“Oh, good. I’m glad we’re all here,” my ordinarily shy cousin said. “J, this is our roommate, Haley. She and I were suitemates in the dorms last year. Haley, this is my cousin, Jolee.”
“Nice to meet you,” I replied with my hand extended toward Haley. Thankfully she quickly shook my hand and smiled. And I could see that my momentary lapse of normalcy was easily dismissed.
After the introduction, I took in the living room, pleased to find it spacious and warm. The couch looked new and it faced a large television propped on top of a media cabinet, only a wooden coffee table separated the two items.
“The living room is great.”
“Thanks,” Willow replied. “But be careful with the coffee table, one of the legs wobbles.”
Nodding, I turned around, taking in the kitchen. It was small and tight, but I didn’t need a lot of room to cook. Willow made sure to show me my dedicated shelves in the refrigerator and the pantry, making sure that I knew what items were available for sharing like milk, butter, and eggs. The kitchen was exactly like she had told me on the phone, but I didn’t bother pointing that out.
Following the girls down the hall where Haley and I had collided, Willow pointed out each of their rooms and then led me to the very last door. I placed my hand on the knob and turned the cold metal while holding my breath. This was the first time I would be living in a space that wasn’t under my parents’ reign. Even though I was twenty-two, I felt eighteen all over again.
The door slid across the tan carpet and I exhaled with a whoosh. The room wasn’t massive, just big enough for a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a desk, and a nightstand, but the knot in my chest tightened. This space was mine. It would be the place I would make my dreams a reality. It would be my home.
Willow began to speak from behind me, but the heartbeat pounding in my ears drowned her out. Spinning on my heels, I grabbed my cousin in a tight embrace and squeezed her as if she were going to drift away. This woman had offered me a sanctuary in a time that I needed it most, and I would be eternally grateful. Nothing could mess this up for me, this opportunity to live my own life.
I released her just as quickly and stepped into my bedroom, turning around as I took it all in. There was a large picture window facing the reserve’s park across the street and I imagined the afternoons I would spend beneath its sills watching the world come alive.
“Where did the furniture come from?” I inquired as I ran my hand over the gray dresser. The wood was solid and warm beneath my touch, and I knew that not only was it beautiful – it was expensive. There was a wrought-iron bed across from me with a nightstand that matched the dresser. It was exactly what I would have chosen for myself.
When I didn’t get an immediate response, I turned away from the window and stared at Willow, who was twisting her fingers together in front of her body. Haley took a leisurely step backward.
I knew the answer then. I knew that somehow, Willow had done this for me.
“Willow, I. . .” I began.
“J, I knew that you didn’t have a lot of money to splurge on furniture. So I told Mother that I needed a new bedroom set. She didn’t even blink an eye. I picked out the furniture with Haley over the summer. Are you mad?”
Willow worried her lip, scared of my reaction, and it took all of my strength not to shed the tears welling in my eyes.
“Thank you. It’s. . .it’s perfect. It’s exactly what I would have chosen.”
Her worried expression quickly morphed into relief. Had she really been worried that I would be ungrateful or angry at her selfless gesture?
The girls helped me carry the storage cubes into my bedroom and I put away what I could. There was only one bathroom for the three of us, which I wasn’t so sure was going to be the easiest situation when getting ready for classes and work, but I wasn’t going to be choosy.
Willow and Haley offered to show me around campus so that I was ready for classes on Monday and I eagerly accepted their gesture. I needed just a few minutes to take a quick shower and change my clothes. My skin felt dry and scratchy from the recycled air of the plane and I yearned to wash it away.
The water was heavenly and when I stepped out of the bathroom after a quick rinse, I felt new and refreshed. Looking at the few clothes I had brought with me, my excitement quickly diminished. There wasn’t enough research in the world to tell me what to expect when I arrived here. At the college I previously attended, the majority of my classmates showed up in either pajamas or loungewear. I was confident that a prestigious university outside of Boston would require a more upper-class appearance, which was why I had packed a few dressy shorts in various colors, classy shirts, and a pale pink sheath dress. Judging by Willow and Haley’s appearances earlier, I had chosen incorrectly.
The only casual items I had with me were the jeans that I had worn on the plane and my green T-shirt, neither of which I had any desire to put over my clean body again.
Begrudgingly I slipped on a pair of white shorts and a blue lace camisole, thankful that Boston’s temperature wasn’t too dissimilar from Anchorage’s. I was going to have to deal with my wardrobe for now until I got a few more paychecks under my belt. Clothes were not a necessary expense.
Winding my hair into a neat knot on the top of my head and slipping my feet into a pair of fake leather sandals, I walked toward the living room where my cousin and Haley were waiting for me.
Both girls blinked up at me from the couch when I entered the room and I could immediately sense that they wanted to say something.
“I know. I made a bad choice with clothes, but all I had at home were my scrubs for work and the jeans I wore on the plane.”
Rising up from the couch, Willow circled around me. “Did you raid my mother’s closet?”
“I can’t afford anything else until I get my first paycheck,” I retorted. Looking over to Haley, I asked, “Am I going to stand out?”
“Oh, you’re definitely going to stand out,” she explained, and then added, “but it won’t be because of your clothes.”
I didn’t have time to question her comment as Willow dragged Haley and me from the apartment. Our feet ate up the pavement as we walked toward campus, the buildings aged before my eyes, but not in a bad way. The structures changed from wood to brick, then brick to stone. It was magnificent to take in.
My heart sped up as we walked down alleyways between the buildings. Willow made sure to point out which buildings held my classes. I almost got the hang of the school’s octagonal layout when the growling of my stomach echoed across the fountain. If I hadn’t stood out before, I certainly did then as a few classmates looked up from their perches on the grass.
It wasn’t my fault; I hadn’t eaten since the day before and the time change had severely messed with my schedule.
Willow and Haley slunk away from me, obviously attempting not to draw attention to themselves. Still, as the gathering around us continued to stare in my direction, their eyes darted to my roommates.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, noticing how much I truly stood out amongst the masses. The guys mostly wore gym shorts and T-shirts, but the girls were on an entirely new level. They were either dressed for a night of partying at a club like I had seen in the movies, or wore denim shorts cut and frayed to show as much leg as possible with midriff-baring tops.
I had never felt out of shape; more or less, I always thought that I was average-sized, but compared to the women lying across blankets on the school lawn, I would never measure up. These women looked as if they walked right off the runway with their perfectly blown-out hair and perfect bodies.
As Willow directed me away from the center of the school, I could feel everyone’s eyes still latched onto me. Maybe it was a mistake for me to transfer to such a small school. I was beginning to regret my decision.
“You’ll love the cheesy tater tots at Joe’s,” Willow said as we continued to follow her out of the quad.
Haley startled us when she screeched, “Oh gosh,” and tucked
her chin to her chest, covering her face with her dark hair.
“What is it?” I asked, craning my neck to look around, wondering what had frightened her. But as my eyes land on movement to my left, I had to reach out for Haley’s arm as I tripped on my own feet.
“The rogues,” Willow whispered, mimicking Haley’s movement by using her hair to cover her face.
“The what?” I inquired as I regained my balance and stared directly at the grouping of six men.
“Don’t look at them!” Willow admonished as she tugged at my arm urging me to continue walking, but I found myself pinned in place. Not by my feet, but by the angered gaze locked on me by one of them. “The ridge rogues. That’s what everyone at Wellington University calls them. The gorgeous bad boys that every girl wants to claim and every guy wants to be.”
A huff of laughter bubbled from my throat as I turned away from his steely gaze to look at Willow. “That’s not a thing,” I told her.
“Oh, it most certainly is a thing. You do not want to be on the rogue’s bad side, because if they don’t like you, no one is going to like you. Come on.”
I didn’t dare tell them that I had already experienced my first run-in with the rogues. To be honest, I wasn’t even sure if Haley and Willow knew that the bad boys lived on the floor below us. All I knew was if what they said was true, then I already had a slew of enemies against me because I could feel the fury filled stare of one particular rogue the entire time that I walked away.
Chapter Two – Ford
I prided myself on being even-keeled the majority of the time. My temper didn’t flare often. Of course, that could be due to the surly expression I wore on my face. I had very little to be happy about.
Frustration already fueled me by the time the gorgeous, but vile woman struck me with her suitcase. I’m not sure what her expectations were, because I certainly hadn’t dropped and broken her luggage, but she gave me a look of hatred. One that I made sure to return as well, especially after she launched her scathing words in my direction.
No, my mother sure didn’t raise a gentleman. She never got the chance to raise me at all. Hearing her say those words ignited an anger in me that I solely left burning for my sperm donor.
No amount of her beauty could make up for the ugliness that girl festered in me.
My brother of sorts, Link, mumbled a few choice words at me as we left the apartment and headed onto campus. We were meeting the rest of our adoptive brothers outside the Arts building to help Tracy move her office.
Tracy was our adoptive mother. I had never met a woman more deserving of sainthood than her. She and Adam, her husband, took in six boys and raised us as her own. My cousin, Tyler, and I came to her when we were each around preschool age when the state took us in, but Link, Archer, Chance, and Rylan all came when they were older. It took a brave family to take on that many boys, especially the ones known to cause trouble.
But five years ago, our adoptive father died from a heart attack. It had been hard on all of us, but Tracy never wavered with her love. So when she called asking for help to switch her office to a new location, I knew that everyone would show up.
When we arrived outside the building, the rest of my brothers were waiting with a gathering of women vying for their attention, even Tyler, who was still in high school.
Women were willing to do just about anything to say that they had bagged a rogue. We knew what our classmates called us – the ridge rogues, the bad boys of Wellington University, even though the ones of us that attended the college did so on scholarships and honors. Our intellect didn’t matter to them; they saw us as the handsome, leather-wearing men of their fantasies. But as a few of the women turned their attention toward me, I couldn’t say that I minded being the star of their fantasies. So long as they knew my rules.
No repeats.
No kisses.
And absolutely no love.
I had too much on my plate to get caught up in a relationship, too much at stake to risk turning off my path.
From beside me, I watched as Archer ran his hands through his hair, his dark locks skimmed his eyes, and the women gathered around him swooned. Their sighs of pleasure at watching him move was almost sickening. He was their god and could command them to do anything he wanted.
“Tell your girls to scram,” I commanded as I jabbed my elbow into his ribs.
They scattered apart after Archer grunted at them to go away.
“Where’s Tracy?” I asked Tyler, who would have ridden with her.
“She was finishing up a phone call in the car.”
Nodding, I shoved my hands in my jean pockets and leaned against the brick railing of the steps. There were a lot of students out on the lawn enjoying the warm weather before classes started on Monday, but I had little desire to be amongst them. A gathering of any kind wasn’t something that I enjoyed; I never knew if someone had ulterior motives.
“Well, well, well,” Archer cat-called as a trio of women walked by. I swore under my breath. That man thought with his dick more than his brain sometimes, even though he was a certified genius.
I craned my neck to steal a glance at whatever had captured his attention. Unbridled need instantly washed over me as I took in the woman’s long legs.
Damn, what I wouldn’t give “to feel those beauties wrapped around my waist,” Archer completed my thought aloud.
All of the boys leaned closer to get a better look as the three women crossed the pathway in front of the fountain. I noticed that they’d not only garnered our attention, but the men and women lounging on the lawn couldn’t take their eyes off them either.
“Isn’t that. . .?” Link let his question linger in the air until my attention traveled up to their faces. Two of the girls I recognized from campus, but it wasn’t until the other female turned around that I realized I knew who she was all along.
She was gorgeous, there was no question of that, and my cock instantly jerked behind my jeans in awareness. But my groan was not one of pleasure; it was one of disgust.
“That’s the girl from the stairs,” I concluded for him.
My eyes never moved from their lock on her - I couldn’t pull them away if I tried. She was all that I could see, a vignette focused around her body. And I hated it.
“You know her?” Archer asked before my other brothers began peppering their own questions.
I couldn’t hear them over the buzzing in my ear. God, just looking at the woman infuriated me. Not only had she pissed me off barely an hour ago, but she made me lose my train of thought.
Our eyes latched and held as she looked over her shoulder at us, her friends obviously whispering warnings to her. Something about the way she measured me with her gaze made me feel as if she found me lacking. Me? I could have any woman at this school with the snap of my finger and she looked at me with disdain. Like I was no more than a leech or cockroach to her.
Well, fuck her and her preppy self. I didn’t even care that the sun gleamed off her shiny blonde hair, or that despite her petite body, her legs seemed to go on for miles. I was fairly certain she was wearing a shirt that Tracy had hanging in her closet. None of her beauty could detract from the way she irritated me with a single glance.
Turning toward my brothers, I looked at them harshly. I could sense their interest in her and her two friends, their eyes tracked each of the women’s movements.
“No,” I declared as I pushed away from the railing. “Stay away from her. She’s a distraction none of us needs right now.”
Cocking an eyebrow at me, a move that certainly had a few women clambering for him, Link silently begged me for more information. He wasn’t getting any.
“Don’t go all professor on me,” I told him as I began to make my way up the building stairs knowing my brothers would follow. “There isn’t any more to the story other than I can tell that she doesn’t belong here. I mean, did you look at her?”
“Oh boy, did I,” Archer groaned, and I had to fight back the urge t
o pound my fist into his face. Not only would I have a slew of angry females chasing after me for turning their god’s face black and blue, but Tracy and my brothers would be upset. And I never wanted to do anything to hurt her or this family.
“So, what do you know about them?” Chance asked.
“Nothing,” I mumbled as I opened the door to the building, deciding that waiting inside was a better option than the humid heat of Boston in August. But at the same time, Link added, “They live on the floor above us.”
I didn’t wait to hear the guys cheer knowing that attractive females were living in our building. Hell, there were beautiful females everywhere on campus. That was one of the best things about Wellington University.
The quietest of my brothers followed closely behind me. His heavy footsteps pounded against the floor.
“What did she do to piss you off already?” he asked, his question lingering in the air. “Ford.”
“Nothing. Okay?”
My brother annoyingly grabbed my arm and twisted me to face him. Rylan never left questions hanging. He didn’t speak much, preferring to showcase his vocal prowess with music, but when he spoke, you listened. Or like right now, if he asked you a question, you better be prepared to answer.
“Ford, you don’t get worked up over anything. Out of all of us, you’re the most even-keeled, probably because you have so much anger bundled up inside you directed toward your birth father. So, forgive me if seeing a rise out of you over a female has me questioning why.”
It was the most I had heard him speak in years, but damn if he was anything but observant. My entire life revolved around the pent up rage that I had toward my sperm donor. There was absolutely nothing to extinguish it, nothing to temper the flame - until her. She diverted my attention – even if for a split second. My thoughts were drawn away from the man that destroyed my life and focused on a woman with a stupid piece of luggage. Her large brown eyes questioned why I didn’t help her, why I kept walking past even though her broken suitcase knocked my leg and sprawled its contents on the ground. I was willing to ignore it all until she brought up my mother and how she raised me. That had been too much. That had been the ice to freeze me in place and stare back at her, wanting so badly to simultaneously rip off her clothes and rip out her heart.
Of Boys And Men: An Enemies to Lovers, New Adult College Romance (Ridge Rogues Book 1) Page 2