“Travis will freak out. Truly freak out.”
“I asked around. I guess Caroline is a tennis player. I thought I was going to get here and find out you were one too. This is funny,” she took a large bite of meat laden pizza. Ham, chicken, bacon, and sausage piled high on the slice.
Definitely not a vegetarian…
“What are you going to do?”
“Change dorms. I’ll go to the housing office tomorrow and change dorms.”
“Most of the dorms are coed now. There’s only one all-girl dorm. Maybe it was full.”
“That would be just my luck. I’m trying to avoid living with Travis and wind up living with a whole host of guys.”
“And girls.”
“It’s not the girls I’m worried about.”
“Don’t stress out. You can fix this. Tomorrow, like you said- but I’ll be sad to see you go. I’ll be stuck with the princess.”
“We’ll see.” Rachael chewed her pizza, covered in onions and extra cheese. “Are you pulling my leg?”
“No, really I’m not.”
“This isn’t some sort of hazing, sport ritual?”
“Sadly, it’s not.”
“I really live with a bunch of guys?”
“Yes, you do. Look on the bright side. If Travis and you break up, there’s lots of single guys around.”
“Not funny,” Although Rachael had to admit it was kind of funny.
“You’ll be fine. The worst case scenario is that you can get a transfer if another room opens up in the all girls’ dorm.”
“I could be in this dorm for an entire semester!” Rachael shrieked.
“Maybe. Quit freaking out. You’re getting me stressed. It’s bad for your heart.”
Rachael couldn’t even believe the situation she found herself in. Maybe she’d be pleasantly surprised and wake up finding that this was all just a dream. She’d start fresh tomorrow. She reached over and pinched her own arm.
“Okay, come on. Kelsey just waved us out of here. I got this one. Next one is on you.”
“But you eat for free.”
“And tonight you did, too. The owner is a booster. He thought you were cute by the way.”
“When did this all happen?”
“When I went to the restroom. No worries- I told him here in Florida you get married young. Like twelve years old.”
“You didn’t.”
“Yep, I did. Your state is on the news for backwards crap all the time. Don’t even get me started. I’ve already lived here a year, remember?”
Lucia did have a point. Anytime you saw something ridiculous on the news, it was more than likely something that occurred in Florida. Rachael had pondered the exact same thing many times before herself, yet somehow she thought no one else had even noticed. It turns out she’d thought wrong.
Florida…the home of backwards crap.
“I’m just trying to toy with you and distract you from this entire situation.”
“Well, it was working.”
“Good. Lighten up- these things have a way of working themselves out.”
“Really?”
“No, I’m lying to you.”
“Shut up.” Rachael joked.
“Okay.” Lucia smacked her arm.
At their room door, the sound of loud rap music blared from inside.
“She’s back…” Lucia whispered.
“And I’m sure she’s very nice.”
Lucia put her key in the lock and turned the deadbolt. The door swung open and nothing could’ve prepared them for the sight of the gorgeous guy standing there in a pair of boxers and no shirt.
“You’re not Caroline- just a guess.” Lucia stuck out her hand.
“Carter, her boyfriend.”
Rachael stood motionless in the doorway, it was only after a few tedious moments that she realized her mouth was ajar.
“You with princess?”
Carter laughed. “For now.”
“Okay, Carter- while it’s great meeting you I’m going to have to ask you to clear out.” Rachael spat.
“No problem.” Carter picked up his pants and shirt, tucked his shoes under his armpit and headed down the hall.
Lucia went over and rapped on the bathroom door. The sound of a shower curtain opening alerted them that Caroline was finished bathing. She opened the door and a gust of steam whooshed out with her- she was completely nude. She sauntered across the room.
“You must be Lucia.”
“Yep, Caroline nice to see you. All of you.”
Rachael had no idea what was about to go down here, but from the looks of it she had a lot to adjust to with this dorm life situation.
“Listen, Caroline. I think I speak for both Rachael and I that you need to wear some clothes.”
“I wasn’t expecting company.”
“We sort of live here too.” Rachael frowned.
“Obviously, I thought you were out for the night.” Caroline lied.
“Well, we weren’t. So, we all need to get along here. Rachael’s got a serious boyfriend as well,” Lucia offered before Caroline rudely cut her off.
“Fiancé, I saw the ring.” Caroline huffed.
“Do you see this fist?” Lucia countered.
“That would get us both suspended.” Caroline pulled on a t-shirt.
Rachael threw herself into the middle of what was quickly becoming a tense situation.
“Look, out of respect for each other, I think we need to establish a few rules. No guys in the room.”
“At least I have one that’s interested in me.” Caroline was tying a shoelace, but that last comment clearly put Lucia over the edge and she dove on top of her- pummeling her.
Rachael rushed over and drug her off of Caroline before she beat her to a pulp. Lucia straightened her hair. Caroline wiped the blood from her bottom lip.
“Now that we’re all friends,” Rachael seethed, she had no idea where she was going with this and decided to wing it. In all her years as friends with Shannah, even she’d behaved better than this. “No visitors, at all. There are other places for that.”
“Got it.” Caroline picked up her purse.
“Got it.” Lucia stared daggers at her back.
“Great.” Rachael went to the bathroom and slammed the door. Rachael didn’t like having to share this tight of a space with anyone. Anyone other than Travis. She knew what she’d have to do. She’d need to go to the housing office first thing in the morning. She’d be the first person in line and she’d get the dorm changed. She knew she just had to. How could she make the best of a situation like this one?
She hid out in the bathroom as long as she could and then, finally emerged. She was alone in the dorm. Now she felt stupid for having wanted company. Being alone over the past few days had been bliss in comparison to this. It had been wrong of Caroline to bring a guy to their room. It had been wrong of her to say such a hurtful thing to Lucia. And it had been wrong for Lucia to bust her lip and perhaps bruise her cheekbone.
Rachael changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She glanced at her clock radio. Midnight was too late to call her parents and too late to call Shannah- and might just give Maysie a heart attack. Of course, she could call Travis- but he would freak out. She needed answers before she spoke to him. She needed a plan. She needed an out. And she wouldn’t have that until morning.
Chapter Two
The sun came up far sooner than she’d wanted it to. Rachael looked around finding that her two roomies had never come home last night. Both were probably profoundly embarrassed by their part in the entire situation. Or they could’ve been merely avoiding each other.
Who gets into a fist fight with their new roommate?
Rachael shook her head, padding her way to the sink to brush her teeth. Her hair, a blonde mass of curls nearly to her waistline, needed a little taming- but she didn’t have time for anything other than a ponytail. She couldn’t believe last night, and shook her head once more.
; She threw her bedspread across her bed, and placed the large pillows on it giving it the appearance of a properly made-up bed. She heard riotous cheers outside her room and was reluctant to even open the door. She slipped on a pair of flip-flops and headed out, hoping to never return. In the hallway, a bunch of guys were having some sort of strength competition. She opened the door and peeked out, glad she could just slam her door and go.
“Hey,” a few of the guys called, Rachael took the shorter end of the hall leading to an outside staircase, forgoing the elevator that would’ve required her to pass right by the rowdy group.
So much for the empty hall of last week…
Rachael pumped her arms in an attempt to sprint down the stairs and put as much distance between herself and the building as possible. The Campus Housing Office opened at eight o’clock. Rachael had just enough time to cross campus and get to where she needed to be. It was a long walk, but if she didn’t lollygag she could do it. On her way she passed a barista cart and grabbed herself a latte and Danish. She knew if she made this an everyday habit she’d put on a good freshman fifteen, but for now it would have to suffice.
The small building at the far edge of campus came clearly into view. She made it to the door just as a woman with a kind smile and sweet face pushed it open.
“Well, you’re here bright and early.” Her nametag read Shirley.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Does this have anything to do with the events last night?”
Part of Rachael wanted to say yes, part wanted to say no- but it was the part that didn’t want to rat her roommates out that shook her head.
“What happened last night?” Rachael’s interest piqued. Maybe Shirley was speaking about something entirely different.
“The small fire at Sussex Hall.”
“What?” Rachael gasped. She knew she’d been tired, but she couldn’t imagine she’d slept through that amount of commotion. “Where’s Sussex?”
“Over near the new apartments. All of those students are displaced. I thought for sure that’s the reason you were here.”
“Did anyone get hurt?”
“No, thank goodness.” Shirley paused, “Now how can I help you?” She stepped behind her desk and moved the mouse on her keypad.
“I’m interested in moving to the all girls’ dorm. I thought I’d signed up for that dorm on the paper and I think there’s been a mix-up.”
“That would be Sussex Hall, dear. I’m afraid we’re relocating everyone out of Sussex.”
“What about one of those campus apartments?”
“Put your name on this list. They come available on a first-come, first-serve basis.”
“How long’s the waiting list?” Rachael grasped the proffered pen and paper.
“I may have an opening for next summer.”
“Next summer!” Rachael exclaimed.
“Next summer,” Shirley bit her lower lip, “have you considered rushing a sorority?”
“Rushing a sorority?” Rachael repeated the question. “When is Rush?”
“It starts today. If you rush a sorority, they all have houses and maybe- just maybe you could get lucky and find an opening.”
“That sounds like a good idea, but aren’t they expensive?”
“They can be.”
And just like that, the idea of rushing a sorority was an option. Her money and budget were set. There wasn’t any extra for things like rushing a sorority, but maybe she could work it out somehow. She had her savings from her job at the Western Store back home, but she needed to hang on to that for other essentials like food. Rachael thanked Shirley for her time and quietly made her way back across campus. Maybe she’d be better off just staying out of her room. Spending every waking moment at the library or a coffee shop. Maybe she could leave at dawn and return before lights out at eleven o’clock. It wouldn’t be all bad. Now only to convince her parents of the current scope of her situation.
“Mom, hey it’s me, give me a call.” Rachael was glad her mother hadn’t picked up. How would she explain this one? Of course, her father would want her to get an off-campus apartment. Her mother would suggest she live with Travis. And Rachael knew that neither was an option. She couldn’t afford the first one, and the second one, she would end up doing something she shouldn’t do just yet. Her phone rang in her pocket…
“Hi,” she feigned optimism and an upbeat energy she really didn’t feel.
“What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think something is wrong?”
“Spill.” Her mother demanded.
“Well, my roommates are unique.”
“College roommates usually are.”
“They hate each other. One is a princess and the other an athlete.”
“A match made in heaven.”
“That’s not all,” Rachael sighed. “I live in a coed dorm.”
“I know. That’s what the paper said.”
“What paper?”
“It arrived yesterday. I guess you’ve been waitlisted for the Sussex Hall for girls, and in the meantime you’re in some coed dorm. Your dad was off his rocker last night. Wanted to drive up there and all that. Then, there’s Travis.”
“You called Travis!”
“No, Mrs. Baxter called Travis. We were talking solutions and…”
“Who was talking solutions? You and Mrs. Baxter?”
“Take a breath, crazy girl. She was over visiting. We are friends. Remember? Then the letter arrived from the university, your dad came home, Travis called. It was a whole unplanned string of events. If I’d thought you were up this early, I would’ve called an hour ago.”
“What did Travis say?”
“Not much. I think he’s flying home tomorrow.”
“I thought he wasn’t coming home until Thursday.”
“That was until this all happened. Anyway, your dad offered to pay the difference to cover a one bedroom apartment. Mrs. Baxter offered, too.”
“Nope,” Rachael squared her shoulders. “I’m going to make the best of it. I’m on the waiting list for one of those on-campus apartments.”
“I think it’ll be a good experience.”
“Maybe so.”
Rachael hung up and immediately regretted her decision. Her pride had gotten in the way of reason. She had two offers to pay the difference on an apartment, yet she was choosing to stick it out in a triple dorm room- in a coed building? She racked her brain for the answer to her own question. Why would she choose to stay? She wasn’t sure. Maybe she was just sick and tired of the whole lot of them, Travis included, planning her life for her. Being in control of everything. Well, no more. The decision was hers to make. She’d stay put with her less than desirable living arrangement. Maybe her roommates- Crazy 1 and Crazy 2 would make nice and find true peace. Maybe they’d both move out. Maybe they’d get kicked out. Who knew for certain how it would all play out, but for now Rachael was staying put.
She stomped up the outside steps to her building and opened the door, which she found propped open. Everything she’d ever read on doors said never to prop them- especially in a dorm situation. Rachael glanced around and saw that no one was there. She removed the piece of paper wedged in the lock preventing it from closing and shoved it in her pocket. She glanced around for the football players that had been outside doing pushups in the hall this morning, glad to see they’d gone. She opened the door to her room and swept inside. There was no one and nothing. Caroline’s bags were gone. Rachael looked in the closet and it was empty. She walked over to her dresser and opened the top two drawers. All of Lucia’s clothes were still there. Rachael quietly shut the drawer. Her phone pinged and she knew without looking it was Travis. He’d want to talk about the coed situation. Rachael just started laughing. If ever there’d be a test for their relationship this was it.
“You came back.” Lucia stood in the doorway.
“Yep, wouldn’t have it any other way. Well- maybe I’d prefer the all girls’ building, but as
far as roommates y’all aren’t awful.” Rachael teased.
“Really?”
“No, I’m lying to you. Last night was pretty awful.”
“Shut up.” Lucia plopped down on her own bed. “I talked to Caroline. We’re not besties or anything, but at least she didn’t rat me out for busting her lip.”
“That’s cool.”
And Rachael decided never to speak of any of it again. It wasn’t important. If they could truly put it behind the two of them, then she could put it behind her. They were all different people, with different pasts and experiences, thrown into one space in time. They didn’t have to be best friends- they just needed to peacefully coexist for a season of life. Rachael was sure she could do it.
“I’ve got to call my fiancé.”
“Good luck.” Lucia left the room, closing the door behind her.
Travis answered on the second ring.
“Hello, Living in a Coed Dorm.”
“That obviously wasn’t my plan.”
“I know that, but you aren’t planning on staying there.”
“Sure am. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Sure you do. Move in with me.”
“That’d be smarter- and safer.” She teased.
“Safer than living with a bunch of dudes.”
“I’m fine.”
“Don’t make me move into that building.”
“No, Travis, you wouldn’t.”
“You know the room next door? There’s an opening in that room.”
“Say you’re joking.”
“Not at all,” he laughed. “The best part is the pass thru from your bathroom to that room.”
Rachael had seen it and knew that the bathroom was a shared bathroom between the two rooms.
“You wouldn’t.”
“If you make me I will,” he sighed. “Think about it Rach. Take the deal my mom is offering. You could have your own place.”
“But I wanted to live on campus for just one year.”
“Okay, you asked for it, suitemate.”
“Suitemate?”
“That’s what they call it. You on one side of the suite and me on the other.”
Cowgirl Coed (Redneck Debutante Series Book 4) Page 2