Dimitri returns from talking to some people on the other side of the room. He’s carrying red Solo cups for himself and Clarissa and a bottle of water for me. We girls thank him profusely for his thoughtfulness.

“My pleasure,” Dimitri says, tipping his invisible cap to us. “At your service.”

I lean in to Clarissa. “He’s a cutie. Are you feeling romance or friend zone?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’ve never had sex with anyone other than an alpha-type before. But I must admit I’m a little curious to see if the rumors are true.”

“Rumors?”

“That nerds make it all about you.”

We both giggle.

“Huh?” Dimitri asks. “What’d I miss?”

“Just a little girl talk,” Clarissa says breezily. She pats Dimitri’s arm. “Trust me, you’d like it.”

Dimitri smiles.

“So, hey, Dimitri, do you know who that dude is with the dark hair and tattoos?” Clarissa asks, motioning toward the keg with her cup. “He was ogling Zooey a few minutes ago.”

Dimitri glances across the room toward the keg. “Tyler Caldwell,” he says without hesitation. “Junior. Safety. All-American.”

“Free or strong safety?” I ask.

“Oh, you know football?”

I nod. “My dad played in college.”

Dimitri nods his approval. “Free. And he’s a beast.”

“Yeah, I figured he’s somebody,” I say. “Everyone keeps fawning all over him.”

“People treat Tyler like he’s king of the world any given day, but tonight especially. He had a fumble recovery and two picks in last night’s game, including a pick to clinch the win at the very end. It was unbelievable.”

I gaze covertly across the room at Tyler. “Based on his shirt, he obviously thinks quite highly of himself.”

“Tyler always wears shirts like that. Honestly, I’m not sure if he’s serious or trying to be funny. I’ve never talked to him. But from what I hear, he’s an egomaniac. The anti-Jake.” He chuckles. “Seriously, you might want to pick another guy to flirt with, Zooey—unless, of course, your goal for the night is to become yet another of Tyler Caldwell’s notoriously long list of conquests.”

Clarissa and I simultaneously look at each other like “Bingo!” Which, of course, makes us both burst out laughing.

Dimitri chuckles with us, clearly misunderstanding the reason for our laughter. “I mean, I get why girls are attracted to Tyler. He’s a huge winner in the DNA lottery, obviously, and he’s a beast on the field. Arguably the best safety in the country right now. I can’t fathom how he won’t be a first-round pick in the draft in the spring. And that means he’ll likely be a very wealthy dude one day soon. But, still, even so, it amazes me how girls throw themselves at Tyler and guys like him, even though they know for a fact those kinds of guys aren’t even remotely interested in anything beyond…”

I tune Dimitri out again. Know your audience, dude.

I glance toward the keg again, and, much to my sizzling delight, Tyler Caldwell’s looking straight at me again, his blue eyes on fire. And this time, I don’t feel the impulse to look away. You want to make me another conquest on your notoriously long list, Tyler Caldwell? Well, come and get it, stud.

Okay, yeah, I’m totally channeling Hot Sandy from Grease right now. But it can’t be helped. I don’t have any other template for how to conduct myself in a situation such as this. Continuing to maintain eye contact with Tyler, I bite my lip, the same way Olivia Newton-John did when she wore that black tight-fitting outfit for John Travolta. Come and get it, stud.

Tyler nods subtly like he’s heard my exact thoughts.

I flash Tyler a smile that tells him I’m not going to play hard to get tonight, and he beams a gorgeous smile that makes my skin tingle.

So that’s it. We’re doing this. He knows it. I know it. It’s on.

Tyler’s body language suggests he’s saying a quick adios to his friends. He takes two loping steps in my direction…just as a stunningly beautiful girl with smooth black hair and porcelain skin appears out of nowhere to throw her arms around his neck. No! The girl leans in to whisper something into Tyler’s ear. Giggles. Presses herself into his muscled arm. Crap!

I look away, my stomach revolting. Damn, damn, damn! Well, that’ll teach me to wait so long to give a notorious womanizer my “Hot Sandy Eyes.” Stupid, Zooey! I tune back in to Dimitri and Clarissa’s conversation, forcing myself not to peek at Tyler and that gorgeous girl again, even though that’s all I want to do.

“…and she said Tyler didn’t even pretend to want her phone number,” Dimitri is saying.

“Sorry, what? Huh?” I blurt. “I missed the first part of that. Who said what now?”

“My sister’s roommate,” Dimitri replies. “She slept with Tyler last year, and she said he didn’t even pretend to want her phone number afterwards.” He rolls his eyes with obvious disdain. “Apparently, he told her right up front he couldn’t afford any ‘emotional distractions’ during football season—that football is his only girlfriend at this stage in his life.” He scoffs. “I mean, points for honesty, I guess. If he doesn’t want a relationship, then it’s good he doesn’t lead girls on. But, still, I think it’s a bit hypocritical for a dude to use football to get girls and then turn around and use football as an excuse to—”

Dimitri abruptly smashes his lips together. His eyes are trained on a target over my left shoulder. I turn and follow Dimitri’s wide-eyed gaze…and…promptly lose my shit.

“Hey,” Tyler Caldwell says to me, smiling. His voice is deep and smooth, exactly as I’d have expected it to be. He smells faintly of cologne. Maybe whiskey, too? His eyes are savagely blue. He’s so damned beautiful, it’s like he’s got a bright halo of light wafting off him. He puts his hand out. “I’m Tyler Caldwell.”

I slide my palm into Tyler’s. “Hi there. I’m…hi. Hello.”

Clarissa laughs. “She’s Zooey. I’m Clarissa, and this is Dimitri.”

“What’s up, guys?” Tyler says to Clarissa and Dimitri, his hand still holding mine. He addresses Dimitri. “You tutor Jake, right?” He lets go of my hand, much to my chagrin.

“Yeah,” Dimitri replies. “And Brayden and Hanalei and Luis, too. But I work the most with Jake.”

“You got room for one more?” Tyler asks. “I might need some help this quarter with a bitch of an econ class.”

“Sure. No problem.”

“Cool. I’ll get your number from Hanalei.” Tyler’s eyes return to me. He slides his hand into mine again. “Sorry about that. I didn’t come over here to get myself a tutor—I came over here to introduce myself to the beautiful girl who’s making it impossible for me to concentrate on a damned thing anybody’s saying to me.”

I open and close my mouth like a fish on a line. And that’s all I can muster.

“So…” Tyler says, filling the awkward silence. “How come I’ve never seen you at one of our parties before? I’m positive I would have remembered you.”

Clarissa nudges me.

“Oh, this is your party?” I blurt.

“Well, mine and my roommates’. I live here with five of my teammates.”

I take a steadying breath. Clear my throat. “Cool. I live in the dorms. Hendrick Hall.” I point at Clarissa. “With her.”

Tyler looks like he’s just bitten into a lemon. “You’re a freshman?”

I nod. “A theater major.”

He sighs. “Please at least tell me you’re eighteen. If you’re jail bait, I swear to God I’m going to sob into my pillow tonight.”

My clit is tingling. My skin is buzzing. I’ve never felt so physically attracted to another human being in all my life. “No sobbing necessary. I turned eighteen in July.”

Tyler wipes his brow comically. “Thank God.” His eyes sweep down my body and back up again. “I don’t typically go for freshman, but if ever there was a reason to break my cardinal rule, it’s you.”

I screw up my face. “Thank you?”

“It’s a compliment.”

“Why don’t you typically ‘go for freshman’?”

“Because, no offense, half the time it turns out they’re batshit crazy.”

I shoot him a snarky look.

“Sorry, but it’s true.”

“So let me get this straight. Batshit crazy freshman girls magically transform into perfectly sane ones at the start of their second year?”

He laughs. “Well, it sounds kind of stupid when you put it like that. I think what I’m trying to say is that some people, both guys and girls, need that first year of being away from home to get their batshit crazy out of their systems. Freshman girls in particular seem to have a harder time than anyone else grasping the concept that having a little fun with someone isn’t the same thing as finding a soulmate.”

I look at Clarissa, intending to flash her a look that says, Ding, ding, ding! We’ve found ourselves a cherry-popper, folks! But she’s engaged in a conversation with Dimitri. “Well, let me assure you,” I say to Tyler. “I’m not looking for my soulmate. And even if I were, which I’m not, I’m quite certain he wouldn’t be caught dead in a T-shirt that says God’s Gift to Womankind.”

Tyler chuckles. “Touché, little freshman.”

“How old are you, Tyler?” I ask.

“I just turned twenty-one.”

“Uh oh. I don’t normally go for guys under twenty-two. Batshit crazy, all of them.”

He grins.

“But I suppose if ever there was a reason to break my cardinal rule, it’d be you.”

Tyler bites his lower lip. “Lucky me.”

I smile coyly. “Very lucky you.” Holy shit! Who am I right now?

Tyler and I stare at each other for a long moment, the heat between us palpable. During the stillness between us, the song in the living room switches from a hip-hop thumper to a slow and sexy R&B groove.

Tyler doesn’t miss a beat. He leans right in to my ear. “Dance with me.”

Heat flashes onto my cheeks. I nod.

And that’s that. Tyler grabs my hand and leads me through the crowded kitchen like a medieval groom pulling his virgin bride to their marital bed. And just that fast, I can see my future in Tyler Caldwell’s delectable ass as he leads me toward the dance floor, as surely as if I were looking into a very muscular crystal ball. I’m going to lose my virginity tonight to God’s Gift to Womankind. And it’s going to be oh-so good.