In every crush dream I had about Austin since I was old enough to fall in love, this conversation would happen over and over. “Really? That’s a lot to ask.”
“Nah. You and I can be boyfriend and girlfriend, which keeps me away from Endgame and him away from me. Plus, you can live here and not have that stress from Roberta and her revenge farts.” Austin held out his hand for a shake. A special deal. A secret. I wanted to lick his hand, but instead, I shook it.
I was going to live with my dream man and pretend to be his girlfriend. I knew the long-term damage was going to be substantial to my heart, but there was no way in hell I was saying no to him.
“You’ve got a deal.”
Sleeping was easy, and I wasn’t expecting that. Leaving a dorm room in the middle of the night was exhausting. Austin had me in a cuddle. He was a touchy guy. Hell, it wasn’t even the first time we’d ever cuddled.
I tried to etch the feeling of the weight of his arm on my hip. Too bad a feeling couldn’t be a tattoo.
The alarm on my phone went off. The trill of a pop song was like a knife to my eyeball nerves. I clamored out of bed to silence it. I stood there, trying to get my act together. I glanced down at my Wonder Woman pajamas. I couldn’t wear those, even a little.
Austin rolled onto his back and put his arms behind his head. I was distracted by him. The way he was muscled was my favorite. He was so complete and so well hidden under clothes, but when I got to see his chest, it was sigh-worthy. He had more tattoos than the last time I had been face-to-face with his bare chest at a pool party Teddi had in senior year.
“Kitten, you look lost. You okay?” He propped himself up and reached inside his end table drawer. He popped a piece of mint gum into his mouth. I covered my own mouth. I forgot my toothbrush.
“I need all my stuff. Like all of it. I’m supposed to go to class and I’m wearing this.” I waved my hand in front of my body.
“How much time we got?” He flipped the covers off and got out, stretching.
How was a girl supposed to talk when he was doing…all that? He was wearing black fitted boxers and still had on his chains.
I looked down at my phone’s screen like it had the answers. “Class is at ten. It’s 9:45.”
“I got you.” He tossed me the pack of gum and I slid out a piece.
He rushed into his closet and I realized it was far more than what I was expecting. It was a full-on extra room, which made sense. Austin made money on social media. He was known for fashion and eclectic ways of framing everyday items. Most people my age were following him on TikTok. He was pretty good at shielding his actual appearance, so he had found a way to be sort of mini-famous without actually having too many of the pitfalls.
I trailed behind him. He had all kinds of cameras, makeup, and clothing, and it was meticulously organized. I felt every girly part of me swoon.
He studied me up and down in a way that seemed clinical, and then he flipped through the options. “I’ll drive you. What building is your class in?”
I caught the soft, long, black skirt he tossed and slipped it on over my shorts. Then I had a tank top and a sweater to manage. Next, I had a pair of boots. The outfit was quick and effortlessly perfect for walking in the city. “Parker, Eastside.”
Austin grabbed a ponytail holder and a makeup case. “Let’s go.”
While he was picking out my stuff, he’d been building his own outfit. Jeans, a white sweater, and a slouchy beanie were all I could see. I grabbed my backpack and phone as Austin threw open his door. A wall of weed smell hit us.
Austin peeked over his shoulder, mouthing, “Sorry.”
There were so many actual humans in his living room. I was counting at least five. Two of them were naked.
Endgame was slouched in a chair holding a glass, swirling the caramel colored liquid inside it.
His eyes were mostly red. His voice was quiet and meant for only Austin, but I heard him anyway. “Done with her that quick?”
“Shut it,” Austin bit out his reply and I had no idea why his words made tears prick in my eyes.
Endgame rolled his eyes.
Austin opened the door and held it for me. I hustled through it. Once I was in the hall, Austin leaned back in the apartment and hissed something I couldn’t hear.
He closed the door before I could hear any response. I knew I was madly in love with Austin, but moving in with him while he navigated a breakup might be a poor choice.
The girl in love in my head stomped her feet. She didn’t care if anything made sense as long as she could be near Austin.
He held out his hand and I took it. We ran through the hall and down a set of stairs. Austin reached for my backpack before taking the burden from me. When we hit the garage, we all-out sprinted, still holding hands until we skidded to a stop at his vintage white CRX. I heard the doors unlock and grabbed the passenger door. Austin had the car in reverse the second my door was closed.
“You’ll be a few minutes late, sugar.” He pushed up the sleeves of his sweater while he waited for the parking garage arm to let us out.
I rested my head back and watched him. I woke up with Austin Burathon. He dressed me and was driving me to school. Teenage Taylor was dying one thousand deaths of happiness.
“Thank you.” I watched as he navigated the manual transmission like a boss. Why were his forearms so defined?
“You wanna get your stuff after class? What time do you get out?” His warm brown eyes met mine and he offered me a small smile.
“I don't know if I’m ready to battle Roberta and her boyfriend yet.” I unzipped my backpack and slipped my phone into the front pocket.
“Oh, sweetheart, they won’t be allowed to talk to you. I’ll be there and I’ll have some of my friends with me.” He double parked in front of the Begonia Building, which was near the Parker Building.
“Okay. Eleven-thirty is when class ends.” I opened the car door while the drivers of the vehicles behind us laid on their horns.
“I’ll be in this exact spot then. I’m going to sit here the whole time so these bastards get so mad their panties light on fire.” Then Austin winked at me and we had a date.
I closed his car door and headed to class.
This was all great. Super awesome. I was so happy and confused that all I wanted to do was talk to my best friend, and she was Austin’s sister.
2
TAYLOR
I texted Peaches. She was my best friend, too. But she was the ridiculous one. Good ridiculous, but still ridiculous.
ME: So I left my dorm last night.
PEACHES: OMG! Why?
ME: The bitch and her screw buddy hit my last nerve.
PEACHES: Where are you? R U ok?
Now Peaches was sounding like Teddi, who would one hundred percent be involved in finding me housing options and a lawyer.
ME: Austin picked me up
PEACHES: NO! TAYLOR FANCY BOLAND!!
She used my full name.
ME: Yes
PEACHES: No!
ME: Yes
PEACHES: Did you literally cream your pants?
ME: Yes!
PEACHES: No! AUSTIN BURATHON of the FUCKHOT GUYLINER and SUAVE AMAZINGNESS!!?
Okay, both Peaches and I had had middle school crushes on Austin. She grew out of hers, preferring the football players in our class. I never grew out of it, and Peaches knew it.