He released Sydney and turned on me with a smile. “You must be Nina. I’ve heard lots about you. I know that you’ve got to approve of me for Sydney to stick with me, so if there’s anything I can do for brownie points, let me know.”
I wanted to spit something about not taking her out of our room, but I had the terrible affliction of being rendered speechless by good looking guys. “Hi,” I replied simply.
He held out an arm toward the other guy who’d walked in with him. “This is my best friend and roommate, Devon.”
Devon had light brown skin, with slightly longer brown hair that puffed across the top of his head. His eyes were a stunning hazel-green that felt like if I stared into them for too long, I’d fall in. He, too, was tall and had broad shoulders and full, thick arms, which were on display due to a striped tank-top he was wearing. Even with a stoic expression on his face, there were permanent dimples in his cheeks, but when he caught me staring at him, he flashed a wide-smile that turned the small indents into huge crevices.
“Nice to meet you…” His eyes trailed up and down my form before landing on my eyes again, partnered with his grin getting a touch larger. “Nina.”
“Hi,” I said, trying hard to ignore the way heat fled into my body and the feeling of his eyes on me.
Devon moved to lean against the bathroom door that was situated between my computer desk and my bed while Henry turned his attention back to Sydney.
“What’s going on?” Henry asked.
“Our psycho RA is apparently super strict about no boys and girls, so she does a room count every night,” Sydney whined. “Anyone gone from their room for four or more nights is reported to the dean and can be put on academic probation.”
“That sucks!” Henry said. “I was really looking forward to rooming with you.”
“Is there nothing we can do?” Sydney asked.
Henry shook his head. “I don’t think so. It is technically against the rules, even if most of the RA’s are normal people who don’t worry about enforcing it.”
The looks of lament on both Sydney and Henry’s faces did make me feel bad, but this wasn’t the time or the place to bend the rules. They would just have to be a separate couple and then look into living together next year or something.
“Is it just a body count?” Devon asked. “See two bodies in the room?”
Sydney shrugged. “It would almost have to be. It’s not like she can force people to stay awake until she’s ready to do count.”
“It’s easy then,” Devon said. “I’ll sleep in this room. I’ll just bury under the covers, and, if needed, I can use a voice recording to trick her.”
My jaw dropped. Devon was in the exact same situation I was. I imagined he wouldn’t want the arrangement any more than I would. “What?”
Henry eyed Devon, wide-eyed. “You’d do that for me?”
Devon nodded. “Of course, man.”
Sydney smiled brightly. “Thank you!”
“Wait!” I barked. “This is never going to work. Even if we can actually fool her that a six-foot-four man is actually you, she’s bound to see him coming and going. She’ll get suspicious.”
Sydney waved her hand. “She can’t question it unless it’s violating the rules. We’ll just tell her to mind her own business.” She looked at Henry. “We can live together!”
Henry wrapped his arms around Sydney and looked at her through sparkling, happy eyes. “I’m so glad.”
He dipped in to kiss her, and what started as a light peck quickly turned amorous. I averted my gaze, and even Devon was looking anywhere but at the two.
Finally, Devon clapped his hands. “Hey, get a room.”
“We have one,” Henry said. He took Sydney by the hand and opened the door to the dorm room, and they were both gone a second later.
I glared over at Devon. “I’m not going for this. For one, I don’t even know you, and for two, I’m not risking my college career to violate a rule, even if it’s a dumb one. Sydney and Henry will be upset, but I’m sorry, I need to go tell the RA before it’s too late.”
I started for the door, but quick as lightning, Devon hopped out of the nook he was nestled in, sticking his arm out across the entire width of the door to stop me from leaving. He was so close that I could smell his cologne, something wooded and dizzying, swirling around me. He was imposing in both height and the seriousness in his gaze, and his bicep bulged as he gripped the wood of the frame. I couldn’t quite decipher if I was irritated or turned on. Maybe both.
“Move,” I growled.
“No.” The statement was plain and devoid of any fear.
“I don’t have to mix you up in all this, but I will.”
“Not only will you not mix me up in it, but you’re going to let Henry and Sydney do as they please.”
I stood as tall as I could, staring down Devon and attempting to match his energy. “Why wouldn’t I?”
An evil smile curled across Devon’s face. “Because if you do, I’ll tell Kai that you’re obsessed with him.”
3
Devon
The way Nina stared me down, even though she was nearly a foot shorter than me, struck a chord in me. Anyone who was willing to size me up despite being smaller immediately earned my respect. Also, at first glance, Nina just didn’t seem like the spitfire she was turning out to be. She was bookish, with glasses and her hair pulled back. The tips may have been dyed purple, but I had a feeling her wilder best friend had something to do with that. I expected her to be mousey when I first laid my eyes on her, but she had some fight in her.
I liked it.
I wondered briefly how someone like Nina could come to be friends with someone like Sydney, who I’d seen engage in more than one party over the summer, but it was becoming a little more clear. I guessed that Nina still wasn’t the kind of person who would totally let her hair down and get loose like Sydney, but they probably had a yin and yang thing going on.
“How do you know about Kai?” Nina asked.
I chuckled. She had spunk, but she was maybe a little dense. I nodded my head toward her computer. “You left your journal up.”
Nina’s head whipped in the direction of her computer, and her cheeks turned red. She jumped over and slammed the top down and then leered back at me. “You shouldn’t read people’s private business.”
I shrugged. She was probably right, but it was a convenient excuse. “I didn’t realize it was private, given that it was just sitting open with a bunch of people standing in the room.”
“I wasn’t the one who invited all the people into my room,” Nina spat back. “Besides, I’m not worried. I highly doubt you know who Kai is, anyway.”
I scoffed, imagining the full-of-himself teenager who’d spent plenty of time on campus during his senior year. “He’s the dean’s kid, right?” Nina had a haughty smirk on her face that faded instantly. I nodded. “Yeah. I know him.”
Nina went silent and just stared at my face. I could tell she was mulling over her options in her head. Her journal entry had mentioned having feelings for Kai and some of their history and not expecting him to be at Presper. She talked about him too much for him not to carry some weight in her life, but the fact that he’d completely brought her to a halt was curious to me.