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  I grabbed my bag and headed out for my first class. Luckily, with the help of orientation and Kitty, who knew the campus like the back of her hand since everyone in her family had attended here, I knew where I was going. I wasn’t sure about my major, like most freshmen, so I pretty much had all general education classes, besides my Psych II class. If anything, that seemed interesting to me and I had easily placed into the course for upperclassmen. I was a little worried about keeping up, but I figured there were plenty of resources if I started to struggle.

  I took a seat in the classroom that was surprisingly small. I was expecting some huge auditorium with hundreds of other students, but that wasn’t the case. I pulled out my phone and grinned as soon as I saw the messages from Jake, wishing me luck. He knew how nervous I got on the first day of school, even back in our hometown, where we had gone to school with everyone for years.

  “Is this seat taken?” I glanced up at the grinning boy, who had close- cropped hair, but you could still tell it was an almost white blonde. He was tall and lanky, with an almost infectious smile and he looked vaguely familiar.

  I shook my head and he scooted his desk just a little closer to mine. “You don’t remember me do you?” I squinted my eyes at him and tried to recall who he was, but it wasn’t coming to me.

  “Nope, sorry. I’ve seen so many new faces this past week, it’s like they all just blend together.”

  He pulled out a pen and fresh notebook that looked almost identical to mine. I loved the smell and look of new school supplies. “Ben Davies, I went to school with Kitty. I think she introduced us as we were walking opposite ways, so my feelings aren’t too hurt that I wasn’t that memorable.” His easy smile returned and hazel eyes sparkled back at me.

  “I do remember you now that you mention it.” He had a disbelieving look on his face, but I just shrugged my shoulders. Kitty knew a lot of people on campus since she lived only about an hour away in a little community situated right on the ocean. She had said that half of her graduating class had chosen to come here and I think I had met pretty much all of them. For some reason, Ben really had been the only one that stuck; I think it had to do something with those eyes of his.

  Class started before I could reassure him that I in fact did remember him, but I surely wasn’t going to tell him it was because of his eyes. That might just come off a little creepy. Syllabuses were handed out and we went over various projects and papers that we were going to do, before I knew it everyone was rushing for the door at the end of class.

  “Mind if I walk with you to your next class?” Ben stood above me with his arms looped through his backpack and one hand tucked into the front of his jeans. “Sure, I’m heading over to Barnwell. I think it’s near the horseshoe.”

  “Great, I’m headed that way too.” We made small talk as we weaved our way through other students making their way to classes or stopping in groups to catch up with each other. Ben seemed to know almost as much as Kitty about the campus and he told me how most of his family were alumnus as well.

  “So what class you headed to?” We lingered in front of Barnwell and I glanced at my phone seeing that I still had twenty minutes before class started. “Psych II, I’m not gonna lie I’m a little worried about it.”

  “Yeah?” He quirked an eyebrow at me and shifted his backpack. “You seem to be a pretty smart girl, I’m sure you’ll do just fine. If you ever want to study, I happen to know they have a pretty awesome library around here too.”

  “Yeah, I’ve wanted to check that out. I should get going though, good luck with your next class.”

  “Thanks Paige. Hey, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the football game on Saturday.”

  “Um, sure that sounds good. I’ll give you my number at class on Wednesday and we can plan on where to meet up. I’m sure Kitty already has something planned out.”

  His eyes lit up and he started walking backwards up the path. “Awesome,” he yelled back enthusiastically. “I can’t wait, it’s gonna be totally awesome, see you later.” Apparently, he was into football.

  I walked into my next class and this one was more like what I was expecting. It was already halfway filled with at least 100 students. As I made my way down the steps to an empty seat, my feet froze when I saw none other than Dylan Turner. Of course, he was surrounded by at least five girls on the sides and front of him; it was like they were all vying for his attention at the same time. Please don’t let him see me.

  I purposely found a seat on the opposite side of the room and pulled out the book that had cost me a shit ton of money. Maybe I would need to find a job sooner rather than later. I grabbed out my syllabus from my last class and flicked over it again, things already seemed a little bit more challenging than high school, but I guess that was expected. I felt someone plop down in the seat next to me and I tried to resist the urge to snap when a knee bumped into mine, it probably wouldn’t make a good impression.

  “Hey Sparky, long time no see. Are you stalking me or something?” I looked over and tried not to give him the satisfaction of drooling. He had a pencil tucked behind his ear, pushing back a little bit of his messy brown hair that was peeking out from underneath the Gamecocks hat he had on backwards. He was slouched down in his chair with one ankle crossed over his knee, causing his shirt to slightly ride up, revealing a flat tanned stomach with just a sprinkling of hair disappearing into his waistband. Ok Paige, head on straight here, I said to myself.

  “Actually if I was stalking you, I would be sitting over there with your fan club.” I pointed to the seat he had vacated and noticed I was getting a simultaneous stare down from the girls that he had abandoned. Oops.

  “Hmm….if you say so. Maybe you’re just playing hard to get or something.”

  “If that’s what helps you sleep at night, think whatever you want.” He bit out a laugh, while he tapped the tip of his pencil on his knee in a steady rhythm. “Well, I do think about you often when I go to sleep and when I’m doing….other things,” he whispered in my ear, his warm breath causing shivers to course throughout my whole body.

  I could feel my cheeks burning just thinking about what those ‘other things’ were and why exactly he was thinking about me when he was doing them. Luckily, the professor stepped up to the podium placed in the center of the auditorium and saved me the trouble of replying, because I had no clue what I was supposed to say to that.

  Chapter 5

  Dylan

  I couldn’t believe it when Paige walked in to my second class of the day; it definitely wasn’t one for freshmen. My eyes locked instantly on her, like I could sense that she was there. Somehow, this girl had gotten under my skin in the short time that we had spent together.

  And then she scurried over to the other side of the room, as if she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. I just needed to chip away at the defensive wall she had up and she would warm up to me eventually. I could guarantee it.

  When I sat next to her again on Wednesday, I could tell that she was warming up to me just a little. Somehow, we got started on the topic of baseball and I was surprised to find out how much she really knew about the sport that I loved to play so much. Anytime you meet a girl who knows almost as much about baseball as you is a true rarity. I gave her a little flack about being a Tampa Bay Rays fan, but she argued a good point that they had made a huge turn around the past few seasons.

  Her dad, Max, sounded pretty cool and had taught Paige just about everything she knew about baseball. I think it was probably the longest conversation I had ever had with a girl, except for Kitty, before she decided to start hating me. There was something about Paige Brinton that was different and I wanted to find out more.

  “What’s goin’ on dude?” I plopped down on the cracked leather couch that was a hand –me- down from the Chapmans, much like the rest of the furniture in the house that I shared with Chris and his middle brother, Bryce, who was hardly ever here. I swear he spent ninety percent of his time at the library and th
e other ten percent with his equally nerdy girlfriend, Marcy.

  “Not much,” Chris replied tossing the remote of our flat screen over to me. “I’m getting ready to head out with Claire, isn’t this one of your nights with Mia?”

  I scrubbed a hand over my face, trying to remember what day it was. Shit, it was Friday. Normally I looked forward to this day with Mia. That girl was kinky as fuck and was always coming up with new positions or places to try out. I thought I had died and went to heaven when she showed up one time with her equally kinky friend, Brandy. Wasn’t that every guy’s fantasy? Now for some reason, I just wasn’t feeling it.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I answered back with a shrug of my shoulders, twisting off the cap to my beer I had pulled out of the fridge. I had a feeling I was going to need a few of these.

  “Ok,” he dragged out, giving me a strange look at my lackluster tone. I was surprising the shit out of him too, apparently. “Well don’t make it too late, got to get up early tomorrow. You think you can be ready for me to pick you up around 7:00?”

  “Not a problem,” I replied, stopping on SportsCenter as I leaned my head back against the couch. Mia knew my rule about no sleepovers and I’m sure I wouldn’t have a problem getting her out of here early. “See you bright and early.” Game days were always something to look forward to for me, almost as much as baseball. The Chapmans were wealthy people and since Tim was an alumni, he had purchased a caboose that made up the Cockaboose Railroad, one of the most unique tailgating experiences anyone would ever have.

  I was seriously speechless when I first saw the thing and expected Robin Leach to jump out to narrate my tour for me. From the outside, it looked like a normal train car, painted in garnet with the Gamecocks logo, but that’s where the simple stopped.

  The place seriously looked like a Victorian palace or something. The walls were a simple white, but adorned with expensive paintings that could probably pay my rent for a whole year. The furnishings were lavish with leather couches and lamps that I was afraid I would break every time I went in there. Pillars and brass chandeliers added to the décor and a mahogany bar was set up in the corner, which Tim hired out a bartender for at each home game.

  There really wasn’t one word to describe it. The tone over in that area was a little more subdued than any of the student tailgating though. No keg stands or jock rock blaring from speakers, but it still had a fun vibe. We seemed to run back and forth till game time between the Chapmans and the area where the guys from the baseball team set up every year.

  A knock sounded at the door and I looked down at my watch to see that it was almost 6:00. Mia was right on time. “Hey, how’s it going?” I assessed her quickly with my eyes as she stood in the doorway with a hand on her hip. Her long black hair was down and straight, like she normally wore it, hanging past her bare shoulders that were a light mocha color. Her best features were in my face like usual, squeezing out of the tight black dress she had on, that barely covered her ass. But for some reason my dick wasn’t instantly hard when she showed up.

  “Hey sexy.” She ran a finger lightly up and down my bare chest and I took a step back so I could shut the door behind her. I really couldn’t even remember where Mia and I had first met, but when I brought her back to the apartment the first time and then told her to leave after we were finished; she rolled her eyes at me.

  “Oh your one of those, are you,” she had said. “I’m sure you have Mommy or Daddy issues, don’t you?” I hadn’t replied. This girl didn’t need to know my business, especially when I probably wouldn’t ever see her again.

  “You know,” she had purred out, straddling her naked body across my lap, “we could keep things casual, sex only. I wouldn’t expect anything else, if I ever start to nag you can kick me to the curb and I promise not to go crazy on this fine ass of yours.”

  I didn’t believe her at first, but after a couple of months, she had kept true to her word and eventually introduced me to Sara. Sara was a little bit tamer than Mia, but it was a different change of pace and I liked to mix things up. Now that I thought about what Chris had said the other day I guess it was a little degrading just to be using these girls for sex. What was wrong with me?

  “You want anything to drink?” I padded over to the fridge and grabbed another beer, taking a long swig. “Um, no thanks.” She followed me into the kitchen and slid a hand down the front of my shorts from behind me.

  “So, how was your first week of classes?” I asked, twisting my body around and dislodging her hands from my shorts, which earned me a surprised look. “Since when did we start this whole talking thing?” She motioned between the two of us and crossed her arms over her chest, making them spill out of the top of her dress even more. Hmm, maybe she was the one who was degrading me, bet Chris the jackass never thought of that.

  “Sorry,” I replied, running a hand through my hair. “I’m just in a bit of a funk.”

  “Well,” she dragged out, pulling on my hand and I reluctantly followed her to my room. “That’s what I’m here for.” She pushed me lightly back onto the bed and I flopped back with an arm over my face. She had a lot of work ahead of her then because I just wasn’t feeling it.

  I felt her hands on the waistband of my shorts again and with a tug, those along with my boxers were around my ankles. Her hands were between my legs in an instant and I could feel her nails running across my length. “Hmm, I guess you were right,” I heard her say in a whisper, usually by now, I would be as hard as a bone and ready to go. This time, not so much.

  “Well, I’m always up for a challenge.” Her hair splayed across my stomach, as her head dipped and she bobbed up and down, flicking out her wet tongue. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing all of the thoughts to clear out my mind and just enjoy what she was doing to me.

  I couldn’t help but picture a certain sandy brown haired girl between my legs instead of Mia. Her plump lips wrapped around me, my hand buried in those soft curls of hers. She would look up at me with an innocent look in those wide blue eyes of hers, while I was buried in her mouth.

  I felt Mia’s weight shift and the familiar sound of a wrapper being opened, climbing on top of me after she had managed to get me hard, most of it was help from the fucked up fantasy running through my head right now. I grasped her hips and squeezed my eyes shut, imagining Paige like I had before. When did I become so pathetic that I had to fantasize to get off?

  Mia rolled off me after we were both finished and stood up to pull her dress back on. “I can see what you mean about being in a funk.”

  “Sorry?” It came out as a question and I really wasn’t sure how to reply to something like that. I could tell she had gotten off and I had too…eventually.

  “So who’s the lucky girl that’s finally stolen Dylan Turner’s heart? I didn’t think I would ever see the day.” Her mouth curved into a small grin as she gathered her hair up into a ponytail. My mouth hung open at her like she was a fucking mind reader. How could she tell something like that, when I really didn’t even know it myself?

  Somehow, someway, Paige Brinton was changing me and she probably didn’t even know it. I barely knew the girl, but I also knew that she needed to be mine. Now I just had to prove to her that she just wasn’t simply my next conquest, that I really wanted something real with her. Something real with a girl, for the first time in my life.

  Chapter 6

  Paige

  “Wake up sleepy head.” I groaned as I opened my eyes and saw Kitty’s blonde head leaning over me. I could tell that it was still dark out and I looked over at the red numbers on my alarm clock to see that it was 5:30 in the morning.

  “What the hell Kitty? I still need like two hours of sleep.” I rolled over onto my stomach and pulled a pillow over my head. That didn’t seem to help with the problem of her jumping all over my bed, jostling my whole body.

  “C’mon Paige, hurry up, time’s a ticking.” I sat up after her persistent jumping didn’t seem to be letting up and scrubbed at my eyes that w
ere filled with sleep. “It’s game day! We are going to have so much fun!” She squealed out and proceeded to pile two huge stacks of clothes onto my bed. Apparently, game days were the only day she was up before me…and even perkier than usual.

  “Here, look through these and figure out what you want to wear. I’m going to hop in the shower before Queen Kylie wakes up from her much needed beauty sleep.” I let out a snort as she disappeared down the short hallway and I heard the door click behind her.

  Kitty and Kylie still weren’t getting along well, but Kitty had graciously invited both her and Maddie to go tailgating with us. According to Kitty, it was quite the affair and her parents had a prime spot that she had been talking about for the past week. I was excited to meet the parents of Kitty Chapman; it was always interesting to see the people who had raised you.

  And I suspected Dylan would be there. Just the thought of seeing him, made my stomach swirl and nerves set in. I expected him to move back to all of the girls who were fawning after him the next time we had class together, but he didn’t.

  Instead, I found conversations with him to come pretty easily and we even grabbed coffee together after class. I couldn’t help but see all of the jealous looks I was getting as he placed his hand at the small of my back and guided me towards his favorite coffee shop. He insisted on buying my Diet Coke for me since I despised coffee and surprised me with a giant chocolate donut, covered in sprinkles. I had a serious sweet tooth and finished off every last crumb.

  I picked up several things that Kitty had set aside. O-k-aay. All that she had set out was about ten different styles of black sundresses and four pairs of cowboy boots. When I thought of going to a football game, I assumed it was more of a jeans and school shirt type of thing.

  “So did you decide on anything yet?” Kitty breezed back into the room wrapped in one of her pink fluffy towels that I envied. Those things looked so comfy and I seriously needed to find out where she got them, even though they were probably way too expensive for me to buy.