Series Starter : Firsts in Series Collection

by Kaylee Ryan

  “Nope.”

  “Great, Hailey wants to meet you. I’ve talked about you so much she wants to see if you live up to all the hype,” I tease.

  Ace chuckles. “I’m down, I’ll see if Mac wants to go as well.”

  “Awesome sauce, we both get to meet each other’s roommates tomorrow night. Where should we go?”

  “Let’s meet up at The Warehouse. A guy on the team’s dad owns it, so we get VIP treatment.” He winks at me. “Meet you guys there at eight?”

  I nod in agreement.

  We argue over who is going to pay for dinner, I lose the battle. After paying he follows me out to my car, so I can give him his care package from his mom. With a farewell hug, we go our separate ways.

  When I arrive back at the dorm, Hailey is fully engrossed in her Kindle, yet another thing we have in common. I fill her in on the plans for tomorrow night before taking a fast shower, making quick calls to the Emersons and Gran, before going to bed. It’s been a long and exhausting day.

  As I climb into bed, Hailey informs me that tomorrow night is country night at The Warehouse, and she and I are hitting the mall tomorrow to ensure we’re dressed appropriately. I fall asleep with a smile on my face. I’m getting to live the normal life my peers have been living. I miss Gran, but I love her for pushing me to do this. Not bad for a first day.

  Chapter 4

  Liam

  After dropping Blitzen off at his place, I decide to hit the gym. I’d already been there first thing this morning, but I need a distraction. All day long I’ve been thinking about Allison. The way I can’t get her out of my mind is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I can’t wrap my head around it. I’ve only spent two hours with her and she’s consuming my thoughts. I work out for a couple of hours, hit the showers, and head home. There’s no way in hell I can act on this… attraction I’m feeling for her. She’s my sister’s roommate. Hailey would kill me.

  I pull into the lot of our complex at the same time as Aiden, also known as Dash, my roommate does. Dash is our running back and ‘speed’ is his thing, hence the nickname. “Hey, man! I thought you were meeting up with Ash tonight?”

  “I did, we had dinner at Longhorn. She gave me this,” he says, smiling as he lifts a large basket filled with goodies. It looks just like the one that Allison brought up to her room earlier today. There I go again.

  “Is that from your mom?” I ask. My mouth is already watering. Aiden’s mom is an amazing cook and always sends the best treats.

  “Why yes it is. Can I possibly interest you in banana bread, buckeyes, or a peanut butter cookie, perhaps?”

  “Dude, stop teasing and share the love,” I whine. “I’m starving, I haven’t had dinner yet.”

  “You should’ve come with me, you could’ve met Ash.”

  I raise my eyebrows at him. “I wouldn’t intrude on your date, man, not cool.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you? It’s not like that with Ash. She’s like my little sister. Her parents died in a car crash when she was ten. She came to live with her gran, who lives next door to my parents. She was shy and scared, and my parents fell in love with her immediately. It’s really kind of hard not to. Anyway, they asked me to take her under my wing, look out for her at school and things. She became my best friend. I love her like my little sister. I’ve never had romantic feelings for her.”

  “You just said it’s hard to not fall in love with her,” I remind him.

  “Yes, it is, and when you meet her, you’ll know why. There are many different types of love. She’s family, that’s all.”

  “Okay, I hear what you’re saying, but you warned all of us off of her like she was yours, man.”

  “That’s because, she’s different.” He runs his hands through his hair, obviously struggling with something. “Listen, man, I don’t want the other guys to know this. You’re my best friend, other than Ash, so I know I can trust you. I don’t want those other vultures to get wind of this.” He takes a deep breath. “Ash is innocent, man. She’s never been on a date, she’s never even been kissed. Her parents were both college professors, so she spent all of her time studying and making grades. It was her way of honoring their memory and making them proud. Any spare time she had, she was taking care of her gran. Gran is old and her health is failing fast. Ash took care of her. They took care of each other. Granny Hagan is her only family. My parents and I adopted them into ours. My dad calls her sis, and we’re all she’ll have left when something happens to Gran.”

  We sit in silence for a few minutes. “Wow, she has no other family?”

  “Nope, both of her parents were only children, and her mom’s parents both passed on before she was born. It’s just her and Gran.”

  “Damn.” I’m trying to process all that I’ve just learned.

  “She’s amazing, the strongest person I know. She’s not like the girls we’re used to; she doesn’t bitch and whine all the time. She’s been dealt a bad hand in life, but she keeps her head up and just lives for each day. She constantly worries and fusses over her gran, but it’s endearing. Her gran had to make her stay on campus. She wanted to drive back and forth each day, just so she would be there if her gran needed her. It took a lot of convincing from my parents and Gran’s home-care nurse that Gran would be well cared for to get her to go through with it.” He takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair again. “She didn’t go to prom. I told her that I would come home and take her, she refused. Said she didn’t need her best friend to be her pity date. The thing is, she had offers, tons of them, she’s beautiful, but she always turned them down. Gran came first. Instead, she stayed in, and she and Gran watched movies and ate popcorn. So, you see, Ash is different, special. Once the guys get wind of all of this, her innocence, it’d become a challenge for them. I want better for her, more. She deserves better, she deserves respect and love. She needs to find someone who’ll make her the center of their universe, because that’s what they would be for her.” He rests his head against the back of the couch.

  Fuck! Now I feel bad for always razzing him. “I see, now, where you’re coming from. I get it.” I get up to get more cookies out of the basket. Damn things are addicting. “So, I helped Hales move into her dorm today.” I need to change the subject.

  “Oh, yeah, so your little sis is officially a college student.”

  “Yep, she’s really excited, her roommate was there, she’s...beautiful.” What the hell, did I just say that?

  Aiden throws his head back and laughs. “Wow, that’s huge coming from you. You feeling alright?”

  It’s my turn to run my hand through my hair, trying to process what I want to say. “Fuck if I know. This girl has consumed my thoughts all damn day. I spent two hours with her and Hales, and now she’s all that I can think about. I can’t describe it, there’s just something about her. She’s gorgeous and I’m drawn to her, man. I know this sounds fucked up, and I’m in major jeopardy of losing my man card, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about her.”

  I plop down beside him on the couch with the entire cookie container. “Get this shit. I shook her hand when Hales introduced us and when she let go it bothered me. What the fuck is that about? I’d just met this girl, and I didn’t want her to let go of my hand.” I take a drink of milk. “Go ahead and say it, I’m a pussy.” I take another drink of milk. “Then, when I introduced Blitzen, he kissed her cheek, and I wanted to punch him. So, tell me what the fuck is going on with me?”

  Aiden chuckles. “Sounds to me like it’s love at first sight.” He winks at me, winding me up even further.

  I take a minute to process what he said, and to finish the cookie I just shoved into my mouth, addicting fuckers. “Do you believe in that shit, love at first sight? I mean, I’ve heard my dad talk about the moment he met my mother that he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. I thought he was just spouting shit to me and Hales. Besides, you know me, I don’t do relationships. My commitment is football.”<
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  Aiden doesn’t hesitate. “I do, actually. I heard the same story growing up from my parents. More so from my dad, it took Mom a few months to warm up to him.” He laughs. “I thought you would flip out on me from my comment, it didn’t seem to faze you. You’re really into this girl.”

  “Fuck, man, I don’t know. I know I’ve never had this reaction to anyone before in my life, maybe I just need to get laid,” I say, repeating my thoughts from earlier today.

  “All I can say is when I find someone who makes me think of them all day long after only being in their presence for two hours, I’ll pursue it and see where it goes.” He shrugs as though the decision should be obvious.

  “She’s Hailey’s roommate. I don’t want to cause problems with them. Football and the draft, that’s what I have to focus on. If I hooked up with her, it’d be awkward seeing her all the time. She and my sister hung out over the past couple of months and kept in touch. Hales really likes her. I can’t do that to my sister.”

  “Well, maybe this girl will be the one. Are you going to risk letting the one go?” he says, smirking. He’s getting some form of satisfaction watching me squirm.

  “Alright, that’s enough girl talk for one night, my head is spinning,” I declare. I have to get this chick out of my head. She’s beautiful, yes, and I’m insanely attracted to her. I’ll go out tomorrow night, hookup, and get this out of my system. This has just been an off day.

  Aiden laughs. “Hey, Ash and I are going to The Warehouse tomorrow night. She’s bringing her roommate, so I can meet her. You should come with us, maybe it’ll help get your mind off of Hailey’s roommate. Besides, Ash mentioned she met her roommate’s brother and thought he was hot. You can meet her and see if you know the guy, see if I have to warn him off.”

  “I’m in.” I don’t even hesitate. The Warehouse is a local hangout and the perfect environment to let go and clear my thoughts of Allison.

  Chapter 5

  Allison

  Hailey and I sleep in our first morning in the dorm, which is new for me. I’m usually up at the break of dawn with Gran, making sure she has her meds and breakfast. We shower and decide to grab a bagel at Starbucks on our way to the mall. Last night as I lay in bed, I decided I was going to embrace college life. Like Gran had said, I need to pave my way. I know she’s thinking about when she’s no longer here with me. Her health is failing, and just the thought of losing her brings tears to my eyes. I’m going to make Gran proud of me, starting today. I’m going to re-vamp my wardrobe, act and dress my age. Money isn’t an issue for me. My parents were older and well established in their careers when they had me. They had planned well for their futures and mine. I received a trust on my eighteenth birthday last September. I have more than enough money to never have to work. I could easily live on my monthly allowance from the interest alone. I could, but I don’t want to. I’m excited to be going to college and experiencing life like kids my age.

  “Okay, so tonight is country night at The Warehouse, we need to embrace that,” Hailey says as we walk into the mall. Apparently, The Warehouse has themes they rotate through to keep a broad range of customers coming through their doors.

  “Sounds good to me, I’m actually thinking I need to upgrade my wardrobe. I didn’t ever go out back home. I was always taking care of Gran or worrying about school. I think I’m past due for a makeover.”

  Hailey’s eyes sparkle. “EEEK! I’m so excited! Let’s work on tonight’s wardrobe first, so we know we’re covered, and then go from there.”

  I laugh at her excitement. “Let’s do this thing,” I say, looping my arm through hers as we make our way in to the Gap. This is where I find the perfect blue jean skirt for tonight. I also purchase jeans, tank tops, sweaters, and shorts.

  We spend the entire day at the mall, making multiple trips to my car to unload our loot. We go to Victoria’s Secret last and spend way too much money on sexy underwear and bras I never would have thought I’d be wearing. Hailey assures me these items are essential, even if no one ever sees them. “They help make you feel sexy,” she tells me. I’m still unsure, but I trust her judgment, besides this is all new to me. What do I know? All my underwear came from Walmart. I also purchase all new makeup, get my hair cut, so does Hailey. We both get a manicure and a pedicure. I feel like I’ve been overhauled, but I’m excited, I cannot remember the last time I had this much fun.

  It takes us three trips to carry everything up to our dorm room. Yes, we went overboard. We dump all of our purchases out on our beds. I ended up with four pairs of jeans, fifteen shirts or tanks, four sweaters, two pair of shorts, a skirt, a pair of ballet flats, two pair of flip-flops, a pair of Puma tennis shoes, and a pair of cowboy boots. Hailey had insisted that we needed them to complete our outfits for tonight. Add in the sexy new bras, panties, haircut, and the mani-pedi, and I’m a new woman. Hailey bought almost as much as I did, as I said before, the girl loves her clothes. I asked what her parents were going to say when they saw her credit card bill. She shrugged as if it was no big deal.

  “Okay, so I know you originally bought the skirt for tonight, but seeing all this laid out I’m really liking the white shorts,” Hailey says as we put our purchases away.

  I shrug. “I’m new to all of this. I’m so out of my element. You pick out what you think is best and that’s what I’ll wear. I trust you.” I find myself meaning what I say. Over the summer I’d talked to Hailey a lot on the phone and via the web, and I know she’s a good person, she wouldn’t steer me wrong.

  This makes Hailey very happy. Clapping, she says, “Yeah, okay, so I say you wear the white shorts, the purple and white tanks layered, and the cowboy boots.” You can hear the excitement in her voice.

  “Are you sure? Those shorts are really short.” Hailey had talked me into getting them. She said showing so much leg would drive the guys crazy. I caved and bought them. I know I’m decent looking. I had several offers in school, just no desire. I had Gran to think of and my grades, I wanted to make my parents proud. Now it’s time to start living for me, and figuring out who I am. I can still make them proud, but I need to find me in the process.

  “Yes, trust me. Now hit the shower, we only have two hours, and we both have to shower and do our makeup.” We both had our hair cut and styled, so that was done. Mine was cut into long layers. She styled it by braiding my bangs down the side of my head and pulling all of it in a low side ponytail. It actually looks really good. My thick ponytail hangs down over the front of my shoulder, which exposes the braid on the opposite side. I express my worry it makes me look too young; I still liked it, but I wasn’t sure it was fit for a club setting. Hailey assures me that with my outfit it’s sexy. I guess we’ll see.

  After we both shower and get dressed, Hailey sets me down on the toilet seat, so she can work her magic on my makeup. “I’m telling you right now, you’re going to have every male in The Warehouse falling at your feet tonight. You look hot,” she states as she hands me a mirror to view her masterpiece.

  I reluctantly take the mirror from her, and I’m struck speechless. Hailey didn’t go overboard, she went with subtle light purple eye shadow, mascara, and a light pink lip gloss. Holy shit! I stand up and wrap her in a hug. “Thank you,” I manage to utter.

  “Hey, none of that, or you’ll smear my masterpiece. You’re beautiful, Allie.”

  I pull back from her. “I feel beautiful,” I whisper.

  “It’s the undies.” She winks at me. “You are beautiful! This is a bonus for me, because I can assure you I won’t be buying any drinks tonight with you by my side. Now come on, or we’re going to be late. I need to go meet my male counterpart, so hop to it, missy,” she scolds me.

  We arrive at The Warehouse right at eight o’clock. Ace sent me a text telling me he and his roommate, Mac, were already there. They’d gotten us a booth near the back. Hailey and I make our way toward the back of the club while Florida Georgia Line sings about getting their shine on. Hailey and I are already swaying
to the music as we walk.

  “Hey, there’s my brother. Let’s stop and say hi. Do you see Ace anywhere?” Hailey asks me.

  I look up and stop dead in my tracks. Liam is sitting in a booth, looking good enough to eat, and beside him…is Ace. What the hell? They’re deep in conversation, so they don’t see us until we step up beside them.

  Ace, who’s sitting on the outside of the booth, sees me and immediately he stands up and wraps his arms around me, giving me a big hug. “You look amazing,” he whispers to me. As he pulls away I can see the questions in Hailey’s eyes.

  “You know Dash?” she questions me.

  “Dash? This is Ace, um well, Aiden, my best friend I was telling you about,” I tell her. Aiden releases his hold on me and sits back down beside what appears to be an angry Liam. Hailey motions for me to scoot into the booth, so I do. This left me sitting directly in front of Liam and Hales in front of Aiden.

  “So, let me get this straight, Aiden here, also known to us as Dash, is your Ace?” Hailey’s trying to untangle the connection.

  Aiden laughs.

  “Yes, Ace is the name I call him. It’s his initials, Aiden Cole Emerson. I’ve called him that since I first met him,” I explain. “To me he’s Ace, sometimes Aiden, and to you, well, he’s obviously Dash.”

  My thoughts drift to the day that I first met Aiden:

  Sitting on Gran’s back porch swing, I scrunch my eyes, trying to keep my tears from falling. Today was the day I had to say my final goodbye to Mommy and Daddy. I’ve been trying to be really strong and show I can handle it, I don’t like for Gran to see me cry. It makes her sad.

  Some lady I have never met steps up on the porch. This has happened a lot the last two days. I’ve met and hugged a lot of strangers. Gran says they worked with my parents.

  “You dear child, come give me a hug,” she says as she leans down and embraces me. I can feel the burn in my eyes. No matter how hard I squint, I know my tears are going to come.