by J. Sterling
****
Taylor walked into her sun-filled dorm room and tossed everything on the floor except her notebook. She read over her scribbles from Katherine’s dream and added new thoughts and questions. When the house phone finally rang, she jumped.
“Hello?”
“Hi. This is the front desk. Your guest has arrived.”
“Can you send her up?”
“You need to come down and sign her in first.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
Taylor slammed the phone down and hopped out of her chair. Shutting the door behind her, she hurried downstairs. Once she rounded the corner, she saw her best friend leaning against the front desk, tapping her foot impatiently.
“So, this is what you’ve ditched me for, huh?” Kylie said with a disapproving frown.
Taylor signed the guest sheet and gave Kylie a tight squeeze. “Don’t be a brat. Come on. I’m so excited you’re here!”
“So, tell me about your roommate? Do we hate her?” Kylie asked with a tight smile.
Taylor laughed. “No, we don’t hate her. We love her.”
Kylie scrunched her nose with distaste and Taylor snapped, “Oh, I know that look. Don’t be a bitch, Kylie. She’s from California and she’s really great. I promise.”
“Whatever,” Kylie said with an eye roll. “I’ll try to be nice.”
“How lucky for us all.”
****
Katherine returned to the dorm after her Chemistry class, and as she walked through the doorway into her dorm room, the conversation abruptly stopped. Her eyes quickly met Kylie’s and she watched as the stunning blonde sized her up with a scowl. She gave her a sincere smile in return, determined that Taylor’s best friend would like her.
Taylor jumped up. “Hey, Kat! This is my best friend from home, Kylie. Kylie, this is my roommate, Katherine.” Taylor’s gaze pinged anxiously back and forth between her two friends.
Kylie stood up and reached for Katherine’s hand. “So, you’re the famous roommate my best friend loves so much.”
Katherine shot Taylor a questioning look. “Uh…I guess so. It’s nice to meet you, Kylie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Unease crawled its way down Katherine’s spine as Kylie scrutinized her, the girl’s hostility generating an undeniable tension that seemed to fill the room. Something was off with her roomie’s best friend, and she wondered if Taylor noticed it as well.
“How long are you staying? Do you want to come out with us tonight?” Katherine pasted a smile on her face, uncomfortable at the thought that this girl could dislike her so intensely so quickly. What in the world did I do to her, she wondered.
“I hadn’t thought about it, but what are you guys doing? I mean, if it’s some sort of party with really hot guys, you’ll need me there,” Kylie said as she ran her fingers through her short blonde hair.
“Oh yes, Princess Kylie, for we humble servants cannot meet any guys without your presence. Please accompany us to the party we’re crashing later,” Taylor quipped back, rolling her eyes.
Kylie eyed Katherine before looking back at Taylor. “I’m just saying you probably need me is all. You know that no guy can resist this,” she said as she swept her hand in a Vanna White-like gesture across her body.
“Can I talk to you…in private?” Taylor snapped and quickly grabbed Kylie by the arm.
Katherine watched as Taylor pulled Kylie roughly into the bathroom. She cringed slightly as Taylor slammed the door shut, and tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation behind the thin bathroom door.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she heard Taylor whisper harshly.
“Nothing. What’s wrong with you?” Kylie snapped back in response.
“Why are you being a bitch?”
Kylie’s voice lowered. “I don’t trust her.”
Taylor laughed. “What do you mean, you don’t trust her?”
“I don’t know,” Kylie whispered. “Call it woman’s intuition or whatever. There’s just something about her I don’t like.”
“Seriously, Kylie? If this is how you’re going to be, then you should just leave.”
There was a pause, before Kylie said softly, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to behave. I promise.”
Taylor huffed out a long sigh. “Do better than try.”
The bathroom door opened slowly and Katherine tried to look busy and uninterested as Taylor walked out first. She mouthed I’m sorry in Katherine’s direction and Katherine gave her a reassuring smile back.
Kylie emerged and looked briefly at Katherine before averting her eyes. “I’m sorry for being mean.”
“It’s okay.” Not wanting an enemy, Katherine did her best to extend an olive branch. “So, are you going to come with us tonight or what?
Kylie pondered the offer. “Yeah. I’ll go.”
“And you’ll stay the night?” Taylor asked.
“Well, I’m not definitely not driving home at three in the morning.”
Taylor smiled. “Good.”
“But one of you better let me borrow some clothes because I didn’t bring anything party-worthy to wear.”
“You can look through my stuff if you want,” Katherine offered.
“Thanks,” Kylie said curtly, and headed toward the closet.
Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. “Plus, Kylie, you can help us look for Kat’s dream guy.”
“Seriously, Taylor? I forgot all about him.” Katherine tried to sound nonchalant, and hoped she could sell it.
“Liar.”
Katherine shot Taylor a look. “It’s totally normal that I can’t stop thinking about him, right? I’m sure I’m perfectly sane.” Katherine rolled her eyes.
Kylie dropped the skirt she was holding and turned around quickly. “What dream guy?”
“Can I tell her?” Taylor looked at Katherine for approval.
Katherine nodded and pretended not to listen as Taylor filled Kylie in.
“Wow. That’s pretty crazy. And you have no idea who he is?” Kylie looked at Katherine with disbelief.
Katherine shook her head. “Never seen him before in my life.”
Chapter Two
“So, what frat is this again?” Katherine asked innocently as the group made their way down the sidewalk toward Fraternity Row.
“Kat,” Taylor warned. “I’ve told you a hundred times how calling a fraternity a frat makes them cry like little girls. Try not to do that tonight, will ya? It’s embarrassing…you know, for them.”
Katherine grinned, pleased that her gibe ruffled Taylor’s feathers as expected. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.”
“And in all honesty, I’m not sure what fraternity this is. Does it really matter when there are hockey players involved?” Taylor waggled her eyebrows playfully, a mischievous look dancing on her face.
“Oh no.” Kylie let out a frustrated huff. “You’re joking, right? Are we going to a hockey party or a fraternity party? I really need to know how much of my A-game I need to bring, Tay. You have to give a girl like me some warning.”
“What? Why am I so confused right now?” Katherine giggled, relieved that the tension from Kylie seemed to be easing.
“Don’t listen to Kylie. She’s all hot and bothered about the hockey players. She knows that fraternity guys are easy but the hockey players require a bit more effort is all,” Taylor informed her.
“What? You guys are making me crazy right now. What are you talking about? A bit more what?”
“A bit more everything, Kat! Jeez, don’t you know anything about hockey players?” Kylie snapped.
Katherine bit back a sigh. Apparently the truce had been temporary. “Not really. I don’t think I even know anyone who plays hockey. But if you want to talk baseball players, I’m your girl.”
“Baseball? Ugh. Could a sport be more boring?” Kylie grumbled, and then looked toward Taylor for approval.
“Yeah, it could be golf,” Taylor piped back, then shot Kylie a behave yourself
look. “I’m a hockey girl. Always have been. Don’t know what it is about those boys that get me all hot and bothered.”
“I do.” Kylie laughed and nudged her with her shoulder. “Taylor’s only dated hockey players.”
“Only? You’ve never dated anyone that didn’t play hockey?” Katherine asked through a laugh.
Taylor shrugged. “What can I say? I like the game.”
“I don’t know anything about it. Like, at all,” Katherine admitted.
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.”
They rounded the darkened corner and Katherine smiled to herself when she heard the chaos of music and voices mixed together. She noticed a crowd of people drinking out of red plastic cups in the front yard, and a long line at the front door.
“I do not wait in lines,” Kylie announced and made a beeline for the guy standing in front of it.
Katherine came to a halt and grabbed Taylor’s elbow. “What is she doing?”
“Getting us in. Watch and learn,” Taylor said with a knowing laugh.
After whispering something seductively into the ear of the now smirking guy, Kylie waved them over. Katherine watched the other girls before putting her hand out for an ink stamp, and followed them inside. Taylor grabbed Katherine’s hand and pulled her through the crowd.
“Come on, Kat. Keep up,” Taylor yelled over her shoulder.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We’re going to get a beer and then we’re going outside where we can scope out the situation and make our move,” Kylie responded.
Katherine cracked up at the phrase “make our move” and suddenly found herself looking into a very familiar pair of green eyes. Those eyes alone stopped her in her tracks, and her lips curved into a tentative smile.
He smiled back and she felt a tingle of embarrassment spread across her cheeks. She tried to force her eyes away from his, but it was useless. Every brain signal that told her to move was overruled by the emotional pull she felt toward him. The music and noise around them seemed to fade away as Katherine leaned slightly toward him.
A rough tug at her arm demanded her attention. “What are you doing, Kat? Come on!” Taylor insisted, but then she noticed why Katherine had stopped. “Oh, the green-eyed hottie from class. Go get him!” Taylor smirked before she turned to quickly walk away.
“No, Taylor! Don’t leave me.” Katherine reached for Taylor’s hand, suddenly feeling a little unsure of herself.
“What’s your problem?” Taylor playfully hissed at her. “He’s gorgeous! Go talk to him!” Taylor gave Katherine a little shove in the guy’s direction.
Katherine shot Taylor a look that said she’d kill her later, but it was too late. He was right in front of her now. She hadn’t realized in class just how good-looking he was. Katherine tried not to be obvious as she ran her gaze over his body, noting that he was built like someone had chiseled him out of stone. His body screamed athlete; his arms were incredible. Her fingers itched to reach out and squeeze them just to feel his muscles, but she resisted the urge. No matter how right it might feel, it would simply be weird to grope a perfect stranger.
She could tell he was well over six feet tall because even in her three-inch wedges, he towered over her. He wore a baseball cap that covered his short, dark brown hair, pulled low across his forehead. In Kat’s opinion the hat was way too low, but for whatever reason, it looked good on him.
“I’m Cooper Donovan,” he said, interrupting her quiet inspection of him as he stretched out his hand.
“Cooper? Cool name. I’m Kat…or Katherine.” She fumbled over her words, hoping he wouldn’t pick up on her nervousness.
“Katherine. Nice to meet you. Sorry about getting you in trouble in class,” he said.
“Class?” She struggled to remember and then shook her head. “Oh. It’s okay. I mean, you didn’t do anything except turn around and stare at me and my friend.”
“To be fair, I was just staring at you,” he said meaningfully. His mouth broadened into a smile that took her breath away.
Katherine’s legs trembled slightly as she tried to figure out why he made her so nervous. She had been around attractive guys all the time back home in Southern California, so why was this one making her weak in the knees? She jerked slightly as his voice interrupted her introspection.
“Where are you from anyway? I mean, no offense, it’s just that you don’t seem like you’re from around here.”
She found herself mesmerized by the curves of his mouth as she struggled to put together a coherent response. “California. What gave it away?”
“The accent, first of all,” he said with a good-natured chuckle.
“I do not have an accent. You guys have the accent, not me!” Katherine said with mock indignation, doing her best to hold up her end of a witty conversation, but he threw her off balance. Her eyes lingered on his lips and she wondered what it would be like to kiss them.
“So, California, how do you like living out here?” Cooper asked with genuine interest.
Before she could answer, a vivacious brunette bounced in between them and threw her arms around Cooper’s neck. The girl smiled seductively at him, “Hi, Cooper. What do you say we ditch this party and go somewhere else?” Katherine tensed at the intrusion, hugging her arms around her chest as she watched Cooper’s reaction.
He unwrapped the girl’s arms from around his neck and placed them firmly back at her side before saying, “Let’s not. I’m in the middle of a conversation and you’re being really rude.”
The girl threw a few eye daggers at Katherine before mumbling under her breath and storming off.
“Happen to you often?” Katherine asked.
“Sort of.” Cooper’s jaw twitched as he ground his teeth. “I’m sorry. I hate it when girls act like that.” He took a breath to regain his composure. “Anyway, back to the question. How do you like it out here?”
“I love it so far. I mean, it’s not winter yet, so I’ll probably cry when it snows, but so far it’s been amazing.”
“I won’t let you cry when it snows,” he told her with a smile.
She grinned back and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Oh, is that so?”
The connection between them was undeniable. It wasn’t as intense as what she had felt for the guy from her dream, but there was something unexplainable between her and Cooper Donovan. A quiet spark of recognition that burned inside her. It was as if she already knew him on some level, but that didn’t make any sense.
“Yep. I’ll have you loving the snow by the time it’s gone,” he informed her.
Cooper’s good-natured self-confidence was a turn-on. It made her wonder if he ever questioned or wasn’t sure of anything in his life. “So, what about you?” Katherine asked.
“What about me? Do I enjoy going to college a mere three hours away from my parents’ house?”
“Sure, I guess.”
“It’s nice, actually. It’s far enough away that they can’t just pop over unannounced, but it’s close enough that they can come to my games if they want to.”
“Games?” she asked hesitantly, but assumed what came next.
“I’m on the hockey team,” he said with such pride that she couldn’t help but feel proud of him herself.
“Of course you are.” She laughed.
“What’s wrong with hockey?”
“Nothing. I don’t know anything about the sport. But my roommate, Taylor, is completely obsessed with it.”
“Oh, maybe I should be talking to her then,” he joked.
“Sure, if you’re into perfectly gorgeous girls with amazing personalities who are crazed hockey fans, then go for it. I’ll understand.”
“You’re funny, California.”
Katherine smiled at him before glancing around the crowded party. “I’d better go find my friends.” She couldn’t see Taylor and Kylie anymore and the realization made made her uneasy.
“I think your roommate—Taylor, right? She’s with my bu
ddy, Danny. They’re talking in the corner outside over there.” He pointed in their direction. “Do you see them?”
Katherine spotted Taylor with a tall, muscular boy with really dark hair. The guy towered over Taylor’s petite five-foot-four-inch frame. She happened to glance up as Katherine looked in her direction and gave a wave that let her know all was well.
“Hockey player?” Katherine asked.
“Yep. He’s damn good too.”
“Well, Taylor will be pleased.” Cooper smiled and she realized how perfect his teeth were. “I thought hockey players were supposed to have messed-up teeth or something? Don’t you get hit in the face a lot?”
“If you don’t get out of the way. But I actually like my face, so I don’t want it all smashed up. Besides, then pretty girls like you wouldn’t talk to me.”
Katherine’s heart raced against her ribcage. He thought she was pretty? She understood cute, but pretty? She was so busy talking herself out of the compliment that she almost forgot to thank him. “Uh, thanks,” she fumbled, “for…saying I was pretty.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank your parents.”
She laughed and narrowed her eyes. “Really?”
“What? It’s not my fault that you can’t see what I see.” His eyes softened as he looked into hers and she swore she felt a part of her melt.
Katherine’s pulse raced. “Do you see Kylie anywhere?”
“Your other friend, right? The other blonde? I’m sure she’s here somewhere. She looked like she was on a mission.”
“I’d feel better if I knew where she was. Do you mind?” Katherine turned to walk away.
“Of course not. But I’m coming with you.” He put a protective hand on the small of her back, sending tingles up and down Katherine’s spine.
They walked together searching for Kylie. It was the first time that day that Katherine wasn’t completely consumed by thoughts of her dream guy. Although she wasn’t sure why, being around Cooper made her feel safe.
They finally found Kylie pressed against the wall of the upstairs hallway, enthusiastically making out with a guy she didn’t recognize, and Katherine breathed a sigh of relief.
“You worry a lot, don’t you?” Cooper asked.