He wasn’t kidding when he said his place was a mess! This might sound offensive but we could probably host the haunted house in his room. I’m sure it’d give quite a few people a good scare!

“I’m sorry about the mess,” he apologizes as he attempts to clear spots for us on his loveseat.

“Do you want some help?” I ask. Even though he’s a guy, I can tell that he’s embarrassed.

“Um, no, it’s fine. I’ll just toss these over in that corner,” he says, shooting a couple of hoodies as basketballs in the corner of his living room. “You want a drink? I’ve got some beer or if you like Vodka, I have some of that, too.”

“Do you have any mixers?” I ask. “Beer tastes like cold piss water and no way am I drinking straight Vodka. I don’t want to put hair on my chest,” I laugh.

“Let me take a look,” he moves around leftover containers and a carton of milk. “I have some orange juice!”

“That’ll work,” I say. “I love screwdrivers. They come in right behind a Tequila Sunrise, which is my absolute favorite.”

“Tequila? I thought you were a lady,” he shakes his head. “That stuff is awful.”

“You don’t know what’s good,” I sigh. “Beer is nasty; tequila is awesome.”

“Whatever floats your boat but you won’t find me drinking it. I can’t stomach the smell.”

He grabs a glass and let’s me pour my drink while he twists open his beer. We make a toast—to the Oakridge Children’s Hospital—and drink. “Oh, what am I thinking?” He smacks his forehead. “Let me put on some music so it’s not so quiet. What do you like to listen to?”

“I’m not too picky, but no country music. I’m more of an alternative girl.”

“I should’ve known that! We have so much in common that it’s crazy.”

He turns on iPod and pairs it with his BlueTooth speakers and sets it to shuffle. The first song that comes on is by Shinedown—one of my favorite bands—and we start to talk about some of the professors and classes that we’ve taken, and people who we both know. I’m surprised he knows so many people because he’s so quiet. The only time I’ve really ever seen him was in the bookstore or the lunch room, but he’s usually by himself and I’ve never seen him walking with anyone. Somehow, I’ve noticed that people still seem to know who he is, which is pretty cool.

I’m starting to feel these screwdrivers and am feeling relaxed so I lean back and feel something behind me. It’s his arm! I jump back up and he laughs. “It’s okay, I like you there. Come on back, I’ve got you.”

Giggling, I lean back in his arm and he wraps it around me. He smells so good and I feel like I could stay in his arms forever. We sit for a while, talking about music and he explains how it effects the brain. While he’s busy talking about the chemical reaction that it has on the neurons, I can’t help but stare up into his wide, crystal-blue eyes. I’m jealous of his long black lashes, they accentuate the blue hue in his eyes, making them stunning to look at.

He leans down and I can feel his warm breath against my face. Tilting my head back, my eyes flutter closed and, just like that, I feel his lips on mine. I’ve been hoping he would kiss me all night and now that we finally are, I want to take things further.

Parting my lips, his tongue dances with mine and we become one. His warm hands make their way under my sweater and I arch my back. My breasts ache for his touch and I can feel the wetness pooling between my legs.

My hand slides over his zipper and I can feel his hardness growing beneath his jeans. His swollen thickness is completely evident despite the heavy denim. Jesus, his cock is so huge and thick!

Reaching behind my back, he unclasps my bra and my nipples harden as his fingertips brush over them. I kiss him harder, wanting him to take me—right here, right now. Climbing on top of him, I straddle his lap and begin kissing his neck. His hands work fast as he undoes my pants and pulls them down to my thighs.

I can’t get undressed for him fast enough. I grab hold of the bottom of my sweater and quickly pull it over my head—and that’s when it happens.

I didn’t realize his bottle of beer was resting on the arm of the couch and knock it off, spilling it all over him. He quickly grabs it before too much of pours out, making sure it doesn’t get on me.

“Todd! I’m so sorry,” I apologize. I feel like an idiot. My cheeks flush as I shamefully climb off his lap. “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s okay,” he says. “Don’t worry about it.” He pulls his shirt off and exposes his muscular chest and ripped abs. Holy shit! He has a perfect six-pack and pecs to die for. “I’ll jump in the shower real fast and get cleaned up. I won’t be long; I promise—and don’t go anywhere. Just hold that thought,” he says, grabbing my face, kissing me again.

My feet almost melt to the spot where I’m standing. I can’t believe how much I like him. He’s amazing and I feel like I’m the lucky one. Now I’m glad he doesn’t talk to many people because someone else may have started dating him and then I wouldn’t be half-naked in his room.

“I’ll wait right here,” I promise him.

“You better,” he growls, smacking my ass as he makes his way into the bathroom.

I hear the water come on and listen for him to turn on the shower. Once he’s in, I take a look around his apartment and see a towel lying on a small desk near his bed. The least I can do is clean up his sofa before it reeks of beer.

Lifting the towel off his desk, a piece of paper catches my eye—it has my name on it. I pick it up and immediately recognize it: it’s my schedule.

Why would he have my schedule?

I know this is wrong and I shouldn’t be nosy but I wonder what else his desk might contain. Leafing through some papers that are scattered near his printer, I see the flyer for the haunted house that he asked to keep. There are also some research papers which I almost overlook, but then I notice that they are my research papers. They’re for one of the vaccines that I’m studying.

This is kind of weird.

Sliding open his desk drawer, I shuffle around some junk and find a picture of me. I’m at the bookstore, sitting at the table with a few of my sorority sisters, but I didn’t know this photo was taken of me!

What the fuck? Why does he have all of this?

I open another desk drawer and start to go through it when the bathroom door opens. He’s still naked with only a towel covering him from the waist down and he stops dead in his tracks when he notices that I’m going through his desk.

“Are you looking for something?” He asks, his voice wavering.

I hold up my schedule, research papers, and the photo of me. “What’s this? Have you been stalking me?”

His head drops. “It’s not like that,” he looks back up at me. “I mean, yes but—,”.

“No! I should’ve listened to my sorority sisters. They tried to warn me about you but I thought they had you pegged all wrong. How could you?!”

I can hear my blood pounding like a drum in my ear and I want to leave but I’m scared. What will he do if I try to make a run? Will he come after me? Would he try to stop me? Or will he let me go?

My fight or flight response kicks in and I grab my purse, heading for the door without another thought.

“Marissa, wait! I can explain, it’s not what you think,” he calls after me.

It’s too late. I make my way through the door, leaving him holding his towel in his room as I scurry away from his place.