He was sitting at his desk, his head bent on top of his closed laptop. He looked decently muscled, if the tautness of the shirt across his shoulders meant anything. His brown hair was a few inches long, a mop on top of his head, and when he lifted his head and turned to look at me, I was struck with a pair of dark amber eyes, a stubbly jawline that could kill, and a slightly crooked nose.
Damn.
The dean’s son was hot. Not at all the distraction I needed, but…
I suddenly felt like I didn’t look good enough. I walked over to his side, extending my hand like some uptight, crazy chick as I said, “You must be Declan. I’m Ashley, but you can call me Ash, if you want. Most of my friends do.”
He didn’t move to take my hand to shake it. His eyes fell to it, and he gave me a weird look.
Right. Because kids our age didn’t shake hands when they first met. That was weird. Totally. Good to know I wasn’t going to let his looks affect me…
“I, uh, I’m going to get some dinner. Do you want to come?” It wasn’t like I was asking him out. He was my roomie. Roomies spent time together all the time. If they weren’t friends, college life sucked. I had to be friends with Declan and ignore his attractiveness. It wasn’t like he was the only good-looking guy around here. I’d already seen more than I could count while my mom and I were lugging my stuff up here.
All Declan did was shake his head.
Did the boy not talk? Hmm. That would put a damper on things.
“Oh, come on. You need to eat.” I playfully punched his shoulder, standing a bit too close to him. My persona was probably freaking him out. “Why not eat me?” I instantly realized what I said, quickly adding in horror, “Eat with me.”
Shit. I was messing this up terribly, wasn’t I? Declan and I weren’t going to be friends. I was just the weird chick trying too hard and stumbling over her words like she’d never been in the presence of a hot guy before.
Declan looked away, mumbling, “I don’t like going out.” He tugged at the long sleeves on his arms before opening his laptop. “Just go.”
Just go. Okay. How could I deny him when he phrased it so eloquently?
I grabbed what I needed and left, carrying my skateboard as I walked down the stairs. The elevators were currently jam-packed with students and parents still moving in. Once I pushed outside, I paused for a moment as I let the sun hit me. Its rays filled me with warmth, a calmness sweeping over me.
I could do this. No problem. Being the only girl on campus besides faculty? Easy-peasy. I’d done it a thousand times before.
Not really, but I had to talk myself up a bit. All summer Kelsey and I went over scenarios, things that could happen. Of course, there were some really bad things that we came up with, but also some really cool things that were taken straight out of an anime. I mean, one girl among a bunch of boys? That was a reverse harem situation waiting to happen.
I set my skateboard on the sidewalk, kicking off. I grinned as the wind whipped around me. I’d never dated more than one guy at a time before, not really. Could I even handle that many dicks at once?
The area of Hillcrest University that held the dorm rooms was bustling. The rest of campus was quiet, and I liked it. I didn’t have to zigzag along the sidewalk to avoid running into people. I should’ve brought my earphones so I could listen to music and totally zone out.
HU was full of old architecture—but not old in the literal sense. These buildings were all new and updated; their outer stonework was just crafted to look old. Almost gothic and castle-like. I’d been here so many times with my mom that I knew all the buildings where my classes would be. I hadn’t been inside any of the buildings yet, but that would come tomorrow.
I thought back to my roomie, to Declan.
There was something off about him, and I didn’t mean serial killer off. I meant off like…sad. His brown eyes had been sad. Like he’d thought himself too boring or too much of a burden to go with me for food. And I’d been so caught up in myself that I didn’t really fight him on it. Well, now that I knew he was cute and sad, I’d make sure to handle myself better next time.
The student union was one of the largest buildings on campus. It was only two stories tall, but a lot was packed into it. All the shops, where you could buy textbooks and school supplies, not to mention shirts and hoodies that were plastered with HU on their fronts and backs. The grand conference room, where most of orientation had been held for incoming students. Half a dozen lounges with free Wi-Fi and multiple plugs on the walls to charge your phones and laptops. And who could forget the vast array of food places, too?
I really wished there was a McDonald’s here. I’d gain like a hundred pounds over the course of the next four years, but who cared about that? McDonald’s was delicious, and I didn’t give a shit about all of the stories that came out about what was in their chicken nuggets. I loved those fucking things.
Not many other students were here, but the food places were open. I chose a salad place, got the biggest bowl, and had the woman working there fill it up with lettuce, croutons and carrots. Might as well try to be healthy, right? Even if it only lasted for a few weeks. I did not want to gain the freshman fifteen—unless it was with McDonald’s—not when I was the only girl student on campus. Had to keep my figure up for all of my admirers.
I nearly laughed at that as I poured some dressing on the salad. Admirers. Like I was the hottest shit around. I wasn’t, but I liked to think I had a certain charm. Bit of a punk, bit of a skater, sort of a geek with my knowledge of movies and videogames.
After paying, I made my way to one of the many tables in the union. With a mouthful of salad, I got out my phone and texted Kelsey. Until this opportunity fell into my lap, the plan was to go to the same college as her, a public school a bit closer to home. I missed her. It’d been two weeks since I’d seen her.
Holding the fork in my mouth, I smiled the moment Kelsey texted me back. She wanted pictures of both my room and my roommate, preferably shirtless ones.
I was in the process of texting her back when someone pulled out the chair beside mine and plopped himself down on it like he owned the damn thing. His foot knocked into mine, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to snap at him.
Slowly taking the fork from my mouth, I set my phone down as I glared at him. “You know, there are lots of other empty seats around here…” I trailed off when I met his blue eyes. They were under a sea of black-blue hair, attached to a body that contained so many tattoos I couldn’t count them.
Had I mentioned lately that I loved tattoos? My mom never let me get one, but it was on my list of things to do eventually.
He lounged back, his knees spread, inviting me to glance at the tightness of his jeans, the way the denim hugged him in a way I should not notice, mostly because he was a rude stranger with no knowledge of personal space. A dragon tattoo curled up his left arm, the dragon’s neck and head disappearing under his shirt sleeve.
I wonder what other tattoos he has under the hood…
God, this guy was more than just hot. He was sexy. My kind of sexy. My exact kind of sexy, and he stared at me like I was a tall glass of water on the world’s hottest day. Like he instantly craved me.
Hillcrest was going to be more fun than I thought.