When I arrived at UT as a freshman, there was one thing on my mind: Cole Rylander.

Yes, I was there to obtain an education, but let’s be real: I was a raging cyclone of hormones and anticipation over Cole. I’d spent two long years waiting, but finally, finally, we were living in the same town. Like a hurricane hitting the Texas coast, I was on a crash course with absolute disaster. It didn’t take long for me to find it.

Cole was a senior by the time I arrived and had been absolutely killing it on the field. Just like my brother, Cole was showing every indication of having a shot at a professional career after graduation, and it meant that he spent every spare moment in the gym. So, if I wanted to find him, that was where I went to look. Ambushing him on his way out of the locker room was easy.

“Hi Cole!” I said, surprising him and falling into step beside him as he walked out. “Remember me?”

Cole looked over at me in shock. He was wet from his shower and looked so much like my ultimate fantasy come to life that I could barely contain myself not to throw myself at him.

“Kate? Were you stalking me?” His voice was stunned, and appreciative.

For this long-awaited meeting, I’d pulled out all the stops. I was wearing a pale pink, strapless minidress that exposed much more than it concealed. It was August, so it was hot, and I therefore reasoned that less was more in the clothing department. My hair was super long back then—almost down to my waist, and I’d braided it into two long pigtails.

“Maybe. Didn’t Ward tell you I was starting at UT?” I asked, batting my false eyelashes at him.

We’d kept up an intermittent texting conversation over the years. Nothing serious or explicit, but enough banter and joking on both sides to keep it interesting. We’d also run into each other a few times during the intervening years, but always with Ward around. Today, however, my meddlesome brother was nowhere to be found. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him, anyway.

Cole nodded and flashed his bright smile at me. He looked happy to see me, and it was making me vaguely delirious. I walked alongside him, glad that my legs were long enough to keep up. “Yeah, he did mention it. How do you like it here so far?”

“It’s a really big campus,” I said honestly. “I get lost a lot! The other day I think I interrupted a Board of Regents meeting looking for my English 101 class.” There was a reason they called the campus bus the ‘Forty Acres’. This place was enormous.

Cole’s grin widened, and he held the door open for me as we walked outside. “Is that why you’re here? You’re lost? I don’t think you have access to the athletics men’s locker room. I can show you where the gym for students is if you want.”

My answering grin over my shoulder was sly. I was well aware that the gym for regular students was across campus in the other direction. Not that I needed to use it. I was on the volleyball team and had every right to use the nicer facilities for student athletes. “Oh no, right now I’m not lost.” My confidence was high, spurred on by two years of dreams. “I was looking for you.”

Cole blinked his big, amber eyes. His grin grew wider. “Oh really? Well, you found me. What can I do for you?” His tone was sweet and teasing, like his texts always had been. His eyes sparkled in the afternoon light.

“What are you doing this Friday night?” I asked. My heart was pounding in my chest at a rate that felt just shy of ‘heart attack’. But I wasn’t about to lose my confidence now. I’d waited far too long for this moment. Two long years. “Do you want to go out on a date with me?” I felt proud that the words came out smoothly, at a consistent volume, and without stuttering.

Cole’s grin faded. He drew us to a halt. “Kate, you’re my best friend’s little sister.” He said this like it should affect my feelings.

I held my ground. “So, what? Don’t you like me?”

He looked at me like he was trying to find the right words and pulled a frustrated hand through his damp hair in frustration. My confidence drained out of me as the seconds ticked by. Finally, when I was afraid that he’d just stare at me and never answer, he looked around carefully and then shrugged.

“Can I pick you up at eight?” he asked. My exhale of relief was transcendental. I felt like my dreams were all coming true. My heart leapt up in my chest like it was threatening to escape my rib cage entirely. When we started walking again, each step at his side felt like I was growing taller. He wanted me back. I knew that he did, and I was right. He was so much better than the guys back home that it wasn’t even funny. And now I was going to go out on a date with him.

“Sure!” I said, smiling widely and hoping I could get through the next five minutes without making him somehow change his mind. “You’ve got my number, right?” He nodded, still looking vaguely stunned but still happy. “I’ll text you my address. I managed to avoid living in the dorms, thank god. I’ve got an apartment over in west campus.” It wasn’t a nice apartment or anything, but I had half a room and one quarter of a bathroom to myself.

Cole nodded, looking both torn and delighted. He kept looking around like he expected Ward to appear out of the bushes with a machete or something. Ward, however, was home in the apartment that he shared with Cole and their friend Lucas. I’d just texted him to make sure, so I knew for a fact that he wouldn’t be getting in the way.

“Sounds like a plan,” Cole said after a beat. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“See you then.” I traipsed off in a dream. “Bye Cole,” I called over my shoulder. He waved, smiling at me.

Cole was almost mine already.