Awakening (Covenant College Book 1) Read online

  “Yeah, well, it’s easier than being a boy sometimes.”

  “How do you figure?”

  I figured that was a loaded question, so I decided to skirt it.

  “You want to walk me up?”

  “You’re not going to answer my question?”

  “I’ll be late.”

  I could tell Will was debating pushing me on the issue. Instead he merely shrugged and pulled himself up from the bed.

  We climbed the stairs to the main floor quietly. I wasn’t sure how many of his frat brothers would be up – but I most certainly didn’t want to see Aric. Something was weird about that whole situation.

  When we made it up to the main floor I took a look around the living room. It was littered with empty beer bottles and pizza boxes.

  “Well, for one thing, girls are cleaner than boys.”

  “Huh?”

  “Why it’s harder to be a boy. You have to live in filth.”

  Will smirked. He leaned in to give me a kiss goodbye. “Call me later.”

  I nodded and let myself out the front door. I noticed Will making his way back downstairs. I figured he was probably going to get another couple of hours of sleep.

  As I happily skipped down the steps, I caught a flurry of movement coming up the driveway. I opened my mouth to say hi when I realized it was Aric. I snapped my mouth shut. I was hoping I’d be able to make my getaway without him saying anything. No such luck.

  “Did you spend the night here?” Aric looked irritated. I found that fairly interesting – and by interesting I mean creepy.

  “Why do you care?”

  “It was just a question.”

  “Yes, I spent the night.”

  “You’re dating Will.” It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway.

  “Yes, I’m dating Will.”

  “Where did you meet?”

  “When I was fourteen he came to my school dance.”

  “What?” Aric looked confused.

  “We know each other from home.” Sometimes you have to make things simplistic for men.

  “So you’ve known him a long time?”

  “Four years.”

  “Have you dated him all four years?”

  “What is this, twenty questions?” Aric’s busybody nature was starting to irk me.

  “Are you embarrassed by your relationship?”

  “No.”

  “Then why not just answer?”

  “I will when you tell me why you care.”

  “He’s a friend. I’ve just never heard of you.”

  My eyes narrowed as I regarded Aric. I could tell he wanted me to react to that statement. While it hurt, I wasn’t going to let him know it hurt.

  “Maybe you’re not as close of friends as you thought you were?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe you’re not as important to him as you think you are?”

  Well, that was low.

  “Thanks for the morale booster. If you’ll excuse me?” I tried to push past the wall of muscle that was Aric. He didn’t budge.

  I blew out a frustrated sigh. “What is your deal?”

  “What makes you think I have a deal?”

  “The fact that I’ve now met you twice and you’ve invaded my personal space both times.”

  “Maybe I think you’re hot.”

  “There are plenty of hot girls here.” God, I hoped my face wasn’t flaming red.

  Aric grudgingly took a step back to let me pass. “I’m sorry.”

  At first I wasn’t sure he had said anything at all. I paused as I was moving past him and looked up into his eyes searchingly for a second. “What are you sorry about?”

  “I shouldn’t have said what I did to you about Will.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because my relationship isn’t contingent on you. I know that’s mind boggling.”

  Aric smiled at me – a true smile – one that reached all the way up to his chocolate eyes. I couldn’t help but notice how much more attractive he was when he smiled.

  “You think I’m conceited.”

  “I think you’re used to women falling at your feet.”

  “But not you?”

  “No, not me.”

  I decided now was the time to make my escape and continued down the driveway. I wanted to look back to see if he was still there, but I realized I’d look much cooler if I didn’t. It was hard, but I managed to make the trek out to the road.

  I started toward the campus, all the while fighting the inner urge to look back. As I made it to the end of the street and started to turn, I risked a quick glance back. Not only was Aric still there, but also he was still staring.

  I felt a little pride that he was still checking me out – at first. Then I realized that I had only met him twice and I’d been rude both times.

  A wave of creepiness began to wash over me again. I made a mental note to find a way to grill Will about Aric, without making it obvious what I was after. A guy who chased a girl who was not only dating his friend but treated him like dirt might have some sort of personality disorder, after all.

  Without realizing what I was doing, I raised a hand to wave at Aric as I drifted out of sight. Well, so much for being cool.

  Nine

  Classes that day were not only uneventful, they were ridiculously boring. I was actually relieved. Within the last three days I’d met three different men who had managed to unnerve me – and one of them was an extremely strange professor.

  After my second class of the day, I happily trudged back to the dorms alone. When I made it up to the room, Brittany and Tara were in the bedroom studiously toiling away at their desks. Paris was sitting on the couch watching General Hospital. I joined her.

  “How was your night?”

  “Fine.” I wanted to talk to Paris about Aric, but I didn’t know how to broach the subject. How do you explain a feeling?

  “You do anything fun?”

  “Just each other.”

  Paris smirked as I levied my attention on General Hospital. We silently watched the soap for a few minutes before I turned back to her. “You spend the night at Mike’s last night?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You going back tonight?”

  “No.” I noticed she grimaced.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Tell me.”

  Paris sighed – one of those long ones that only come when you’ve been dating the same guy for a long time and you’ve had to suffer through a lot of bullshit. “He gave himself a nickname.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, he gave himself a nickname and he wants everyone to start calling him it.”

  “What is it?”

  “Boots.”

  “Boots?”

  “Boots.”

  “That’s a stupid nickname. Why did he give himself that name?”

  “Because he wants everyone to know that he’s constantly knocking boots.”

  My mouth must have dropped open in surprise because the next thing I knew I was forcing it shut. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Nope.”

  “What is it with guys?”

  “I know, right?”

  We both turned our attention back to the television. After the show ended, everyone decided to have an early dinner. Tara and Brittany had ‘loads’ of homework to fill their night.

  “Do you have anything?” Paris asked curiously as we walked down the hallway.

  “Nope.”

  “Me either.”

  We ended up eating dinner with the guys across the hall. They were excited because they’d seen one of the girls down the hall – Natalie, I think her name was -- naked. Apparently she’d walked across the common room nude because she didn’t realize the door between the hall and the room was open.

  “How did she look?” Brittany was appalled at my question.

  “What do you mean?” Rick No. 2 asked.
<
br />   “Does she stuff?”

  “How should I know?”

  “Her boobs always look lumpy. I assumed she stuffed.”

  The conversation didn’t progress from that point. Everyone started debating whether or not Natalie stuffed. I couldn’t wait until our conjecture made its way down the hall to her. She was already a bitch. I figured this would push her over the edge -- to raving bitch.

  After dinner, Paris and I both lamented our lack of anything to do.

  “You could go back over to Will’s,” she offered.

  I turned to her conspiratorially. “His room is in the basement.”

  “So.”

  “So, there’s no window and it kind of creeps me out. It’s like being in a box -- or an animal den -- or something. It’s freaky.”

  “Don’t tell him that.”

  “I know. He’s so fricking sensitive.”

  “He’s a man. They say we’re the only ones who get PMS – but they are definitely mistaken.”

  We ultimately decided to go down to Mark’s floor and get him. “I could use a Slurpee,” I agreed.

  Mark was eager to join us. I noticed he left the skateboard behind this time and purposely positioned himself between us as we made the walk to the 7-Eleven.

  We chatted amiably about classes, home, the weather – anything that wouldn’t be considered heavy. After getting our Slurpees, we sat at the picnic table outside the 7-Eleven and continued to chat. Finally, Mark broke our unspoken rule and asked a question neither Paris nor I wanted to answer.

  “So you both have serious boyfriends, huh?”

  “I don’t know if you’d call them serious,” Paris answered. I had a sneaking suspicion that Boots’ days were numbered.

  “Will and I are kind of serious,” I offered. I couldn’t help but notice that Mark seemed a little bit disappointed.

  “How long have you been together?”

  “Four years.”

  Mark looked nonplussed. Four years was a lot of history to overcome. Of course, he didn’t know that we frequently took “time outs” during those four years – and I had no intention of telling him. As nice as he was, Mark just wasn’t my cup of tea on a romantic level.

  After that, the conversation veered back into a safe area and I could see that both Paris and I had visibly relaxed.

  As we walked back to the dorms, I noticed that it looked like it was about to start raining.

  “I hope it storms.”

  “You like storms?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Me, too,” Paris admitted.

  “Me three,” Mark chimed in.

  We decided to wait outside to see if it would storm. We weren’t disappointed. Paris and I both walked out into the open field next to the dorm, opening our arms and staring up at the sky as the downpour started.

  “I love the rain,” Paris said.

  I was only half listening to her. The truth is, I felt relaxed during a storm. Other people got keyed up and scared. I was just the opposite. I was one of those rare people who felt no harm could ever come to me in a storm. The rest of the time, of course, was another story.

  Without even speaking to each other, Paris and I both began twirling in the storm. There was no rhyme or reason behind our movements, we both just wanted to be free.

  For his part, Mark was quickly getting bored.

  “Let’s go inside.”

  There was a loud crack of thunder. Neither Paris nor I were dissuaded from the twirling.

  Mark was starting to get panicky. “Seriously, let’s go inside before we get struck by lightning.”

  Paris and I ignored Mark’s plea.

  The next thing I knew, something cold and wet splattered against the left side of my head. I reached up to feel what it was. I realized it was mud. I turned in the direction it had come from.

  Rick No. 1 was doubled over laughing a few feet away. The rest of his suite mates were next to him.

  Now, a normal girl would have been agitated by mud being thrown at her. I was exhilarated. Before I even realized what was happening I’d retaliated with such force that Rick No. 1 had actually slipped and fallen in the mud in his haste to get away.

  These movements set off a full-on mud fight amongst everyone.

  The fight was a melee of bodies and molded dirt that lasted a full half an hour before everyone had their fill. We made our way into the dorm and all climbed into the elevator together. Everyone was still laughing and having a good time as they made their way down the hall. I noticed our dorm room was open – which surprised me. I thought Tara and Brittany were hard at work on their homework.

  When I entered the door, I realized that it hadn’t been left open by my roommates. Instead, Will was sitting on the couch expectantly.

  When he saw me, drenched and covered with mud, his brow furrowed.

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing,” I laughed. “We just had a mud fight.”

  Will glared at the guys standing behind us in the hall. They seemed to get the hint and quickly exited to their own room. Mark whispered a quick goodbye and took off for the stairwell at the end of the hall.

  “What’s wrong?” I didn’t understand why Will was so worked up. We didn’t have any plans. I was sure of it.

  “What do you mean what’s wrong? You’re covered in mud.”

  “So?”

  “You’re covered in mud and wet.”

  “If you’re worried about the mess, it’s not like I’m making a mess at your place.”

  “It’s not the mess!” Will practically exploded.

  “Then what is it?” I was no happier with him than he was with me right now.

  “It’s … it’s … .”

  “What?”

  “It’s just so childish.”

  “Childish? It’s childish?”

  Will nodded mutely.

  “You had black eyes all summer because you threw lit firecrackers in your brother’s room when he was trying to get it on with a girl and he beat the crap out of you and I’m childish?”

  “That’s different.” Will looked uncomfortable.

  “How is that different?”

  “Because that was at home.”

  “So?”

  “That was at home – where my brothers couldn’t find out about it.”

  “Why would your frat brothers care that I got in a mud fight?”

  Will shifted uncomfortably. I got the feeling he’d said something he wished he could take back. Quite frankly, I wished he could take the whole visit back.

  “I guess they wouldn’t.”

  “Then why are you so upset?”

  “I guess I just didn’t like seeing you flirt with those guys.” Will averted his eyes from me. The statement had a ring of truth – and yet I didn’t think it was the truth.

  Given the fact that I was wet and dripping on the floor, though, I didn’t have the energy to fight with Will.

  “Well then,” I said in a measured and clipped tone. “I guess you just shouldn’t tell your frat brothers I was in a mud fight and you should realize that engaging in a mud fight isn’t equitable to sex.”

  Will nodded, still uncomfortable with the situation.

  Things didn’t get much better after that. Will made a hasty retreat – promising to call me tomorrow – and Brittany gave Paris and I dirty looks until we’d cleaned the floor in the common area to her approval.

  After everything was done, Paris and I both climbed on the couch and flipped channels until we found an episode of Hoarders to watch.

  “Still totally worth it,” Paris whispered.

  Ten

  Most people say that if you sleep on it, most of your anger will abate during the night.

  The people that say that are wrong.

  When I woke up the next morning I was still angry with Will. I was also suspicious. I couldn’t figure out why he would possibly care what we’d done the night before.

  Since it was Wednesday, I had the same class sched
ule as Monday. I wasn’t looking forward to returning to Journalism 101 and the peculiar Mr. Blake – speaking of things that were making me suspicious. That was getting to be a long list.

  Paris and I went to breakfast together. Neither of us seemed up for much conversation, though. I figured she was struggling with her feelings for Mike. I knew I was struggling with how to make my relationship with Will work – especially after his juvenile shit fit the night before.

  After eating a huge plate of cheesy hash-browns, Paris and I set out for class. Any conversation we did share was light.

  We split up to head to different floors. English was uneventful – as usual. Paris and I met back up for Astronomy – which was ridiculously boring.

  “I thought this was going to be more fun,” Paris admitted.

  “Me, too.”

  “That lab is going to suck.”

  “No doubt.”

  After Astronomy, I slowly made my way toward the Journalism 101 class. I stopped to tie my shoes – even though they didn’t need it – and get a drink of water, even though I wasn’t thirsty. I was just dreading seeing Professor Blake again.

  When I entered the classroom, I tried to ignore Matilda waving at me frantically.

  “Zoe! I saved you a seat.”

  I guess I couldn’t ignore that. I grimaced as I slid into the seat next to Matilda and greeted her with as much enthusiasm as I could muster – which admittedly wasn’t much.

  “I was worried you weren’t coming.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. You were almost late.”

  I decided to try to ignore her for the rest of the class. That wasn’t in the cards either.

  “So, has Rick said anything about me?”

  “Which Rick?”

  “The good-looking one.”

  “Ah, Rick No. 1,” I shoved a piece of gum in my mouth and feigned like I was thinking hard. “No, I don’t think so.”

  One look at Matilda’s crestfallen face and I actually wished I had lied.

  “I don’t see him that often, though,” I offered.

  “Why not?”

  Because I don’t stalk him like you do. “Because we have classes. And I have a boyfriend.”

  “Oh, you have a boyfriend?” Matilda was looking way too interested in that little tidbit. Crap.