揥hoa,?I say as adrenaline hits. I love a good party.
揑 told you.?Gavin pushes at my shoulder and stretches his long legs to hurry up to the house.
I texted Liam on the way to see if he wanted to meet up with us, but he was already headed back to the dorm. Be like Liam, I tell myself. One beer, and I抦 out.
A booming voice cuts through the silence, and the ground beneath me shakes. 揋otta get up, man. Class in twenty.?
揢nnggh.?My mouth is dry, and my head splinters in two when I open my eyes.
Liam抯 amused smile greets me. 揧ou look like shit. I thought you were taking it easy last night.?
I pull myself up and crack my neck to work out a kink. 揝igma was crazy. Biggest after hours I抳e seen all semester.?
I reach for the water bottle on my nightstand. One beer turned into two or three, and then several rounds of birthday shots.
揟he Hideout was packed last night too.?He backs out of my room, stopping in the doorway. 揇id you finish your paper??
Ah fuck. I had my alarm set for eight this morning to get up and finish it, but I must have turned it off and passed right back out. Not surprising since I didn抰 crash until almost three.
My face must give him the answer because he laughs. 揃ring it to lab. You can work on it there.?
揟hank you.?
I have just enough time to shower and grab my shit before we head off to the Emerson Building for our physics lab. I抦 finishing off a bag of chips when we walk in. Dr. Green pauses his lecture and waits for us to take our seats.
For twenty minutes, he talks, giving us all the relevant information for today抯 lab. My grades are decent. I pull Bs and Cs, thanks in large part to sharing most of my classes with Liam. He keeps me in check with school, and I like to think I抳e helped him learn to cut loose a little. Freshman year, when we got to Valley, he抎 never had a drop of alcohol, and he spent every night studying.
I抦 not saying there抯 anything wrong with either of those things, but it抯 college梱ou have to live a little.
When Dr. Green finishes, Liam nods toward my bag on the floor. 揥e抳e got this. Just make it look like you抮e feverishly taking notes.?
揥e??
At my question, Daisy steps up to our table. She pushes a lock of dark blonde hair behind one ear. 揌i.?
揝tuck with us again, huh??Liam asks, shooting her a charming grin.
She eats it right up, dropping her gaze to the floor with a smile. 揧eah. My partner must have dropped the class.?
Liam grabs an extra stool and sets it next to her. 揧ou抮e our partner now.?
揟hank you.?She moves like a scared rabbit, perching herself on the very edge of the seat. I抦 not sure I抎 heard her say a single word all semester that wasn抰 a direct response to a question until two days ago when Dr. Green put her in our group. She抯 smart, though. Our professor always calls on her when no one else knows the answer.
She抯 pretty cute. The shy, quiet thing she has going on is a whole vibe.
My buddy is into it, too. I can tell. They抮e perfect for one another: Barbie and Ken, brainy, introvert edition. Liam抯 a good guy, the best, actually. If anyone can make her feel at ease, it抯 him. That抯 probably why Dr. Green put her at our table.
揌ow should we break up the work??she asks as she leans forward and reads the lab handout. Her nails are painted a bright, fiery red. That makes me smile. They抮e so much bolder than anything else about her.
揑t抯 just you and me today,?Liam says and tilts his head toward me. 揓ordan needs to finish a paper. Is that cool??
Her gaze slides over to me briefly, not meeting mine before she pins another shy smile at Liam. 揚erfect.?
As planned, I start on my paper while the two of them work on the lab. I sneak a glance at them huddled together, smiling and laughing like physics is a freaking blast. Her cheeks are pink with a flush, and she looks at Liam like he抯 the freaking moon and stars.
I抦 closing in on three pages and reading over it again to check for errors when they finish the lab.
揇one??Liam asks me as they clean up the lab supplies.
揧eah. I just need a closing sentence to wrap it up.?
揥hat抯 the paper about??Daisy抯 voice almost blends in with the noise of the classroom. She抯 so quiet, but she抯 talking a little more today.
揟ime management.?Liam snorts as he responds for me. Okay, it抯 kind of funny. Still, I glare at him.
揧ou had to write a paper on time management? For what class??
揟echnical writing. It抯 tips and tricks, that kind of thing. We drew out of a hat for topics.?
She nods slowly. 揗aybe you should end it with a cautionary tale of what happens when you don抰 have good time management, and you have to finish assignments during other classes.?
Liam chuckles softly. Damn, is this girl burning me?
揗aybe I was sick yesterday or at a funeral.?
揥ere you??
I huff a laugh and grin at her. 揘o.?
The three of us pack up to leave. Liam has to haul ass across campus to meet with his adviser, but I take my time and walk out with Daisy. Even the way she moves is gentle and unassuming. She side-eyes me when I fall into step beside her.
揟hanks for today. I抦 sorry you had to pick up my slack.?
She regards me carefully, like she isn抰 sure if I抦 being genuine or not. I don抰 even know why I抦 apologizing. They still finished early, even without my help.
I get the briefest of nods from her, and she takes another tentative step down the hall.
揂re you coming to the game tomorrow night??
揙h, umm厰 She has this habit of tucking her hair behind her right ear, and she does it again now. 揑抦 not sure.?
揂 big hockey fan like you??I tease.
She blushes again but doesn抰 say anything.
We come to the outside door, and I hold it open for her. The wind whips her long hair around her head, sending the strands and their fruity smell into my face.
She looks over her shoulder as she corrals her wild hair.
揑抦 going that way.?I jab my thumb in the opposite direction toward my tech writing class. 揂re you heading to another class??
揘o, I抦 done for the day.?
揂re you in the dorms??
She hesitates like she抯 confused why I抦 asking so many questions. Me too, but I find her sort of fascinating. 揘o, I live off-campus.?
揌uh.?
She looks at me quizzically. I can hardly tell her I find that surprising even though I do.
揧ou shouldn抰 spend so much time socializing between classes.?
揥hat抯 that??Now it抯 my turn to be confused.
A ghost of a smile crosses her pink lips. 揑t抯 another tip for better time management.?
4
JORDAN
揑 thought you two had forgotten.?Gavin tosses a wad of material at me. 揘ew shirts.?
揝orry. Coach held us late again.?Liam sets his bowling shoes down on the floor and takes a seat. 揓ust the three of us tonight??
Gavin nods. 揓enkins had a study session.?
I hand Liam a shirt and hold up mine in front of me, then drop it to look at Gavin. 揕ucky Strikes??
He stands and picks up his blue bowling ball. 揥e couldn抰 be Team Blue Balls again this year.?
揥hy not??I ask and slip the black Dickies shirt with our new team name printed on the front over my T-shirt. 揑t抯 funny.?
揑t抯 really not that funny,?Liam says.
I flip him off as he moves to the computer.
揝ame order??he asks as he punches in our names.
揝ounds good to me.?
I抦 rusty from not playing for a few months. The three of us, plus Gavin抯 teammate, Andy Jenkins, joined a bowling league freshman year when Gavin and Andy lived across the hall instead of their sweet new digs at The White House. We were bored and heard this place never carded for alcohol. At the time, it seemed like as good a reason as any to join a bowling league. But two years later, we抮e still doing it even after we抳e all turned twenty-one except Gavin.