Rae of Sunshine

by Micalea Smeltzer

  Now I understood. Someone was crushing on her brother’s best friend. That sounded messy and complicated, but from the looks he was giving her the feelings were reciprocated.

  “Interesting,” I commented when it became obvious I needed to say something.

  Satisfied, Thea turned back to Xander and began chatting away.

  It wasn’t long before another guy showed up. His name was Jacen but he went by Jace. He was good looking—I was beginning to think that was a requirement to go to this school—with straight blond hair. He had piercing green eyes and an overall broody vibe to him. A colorful tattoo covered the whole sleeve of one of his arms. He sat in a chair beside Xander, a beer bottle dangling from his fingertips. Apparently he was a friend of Cade and Xander’s. Like me, he didn’t seem to belong here. Not in his black jeans and white shirt. He kept glaring at anyone that stared at him for too long.

  It wasn’t long until Cade joined us. I didn’t even see him approach. I felt him. His presence was that potent.

  It bothered me that without even trying he’d managed to needle his way under my skin.

  Instead of grabbing a chair he sat down on the end of the lounger I occupied.

  I promptly pulled my legs up to my chest.

  He chuckled, his gaze flicking my way as a strand of hair fell into his eyes. A knowing smile tugged up his lips.

  He didn’t acknowledge my reaction for which I was thankful.

  He fell into easy conversation with the others and I ignored them for the most part. While they chatted I looked around at all the people gathered. There had to be at least a hundred people. I’d been to large parties before, but now I just felt out of place. I wasn’t sure where I belonged anymore. I was lost, floating away at sea.

  Eventually I brought my attention back to the group gathered around me. The last thing I wanted to do was look like I’d zoned out again. Thea was going to start thinking I was weird if she didn’t already.

  I was uncomfortable in my current position. I turned so I was sitting sideways on the lounger.

  Cade used my movement as an opportunity to scoot closer to me.

  My body tensed up at his proximity.

  His arm brushed against mine and I shivered.

  I wasn’t sure if I loved or hated my body’s reaction to him. I was going with hated, because it was completely unfair that one guy could affect me in such a way.

  Not even Brett—I cringed as I thought of his name—had made my body react like this. I was drawn to him like a fly to honey—which only ended in disaster.

  I wasn’t dumb or naïve enough to believe that Cade saw something in me. Guys like him—hot jocks—wanted one thing and one thing only and that was an easy lay. He wouldn’t get that with me.

  “So, Rae,” Cade turned to look at me, his blue eyes sparkling, “what brings you to Huntley University?”

  What a stupid question.

  “Uh…I wanted a degree and college seemed like the most logical place to achieve that.”

  Jace’s lips quirked in a smile and Xander chuckled.

  “You’re a sassy little thing, aren’t you?” Cade grinned.

  Thea watched her brother and I with a careful gaze.

  Little thing? Considering I was five-foot ten I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been described as little.

  I eyed Cade, but he was unfazed by my glare. He was something else.

  “It was a compliment,” he finally said.

  “If that’s what you call a compliment then you’re really shitty at them.”

  Xander snorted and Jace actually cracked a full smile.

  “Excuse me,” I stood up. I didn’t know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away. Cade was making my brain fuzzy.

  I hadn’t made it far when some idiot bumped into me. A small scream escaped my throat as I stumbled.

  There was no ground to break my fall.

  I went straight into the swimming pool.

  I heard Thea’s scream just before my head submerged.

  Water stung my nose and since I hadn’t been prepared to go face first into the pool, water entered my lungs.

  My vision grew spotty and I floated down.

  Sinking.

  Drowning.

  Gone.

  ***

  The light was bright and the pain was intense.

  For a moment I thought I was dead, but then I realized if that was the case everything wouldn’t hurt so bad.

  I slowly blinked my eyes open and the room came into focus.

  A hospital.

  Why was I in a hospital?

  What happened?

  Why couldn’t I remember?

  “Oh thank God!” My mom cried and crashed into my arms.

  I winced and she immediately let go, apologizing profusely. “Oh, Rachael, I thought we’d lost you.”

  “Wh-what happened?” I tried to get my voice to work, but it came out all crackly sounding. By some miracle she understood. She appeared reluctant to say anything, but at my insistence she finally told me. With each word that left her mouth I retreated farther and farther into myself.

  ***

  I gasped, coughing up water. Even once the water left my lungs I kept coughing. I knew people surrounded me but I was too embarrassed to look at them for the moment.

  I slowed my breathing and tried to take steady breaths.

  “Are you okay?” A warm hand landed on my shoulder.

  I turned to look at Cade. He was soaked and water dripped from his shaggy hair onto my shoulder.

  “Are you okay?” He asked again.

  I nodded. “D-did y-you?” I stuttered, still trying to catch my breath. “Did you jump in after me?”

  “Thea said you couldn’t swim,” he shrugged, “so of course I jumped in after you. A bit too late though. You’d already sucked down a lot of water. I had to give you mouth to mouth.”

  Mouth to what? Oh hell no. You had to be freaking kidding me. I’d been unconscious for my first kiss with Cade? Not that I wanted to kiss him, but it was still completely unfair and embarrassing. And all these people had been a witness to this. Great. I’d be the laughing stock of the whole college before I even had my first class.

  Cade seemed to sense my embarrassment.

  “Back up everyone,” he warned with a voice that brooked no argument, “you’re crowding her.”

  After a pause everyone backed away, except for Thea. I found myself thankful that she was still crouched by my side. I didn’t know what to make of this new feeling of fondness towards my roommate. Thea had this calming quality to her and an overall sweetness that made it impossible not to like her. I wasn’t looking for a friend, but something told me Thea wasn’t going to stand for that.

  Cade grabbed the back of my neck, his hand warm against my chilled skin, and slowly lifted my head. “Are you okay?” He asked for a third time since I’d never answered him.

  I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m okay.” I was still struggling to catch my breath, but I was otherwise unharmed. Thanks to Cade. Great, now I was indebted to him.

  He wrapped his muscular arms around my shoulders and helped me up. My legs were shaky. I think I was still stunned from the events that had transpired.

  “I have some spare clothes in my Jeep,” he explained, guiding me towards the gate with Thea on my heels. “I don’t expect you to stay, but I don’t want you going back to your dorm soaking.”

  It really surprised me that Cade seemed to have such a caring heart. I’d always assumed jocks were selfish cocky assholes. Not this guy.

  He led me over to a black Jeep Wrangler. It was jacked up on large wheels with no top on. “Hold her,” he commanded Thea.

  She grabbed ahold of my arm and steadied me. I kept shivering.

  Cade reached into the backseat of his Jeep and pulled out a red duffel bag. He shuffled through it and pulled out a heather gray shirt. “I have some shorts in there if you want those too.”

  “This is fine,” I said, reaching for th
e shirt.

  He wouldn’t relinquish it and I was too weak from nearly drowning to put up much fight. He laid the shirt on the driver’s seat of his Jeep and reached for the one I wore.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I swatted his hand away.

  “Helping you,” he looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Turning to Thea he asked, “How’d you guys get here?”

  “Rae drove,” she answered.

  “Get your stuff and go get her car and bring it over here. I want you guys to go back to the dorm.”

  My eyes widened. I didn’t want Thea to leave me alone with her brother. The guy was dangerous in a too-sexy-for-his-own-good kind of way and I didn’t need any kind of temptation.

  “I don’t want to drive Thea away from the party,” I said.

  Cade grinned slowly and I knew I was in trouble. That smile spelled dangerous. “I can take you back to your dorm. Thea grab Rae’s bag.” I’d completely forgotten I’d left the bag where we’d been sitting.

  Thea nodded, eyeing her brother and I with a shrewd look. She couldn’t seem to figure us out. I saw Xander waiting for her by the gate. She seemed reluctant to leave me alone, but eventually she went to do as her brother asked.

  Cade tugged at my shirt and this time I was unprepared since I’d been watching Thea abandon me.

  He managed to get it off of me before I could stop him and I knew the moment he saw.

  Air hissed between his teeth and his fingers hesitantly brushed against the raised pink skin on my stomach.

  “What happened?” He asked. I was surprised that there was no disgust in his tone.

  “Something I don’t want to talk about,” I growled angrily. I didn’t like for people to see the scar. It raised too many questions I didn’t want to answer.

  Cade sighed and his damp hair fell over his forehead. “Okay.”

  I balked in surprise. I couldn’t believe he was letting it go so easily. He helped me into the dry shirt that was much too large. It smelled like him—fresh cut grass and rain. He pulled his own shirt off and tossed it into the duffel bag. He didn’t put a dry one on which meant that his perfect chest was on display for me. A man’s chest shouldn’t be a work of art, but Cade’s was.

  “I don’t have another clean shirt.” He explained when he saw me staring. Somehow, I doubted that.

  Thea returned with my bag and handed it to me.

  “I can take you back to the dorms if you want me to,” she said timidly.

  “I’m fine,” I assured her. “I can drive myself.” I was already pulling my car keys out of my bag.

  “Nice try.” Cade snatched the keys from my hand and tossed them to his sister. “You,” he pointed at her, “can drive her car home when you’re ready to leave. I’m taking Rae back to the dorms.”

  I resisted the urge to stomp my foot like a child. I did not want to be alone with Cade Montgomery.

  But nobody argued with Cade, that much was obvious. What he said was law around here.

  Fuck that.

  He could take my keys but he couldn’t take my legs. I was walking back to school. It might’ve been an eight mile walk but I didn’t care.

  While he was distracted with talking to Thea I walked away.

  I hadn’t even made it off the property when he caught up to me.

  He grabbed me around my waist and tossed me over his shoulder.

  “Put me down!” I beat his back, trying to wiggle out of his grasp.

  He chuckled. That’s right, he laughed. That was his only response.

  He opened the passenger door of his Jeep, sat me down, and buckled me in.

  He climbed in the driver’s side and sped out of the parking lot before I could finagle my way out of the car.

  “Who are you?” I snapped.

  “I’m Cade,” he answered with a smile. “Did your tumble into the swimming pool cause you to lose your memory?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with my memory. I was just assuming you were the President or some member of the royal family with how fucking bossy you are.”

  He chuckled, speeding towards the dorms. “I have never met a girl like you before.”

  “I can’t figure you out,” I muttered, not even bothering to comment on his previous statement. Of course he’d never met a girl like me. Most girls weren’t murderers.

  “Elaborate.” He glanced my way with a crooked smile.

  I huffed a sigh and glared at his profile. Handsome or not, he was currently pissing me off big time. “It’s obvious you’re a big deal on campus. Guys want to be you and girls want to fuck you, just to say they did. And yet, you’re following me around like some lost little puppy dog. If you’re trying to make up for knocking me down that day, consider yourself forgiven. It was an accident. And I don’t like you running with me. You need to stop that. I like to run by myself.”

  “No can do.” He shook his head.

  I bit down on my tongue to contain a scream. “Why?”

  “Because I like running with you. I like you. Like I said, you’re different. Even now that you know who I am it doesn’t matter to you. It’s refreshing. I’m used to people only wanting to be close to me because of my name or because of where I might be going with football. You. Don’t. Care.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. You mean nothing to me.”

  He smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. “You don’t mean that. You like me. Admit it.”

  “I don’t know you, how could I like you?” I countered, my arms crossed over my chest. Thank God we were almost back at campus and I could get out of his car and out of this shirt that smelled a little too good.

  “Then let me take you out.”

  “No.”

  “No?” His brows lifted with surprise. “I don’t think anyone’s ever told me no before,” he whispered, rubbing his hand over his heavily stubbled jaw.

  “There’s a first time for everything. I’m not interested.”

  “You will be,” he said with surety.

  “You’re really cocky, you know that, right?” I glared at him. True, he was gorgeous with that shaggy brown hair and blue eyes and that smile and…I needed to stop, because I was pretty sure I could go on for days about him.

  He chuckled huskily and smiled. “And you really know how to cut a guy down, you know that, right?” He mimed my words.

  I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh of relief when he turned into the parking lot. Freedom was in sight. I could get away from Cade and pretend this whole mouth-to-mouth thing never happened.

  But when I got out of his Jeep he followed.

  Instead of stopping at the steps of my dorm he sauntered inside like he owned the whole damn place.

  “Hi Cade,” a smooth and sexy sounding female voice called after him.

  “Hey,” he replied, flashing her the same smile he gave me. I rolled my eyes. Right there was proof that I was nothing special to him. I was a challenge and that was all.

  I shook my head and my wet hair swished around my shoulders.

  Cade continued to follow me. At the top of the stairs I turned around sharply and came face to face with his bare chest. No wonder the girl downstairs had been so keen to say hi.

  I pushed all thoughts of his bare chest out of my mind, though. “You can go now. I’m at my dorm. I’m alive. I don’t need your help.”

  “Don’t be silly, Rae. I’m your friend and I’m not leaving until I know you’re okay.”

  “You are not my friend,” I seethed, slashing my hand through the air.

  “Yes, I am,” he grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall.

  He stopped in front of the right door and I almost asked him how he knew which was mine when I realized that Thea was his sister, so of course he’d know.

  I opened the dorm door and didn’t bother protesting when he followed me inside. I didn’t know Cade but I knew enough to see that he wasn’t going to leave until he was ready.

  “Sit,” he pointed at the bed that was obviously mine.

 
; “Um, I live here. Stop bossing me around.” I purposely refused to sit even though I was exhausted.

  He narrowed his eyes. “God, you’re frustrating.”

  “So I’ve been told.” I lifted a shoulder in a small shrug.

  He shook his head and headed into the bathroom. A moment later I heard the shower turn on.

  He poked his head out of the doorway. “Come on.”

  I blanched. “No way. I’m not showering with you. Are you crazy?” Cade was clearly off his rocker. I had never in my eighteen years of life met a guy like him.

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Did you seriously think I meant for us to shower together? I’m not that presumptuous, but if you’d like for me to join I’m happy to accommodate your fantasies.”

  My mouth fell open in shock. I stepped into the bathroom and pushed him out. “Get out!” I yelled before slamming the door in his face.

  His answer was to laugh. I could hear him through the closed door.

  I stripped off my damp jeans and pulled his shirt over my head.

  The hot water did wonders to revive me and I took extra time washing my body and hair—just killing time in the hope that Cade would be gone when I was done.

  When I finally stepped out of the shower the small room was steaming. Since I’d been flustered earlier I hadn’t grabbed clothes. I slipped Cade’s shirt on once more and opened the door.

  I let out a scream when I saw him lying on my bed, arms crossed behind his head, and smirking like he owned the place. “Why are you still here?”

  “You have my shirt.”

  My face turned red. “You’re ridiculous,” I shrieked. Before he could say anything else I grabbed my clothes, went back into the bathroom, and changed.

  This time when I opened the door, ready to throw the shirt at him, he was gone.

  He was infuriating.

  I walked over to my bed and found a note lying on top of the pillow. I reached out and picked it up.

  I was only kidding. The shirt looks better on you anyway. Keep it.

  -Cade

  I stared at the note, dumbfounded.

  Cade Montgomery was the most annoying and infuriating person I’d ever met.

  So why couldn’t I shake him?

  four

  Someone was screaming. I thought it was Hannah.