Chapter One #2
“Me too.” I shrug. “But given that most juniors and seniors live off campus, it’s not like the roommate pool is overflowing.”
“Perhaps we should take her out, show her a good time,” Char chimes in.
“Why in the hell would we do that?” I look at her like she’s sprouted a second head.
“Why not? Ply her with alcohol, maybe introduce her to a cute guy. Maybe getting laid will help ease the stick out of her ass.”
“I don’t think that would work with this one.” I blow out a hard breath, looking between my two best friends.
“You won’t know unless you try,” Lyric offers, seemingly on board with Charlotte’s plan. “You could invite her to the party at Alpha tomorrow night.”
“We’re going to that?” My brow furrows in confusion.
“Of course we’re going to that.” Char leans back with a slight shake of her head, my attention momentarily drawn to the thick waves of red hair she has tied up in a messy bun that she’s tried more than once to teach me how to do. For some reason, I simply cannot master it.
“I just assumed...”
“What? That we’re tied down now, so we don’t know how to have fun?” Char asks with a smirk.
“You two are practically married at this point.”
“No, she’s practically married.” Char hitches her thumb toward Lyric, and my gaze flicks to the diamond ring on her finger.
“I still can’t believe Kai proposed,” I say more to myself than to them.
I’ve known Kai for most of my life. He’s like a second brother to me. And when I say the last thing I ever expected was for him to settle down with one woman, I mean that wholeheartedly. But to also ask her to marry him, I sometimes feel like I’m living in an alternate universe.
“It’s been six months,” she reminds me.
“I know. Still can’t believe it, though. How long do you think it’ll be before your brother slaps a ring on this one’s finger?” I point to Charlotte.
Yes, Charlotte is dating and living with Lyric’s older brother. It was a whole thing last year. They lied about it for months. Kept it quiet from most everyone, including Lyric. If she were less of a person, she and Char probably wouldn’t still be friends, but like I said... Saint.
“Knowing River and how head over heels in love he is, I’d say sooner rather than later.”
“Why do you say that? Did he say something?” Charlotte pales slightly.
“No.” She smiles. “Just a feeling.”
“Well, let’s hope your feeling is wrong because I’m not ready for marriage. I’m only twenty years old, for Christ’s sake.”
“I’m only twenty,” Lyric reminds her.
“Yeah, well, you’re you.” She gives her a quick once-over.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lyric crinkles her small nose.
“It just means you would have probably agreed to marry Kai after one night together. I, on the other hand, am not so easily tied down.”
“Says the girl who can’t spend more than an hour away from River before she starts having withdrawals.”
“I do not.” She insists, even though she knows I’m right.
“Sure, you don’t.” A knowing smile tugs at the corner of my mouth.
“Besides, just because I agreed to marry Kai doesn’t mean we’re going to be tying the knot anytime soon.
Getting engaged doesn’t instantly mean marriage.
” She’s speaking directly to Char, obviously.
I don’t even have a steady booty call, let alone a boyfriend, so what she’s saying doesn’t really apply to me.
“When are you two going to walk down the aisle anyway?”
“Kai wants me to graduate college first, so not for at least a couple more years.”
“Then why propose at all?” Char snorts.
“To show his commitment to me.” A small blush slides up Lyric’s neck, spilling across her cheeks. “It’s a promise... For the future. For our future.”
“Well, I, for one, think it’s amazing,” I say. “And for what it’s worth, I can’t think of anyone else that I’d want to be my sister one day.”
While no, Kai is not technically my brother, he is in all the ways that count, and I’ve always considered him as such. When he and Lyric marry, she will be my sister in all the ways that matter.
“And if I’m lucky, I’ll have another sister someday too.” She gives Char a knowing look.
“So the party...” Char clears her throat, clearly eager to move past the conversation.
“If you two are going, I’m going,” I say like it should be that obvious.
“And your roommate?” Lyric asks.
“I’ll invite her. But I’m telling you, she’s not going to come.”
“Doesn’t hurt to try.” She lifts her shoulder in the semblance of a shrug.
“In this case, it might. I’m pretty sure she’s already making a plan on how she can murder me in my sleep and get away with it. If I turn up dead, it was her.”
“Stop it.” Char barks. “She can’t be that bad.”
“Why don’t you come see for yourself. She’ll just love that.”
“You know what, I think I might.” She gives me a cheeky grin.
“Your funeral,” I mutter.
“Or yours.” She chuckles.
“That’s probably true,” I grumble.
I don’t know what I did to this girl, but clearly, she hates me. Maybe it’s because she’s very serious about her schoolwork and I really am distracting her. But something tells me there’s more to it. Like she actively hates me and I have no idea why, considering she doesn’t even know me.
We spend the next few minutes talking about classes and what our upcoming schedules are going to look like before Lyric announces she has to get going. Apparently, Kai has some special date planned tonight to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the day they met. Gag...
After saying our goodbyes, Lyric heads across the street where Kai’s car is parked. The coffee shop is the farthest for her, and given the blazing temperatures, I don’t blame her one bit for not wanting to walk.
“Where are you going?” I ask Char when she follows after me instead of heading in the opposite direction to where her apartment is.
“I’m coming back to the dorm with you. River is in meetings all day and I don’t really want to disturb him. Besides, if anyone can help you with this little roommate problem, it’s me.”
“Somehow I doubt that.” I snort.
“Hey!” She knocks her hip into mine.
“I’m just saying, you’re like my twin.”
“You sure about that?” She holds her arm up, showing the pronounced difference between my light brown skin against her pale, ivory complexion.
“You know what I mean.” I give her a soft shrug. “If she hates me, she’s not going to like you either. I call you my spirit sister for a reason.”
“Okay, so we’re a lot alike. But maybe it’s not your personality she finds lacking... Maybe it’s just you.”
“Ouch.” I feign offense.
“Oh, shut up. You know I’m kidding.” She loops her arm through mine.
The walk back to my dorm feels a lot longer than the ten minutes it takes us to reach my building. By the time we step inside the cool foyer, sweat is dripping down my back, making my tank stick to my damp skin.
“Thank God.” Char holds out her arms, letting the air conditioning cool her. “Why is it so freaking hot out today?”
“Try practicing in this heat,” I tell her. “It’s brutal.”
“Damn, I forgot you’ve already started conditioning for the season.”
“Thankfully, it’s only three days a week right now. Hopefully, it won’t be as hot when we start full-on practicing.”
“So, which way are you?” Char gestures around the narrow space that leads nowhere except straight into a large set of stairs.
“First floor.” I point at the steps.
“Aren’t we on the first floor?” She wrinkles her forehead.
“We’re on the ground floor, and the only thing down here is what you see.”
“Finally got a first-floor unit and you still have to climb stairs.” She looks like she just tasted something bitter.
“At least it’s only one set this time.” I remind her of last year when we lived on the third floor of a building with an elevator only used for handicapped students and maintenance.
“I guess that’s true,” she agrees, following me up the wide staircase onto the first-floor landing.
“I’m just this way.” I lead her to the second door on the right, having to resist the urge to knock to let my hateful roommate know I’m here before pushing my way inside.
Her big brown eyes find mine over the top of her book as she watches in annoyance as Char and I enter the room.
“Great, now there are two of you,” she mutters under her breath, loud enough for us to hear.
“You must be Maisie’s roommate.” Char plasters on a bright smile, crossing the small space between the door and my roommate’s desk.
The room is similar to the one I lived in last year, only the building is newer, so it’s a bit nicer.
Plus, we have a small kitchenette, which I’ve never had before, and an en suite bathroom rather than having to share with another room, which is honestly my favorite part.
If it weren’t for the fact that my roommate hates me, I think I’d rather like living here.
“Lana,” she offers, a permanent sneer on her lips.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lana. I’m Charlotte.”
“I know who you are.” She practically groans in annoyance.
“Oh?” Char quirks a brow.
“We had American Sign Language together last year.”
“We did?” Charlotte studies her for a long moment.
Lana has big brown eyes and shoulder-length hair nearly the same shade.
She’s more petite, like Lyric, but a little curvier, though you can hardly tell through the oversized tees she seems to live in.
Or at least, that’s all I’ve seen her in thus far.
Big shirts, small shorts, clunky high-top shoes.
Not my style, but to each their own. She has a small hoop on the right side of her nose and always wears colored eyeliner.
Today she’s wearing blue, which looks a hell of a lot better on her than it would on me.
I’d look like a clown if I tried to wear something like that.
I’d go as far as to call her pretty, if it weren’t for the scowl that seems permanently attached to her face.
“Oh, yeah. I remember,” Char announces after a long moment. “You sat up front next to... Eric? Is that his name?”
“Surprised you know that.” She lowers her book into her lap, her expression softening the tiniest bit.