by C. Morgan
“It looked like he was about to get his ass kicked in the parking lot when I left,” Ruby said as she finished off the story about her evening. “Sigma Xi Delta and Tau Pi have apparently been bitter rivals for years. I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of the boys end up with black eyes.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, I hoped someone knocked that smug look off Dax’s face. On the other, I didn’t want him getting hurt.
Deep down inside, there was still a part of me that cared for the boy I used to know. He’d been pretty awful to me since we’d gotten here, but I knew he’d never had it easy. It made sense that he wouldn’t let me have it easy either.
Despite having every advantage in the world because of his family’s wealth, he hadn’t had a wonderful childhood. His parents had never been around. He’d always been alone and going back to a giant, empty house at the end of the school day.
Every kid in our school had wanted to be his friend. They’d all showed up to his birthday parties and all that, but no one had ever really been there for him. He’d celebrated almost everything alone until he’d met me.
For a moment in time, I’d been his person. His safe place and his sanctuary where he could just be himself. The person he could turn to for celebration or for anything else.
And I’d hurt him. Badly and publicly. Maybe I’m the real dick in this scenario.
“Wow,” Ruby said. “You actually look worried about him. He’ll still be pretty even if he does get a black eye. The guys will take care of him. Don’t stress about it.”
My cheeks turned to flames, but I confided in my roommate anyway. If Dax was going to keep going out of his way to be miserable to me, I needed at least one person in my corner who knew the truth.
Since we were talking about him anyway, it made sense to be honest with her. When I was done telling her about our history, she scoffed.
“You did your part when you said you were sorry,” she said. “What else does he expect? You were fifteen the last time he saw you. He can’t hold you to a higher standard than what any fifteen-year-old girl who’s desperately trying to fit in can give.”
While she spoke, she scooted off her bed and headed for her closet. “It just shows you how entitled he really is if he can’t see it that way. He might not have had to worry about his record, but people like you and I sure did.”
She pulled a pair of pajamas and her shower caddie from a shelf. “I’ll be back in ten and then we’ll watch a movie. It’ll be our first epic roommate movie night. You look like you need it.”
I was surprised by how intuitive she was, but I nodded and waited until she’d left before I collected my own pajamas. I’d taken a shower while she’d been out, so all that was left to do was to change and set up the laptop.
As I was dragging my desk chair to the end of the passage between our beds and arranged the speakers, I realized that Ruby was right. Maybe not entirely right, but there was some wisdom to her words.
I’d only been fifteen at the time of that run-in with Dax. A fifteen-year-old girl who’d been keenly aware that she had little prospects if she didn’t keep her nose clean, her grades up, and her transcript padded. As it all sank in, a bit of my guilt over the incident went away for the first time since I’d started feeling it.
Well, what do you know? Maybe I do have an awesome roommate after all.
Chapter 11
DAXTON
Groaning as I rolled over in my bed, I buried my face in my pillow and regretted taking those last few shots when I’d gotten back to the house after the fight. It felt like a pair of giants had played soccer with my head while tiny trolls hacked away at the inside of my skull with icepicks.
Blindly reaching for my nightstand, my fingers brushed against the bottle of water I’d left there for myself before I’d fallen asleep, but for as much as my mouth felt like I’d been stuck in the Sahara without water for a month, I didn’t know if it was worth trying to sit up to get a drink.
Eventually, the thirst got the better of me and I had no choice. Moving as slowly and gingerly as an octogenarian, I sat up and cautiously opened my eyes. I’d had the foresight to draw my curtains when I’d gotten in, but the rays of sun that shone in between the cracks were still enough to make me wince.
Gulping the water like a camel, I only set the bottle down when it was empty and then fell back against the mattress. Thankfully, it was Sunday. Which meant I could sleep the hangover off for the rest of the day.
At least, that was what I thought until some inconsiderate prick started banging on my door. “Dax! Shake off that rust, bro. Finn’s got breakfast going in the kitchen to help with the hangover, but Callum’s waiting for us for tryouts for the rowing team.”
Ryker sounded like he was in pain himself, but obviously, he was already up and at ‘em. I groaned again.
What fresh hell is this? Callum had mentioned that he’d talk to the coach about us trying out this weekend, but I’d completely forgotten about it. Now he wanted us to perform on a boat when I felt like I’d hardly be able to lift myself out of bed.
“Five minutes, Dax,” Ryker’s voice interrupted my pity party again. Then I heard his footsteps padding away on the hardwood floors outside.
Knowing that he really would be back in five—maybe six—minutes, I let out a string of curses but hauled my ass out of bed. Ten minutes later, I was showered and looking more human than I had earlier but I still felt like shit.
The common areas of the house and the kitchen were filled with brothers nursing hangovers and bruises, with some holding packets of frozen vegetables to their faces and others sipping on a variety of supposed hangover cures. A few of them lifted their hands in waves as I passed by, but the majority were staring at the TV, their phones, or just plain off into the distance.
Finn, on the other hand, looked like he hadn’t so much as touched alcohol last night. His dark hair was perfectly styled, he had his usual uniform of a polo shirt and khakis on, and he grinned when I walked into the kitchen.
He was standing at the stove with a pan of scrambled eggs in front of him. An apron with the words It’s No Sin To Get My Sauce On Your Chin emblazoned on it was tied around his neck. It had pictures of barbecue sauce, flames, and a basting brush on it, but I still chuckled and inclined my head.
“Nice apron.”
His grin widened before he turned back to the stove. “Thanks. We do cookouts with the sororities every now and again. I got it so they’d know where I stand on the issue from the get-go.”
“Smart,” I said, moving toward the counter with the coffeemaker on it. “Do you know where Ryker and Callum are? I’m supposed to be—”
“Going to tryouts for the rowing team,” he finished for me. “Yeah, I know. You’d better take that to go. Callum’s not known for being patient. I hope you’re ready for the tryout. Neither Callum nor the coach are going to take it easy on you just because you drank everything you could get your hands on last night.”
“I’m a natural athlete.” I smirked even though I wasn’t really feeling it. “I’ll be fine as soon as I hit the water. The real question isn’t whether I’m ready. It’s what you did to look like you were in bed by eight last night when I know you were guzzling tequila right along with the rest of us until the early hours of the morning.”
“They didn’t tell you? Immunity to hangovers comes with the presidency,” he joked. “I wasn’t kidding about taking the coffee to go, you know. Callum’s waiting for you in the front room.”
I gave him a salute before grabbing one of the takeout cups we had stashed in the cabinet underneath the coffeemaker. After adding an extra shot to the stuff that came out of the machine, I opted to go for it without any sugar and cream, then said my goodbyes to the guys in the kitchen before rushing out.
There was an unenthusiastic call of “good luck” from some of the guys, but as lackluster as they sounded this morning, I knew Ryker and I getting on the team meant a lot to them. The Rowing Team w
as a big deal to everyone at Edgewater, but it was especially competitive among the fraternities. Especially since we were neck on neck with Tau Pi in terms of representativity on the team.
Callum looked me up and down when I walked up to them. “You’re not going to puke during the tryout, are you? Coach will disqualify you immediately if you do.”
“I’m good.” I held up my coffee. “This will be done by the time we get down there, and then I’ll be back to normal.”
He chuckled but shrugged and motioned toward the door. “Let’s get going then. Coach doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
The coach turned out to be a middle-aged man who still had a head full of hair and looked like he could break bricks with his bare hands. The boathouse sat on the banks of a river that ran through the campus and was only a few minutes’ walk from the house.
After we were introduced to the coach, Callum led us into the boathouse to get suited up. “I hope you’re used to having an audience. A lot of students sit on the banks over there and study during our practices.”
He pointed at the grassy knolls that ran along the river. “They tried closing it for practices years ago, but it’s campus grounds.”
“I don’t suffer from performance anxiety,” Ryker said. “Bring on the crowds.”
“Same,” I added as we walked along a jetty with several boats tied to it. “Let’s get this over with.”
Callum pointed us toward the boat they wanted us to use, then joined us on it since he was one of the captains of the team. As soon as the oars hit the water, I felt a familiar peace coming over me. I never used to have the relationship with water that I did now, but watersports had become a sort of therapy for me while living in Hawaii.
Ryker and I hit our stride relatively easily, pulling the oars through the water with ease as we picked up speed. A cool breeze brushed my skin as we rowed, and I swore that my alcohol-sodden cells came alive with the feeling of the boat gliding over the water.
We managed to impress the coach enough that he told us we could join the team as soon as we were done, and Callum watched with a smug grin on his face. He shook our hands after Coach left, barely able to contain that grin as we headed back up to the house.
“Welcome to the team, boys,” he said. “If that’s the way you row when you’re hungover, I’m looking forward to seeing you when you’re on your game.”
Ryker started asking him questions about the team, but I hung back when my phone started ringing and I saw my dad’s name come up on the screen. I waved them off when they stopped to wait for me.
“Go on up,” I said. “I’ll catch you guys later. I need to take this.”
They nodded and kept going while I sat down on the grass, sliding my thumb across the green bar to take my father’s call. “What’s up, Dad? Guess what? I just made the Rowing Team.”
“Well would you look at that?” he said, satisfaction practically dripping from his tone. “Your first week is barely done and you’re already taking strides to make a name for yourself on campus. I’m proud of you, Dax.”
My chest puffed up a little. “Thanks, Dad. How are things going over there?”
“We’re missing you, but we’re coping.” He let out a soft guffaw. “Your mother might just convince me to get her a townhouse in Edgewater, though. She wants to be able to check on you.”
“I’m doing fine,” I said, then frowned. “You won’t really let her buy a house here, would you?”
“Not if I can stop her, but you know your mother,” he said. “Once she sets her mind to something, she can be very convincing.”
I sighed but didn’t argue. After everything we’d been through, my parents and I were closer than other people were to their parents at my age. While I didn’t want my mom around all the time, it wouldn’t suck to see her every couple of months at least.
“I’m calling about her birthday actually,” Dad said. “I’ve been distracting her by telling her to plan a party. We’ll want you here for it a few weeks from now.”
I groaned internally. Mom’s birthdays were always such an overdone affair these days, but no matter what my father did to impress her, she was always disappointed in the end. Her birthdays were her equivalent to what New Year’s Eve was to most other people.
“Sure, I’ll be there,” I said, even if I’d rather have used being all the way in Edgewater to avoid having to attend. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you then, Dad.”
“Be safe, Dax,” he replied. “We’ll speak again.”
After he hung up, I stood up and dusted off my ass, running my hand through my hair as I looked out over the changing leaves of the trees on the other side of the river and sun reflecting on the water.
“Where are you going?” Ryker asked from behind me, and it was so unexpected that he was still there that I jumped a bit before spinning around.
“To Hawaii. I thought you’d walked back up with Callum.” My dark-haired friend looked like the rowing had revitalized him as much as it did me. Even his eyes were no longer rimmed in red.
He laughed, flashing his pearly whites and drawing the attention of every girl in our vicinity with the booming, genuine sound of his laughter. True to form though, he didn’t even seem to notice them.
“Callum got sidetracked by some chicks he knows,” he said. “I figured I’d double back and see if you wanted to go grab coffee on our way back to the house. What are you going to Hawaii for?”
“I’ve been summoned for my mom’s birthday party,” I said, following when he started to walk again. “Want to come home with me? We could surf while we’re there.”
“You really want to take me home with you?” he asked, his voice disbelieving. “Why don’t you take a girl instead? Sweeten the deal of having to head back to the parentals for a weekend.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” The gears in my head were already turning as I considered his suggestion.
While I knew why he’d suggested taking a girl instead, my brain was going in a different direction. I could bring Haddie with me. Take her all the way to Hawaii and then, just like she’d done to me, I could abandon her.
It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was a pretty damn good start.
Chapter 12
HADLEY
Little did I know when I walked into Business 101 on Monday morning that everything was about to change. Ruby and I had spent the rest of the weekend together, watching movies on Saturday night and then exploring the campus and the town on Sunday.
It’d made for a much better weekend than I’d been anticipating, but in the back of my mind, knowing that I had this class first thing this morning had haunted me. I wasn’t looking forward to whatever it was Dax had planned for me, but especially not this early. Can’t a girl just have some time for coffee before the petty bullying starts?
When the expensive scent of his cologne alerted me to his presence, I let my eyelids flutter closed for a second. A shift in the air made me stiffen. I cracked one eye open to confirm my suspicions and my heart sank when I realized I was right.
Why the hell is he sitting next to me?
Glancing down at my watch, my heart sank even further when I saw there were ten whole minutes left before class started. Getting here that early was a rookie mistake, Hadley. You’re going to have to do better next time.
To my surprise, the smile he shot me actually seemed genuine. “Morning, Haddie.”
I frowned, my spine still as rigid as if it had been replaced with a steel rod. “Good morning, Daxton.”
“How was your weekend?” he asked conversationally, like things were back the way they used to be and none of the bad stuff had happened.
My senses went on high alert. He had to be planning something here, but what? Since I didn’t know, being cordial back seemed like the best option. “It was fine, thank you. Yours?”
He smiled again, those gorgeous blue eyes lighting up as he brushed a lock of his thick blond hair off his forehead. “It was good. Are you making fri
ends around here? My brothers at the frat have been pretty awesome. I even made the Rowing Team yesterday.”
Of course, he did. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” He looked right at me with that smile still on his lips, and as much as I hated myself for it, I still melted a little inside.
Daxton, for all his sharp angles and asshole tendencies, had still been my friend and the first guy I’d fallen in love with for a reason. It wasn’t just because he was pretty. People with good looks were a dime a dozen. I could appreciate their looks from a distance without believing them to be saints and without wanting to be near them.
While I couldn’t deny that Dax really was exceptionally pretty, that wasn’t what’d made my heart beat faster then, and it wasn’t what was melting me now. It was the way he was smiling at me like he’d suddenly remembered I was one of his favorite people in the world.
It was like our shared history—the good parts—were so close I could reach out and touch them when he looked at me like that. All the afternoons we’d spent laughing together and talking, the way he’d made himself vulnerable with me and only me, and how everything always felt so easy with him.
But I pricked that thought bubble so it burst before it could grow too much. This isn’t the past, and that’s not us anymore.
“So.” I lifted my chin slightly to help me look like I was more courageous than I was feeling. “Did you decide that tracking me down in the library after class for my notes was too much trouble? Figured you’d just get them in class from now on?”
“No.” He chuckled, then bent over to retrieve something from his backpack. When he sat back up, he slid my notes onto my desk and smoothed them out. “I’m sorry I took them. I’m also sorry I was such an ass to you last week.”
My jaw slackened and I had to fight the urge to let it drop wide open. “Excuse me?”
He chuckled again, then reached out to touch my forearm. It was barely more than the press of his fingertips to my skin, but those light brushes felt like pleasurable zaps traveling through my bones all the way to my soul.