Reagan didn't know what to make of Davis, but soon the soccer practice was over and the girl called Luna was climbing the stands. She wiped her face with a small towel that she flung over her shoulder when she was done.

“Found a new victim, huh?” she said to Davis.

“I only have eyes for you, my Luna.” Davis stood as she approached, and Reagan got up, too.

Luna rolled her eyes. “It would be better for both of us if you gave up.”

“Never.”

There were a few beats of silence during which Reagan felt like a third wheel while the other two stared at each other. Finally, she cleared her throat. “I’m Reagan. Nice to meet you.”

“Luna.” She turned her green-eyed gaze to the blonde and smiled genuinely. “Sorry, Davis is a stalker, but he’s my friend, so what’s a girl to do?”

“I thought you hated him based on the way you ignored him,” Reagan said honestly.

Luna laughed. “I do hate him. It’s very love/hate, though.”

Luna was gazing at Davis again, and Reagan felt very uncomfortable. “Um, I should go.”

It was Davis who stopped her. “We’re going to grab lunch. Come along?”

Reagan hesitated. She wanted to make friends, and they were definitely nicer than Lydia. It was ultimately that thought that made her decision easy. Her only other option was to go back to the dorm and put up with her roommate. “Um, okay.”

They all trooped down the steps of the bleachers, and the thought of going out for lunch made Reagan wonder if she’d have to get a job. Her scholarship paid for the meal plan in the cafeteria, but if she wanted to go out with friends on a regular basis, she’d have to have cash on hand. She’d also have to have money for gas for her really old car. It didn't get good gas mileage, but she didn't think she’d be going very far in it very often. She realized with a bit of disgust that Davis would never have to worry about that, but she wondered what Luna did for money.

“We’ll have to stop by Cambridge Hall so I can shower and change. I won’t be long,” Luna said to Reagan as they walked across the grass.

“Okay.”

“She’s the RA,” Davis told Reagan as he smiled affectionately at Luna.

So Luna had a job as a Resident Assistant. She would have a tiny apartment of her own on the ground floor of the building she served and make a small stipend to cover her expenses.

The three of them walked across the campus to the building that Luna lived in. Reagan had yet to ask Davis about his living situation, but she didn't really have the nerve. She was surprised when he stopped outside the building and sat on a bench. Luna grabbed Reagan’s hand and brought her with her through the door she unlocked.

“I’m in a girls-only dorm, and as the RA I have to set an example. Even though we have visiting hours when boys are allowed in the common area, Davis has never come inside. He’s never even seen my place.”

Reagan waited until they were inside Luna’s apartment. “If he’s that respectful, and you said you love him—sort of—then why aren't you dating?”

“That’s a long story, my new friend. Why don’t you make yourself comfortable in the living room while I shower? If you’re thirsty, you can raid the fridge.”

Reagan stopped walking and let Luna go into her room alone. She didn't feel right about going into the kitchen area and getting something, so she sat on the sofa and got lost in her own thoughts. Davis and Luna were an enigma. Both liked the other but they weren’t dating. Luna seemed nice, but it was too soon for Reagan to know anything about her. Reagan couldn't figure out the deal with Davis and his family. They insisted he go to college before working at whatever the family company was, but what was he really learning? She looked around her at the tall bookshelf covered in books and pictures of Davis, some of which Luna was also in. There were some pictures she assumed were Luna’s parents based on their apparent age and the arms slung over Luna’s shoulders. They seemed to like paisley and scarves an awful lot. Luna’s couch was just solid black, but all of her accessories were brightly colored and full of patterns. Reagan could tell that Luna was a colorful and bright person herself, and felt like her apartment truly suited her personality.

Reagan realized it had been at least an hour since she last thought about Hudson. Of course, she’d just ruined it by thinking of him again, but she wanted to know what he was doing with his weekend. Since she knew he’d moved for this job, she wondered if he had any friends or if everything was new for him, too. She wondered if he’d met a woman yet, one his own age that he would date and bring back to his place. She wondered if that was how he was spending his weekend—in bed with this new woman. She would be tall and skinny and experienced; everything Reagan wasn’t.

“You ready?”

Reagan startled to hear Luna’s voice. She’d been so preoccupied with her spiraling thoughts that she hadn't heard her come in the room. Luna was in a brightly floral sundress and sandals, and Reagan admitted to herself that the outfit looked good on her willowy figure.

“Yeah, sorry. I was daydreaming.” Reagan picked up her purse as she stood and followed Luna out of the apartment and down the hall to the door they’d come in. Davis was sitting where they'd left him, playing on his cell phone.

He looked up, standing and sliding his phone into the pocket of his jeans in one smooth motion. “Ladies.”

They went to the parking lot and Luna let them in her small four-seater. It was at least as old as Reagan’s, and she actually found herself relaxing. Wealthy people made her feel anxious, but Luna was down-to-earth.

“Burgers good with you, Reagan?” Luna asked.

Davis had gotten in the back seat, so Reagan was sitting right next to Luna. “Sure.”

“There’s a local place just a bit down the street. It’s mostly packed with college students, so you know it’s both good and cheap.”

“Perfect,” Reagan answered. She only had a few bucks on her at the moment.

She stared out the window for the brief drive. They pulled into the parking lot of a place she’d seen the day she arrived in town. That just brought on memories of how sore she was when she moved in, so she focused on her current company, instead.

“Do you two come here a lot?” Reagan asked as they walked toward the crowded restaurant.

“Every time there’s a game or practice. I’m so hungry afterward I could eat a horse.” Luna paused as Davis opened the door for them and let the ladies go first.

Reagan smiled but didn't say anything until they’d ordered and were seated at a four-top table waiting for their number to be called. “I don't get you two.”

Davis smirked as he tried to spin the salt shaker. “Nobody does, little freshman. Least of all us.”

Luna sighed and glared at Davis. “We met our first year in one of our classes. He’s tried desperately to get me to date him ever since. I like him, we’re friends and we hang out, but I don’t want to date him. That little fact evades him constantly.”

That seemed easy enough, but Reagan wondered why Luna didn't want to date him. Maybe there was something fundamentally wrong with him. Maybe she was into girls. Maybe she was focused on her classes and didn't want to get hung up on a guy.

Davis popped up when they called their number. He’d insisted on paying for all of them, so they were all on one ticket.

“He’s too rich,” Luna murmured when he was out of earshot. “I come from nothing, and he comes from . . . everything. It’s so easy for him to do anything he wants, to buy whatever strikes his fancy. He has no idea how his money affects his everyday life, or how my lack of it affects mine.”

“So it’s awkward.” Reagan understood that more than anything else Luna had said.

“Yeah.”

Davis came back with a tray full of fries in cardboard containers and three burgers. “Mind if we combine the fries? We usually do, but I won’t if you don’t wanna,” he said to Reagan.

“Oh, okay.” She was a tiny bit of a germaphobe when it came to food and didn't want them to be touching her fries. She figured she could hoard a portion to herself and not be seen as a complete freak.

Luna leaned forward. “It’s because I eat more of them than him.”

“She packs away the food. It’s astonishing what she can eat in one sitting.” Davis wiggled his eyebrows at Luna as he spoke.

Luna giggled. “I’m active. I get hungry.”

“Yeah,” Reagan said. It made sense.

“Freshman here has a shitty roommate,” Davis announced to Luna as she squeezed ketchup out of the packets onto the paper her burger was wrapped in.

She swirled a fry into it, shoved it in her mouth, and then picked up her burger. “Let me guess, you want to fix it for her.” She bit into her hamburger after that statement. It was clear that she knew Davis well enough to know he was going to make that attempt.

“Yeah, why not? She can stay with me; unless she’s shy.”

“Um, we have checks by the RA to make sure we’re in our rooms.” Reagan thought this was an obvious point since he was friends with an RA.

“Yeah, but I can make a deal with them. It depends on their morals and their willingness to be bribed.”

“Okay, no.” Reagan took a sip of her drink and looked right at Davis so he would understand that she was serious. “No bribing. No bending or breaking the rules. I’m not okay with that.”

He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“You can hang out with us until curfew,” Luna offered. “Davis lives off-campus, and I spend a lot of time at his place.”

Of course he did. “Maybe.” Reagan thought about the benefits of that. Not facing Lydia except at bedtime and first thing in the morning would probably make a huge difference in her stress level. “Okay, yeah. But I’m not interested in being alone with you, Davis. I don't care if Luna is your soulmate”—she used air quotes—“I don't need rumors to spread about me.”

“You’re a goody-two-shoes, aren't you?” He didn't sound utterly disgusted like she half-expected, just resigned.

“Yep. My brother, Grant, is my guardian, and he works really hard to support me. I won't make his life harder.”

“Okay. I can live with that.” Davis lifted a fry in her direction. “No ditching school either, then, huh?” He popped the fry into his mouth and flashed a grin.

Reagan rolled her eyes. “Some of us are here to get an education.”

“Ouch. Little freshman has a bite.”

“Leave her alone,” Luna interjected. “You know how I feel about actually studying and not slacking off the way you do. Learn where the line is and stop barreling across it.”

He sat back in his seat, all traces of smugness gone. “I was joking, Luna.” He turned to Reagan. “I hope you aren't offended. I was kidding.”

“I’m not offended, it’s just that . . . I don't understand someone that doesn't have to work to live. I can't wrap my brain around fooling around and not taking college seriously. There’s nothing waiting for me back home but a tiny two-bedroom apartment and my loving big brother. I refuse to make him support me for the rest of our lives. Not to mention the fact that I actually want a job in the field I’m studying.”

“I’m sorry, Davis, but I’m with her on this. You know I am.” Luna crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down.

“All righty. Sorry to have opened my big mouth. I get it, I’m the poor little rich kid.”

“Don't start, Davis. We just met Reagan, let’s not run her off so soon.”

“It’s fine. Really.” Reagan felt like they’d gotten off track, and she wanted to get back on it. “I’m studying for a degree in education, Luna, what about you?”

“Education as well. I’m aiming toward teaching middle grades. I’m hoping to get an internship this year, and I even have an interview on Wednesday.”

“That’s great,” Reagan said enthusiastically. She was really enjoying Luna’s company.

“Maybe we can study together. I mean, I know you have to knock out your pre-reqs first, but I’ve been through it already and could give you a hand if you need it. Or we can just keep each other company while we do homework.”

“That would be awesome. I’m usually terrible at making friends, so I appreciate the offer to keep me around.”

“We need fresh meat,” Davis said with a gleam in his eye.

Reagan frowned, though she knew he was kidding. She wasn’t as comfortable with his humor as Luna appeared to be. “If you say so.”

“At the very least, you can hang out with people who aren’t your awful roommate, and at the most, you’ve found yourself two new friends.”

Reagan gave Davis a genuine smile for possibly the first time. “That sounds amazing.”