2. Mia
MIA
What should I do?
Where could I hide?
And why the hell didn’t sofas have an escape hatch?
I drew my knees up to my chest and clutched them tightly, which hid some of the parts of my body that he’d touched, but not my face. For that, I dipped my head down, wishing I’d kept my hair down so that it could cover my eyes. Not that that was a good look.
Aaron side-eyed me. “You okay?” he whispered.
I nodded, still trying to make myself small enough to disappear.
Did Diego recognize me? Maybe I’d know if I were actually paying attention to what he was saying. With effort, I tuned back in. “We owe a lot to Richard,” he said, smiling warmly.
Who the hell was Richard?
Diego stood tall and straight, his dark eyes warm. Eyes that didn’t seem to be focused on me, but that didn’t mean anything. What if he stopped in the middle of his spiel, pointed, and said, “It’s the drunk girl from the party!”?
At the very least, he could call me the pretty drunk girl. That might be a small consolation, as I died of mortification.
“Richard Baylor hosted many foster children of his own, so, as some of you with more advanced classes may have guessed, that’s why we call this the Baylor House.
Richard wanted former foster children to have a place with others who understood them.
That’s why he’s provided room and board, free of charge, to each of us. ”
There were polite chuckles from my fellow students, which showed that they liked Diego, given that they’d likely heard this speech before.
“We all have a duty to honor Richard’s gift by respecting this house and each other,” Diego continued. “That means following university rules. No underage drinking. No wild parties.”
Shit. Had he looked at me when he said that?
I peered back at him from under my lashes.
He was objectively gorgeous—far better looking than the flashes of images I had from that night.
His dark hair was slicked back with some height to it.
The fuzzy memories of me raking my fingers through it made my thighs clench.
“I’m not going to lie to you. Right now, most of us are just acquaintances. I’m sure you’ve all met foster parents who expected you to act like family from day one. But in time, I hope you’ll develop lifelong friendships. I know I have.” He glanced at Aaron. “The bottom line is?—”
“We don’t have to be friends,” said a guy off to the left. He was the one sitting in an armchair. “We just have to respect each other’s space and privacy.”
“Thank you, Raymond. I was just getting to that.” Diego was patient and unruffled. “We talk about consent a lot these days, which is a good thing. But it applies to more than just sex.”
I flinched and just about jumped off the couch when he said that. Aaron gave me another look.
“It also applies to our personal space, as Raymond said. Don’t enter someone else’s room without permission. Treat them with respect and they’ll treat you with respect.”
Aaron snorted softly. “Not sure that’s always the way it works,” he said under his breath. I gave him a small smile when he glanced over.
“But consent does apply to sex, too.”
The shock didn’t lessen the second time Diego said that three-letter word. He couldn’t be messing with me, could he? He sounded earnest. At least, I thought he did. The flames on my face were short-circuiting my brain.
“We’re all adults,” he continued. “What you choose to do with a consenting partner is your business—just make sure you don’t make it ours. No lovers’ quarrel at three a.m. No banging on doors looking for a condom. And no doing it down here on a sofa.”
I jolted again, clapping my hand over my mouth to make sure I didn’t yelp in surprise. We’d been on a sofa, him sitting down, me with my knees on either side of his thighs. Both of us with our hands and mouths very busy.
Aaron was giving me a questioning look again, but I stared at the coffee table, carefully not looking at anyone. Aaron was a very nice guy, but after this evening, he’d think I was insane. And as for Diego—well, I hoped he never thought of me at all. Especially not in conjunction with a sofa.
“Where was I?” Diego asked, pausing. He ran a finger along a jawline that looked as if it had been carved by the gods. I’d kissed that jawline. I’d felt his stubble tickle my skin.
“Sex,” the guy on the other couch said, and the others laughed.
Apparently, those same gods who’d given Diego his chiseled looks were intent on torturing me tonight.
“Consent,” Diego corrected. “Which is a close cousin to respect. Be careful about your housemates’ belongings. Don’t take their food or borrow their things without asking.”
“What about stealing? We don’t have to ask before doing that, right?” Aaron said.
Diego smiled, and it made his face light up. Had he smiled that night at the party? Probably not since we’d been kissing the whole time. “Yeah, don’t do that.”
“And don’t take anyone else’s food,” Raymond said.
He had sandy blond hair. His nose tilted slightly upward, like it disapproved of the air the rest of us were breathing.
He seemed either unaware or unconcerned that Diego had just said that.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron look over, too.
He didn’t appear to be happy with Raymond’s interruptions.
But Diego took it in stride. “Exactly. We have a system in the kitchen. Some shelves and cupboards are for communal food, and you’ll each have your own space.
I can show you, or some of the residents who’ve been around for longer can.
” Again, he glanced at Aaron, which freaked me out, since Aaron was sitting right next to me.
Diego clasped his hands together. “That’s basically it.
There is an official list of house rules, and it should be on the desk of your bedroom, if you’re new.
” He looked my way, and I fought the urge to try to dodge his gaze.
“As for me, I’m a student, and a product of the foster care system, just like you all, but my door is always open.
If you’re having problems here in the house, or in your classes, please don’t hesitate.
I’m here to help. Aaron calls me a den mother, and hey, maybe I am.
Just don’t expect me to take you camping to earn your junior explorer badge. ”
Everyone chuckled again, and the two people on the other couch started to get up.
“We didn’t do introductions,” Raymond pointed out. He had a freshman-like, overeager-yet-judgmental energy to him, and I was glad I was able to claim to be an almost-sophomore.
Please ignore him, Diego.
My silent plea got me nowhere. Instead, Diego grimaced. “Right. Sorry. We were supposed to do that first thing.” He looked over to the other couch, and the two students who had gotten up sat back down. “Let’s start over here. Just your name, major, and what year you’re in.”
Oh god. This was it. I was going to speak, and it would trigger the memory for him. It would all come flooding back, and then I’d have to leave school and join a convent. Did they still have those?
As my mind spiraled, I missed the first two students who spoke, which was a shame. I wanted to get to know the other woman living here, especially. Then it was Aaron’s turn. He was a junior majoring in public administration.
Then all eyes were on me.
All eyes. Including Diego’s.
“I’m Mia,” I squeaked. “I’m a sophomore.” Kind of, I amended in my head. “And my major is—” I made the mistake of looking directly at Diego. Why did he have to be so good looking? Apparently, drunk me knew a hot guy when she saw one.
I blushed, realizing that everyone was still staring at me. Crap. What was my major again? It finally came to me just as the others were starting to look concerned. “Digital media and communications.”
There. I’d done it. All that was left was to duck my head down and hope that Diego would move on as fast as possible. Fortunately, he did, turning to Raymond.
“Freshman, and finance,” he said, flashing a self-satisfied grin. “Planning to hit seven figures before I’m thirty. Minoring in international business—obviously, that’s where the real money is.”
The silence that followed wasn’t exactly admiring. Next to me, Aaron shifted in his seat, the corner of his mouth pulling tight.
Diego went last, saying that he was getting his master’s in public health. Whatever that meant.
Then the meeting ended.
The other woman made her way upstairs, her phone in her hand. The guy who’d sat next to her went to talk to Diego. Good. That meant I could finally make my escape.
Except I’d forgotten about Aaron. “I told you it wouldn’t be so bad.”
“Right,” I said, and then I mumbled something about homework that he likely didn’t even hear. “I’d be happy to show you the ropes, like the system in the kitchen. And in the basement, there’s a storage area. I could show it to you.”
“Thanks, but I don’t have very much. All my things fit in my room.”
His warm eyes showed understanding. “That’s the case for a lot of the residents here.”
“Hey.”
I swung my head around to see a smug look and blond hair. “Hi.”
“I’m Raymond.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“My room’s just across the hall from yours, so if you ever need anything, let me know.”
That was friendly, and I gave him a quick smile. “Thanks. Aaron just offered, too. Everyone’s being so kind.”
“That’s because you’re hot.” Raymond’s voice was casual as his words sent a shock wave through me. “No one offered me any help when I moved in.” He gave me a weird little smirk and disappeared toward the kitchen.
Aaron looked as surprised as I was, but he called out before Raymond had left the room. “That’s not true.”
Then he looked at me and a sheepish grin came over his face. “I mean the part about us not offering him help isn’t true. Not the part when… well, what he said.”
I couldn’t help biting back a smile. Aaron oozed confidence and charisma, so it was rather endearing seeing him a little embarrassed.
“Raymond’s just prickly, but you’ll get used to it.
Or not. It’s not like we all have to hang out together all the time.
But seriously, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you settle in.
It can’t be easy, starting at a different time than everyone else.
And let Diego help, too. He’s a great guy. ”
My mood shifted to horror as Aaron called to the RA and motioned him over.
My eyes were glued to the floor as Diego neared, but still, I got a sense of his height. He was taller than I thought. Of course, last time he’d been sitting down, and I’d been straddling his lap, putting us eye to eye… or, rather, mouth to mouth.
“Mia, this is Diego.”
“Hi,” I said in the direction of his shoes.
“She’s a little nervous, but I told her she has no reason to be,” Aaron explained.
“Hi, Mia. Sorry I wasn’t around when you moved in, but I had a three-hour lecture today.”
“No problem.”
“And Aaron’s right, there’s no need to be nervous, but we’ve all been in many new situations, so we know what it’s like.”
The silence grew, and I realized that these two men probably thought me crazy for not looking at them. And… I guessed I had to eventually, right? I couldn’t avoid eye contact for the entire school year. Unfortunately.
Finally, I took a deep breath and looked up into Diego’s dark eyes.
“Hi,” he said again, now that I was finally looking at him. Then his head cocked to the side as he studied me. “Have we met?”
“No!” It was practically a shout, and I blushed, my heart hammering in my chest. “I mean, I think I would remember you if we had.”
Great. Now he probably thought I was flirting with him. Judging from the slight crease between Aaron’s eyebrows, he thought so, too.
“I mean, I’m happy to be here.”
Diego gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay, Mia. You may not feel it now, but soon you’ll feel perfectly comfortable here. And if you don’t, we’ll work something out. Just come talk to me.”
Yeah, that wasn’t happening. But I mumbled my thanks.
Diego studied me for a moment longer, patted Aaron on the arm, and walked away.
“I’m fine,” I said, before Aaron could ask me for the millionth time if I was okay. Because the answer was an empathic no.
“See you around,” I said as I made a beeline for the stairs. As soon as I was in my room with the door locked behind me, I was going to call my friend Tori and tell her about Diego.
Then I needed to find out if she or any of the hot men she lived with had an idea for a disguise I could wear for the rest of the year.