Campus Crush

by Ashelyn Drake

  ***

  “Don’t worry. We’ll find a girl for you,” Mindy says, sitting next to me on my bed.

  We’ve discussed the whole Fallon thing for an hour and I’m done with it. A girl like her isn’t worth my time. I didn’t know Fallon at all, so I can’t say I’m heartbroken over losing her. I’ll move on. Find someone better. “Oh, I’m not worried.”

  “Good because you deserve better than a girl like Fallon.”

  “Agreed. Besides, freshman orientation is next month. Campus will be crawling with hot high school seniors looking for a more mature, sexy college guy.”

  She laughs. “And you’ll be more than happy to be that guy.”

  “You know it.” I can’t keep the smile from my face. “I plan to be very social and welcoming to the incoming freshman girls.”

  “I’m sorry I tried to change you. I know you aren’t just looking to hook up. This whole situation with Fallon proved that. You’re pretty awesome the way you are, with your cheesy lines and everything. It’s part of your charm—mostly because you’re a good guy underneath it all.” She bumps her shoulder against mine before standing up. “I’ve got to get to class.” She pauses in the doorway. “It’s nice to have my best friend back to his usual almost perfect self.”

  I smile. “What do you mean almost perfect? I’m quite the catch, you know.”

  She rolls her eyes. “I was never much into fishing.” She smirks and walks out.

  She can smirk all she wants. The perfect girl for me is out there somewhere. The girl who will think I’m the greatest thing ever, and I’m not stopping until I find her.

  Romancing the R.A. (Campus Crush #1)

  ASHELYN DRAKE

  Trademarks: Van Halen, Speedo, Mountain Dew, Transformers, Megan Fox

  Cover design by True Poison

  Author Dedication

  To everyone who has ever opened their heart to the possibility of love.

  Romancing the R.A. (Campus Crush #1)

  Chapter One

  A little romance is good for the soul. At least that’s what my best friend Julia is always telling me. For once, I’m going to listen to her, take her advice. Sure college is supposed to be about learning, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun, too—especially the kind of fun that involves a gorgeous guy. No more immature high school boys who only care about who’s having the next party or how short my skirt is. Staring up at the brown stone buildings that make up Timberland College, I get chills and my heart flutters. In just a few months, I’ll be a college freshman. My whole life is about to change. I can just feel it. Something is waiting for me here, maybe someone.

  “Can you believe this place?” Julia grabs my arm, squeezing it tight. We visited the school back in the fall, but somehow it looks different now. More official and full of possibilities.

  “Where do we go first?” I ask, consulting the orientation schedule.

  “Noelle.” Julia lets go of me and gives me the look. The one that shows every ounce of disappointment she can muster. “We’re on a college campus, with no parents and a ton of hot guys, and all you can say is ‘Where do we go first?’”

  I see her point, but I don’t want to look like the lost little high school senior, either. In my mind I’m already done with high school. I certainly don’t want anyone here viewing me as anything other than a college student. “I promise no matter where we go, there’ll be guys. Look at the size of this place.”

  “Then let’s find us a sexy college guy and ask him for directions.” She wags her eyebrows at me, and I can’t help laughing. A hot college guy beats a map any day.

  Julia scans the area, and I can judge her reaction by the way her face scrunches or her eyes widen, but she gives me a running commentary anyway. “Too short.” Julia’s five nine, which makes a lot of guys too short for her liking. She’s always telling me that I have a wider selection to choose from since I’m only five six. “Too skinny!” That’s laughable. Julia’s as thin as they come. The one thing she’s always envied about me is my curves.

  “What about him?” I point to an attractive dark haired guy leaning against the building with the huge “Welcome future freshman” sign on it. “Well, there goes that idea. It’s pretty clear that’s where we’re supposed to go.”

  “Damn it!” Julia shakes her head. “Stupid higher education with their informative signs.”

  “We’ll still get to walk by the hot guy,” I say, trying to bring back her smile.

  She shrugs. “I guess you’re right. It’s not the same, though.”

  “I know.” We walk over to the building and up the stone steps. I let Julia take the lead since this guy is more her type than mine. I have a thing for blonds.

  “Hey,” Julia says to Mr. I’m-just-going-to-stand-here-looking-adorable.

  He nods at us and goes back to reading his book.

  I tug Julia inside the building, resisting the urge to laugh. It figures the first guy she’d try to hit on would be a bookworm.

  “Do you believe that? Two gorgeous girls walk by him and he keeps reading?” She scoffs. “If this is what guys are like at Timberland, I’m transferring.”

  “Relax. I don’t think you can judge an entire college by one guy.” I certainly hope not anyway.

  In the lobby, we get in a long line of incoming freshman signing into orientation. My eyes scan the building. It’s definitely new. Everything is shiny and state of the art, from the archways to the curved windows. Excitement courses through me. I can already tell things will be different here—better. When we finally reach the table, I sign in and hand the pen to Julia. My eye catches a blond guy standing in the corner. His shaggy hair keeps falling into his eyes no matter how many times he shakes his head. He’s tall but not too tall—I’d guess five eleven—and muscular, but not overbearingly so. He looks my way, and I turn quickly toward Julia before I’m caught staring.

  “You okay?” she asks, making me wonder just how red my cheeks are.

  “Fine.” Julia stares at me like she knows I have a secret. “Let’s go inside,” I say. Of course going inside means walking past him. I keep my eyes lowered, but as we approach the door, he opens it for us.

  “Good morning, ladies,” he says with a smile, his eyes focused on me. My cheeks warm, and I’m sure he knows I was staring at him. Luckily, he doesn’t seem to mind.

  “It is now,” Julia whispers to me.

  I push her through the door before she can embarrass me. I return his “good morning,” locking eyes with him and smiling.

  “Have fun,” he says, closing the door behind us.

  A smile spreads across Julia’s face. “Now, more guys like him, I approve of.”

  That makes two of us.

  We find some empty seats near the back and listen to a boring introduction by the dean. The guy would be attractive if he was twenty years younger, but he’s about as interesting as a hangnail. He keeps going on about test scores and enrollment numbers. I scan the room again, looking for him, my mystery doorman. Okay, he’s not really a doorman, just a guy who thinks to open doors for girls. I can’t remember the last time any guy at my high school held a door for me. College guys are already beating high school boys hands down.

  I spot him by the door again, but this time he’s inside the room with us. He either wants to make a quick exit once Dean Boring is finished or he has a thing for doors. He turns in my direction and smiles. Not just a friendly “welcome to Timberland” smile. A full out “you know you want to kiss these lips” smile. I swallow the lump in my throat and force a quick smile in return before lowering my eyes to my lap. I wish I had something to hold, something to stop my hands from fidgeting. Couldn’t they hand out pamphlets with this boring information instead of spewing it all at us in a lecture that showed no signs of ending?

  Julia elbows me in the ribs. “Check out the hottie looking at you.” I look up to see he’s still staring in my direction. It’s not that guys haven’t looked at me like this before; it’s
that none of them have made my insides knot to the point where I’m debating interrupting this lecture to see what his lips taste like. “Figures you’d find a guy first.” Julia’s voice jolts me out of my daydream. “You aren’t even looking for one.”

  Julia is used to me ignoring guys at school. Most are totally immature. But this is college. It’s…different. I shrug, trying to pretend I don’t give a damn that this guy is looking at me, but all I can think about is that smile. That sexy, meant-for-me smile. “We don’t even know how old he is.”

  “Only incoming freshman and transfer students show up for orientation. He has to be one of the two. It’s not like he’s a teacher.”

  “He’s standing there looking all official instead of sitting with the rest of us. And check out the logo on his shirt.” It was on the guy’s chest—his chiseled chest by the looks of it in that tight polo.

  “Holy shit, that’s a nice body!” Julia’s practically drooling. “I was focused on his face. How stupid of me?”

  She’s not wrong. Every inch of this guy is sizzling hot. “He must work here, right?”

  “I bet they sell those shirts in the University Store, but you’re right. He does look sort of official.”

  “He can’t be a teacher, can he?” Please, don’t let him be a teacher. That would be just my luck. I find a guy who’s thoughtful enough to open doors and looks like he could model, and he’ll be my teacher.

  “If he is, sign me up!”

  “What if he teaches Econ or something equally boring?” My mind won’t stop creating worse and worse scenarios, derailing my hopes for any sort of relationship with this guy. Not that I even know his name.

  “I don’t care, as long as I can stare at him for the semester. Hell, I’ll change my major for him.” She looks at me briefly, but then does a double take. “Oh, crap. You do like him. I can see it in your eyes.” As boy-crazed as Julia is, she’d never go for a guy she knew I liked.

  I open my mouth to deny it, but I can’t. She knows me too well.

  “Okay, fine. You can have him, but we need to find someone equally hot for me. And soon.”

  She makes it sound so easy, as if my thinking this guy is gorgeous is enough to make him mine. My life doesn’t work that way. Hers does.

  “Noelle?” Julia elbows me again, and I realize I’m staring at him. More importantly, he’s staring back. “You’ve certainly got his attention.”

  I do. He won’t take his eyes off me, and not in a creepy stalker way. His eyes are full of warmth, and his lips are curved in a smile. I’m not imagining the connection between us.

  “You should talk to him if the dean ever ends his droning.” She rolls her eyes in the direction of the dean, who is pointing to a pie chart, as if anyone in the room gives a shit.

  “What would I say? I don’t know anything about him.” That old Van Halen song “Hot for Teacher” pops into my head, and I cringe. Please, don’t be a teacher. God, I wouldn’t be able to handle it if he were.

  “Then you’ll have plenty to talk about.” Julia gives me a devilish smile.

  I sit through the rest of the dean’s lecture, which takes until lunchtime. The man must like the sound of his own voice, and I’m willing to bet he’s the only one. I can’t complain too much, though, because my mystery guy and I get to continue flirting—well, with our eyes at least.

  “I’m starved,” Julia says, as we get up from our seats and make our way to the door. People are shoving to get out of here. I can’t blame them. If I never see the dean again, it will be too soon.

  I peer over heads, trying to see if my mystery guy is still there or if he got trampled by the crowd. My heart sinks when we reach the doors. He’s gone. He didn’t stay to find out my name or to continue our flirting in a more up close and personal way. Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe I was just kidding myself. There were a lot of people in the room. He could’ve been smiling at someone else. But I don’t believe that. I know he was looking at me, and that means that it could’ve just been a game to him—a way to pass the time during the boring lecture.

  I follow Julia and the crowd to the cafeteria, worrying that college will turn out to be exactly like high school.

  Chapter Two

  I force his image from my mind as we enter the cafeteria, which turns out to be an enormous gray building that is easily the size of the street I live on. The ceiling is covered in flags of every country. Obviously the school wants to portray the image of uniting people around the world, though I doubt many students are really international. Timberland is a great school, but it’s not exactly Ivy League. People don’t come from overseas to go here.

  Julia nudges me. “Hey, I have to go to the bathroom.”

  “I’m going to get in line. I’m starving.”

  “You’re not coming with me?” She looks at me like I’m leaving her to walk into a den of hungry lions.

  “We’ll be in college soon. You really need to learn to use the bathroom on your own.” I playfully pat her shoulder. “Like a big girl.”

  She laughs. “You’re so lucky I love you.”

  “I know.” Julia doesn’t like anyone teasing her. I’m the only one who can get away with it.

  “Save me a spot in line.”

  “Sure.” I head straight for the main line, which is so long it’s wrapping around the room. I spy some sleepy looking college students at a table nearby. They definitely partied hard last night by the looks of their eyes. One guy is even wearing sunglasses. I can only imagine what his eyes look like. But at least it means there are parties around here. Timberland is sort of a suitcase college, so most of the students go home on the weekends. Only some stragglers are left behind—other than those of us here for orientation. I’m not sure which of the two camps I’ll fit into in the fall. I could easily drive the hour and a half home, but I’m not sure if I want to. I need to get away, be on my own and live a little.

  I’m close enough to grab a tray at the end of the counter now, but I still don’t see Julia. The bathroom line must be just as bad.

  “Freshman or transfer?” someone behind me asks.

  I turn around and come face to face with him. “Excuse me?” I nearly choke on my tongue getting the words out. Maybe flirting with me wasn’t just a way for him to pass the time.

  “Are you a freshman or a transfer student?” He smiles, and his eyes light up.

  “Oh, um, freshman.” I almost hate admitting it since he now knows I’m still in high school.

  He nods, as if he expected as much. “Where are you from?”

  “Northern New Jersey.” No one ever knows where Vernon is, so there’s no point in naming my hometown.

  His head cocks to the side. “I have family in Jersey. Are you from Bergen County?”

  “No, Sussex. Farm country.” Great. Now he’ll think I’m some hillbilly.

  “Ah, well, Pennsylvania isn’t much different than New Jersey.”

  “Yeah, I’ve noticed a lot of similarities already.” He must be a teacher. Why else would he be talking to me? Asking where I’m from? I fidget with my tray, avoiding his eyes. We’ve already run out of things to say to each other. Way to be a conversationalist, Noelle. Apparently, I’m better at flirting when there are no words involved. Oh crap, I flirted with a teacher!

  “Have you decided on a major?”

  “Not really.” This keeps getting better and better. Now I’m a hillbilly with no direction.

  “Don’t sweat it. I was undecided my first year, too.”

  So he’s not a teacher. Oh thank God! “When did you decide?” I ask, trying to get more clues about his age and whether or not there’s any hope for something happening between us.

  “Just this summer. I figured I should declare a major if I’m going to be a resident advisor. I have to set a good example for the people in my dorm and all.”

  “A resident advisor?” The line moves forward, and I catch the scent of his cologne. I breathe deeply, letting it fill my senses.

 
; “Yeah, we monitor the dorms.”

  I stop trying to smell him before he catches on. “Oh, so are you a senior then?”

  He laughs. “I wish. No, I’m a sophomore. They usually don’t let sophomores be R.As, but I sort of know the dean.”

  “You do? That boring guy who droned on and on for hours? Ouch.”

  “He’s my dad.”

  “Oh.” Shit. This goes beyond foot in mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  He raises his hand to stop me. “It’s cool. I keep telling him to cut his talks, but he won’t listen to me.” He gives me that sexy smile again.

  “He’s really your dad?” I can’t believe someone that boring could create someone as personable as…I don’t even know his name.

  “I don’t get preferential treatment if that’s what you’re thinking. The R.A. position is more like my dad giving me a swift kick in the ass. He says I need direction and to learn responsibility.” He holds his hands out to the sides. “So, here I am.”

  It’s my turn in line, so I order red skin mashed potatoes, minus the gravy. I’m only a quarter Irish, but my love of potatoes runs deep. I thank the lady serving me and step out of line.

  “Just potatoes?” he asks, catching up and following me to find an empty table. “That’s hardly a balanced meal.”

  I notice his tray is loaded with mashed potatoes, pot roast, and cooked carrots. “Oh, so you’re a cafeteria advisor now, too?” My attempt at flirting is pathetic. Why can’t I be good at this like Julia? Where is Julia? I scan the area by the bathrooms but don’t see her.

  “I was going to say that no meal is complete until you have frozen yogurt and a mug of sprinkles.”

  “What?” I can’t help laughing. “Did you say a mug of sprinkles?”

  He smiles and raises one shoulder. “Sure. When you put sprinkles on your cone, they’re the first things to go. And after that, all you’re left with is plain yogurt. But…” He tugs my elbow, bringing me over to the frozen yogurt station. He sets his tray down and grabs a cone. Lining it up under the French vanilla dispenser, he makes an almost perfect swirl of yogurt. “Now, watch.” He grabs a coffee mug from the coffee station next to us and dunks it into the container of rainbow sprinkles, almost filling the mug. “There.”