Chapter 3
Chapter Three
EMMA
“My coordination is good, but I’m still struggling to keep up with my hip movements.” Grabbing my water bottle, I chug about half of it.
Kamila nudges me with her elbow, her amber eyes meeting my light blue ones.
“You’re doing great, Em.” She flinches when someone calls her name from across the room.
Kamila hesitates before turning around, worried it’s another student who will recognize her from the tabloids with Jake. She lets out a relieved breath.
“One of your regulars?” I whisper.
She smiles and adjusts her bright red shirt that stands out against her naturally tanned skin.
“For a year now. She’s probably going to ask me for the new playlist. Gotta go.
” Kamila turns to her boyfriend, Cameron, and rises onto her tiptoes, giving him a quick kiss.
Cameron then gives her a look I’ve seen only a few people make.
My heart squeezes with happiness for my best friend, who also happens to be my roommate, who deserves every bit of joy in the world.
“I’m sweating like a pig.” Levi lifts his shirt and wipes his forehead.
His wife, Stevie, follows his bare stomach, staring at his abs, practically drooling.
Levi notices her stare and smirks. His dark blue eyes meet her green ones, and like always, the two newlyweds forget that everyone around them exists.
Feeling my face heat from their sexual tension, I snap my fingers three times, and they look down at me.
“There are other people in here, you two. Save it for when you get to your apartment. This is Kamila’s job, show some respect.
” My tone is light at the end, making it clear that I’m joking but also a little serious.
“Sorry,” Stevie says shyly as a blush blooms over her cheeks. The girl entered our lives last semester, shocking us by tying one of my best friends down after months of tension between them.
“I’m not.” Levi pulls her in and gives her a quick peck.
Sneering at both of them, I turn my attention to the two men gathered on my left.
Cameron’s talking to Jake, who managed to find the time to join us for Kami’s first Zumba class of the semester.
Taking a quick look around, I see some people staring at our small group.
No doubt, they’re looking at the hot guys, but also recognizing Johnathan Jacob Greymoore III, better known as Jake to us.
Ignoring the stares, I walk over to where he’s standing.
“Yeah, this one’s new. Got it over the summer.
” Cameron points at his bicep, where there used to be a small, empty spot that hadn’t yet been inked with a tattoo like the rest of his arms. It’s been about a year since I met Cameron for the first time when he stumbled back into Kamila’s life, and ever since then, he has come back with a new tattoo every month.
“Looks awesome, man.” Jake nods, impressed.
Curious, I tap Cam’s back, and he swivels his six-foot-five frame, giving me a warm smile.
“Mind lowering that arm a bit so I can see?”
He ducks down and points to the unique-looking wolf, which also happens to be our school mascot. “Had to honor the university somehow. It is our senior year after all.”
I smile sadly at the thought of us not taking Zumba classes together anymore, starting in less than a year. “Yeah.”
“Oh no,” Jake says from my side. “Don’t make her cry, dude.”
That’s when I feel a small tug in my chest. Not enough to cry, but enough to make an impact.
Cameron pulls his arm back up. “Shit. I’m sorry, Emma.”
“Don’t listen to him.” I throw a thumb over my shoulder to Jake.
“I’ll cry on our graduation day.” Shaking my head, I think about how we started college as strangers that morphed into a group of four best friends: Kamila, Levi, Jake, and me, which then turned into six people with Cameron and Stevie.
We may have some other close friends, but everyone here knows that it all started with the core four.
“I can’t believe how much has happened in a year.
It’s been a doozy.” I laugh, trying to hide the melancholy building in my chest.
Levi whistles. “You can say that again.” He points to Cameron.
“You and Kami are months away from your one-year anniversary.” Grinning, I can’t help but remember how much of a mess we all were a year ago.
Kamila was bitter over her high school friend-slash-future boyfriend, who had broken her twin sister’s heart, Levi had just been dumped by his ex-boyfriend, Stevie was in a toxic relationship, and Cameron was also bitter, missing his oldest best friend, who is now his girlfriend and my long-term roommate.
I scrunch up my nose, and Jake notices. “Why are you making your overthinking face?”
Narrowing my eyes, I flip him off. “First off, I don’t have an overthinking face. Secondly, I was recounting everything that’s happened in the past year and how our group attracts a hell of a lot of drama.”
“I’m just hoping we can have a peaceful semester with none of that. A drama-free semester.” We all mumble in agreement with Cameron.
“All right, everyone!” Kami yells from the front. “Back to your places.”
The group lines up side by side, and I take a moment to appreciate seeing everyone like this one last time, for the first time, in a fall semester.
The alarm on the coffee table rings, signaling that our face masks have been on long enough.
“Thank God.” Kamila lifts the sticky paper off her face and slouches against the couch, reaching into the bag of lemon chips she gets shipped from Colombia every semester and grabs a handful.
Following her lead, I inhale the rosy scent of the mask and continue eating my small bowl of strawberry ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. “I’m so happy we chose this movie.”
Anne Hathaway moves on the screen singing “Somebody to Love.” “I’m glad we stayed in tonight and got to hang out. It’s been a while.”
Kamila and I are both in our robes. Hers is red, and mine is pale blue.
We’ve been roommates since our first semester in Driscoll, but we hardly spend any time in our suite anymore.
Not just the two of us, anyway. But tonight, we finally got some time alone to binge on snacks in our suite after spending the entire evening with everyone else.
Neither of us has an early class tomorrow, so we’re staying up late, laughing, and singing along to music from the 2004 Anne Hathaway movie, Ella Enchanted.
We both start singing along with her, Kamila’s voice out of tune, but unconcerned. I love that about my best friend—she’s confident and, for the most part, doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her.
“I wish I could sing like you,” she says to me when the scene ends. “But it’s for the best that I don’t. I’d never shut up.”
Laughing softly, I shrug. “What can I say? I got lucky.” As I finish the last spoonful of my ice cream, I lie on my back and tap my fingers on my lap. “I’m really nervous for tomorrow.”
Kami grabs my leg lightly, and her expression is one of surprise. “You’re never nervous about these kinds of things.”
Shrinking the tiniest bit at expressing some vulnerability, I go on. “I know, but I’ve never been part of a newsroom before. It’s exciting yet extremely intimidating.”
She nods. “It’s not going to be easy, but I know you’re going to fucking kill it. You’re Emma Haywood,” she says dramatically. “Sassy, brave, smart, energetic, rich, and a little loud.”
I kick her hip. “Hey!”
She snaps a finger at me. “There’s my girl. You’ve got this.”
Smiling and already feeling better with the small pep talk, I giggle. “Thanks, Kami.”
“No problem. Now, are you done, or do you need to talk about something else before we continue the movie?”
I can’t resist the sudden urge to tell her about Ace. About wanting to tell anyone about Ace. Fragments of the night we spent together flash in my mind. Jeez, I’m pathetic for thinking this much about someone I barely know.
I open my mouth slightly, then change my mind and put on my brightest smile. “Nope! I’m getting a soda. Want anything?”
She raises an eyebrow, suspicious of my changed demeanor. I rush to the fridge, ignoring it as best I can. “A cold bottle of water, please.”
Still facing away from her, I lean down to the mini fridge and grab our drinks. I plaster on the same smile on my way back. Kami nods, and I silently thank her for not asking me any questions.
I’ll tell her someday.
An hour and a half later, I’m staring at the ceiling, waiting for the melatonin Kami gave me to kick in. I hate not being able to fall asleep. It’s one of the most frustrating things in the world.
Looking over to my nightstand, I debate whether to use the vibrator in my drawer, but then swivel my gaze to the e-reader on my desk.
Making my decision, I kick the sheets away and walk over, opening the e-library where all romance genres lie.
Some fluffy clean ones, the classics for when I’m out and about, fantasy, regular smutty books, dark romance ones, and finally, my favorite kind of nightly read, monster-human romance novels.
I’m not sure what it is about this genre that relaxes me; I don’t really read them often. I guess it’s the combo of light fantasy and romance, or maybe that each one has some kind of age gap, but the woman always seems to be the smartest one. Or maybe it’s just the smut.
It’s probably the smut.
I plop onto my bed and read about the demon sneaking into the main character’s bedroom.
As I relax and sleep takes over, the lingering anxiety doesn’t leave my chest, as if it’s a warning that something might go wrong tomorrow. Then I remember Cameron’s words from earlier.
“I’m just hoping we can have a peaceful semester with none of that. A drama-free semester.”
Shit. I hope he didn’t jinx it.