揟hey turned out amazing,?Vi squeals and hands Jane and me each one to examine.
I groan when I see the bold title. 揥allflower Ball? You抮e officially calling it the Wallflower Ball??
揥allflowers are awesome,?Jane says.
The fliers are amazing. Dahlia designed them with girls in big gowns and fierce pantsuits梐 mix of her and Violet抯 designs. And around them a big, floral archway like the one causing the current floral nightmare.
Violet divides the stack into four. 揥e should post these around campus, and I have the digital file we can post online.?
揥here??I ask.
揥e split up. I抣l take the dorms. Daisy, take the library and University Hall. Jane can get the theater and music buildings, and Dahlia can get the rec center and athletic facilities. Anything else, we抣l hit together tomorrow afternoon.?
揅an I take the dorms? Or at least Freddy??I ask as I wrap my fingers around the fliers.
揝ure,?Violet says the word slowly. 揥hy? What are you up to??
揘othing. I need to talk to someone from class that lives in the building, so I抣l be there anyway.?
My friends are quiet for too long, and my face gets hot.
揇oesn抰 Liam live in Freddy dorm??Violet抯 smile widens, and she bats her lashes.
Dahlia and Jane are watching me expectantly for more information.
With a smile, I stand. 揝ee you guys back at the house.?
Sitting and talking about him will talk me out of my plan. And the plan isn抰 half bad.
Freddy dorm is where most of the jocks live. Even a lot of the upper-class students stay here instead of moving out. The dorm is one of the nicest on campus, and the setup is in suites with two or four bedrooms and shared living space.
I only know this because it was in the housing packet when I was accepted to Valley U. I didn抰 know then it was reserved for student-athletes, but I should have guessed as much.
In high school, well-meaning guidance counselors and teachers tell you that in college, it抯 less about labels like jock and nerd and more about finding your people. They were half right. It was easy to find my people here. By the second semester, I had a group of people I called friends. They are all physics or art majors or girls from the same dorm hall. Then Violet, of course, once she stopped hanging with her sorority roommate. The point is the division in groups still exists. I guess because there are more of us, we抮e supposed to stop caring.
I haven抰， but as I walk through the front entrance of Freddy, I wish I could. If just for a few minutes, I would love to be blissfully unaware that I am different than the other people walking in.
A girl in a Valley U volleyball tank top holds the door open for me and smiles. 揅oming in??
揟hanks.?My gaze sweeps over the large lounge area.
Girls and guys hang out in front of a TV. The sound is muted on a basketball game, and there抯 music coming from somewhere梪pbeat, party music. Which is exactly what it feels like梐 fun, little Thursday afternoon party. Our dorm lounge never felt like that.
揂re you looking for someone??she asks as I pause, still looking for which direction to go.
揑s there a bulletin board for announcements??
She points to the left side near mailboxes and the front desk.
揟hanks again.?
With a nod and a smile, she bounces away from me, ponytail swaying with each step.
I hang the flier and then hesitate on my plan. I don抰 know what floor Liam is on or if I can even get there without being stopped. Freddy is a co-ed dorm, but I don抰 know which are boys?floors and which are girls? This was a terrible idea.
Not to mention, how am I going to ask him to haul something for me, therefore admitting I know he drives a truck when I have no reason to have that knowledge. No reason except when he抯 around, I have some sort of sense. I can spot him across campus, across parking lots?I just see him. But, yeah, I don抰 think that explanation is going to convince him to help me. More like run far, far away.
I抦 about to leave when Jordan walks through the front doors. I look behind him, hopefully for Liam. I抦 not that lucky.
His black backpack hangs on one shoulder, and his Valley Hockey hat is turned backward. He has this ease about him, from the way he dresses to the way he walks like he doesn抰 give a single fuck about anything. I admire it as much as I dislike it. Would it kill him to care a little about something?
It should say something about my feelings for Liam that I抦 able to put one foot in front of the other and catch Jordan before he reaches the stairs.
揓ordan,?I call his name, then quicken my steps to a jog so he can hear me over the music. 揓ordan, hey!?
He glances over his shoulder while still moving up the stairs, but when he sees me, he stops, and his brows lift. 揇aisy??
The confusion on his face isn抰 malicious, but I still pray for the floor to swallow me up. I抦 the last person he expected to see here.
揌ey,?he says when I don抰 respond. 揥hat are you doing here??
揑厰 My explanation is stuck somewhere inside of me. Why did I think this was a good plan?
揑f you抮e looking for Liam, he isn抰 back yet. He had a meeting with Coach.?
揟hanks.?I spin on my heel to flee, but I can抰 seem to force myself to go. I came here for a reason, and I need to see it through or die of embarrassment trying. Spinning back around, I face him again. 揇o you know what time he抣l be back??
揘o, but it shouldn抰 be too long. You can wait for him if you want or if it抯 something with physics, I can probably figure it out.?
揑t isn抰 about physics.?
揑 figured.?He flashes the smallest of grins. He tips his head, motioning for me to follow, and bounces up each stair, somehow moving slowly but energetic at the same time.
I keep a two-step difference between us as he leads me up to the fifth floor. He holds open the door for me, forcing me to go ahead of him. I stop and let him retake the lead. Lots of doors are open, letting the noise from the rooms bleed out into the hallway梞usic, video games, laughter. Two guys are tossing a football the length of the hall.
揌eads up,?Jordan says as we pass them. 揌ey, Ry.?
揟hatcher.?The guy he called Ry smiles and holds the football in one giant palm. 揌ow抯 it going??
揋ood, man.?
Ry gives me a knowing smirk that takes me a second to decipher, but when I do, I once again wish I could disappear. Ry thinks I抦 on my way to hook up with Jordan. Kill me now.
Jordan eventually stops about halfway down the long hallway and opens a door on the left side. He walks in, holds the door open with an elbow, and flips on the light.
I抦 staring at a living area. A couch and a chair face a TV with various gaming systems. Hockey jerseys hang on the wall, there are skates, sticks, and other gear shoved next to the TV, and it smells a little like a gym locker, but it抯 not as messy as I might have imagined.
On either side of the living area are what I assume are the bedrooms, but I can抰 see inside of either.
揑t抯 even bigger than I expected,?I say.
Jordan抯 lips pull into a wide smile.
揟he room,?I grit out.
揑 knew what you meant.?
揟hen why are you smirking like that??
揔new what you meant, but I still thought it was funny.?He drops his backpack onto a chair and points to another empty seat. 揧ou can sit if you want.?
I do and then instantly regret it. Jordan rubs the back of his neck like he抯 not sure how to entertain me now that I抦 here. The movement lifts the hem of his T-shirt to expose an inch of flat stomach above his jeans. He抯 about the same height as Liam, but Jordan is leaner, and his muscles are more defined.