Chapter 2

River

We finally made it after two hours of driving. We headed to the apartments on campus, choosing to live in the same complex while still having our own space. Well, I did. Zach was upset about it at first, but frankly, I just wanted to live a little and feel free. I wanted that single life, you know, the kind where you should be able to blast music, watch TV, walk around naked, and eat whatever and whenever you want.

Two of our good friends, Jason and Erica, were also attending UT, but they had dorms. Jason and Erica had roommates. I, on the other hand, was able to afford my apartment because of my mom’s life insurance. Dad had put the money away for me to use for college. I also had scholarships because your girl here was a smart cookie.

Zach was able to afford an apartment because his family was wealthy. So, money was never an issue for him. However, Zach is a very smart guy, a genius, if you may.

He chose to major in Mechanical Engineering, just like me. He said watching me fix, work, and put car parts together encouraged him to do the same. He was shocked when he found out about my mechanical knowledge in middle school. I gotta thank Dad for that because he taught me everything I should know about mechanics, and I loved it. Anytime our bikes or buggies broke down, we were usually the ones fixing them. Okay, I’m lying. It was mostly me, but he still helped. That was another thing he knew about me that almost no one else did. I didn’t think many girls were interested in the same things I was, but I was pretty sure I’d have some interesting conversations with boys who loved getting dirty with engines.

So there we were, unloading our things and making trip after trip back and forth. I practically had to beg him to let me do this on my own. I wished Zach would stop treating me like some delicate little flower. I was a strong, strategic thinker and an independent person.

On one of my trips to my apartment, I accidentally bumped into a beautiful girl with black wavy hair. She was a little taller than me and definitely dressed the part — a cute short skirt, a cropped top, and... heels? Seriously? Who in their right mind wore heels in weather like this?

“Watch where you're going!” she screeched after stumbling backward and nearly falling.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t—”

“Yeah, I don’t care! You almost made me fall. Watch where the heck you're going!” she snapped in a hostile tone.

I stared at her in surprise. Dang, that was rude. Such a beautiful face with such an ugly tongue.

“I said I was sorry!” I exclaimed, raising my voice enough to make her frown.

“You know what? Forget it. Move!”

I pushed past her, not caring whether she stumbled or not — which, honestly, I hoped she did. Yeah, I know, not very Christian-like, but I seriously disliked girls like that. I sure as heck wasn’t going to tolerate someone talking to me that way.

“Umph! stupid freak!” she yelled behind me.

I stopped and was about to turn around when a deep, furious voice shouted from nearby.

“WHAT DID YOU CALL HER?!”

I immediately recognized Zach’s voice. He sounded absolutely livid.

“It’s okay, Z. I got this. The girl lost a screw when she almost tripped.”

The look on her face was priceless, and there was also a gleam in her eye. The way she stared at my best friend made me clench my brows, and I felt a tinge of jealousy. No, couldn’t be, he’s your friend Riv’s.

“I uh…she should be the one apologizing! She almost made me fall! I could have–” She raised her voice, not believing he yelled at her, but he cut her off.

“Lies!!! You’d better apologize to her now!” He seethed, and I heard her breath hitch. She seemed offended and hurt that he’d talk to her like that. I’m guessing from the look on her face that guys haven't talked to Barbie like that.

“ZACH! ENOUGH! I. Don’t. Care. She almost fell because of me. The freaking box was in my way. Can we just hurry up and finish, please? I don’t need an apology because we both know she’s not going to mean it.” I huffed, irritated by this unnecessary quarrel. I was sweating and hot, and my glasses were fogging up. I wanted to get under the AC as soon as possible.

“Fine! I’ll help you with that, babe.” Ugh. His stupid nickname.

I noticed the girl’s expression change the second he called me that. People were definitely going to get the wrong idea, especially with how possessive he became whenever guys were around me.

I nodded while the girl stomped away, cursing and throwing a tantrum down the sidewalk.

Way to go on my first day here.

I honestly didn’t think I could handle dealing with girls like that all year.

As we headed toward my apartment, another girl approached us while handing out flyers.

“Here! If you're a freshman, this is for you. This party is to welcome all newcomers. Hope to see ya there!” she chirped cheerfully, smiling at me and winking at Zach.

She handed us each a flyer that read:

‘PARTY AT ALPHA TAU OMEGA! ALL FRESHMEN ARE INVITED. LET US GIVE YOU A WARM WELCOME!

IT’S A MASQUERADE PARTY. MASKS ARE OPTIONAL BUT FUN. BE THERE AT 7:30 P.M. TOMORROW, SATURDAY. ALL ESSENTIALS WILL BE PROVIDED ;)’

Zach laughed. “Of course, all freshmen are invited.”

Apparently, his brothers and a few other people had already warned him about these kinds of parties.

“Are you going?” I asked.

“Yeah, why not? Guess I’ll see what all the commotion is about with these parties,” he replied in a bored tone.

“Well, have fun then.”

His face instantly dropped.

“You’re not going, babe?”

“Nope. I’d rather stay here, unpack my stuff, and relax. This is my first time living alone and doing what I want. I don’t think a party is a good idea to begin with anyway.”

“Aw, come on. I’ll be there with you. I wouldn’t want you to go alone. I’ll even help you unpack. River, it’s not like you won’t have enough time to put your things away. It’s the first party of the year — live a little, babe. I promise I’ll stay with you, and Jason and Erica will be there too,” he pleaded.

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that... I don’t know. Let me think about it. I’d have to go shopping for a mask if I do decide to go. I don’t want those... hooligans seeing ‘ma berdiful face.’”

I laughed dramatically and fluttered my lashes at him.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Fine. Me too. I don’t think I want horndogs hitting on you. Are you done with your boxes?” he asked, changing the subject quickly as though I hadn’t caught what he just implied.

“I only have two more. Don’t worry about me. They’re small, so go finish whatever you were doing. Oh, and Zachy? Thank you for having my back, but I did have it under control.”

I winked, blew him a kiss, and walked toward the Roadrunner.

He shook his head and hollered after me, “Sure, you did. Anything for you, babe. Call me if you need help, Wonder Woman.”

I rolled my eyes and gave him two thumbs up before heading back to my vehicle. I had forgotten to close the back.

As I stepped outside again, I saw the chick I had argued with earlier angrily talking to a guy. The second I shut the back of the vehicle with the boxes in my arms, I noticed her pointing directly at me.

“Oh, sonovabiscuit.”

The guy turned to look at me, and the moment he did, he just stared.

My breath hitched, but I still forced a smile before quickly heading back toward the safety of my apartment.

The second I shut the door, I heard a soft knock a minute later.

I froze.

“Fudgesicles... was that them?” I whispered.

I walked into my room and set the boxes down.

Nope. I’m not opening it. They can knock all they want.

“I don’t have time—”

“Open up, sweetheart. I know you’re in there. I promise I’m not here to scold you. I just want a glimpse of the girl who pissed Jessica off.”

His voice, calm and deep, came from behind the door.

So her name was Jessica.

I took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

Walking back toward the entrance, I cracked the door open while keeping my foot behind it and maintaining a stoic expression.

“What do you want—”

I was quickly silenced by how handsome he looked. A freaking young version of Vasiliy Stephanov, a Russian actor. He was definitely his doppelganger, but had light blue eyes, curly dirty-blond hair with a high taper fade cut, a chiseled jawline, kissable, juicy, plump lips, and a sinful glare as he stared up and down at what he could only see because half of my body was hiding behind the door.

I should have changed into pajamas.

“It should be a sin to look like that,” I said, thinking I said that to myself.

He chuckled, “I don’t think it’s a sin…blessed probably would be the correct word.”

My eyes opened wide like saucers. Oh, my gosh! Did I say that out loud? I gulped, squeezing my eyes at my absurdity.

He cocked an eyebrow and smirked, "I don't think your boyfriend would like hearing you say things like that to other guys, sweetheart."

What?! Did he say, boyfriend? “Boyfriend?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I replied, knitting my brows together.

His smile widened even more.

“W-what do you want?” I stammered again, suddenly feeling uncomfortable beneath his intense stare.

“Well, I wanted to see the person who made Jessica lose it. That’s all,” he replied in a rough, deep voice.

A voice that made my stomach flutter and my body tingle in a way I had never experienced before.

I mean, Zach’s voice was nice and all, but this guy...

This guy sounded even deeper than him, if that was somehow possible.

“Oh... well, now you did. I’m sorry. I tried apologizing to your girlfriend, but she wouldn’t hear it. So... is that all? I have things to do.”

I tried rushing the conversation because suddenly I didn’t know how to function around this man.

“Beautiful, tempered, and rude. I like you already. Oh, and Jessica isn’t my girlfriend.”

He winked before flashing me a sexy, boyish smile that made my heart pound even faster.

Not your girlfriend, huh? 

Dang it, snap out of it, woman!

“Will you be attending the party tomorrow night?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I have more important things to do than go to a party. But if you’re going, enjoy it.”

I said, closing the door on him. I didn’t mean to cut him off; it’s not like me, but I had to before Zach stepped out of his apartment and found a boy at my door. Zach may not look the part, but he could fight, and he wasn’t scared of expressing his anger or masking his expressions when it came to me.

The boy — I mean, man — had proven that before.

He chuckled from outside the door.

“Feisty. See you there, sweetheart. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Hot, gorgeous, sexy boy, say whaaaat?!”

I immediately smacked my hand over my mouth when I heard him yell back:

“He said he’ll be waiting for you!”

His laughter faded as he walked away.

Nope.

This was absolutely not happening.

I seriously needed to learn how to stop blurting out my thoughts.

I didn’t mean to do it. He had simply caught me off guard with how gorgeous he was.

My heart had never — and I mean never — pounded that fast for anyone before.

Okay, maybe for Italian and Turkish actors, but this guy?

This guy was hot.

I’d never been with a boy before. As in, I had never even had a boyfriend. Guys never really approached me or asked me out. Sometimes I felt undesirable, but my friends always knew how to snap me out of those depressing thoughts — especially Zach.

I just couldn’t understand why.

“He called me beautiful,” I said, placing a palm over my forehead. “Oh, come on, Riv, that’s what boys say when they want to get inside your pants.” I scolded myself.

I walked back to my living room to empty some more boxes. The first thing I did was look for my JBL Boombox. I turned it on since it was charged and connected it to my phone.

I immediately played Infinity by Jaymes Young. I began to dance in front of my long, arched floor mirror. Fun fact about me, I love dancing in front of a mirror. I love dancing to slow songs and watching my hips sway to the rhythm. It made me feel sexy dancing that way. I would never get caught dancing in public, but when I was alone, I danced my little heart out.

…and then there was Black Out Days by Phantogram. This song was one that I loved to dance to so many, many times, and I knew the moves by heart. That song was my jam.

As I grabbed a box, I realized that I didn't ask the sexy guy’s name. 

Oh, well, it’s not like I’d see him again.