in her back pocket. “Relax, I’ll be okay. This is what I’ve been doing for the last six years. I also have to work in the cafeteria three days a week. Do you know if Skylar is in any of our classes?”
As they walked over to where the slide was set up, Jace laughed. “Skylar’s only taking two classes. He’s here to enjoy the college experience.”
Maddy giggled. “Figures.”
Suddenly, a chill ran down Maddy’s spine and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. Freezing, she glanced around. She couldn’t help but feel like someone was watching her.
“Maddy, are you are right?” Jace’s hand moved up and down her back.
Taking another glance around, she couldn’t spot anyone looking at them.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry.” Rubbing her arm, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She smiled hesitantly. “Let’s go find Skylar.”
Finding the large hill that the slide was on wasn’t hard. It took up half of the hill, allowing four people to race down at the same time. At the bottom waited tumbling mats, three rows of hay, and behind that, four large barrels of water I assumed would stop everyone.
It looked like so much fun. Maddy watched as people ran, then jumped on the slide. Jace searched around, looking for Skylar, but didn’t see him anywhere. They walked halfway up the hill and sat on the grass while waiting for Skylar.
Jace turned to her. “Are you staying in the dorms?”
Shaking her head, her nose scrunched up at the idea. “I lived in a dorm setting for all of my life. I want my own room, with my own food. A place where I don’t have to worry about people taking my shit. A place I can relax for the first time in my life. Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. Are Skylar and you staying in the dorms?”
“No, Cody and his best friend bought a house down here the summer before they started school. They got an old farmhouse that needed a lot of work. The four of us spent our summers fixing it up. We each have our own room, and the house has three floors, so it’s large enough not to feel cramped.”
It was a testament to how close they were. It must be wonderful to have such good friends.
“I can’t believe Skylar’s Cody’s younger brother. Cody’s so quiet. Keeps to himself.” Maddy picked at the grass.
“I know. Skylar’s wild. You’ll never be bored with him around. Trust me.”
“Maddy! You have got to try this!” Skylar’s yelled.
“Speak of the devil.” Jace smirked.
Jace pointed over to the slide where Skylar zoomed past, going every which way and laughing. “Jace Shields is a pussy!”
Jace dropped his head into his hands. “Why me?”
A second figure caught her attention on the slide next to Skylar’s and Maddy placed her hand above her eyes to block out the sun. “Is that Ryder?”
“Yep, that would be Ryder.” Wrinkles formed on Jace’s forehead. “Have you met him, too?”
A cocky smile appeared on Maddy’s lips. “You could say my fist met him first.”
Jace fell back, laughing his head off.
Skylar ran up the hill, Ryder following behind him. “What’s so funny?”
“Maddy was the one who gave Ryder his black eye,” Jace laughed out.
Skylar turned and looked at Ryder, then back to Maddy, before he bent over, laughing so hard he fell on the ground.
Maddy suddenly felt very hot. Ryder had on blue jean shorts, which were wet from the slide and clinging to his muscular thigh
s. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, leaving that chest bare in all its glory. Her mouth watered at the sight. Skylar wasn’t bad either, where he laid laughing by her feet. It looked like they all worked out.
“Glad I could make your day, guys. This is why I didn’t tell you.” Ryder’s eyes held so much turmoil as they met hers. “Hello, Maddy.”
“Player.” She tried her best not to stare at him, but she failed miserably.
Skylar wiped away tears from his eyes. “Okay, now that we’ve had our laugh of the day, come on, you two, you’re missing all the fun.” He pointed over at the slide.
Jace ignored him and cocked an eyebrow. “What are you doing here, Ryder? You’re not a freshman.”
“Dude, do you think I’d miss an opportunity to see all the freshmen girls?” He looked down at Maddy and gave her a wink. “But it looks like you already found the best one.”
Maddy snorted and rolled her eye, looking away from Ryder. Of course, he was here looking for his next pick up.
Skylar bounced on his tiptoes. “Are you two coming down the slide or not?”
Was he on something? Where did he get all this energy?
“Guys, can you give Maddy and me a second?” Ryder asked.
Both of them had questioning looks, before Skylar shrugged. “Fine. Come on, Jace, let’s race.”
Skylar ran up the hill with Jace following behind him.
Maddy watched them go. Goddamn, she could watch that every day.
Ryder sat beside Maddy. “I find it interesting you’ve met all of my friends since you arrived a few days ago. Do you have some secret fetish to screw best friends?”
Maddy snapped her head around to look at Ryder. His head was down as he played with the grass, so she couldn’t see his face.
“What are you accusing me of, Ryder? I didn’t intentionally set out to run into you all.” She gritted her teeth for control. She was boiling mad. How dare he accuse her of having some evil plan to screw all of them, and that was why she’d met all of them.
He rubbed his eyes and looked at her. “I know, that didn’t come out right. I don’t know what it is about you, but I lose my head when I’m around you.”