Violet wasn’t going to see Berneli, but she still insisted she had a couple things to take care of.
“So what’s up?” I asked her when she followed me into my room, making herself comfortable on my bed.
“What do you mean?”
“You and Jason. Didn’t you have fun? I saw you guys decide you were ready to leave. There was like a private mental conversation between the two of you.”
“We did but…”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. Kingsley just kinda rubbed us the wrong way.”
“Why?”
“I think it’s ’cause he just made a few comments that were a little rude. Nothing too big.”
“Well, think about it from his perspective. We’re all friends and he’s the new guy trying to impress everyone. He just seemed a little nervous to me.”
“I think that’s a fair thing to say. I’m totally willing to give him a chance if you like him. I mean, it seemed to me like he was interested in you.”
“I hope so. He is gorgeous.”
“Yeah, he is definitely good looking, but earlier you were talking to me about how you might have feelings for—”
“No, we’re done talking about him. I can’t keep pretending it’s all gonna change. I’m moving on.”
We talked a bit longer about some superficial stuff but nothing got real deep and nothing more about Jason versus Kingsley. Eventually, Violet went back to her room to sleep while I, on the other hand, really did need to continue unpacking.
It took me a lot longer to unpack than I had intended. I spent most of the night reorganizing, hoping that if I played Tetris enough, it would all magically fit. When that didn’t work, I took two of the containers to my car and left them in my trunk. At least if I needed any of those clothes, they weren’t too far away.
As I was walking back to my room, I heard yelling. The closer to the sound I got, the more I realized I knew that voice. It was Violet. I rushed over to her room and tried the door. Of course, it was locked. I pounded on the door until Violet finally flung it open.
She looked at me with bleary eyes. “What are you doing here? It’s, like, one in the morning.”
“You were screaming. Is everything all right?”
Violet closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Come in.” We walked over to her bed and sat down.
The tears quickly came as she practically collapsed into my lap. “I’m sorry. I know you can’t handle tears but—”
I cut her off. “Stop, it’s fine. Just tell me what’s wrong.” I was really worried about her. The last time I saw her this upset was when the campus police officer attacked her fall semester. He had taken her behind this building and tried to rape her. Luckily, Violet had managed to fight him off, but the incident had left her really shaken.
“I don’t know. I spent almost every night in bed with David and he made me feel so safe. Now, he won’t be back until tomorrow, and, well, something has been happening that I haven’t told you. For the last couple of months, I’ve been having night terrors.” She sat up and wiped her tears on her shirt, finally taking a deep breath and looking up at me.
“What do you mean? Like nightmares? Are there clowns?” My version of hell was filled with clowns.
Violet laughed softly. “No, I wish it were clowns. I’m back behind the dorm and Finn is there. He’s on top of me and I can’t shake him off. But it feels so real and there is this pressure on my chest. It’s like I can feel his hands on me and I can’t wake up. It’s mostly happened when David would stay up later than me and I was left to fall asleep alone. He’d hear me scream and rush to wake me up.”
I hugged her hard and lightly stroked her back while she continued. “David wants me to see someone about it but I don’t know if I want to. Will that actually help? Will sitting on someone’s couch while I recount the worst moments of my life really make this go away? No, I just need to be stronger. Finn is in jail and I don’t need to worry about him coming after me. I’m just being ridiculous. Sorry, this is all pretty pathetic.”
“But you slept here for two months after the attack. Why didn’t it happen then?”
“It did. The first time was the first night I came back here after spending the weekend with David. I tried to convince myself that I was fine, but fear almost overwhelmed me as I walked into the building. I climbed into bed and fell asleep with the light on. It was okay that night, until around two in the morning.” Violet took a deep breath and stared at the door, as if remembering what happened.
“I heard the door open and Lola walked in. But in that split second before I saw her, I thought it was Finn coming back to finish the job. Since then, I really haven’t been able to sleep in my bed.”
“So why did you come back? I’m sure Berneli would have let you stay at his place or maybe we can see about changing your room.”
“This isn’t me. I don’t run from things like this. Hell, I fought Finn and got away. Now, I’m shrinking away from dreams. I thought maybe I was strong enough to fight this Finn too.”
“Okay, so I have an idea. We can talk to Lola. I can sleep in her bed when she isn’t here. If you have a terror, I can wake you up and remind you that Finn isn’t here. Maybe if we do this, you’ll get used to it. You know, you’d be getting the reinforcement from both Berneli and me.”
“You don’t have to do that. I don’t want to put you out.” While her words said she was fine, her eyes practically begged me. Violet’s face was stark white and her eyes were bugging out a little. She looked terrified.
“Let me go get a change of sheets and I’ll sleep in the other bed. Besides, that dating show started up while you were in England and now we’re desperately behind.”
***
I hardly slept at all that night. Violet didn’t have another terror, but every time I closed my eyes, I thought I heard her murmur. It really didn’t help that she appeared to have a tendency to talk in her sleep. Nonetheless, I had to get up and get ready for my first class. It was biology and I was really not looking forward to it. There truly was no helping me when it came to math and science. Things had not turned out well when I tried to get a math tutor so I needed to show up to this class. Maybe I just needed a female tutor.
Even the hot water of my morning shower did nothing to improve my mood. It was definitely going to be a long day. I wrapped myself in my robe and started to put a little bit of natural make-up on.
As I was getting dressed, I heard my phone go off. It was a text from Kingsley. After all the drama with Violet, I completely forgot that he never contacted me last night. That was probably for the best, though, since I would have been a wreck of anxiety if I had managed to remember.
Kingsley: Hey, wanna get coffee?
Ah, this was the way to my heart. Some women adored food, like Violet, while I worshiped the coffee gods.
Me: Sounds good. Where should I meet u?
I turned to my closet and quickly pulled out my favorite yellow shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. I had just managed to slip my legs into my pants when my phone went off again.
Kingsley: How about now? Look out ur window.
I bit my lip, threw my shirt on, and ran over to my window. Sure enough, Kingsley was standing there with two cups of coffee raised in the air. He couldn’t see me, since he didn’t know where my room was, but he was smiling in my general direction.
Giggling a little, I stuffed my feet in my shoes, grabbed my bag and coat, then almost ran outside. As I got closer to the door, I slowed so he wouldn’t know just how eager I was to see him.
“Hey, babe.” Kingsley handed me one of the cups and leaned down to kiss my cheek.
I blushed madly. His stubble was rough as it grazed my cheek, but for some reason, I kind of liked the feeling.
“You didn’t have to bring me coffee.” I looked down at the ground and took a sip. Hopefully the coffee would help to still my nerves. Though, maybe he would assume the shake was from lack of caffeine. That was partially true.
“I wanted to. Besides, I owe you from last night. Now we’re even.” He smiled big at me as he took a sip of his coffee. “I hope you like it. You mentioned you liked things sweet, so I took a risk and assumed you liked some sugar and milk in your drink, but if it’s wrong, I can get you another.”
“No, I like my coffee a little sweet. It’s perfect. Thanks for remembering.” It was actually way too sweet, but maybe the sugar would help wake me up. I took another big sip and forced a big smile.
We started walking toward the castle, in silence at first, just trying to enjoy our coffee. I looked up at Kingsley through my eyelashes and couldn’t help but feel jitters flow through my body. He was so handsome. His dark hair was styled and spiked up in the I woke up this way look, but he probably spent at least fifteen minutes trying to make it look like that. Frankly, I was a fan of it. It was so different from Jason’s messy look, but then again, I was pretty sure Jason didn’t try to get his hair like that. It just happened naturally.
“What, is there something on my face?” He brushed at his cheeks rapidly.
“No, I just…” What was I supposed to say? I was just admiring how sexy you are and comparing you to my old crush?
“It’s okay. I know I’m good looking. Take in your fill.” Kingsley chuckled and made a ridiculous pose. He flexed his muscles and grunted a little at the effort.
I shook my head and laughed. “I guess you caught me.”
“That’s all right. I guess I’m just more observant than you are. After all, you haven’t caught me staring at you.” He lifted my chin slightly and looked deep into my eyes. “There, now we’re really even.”
I smiled brightly as he finally looked away toward the castle. “What class do you have first?” I was a little desperate to talk about something lighter. I didn’t really know how to have these heart to heart conversations. They made me a little nervous.
“It’s one of my emergency management classes. It’s in the C wing on the third floor.”
“Oh, my class is in D wing on the third floor.”
“Great, I won’t have to walk far after I take you to class.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders. The jitters faded and I was shocked at how comfortable I was starting to feel with him. Maybe it was because he didn’t play games. He just said things how they were. I didn’t have to wonder what he was thinking. It was a nice change.
We talked about our families for a little while as we made our way to class. As it turned out, Kingsley’s family had old money. Like, a stupid amount of old money. His father was a successful divorce attorney and his mother was a top tier realtor. They were both trying to force him into law, but all Kingsley wanted to do was protect people.
“Money is nice. I mean, I’ve always had it, so I don’t really know life without it, but I don’t want to be stuck behind a desk. I just want to help people, but that’s not good enough for them. So, I’m gonna finish this degree and when I’m hired as a full-time firefighter, hopefully seeing me happy will be enough to get them off my back.”
“That’s so honorable.”
“That, and chicks really dig firefighters. Wait until you see me in my uniform. It will definitely impress you.” Kingsley pulled his phone out and showed me a couple pictures. He was right, he looked amazing.
I didn’t know what to say at first. He was clearly waiting for some kind of reaction from me but I wasn’t sure what to do. I could be brave and say something about how the picture made me feel. But that wasn’t really me. He needed to get to know me. Then it hit me. I could change. I could be flirty and suggestive. I could be a bit more like Violet. She got the guy she wanted, after all. But he liked his women more subdued. Maybe I just needed to be more honest about my feelings but do it my way. I needed to be open like Violet, but with my thoughts.
“I like the uniform. I’d like to see it in person.” I placed my hand on his arm, feeling his bicep, and looked up at him. “Maybe you could show it to me sometime.”
Kingsley’s mouth fell open just for a second and then he flashed me a cocky smile. “I’ll let you know the next time I get called in for a shift. Maybe you can meet me after.”
My heart raced at the thought of rushing to a firehouse to meet up with my sexy…oh crap. I was about to say boyfriend. He wasn’t my boyfriend. It seemed like we were on the verge of that, but I didn’t want to scare him off.
“I think I could make something like that work.” There was a bit of a shake in my voice, but I was glad I said it.
“You’re going to be a lot of fun. I can tell.”
***
I met up with Violet for lunch after my class and told her about Kingsley.
“Who the hell are you and what did you do to Annabelle?” She clapped her hands for a second and laughed. “That’s going to be so much fun. I’ve never been with a firefighter, or really anyone in uniform. It’s like you have your own personal porn star. Maybe you could ask him to do a private dance for you.”
“Oh my god, I couldn’t do that. I was barely able to agree to see him in his uniform. Let’s not push it.”
“Well, I’m surprised you did too. I know we kinda already talked about it but are you sure you’re over your obsession with Jason?”
“I was never obsessed with Jason. Kingsley just kind of came out of nowhere, but I feel good when he looks at me.”
“Just be careful. Everything is still new, but I’m still excited for you.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know what happens. So, Berneli is back today. Are you excited for that?”
“Yes! It’s only been a couple days but I still miss him.”
“Annabelle! Violet!” Kyle screamed our names from the entrance to the cafeteria. We turned around and saw him walking in with Jason.
“Hey, Kyle, how was your break?” I asked him, and we all sat down.
“It was great. I went on this cross country trip and we camped under the stars. We did some amazing experiments and I saw the most incredible sights. You guys should really think about joining geology club.”
“Kyle, you told me you hooked up with almost all of the girls on the trip and you smoked pot with your professor,” Jason said.
“Man, why would you say that in front of the girls?” He turned to look at Violet and me. “Obviously, I wouldn’t tell you guys that part. I have more tact than that.”
Jason rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Whatever,” under his breath. We all laughed a little and my phone went off. It was a text from Kingsley again.
“Oh my god, Violet, look.” I showed her my phone. “Kingsley invited me out to dinner tonight.”
“Wait, you’re going out with Kingsley?” Kyle asked. “Jason, isn’t that the new guy who lives on our floor?”
Jason sort of nodded and shrugged his shoulders.
“Uh, yeah. Jason introduced us. Why?”
“Nothing, I just thought you’d have a problem going out with a guy who does drugs.”
“What? He doesn’t do drugs.” There was no way. He didn’t look like a druggie. He didn’t hang out in dark alleys or have the addiction scratch. It wasn’t like we met in a park. His family was loaded. Why would he need to do drugs?
“That’s not what I heard. Some of the guys I hang out with said he’s usually trying to find some pills,” Kyle said, and went to grab some lunch.
I turned to look at Jason. “Have you heard that?”
He shook his head. “No, but I don’t really know anything about him. It’s not like we hang out all the time. We were the only people on our dorm floor, so I asked if he wanted to get lunch with us. You know, to be polite.”
“I’m sure it’s just a rumor. He doesn’t strike me as a druggie. I’m still going.”
“You don’t want to start something and then end up getting sucked in. I don’t think you should go,” Jason warned.
“It’ll be fine. It’s one date. It’s not like they’re going to get engaged or anything. Have fun and tell me all about it,” Violet ordered.
“Yeah, will you come over after your class and help me get ready?” I asked Violet, turning away from Jason.
“Of course. Do you know where you’re going?”
“No, he said it was a surprise.”
“So cheesy,” Jason murmured, then got up and left the cafeteria.
I turned to Violet, who was avoiding my gaze.
“I don’t want to fight with him,” I told her, and raced after him. “Jason,” I shouted to his back.
He spun around and smiled, but then the smile faded and he looked annoyed again. “What’s up?”
“Do you really have a problem with me going out with Kingsley?”
“I just don’t trust the guy. He seems a little obnoxious, like chucking the putter, running off ’cause he lost a game of mini golf. Seriously, who does that? You don’t want to be with someone like that, right? Besides, what if he’s using?”
He stared at me expectantly but I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t think the thing with the putter was a big deal. So he got competitive? It wasn’t like Jason was much better when we went bowling. But at the same time, I didn’t want Jason upset with me. I hated confrontation and I didn’t want any problems in our group.
“Then I won’t go out with him. I trust your opinion.”
He smiled and nodded. “Good. Listen, I gotta run to class, but I’ll talk to you later? Maybe we can hang out?”
“Uh, no. I’m just going to go to the EET office and get everything ready for our first meeting.” We said goodbye and I walked back to Violet.
She folded her arms and pursed her lips at me. “What did you just do?”
I sat next to her but couldn’t meet her eyes. “Listen, Jason and I are best friends and I don’t want to screw that up over a guy when I don’t even know if it’s gonna work out. What’s the harm in telling Jason that we aren’t going out and then actually doing it?”
“Well, there’s the whole lying thing. That’s usually frowned upon when it comes to friends.”
“It’s a lie for his best interest. Jason and I can talk if things end up working out with Kingsley. Jason’s big concern is that he doesn’t trust Kingsley, there’s a rumor he does drugs, and he thinks he’s a little obnoxious. If I get to know Kingsley a little better, then I can tell Jason he has nothing to worry about. I would know if he was high. Besides, we hang out with Kyle and he does a lot of pot. Jason lives with the guy, I think he’s being a hypocrite.”
“There’s a huge difference between doing pot sometimes and taking pills.”
“Well, we were with him all night and he didn’t take anything.”
“Can I just say that I object to this plan?”
“Yes, but I’m going to do it anyway.”
“Got it.”
Kyle joined us then and we all finished our lunch.
***
Kingsley said he would pick me up around seven, and at six fifty I was sitting in my room with Violet, trying to keep my pulse under control.
“He’s going to bail. There’s no way he’s coming,” I whined.
“Relax, he has ten minutes before he’s supposed to be here. He’s not even late.”
“But I feel like my date would be here early. I’m always fifteen minutes ahead.”
“Yeah, but a lot of guys aren’t like that,” Violet reminded me. “You don’t want to be in a relationship with a guy who is just like you.”
I rushed over to the window in a huff to check again if he was there. This time, I wasn’t disappointed. Standing in front of our building was a sexy man holding a giant bouquet of flowers.
“You’re never going to believe this! Come look,” I shouted at Violet.
“Aww, that’s so cute. Forget what Kyle and Jason said. Have fun and text me when you’re done. I’ll be at David’s, but I don’t care.”
“Okay, uh, wait. Shouldn’t I wait for him to tell me he’s here? Don’t I sound like a creeper if I go down before he texts me?” I looked back out the window and saw some girl walk up to him. She had long brown hair and gave him a giant hug. “Why is some hussy hugging on him?”
Violet looked down and swore under her breath. “No, I mean, he could just be friends with her. You hugged Kyle earlier.”
“Good call. Okay. I’m gonna wait and see what happens, and hopefully it’s just innocent, and he’ll text me, and it’ll be a fun night, and I’ll have my first boyfriend.”
“Okay, let’s drop the expectations just a little bit. Let’s just hope you have a fun night with a guy you like. See how it goes and then we can talk about putting a label on it. You’re supposed to be getting to know him, not planning the wedding.”
“Yeah, I know. I just have a really good feeling.” I looked down at my phone and almost willed it to go off. It, of course, didn’t make a sound. “I need to do something. I’m going to run to the bathroom and touch up my make-up, maybe run the straightener through my hair again.”
Violet grabbed my arm and whirled me around. “Oh, no, missy! You look great and you’re only going to mess it up. Sit down and just wait a minute.”
My phone went off almost as if she planned it that way.
“See, he’s here,” she said with a smug look on her face.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later!”
I walked down the stairs and toward Kingsley. He was wearing a blue button-down shirt with a thick black jacket over it and dark jeans. His hair was brushed down and spiked slightly in the front and his eyes were shining. He must have been excited because he was practically bouncing up and down. I fed off his enthusiasm and walked quickly toward him.
When I opened the door, Kingsley walked up to me and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. “You look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you.”
“Thanks.” I took the flowers he offered me and realized I had no idea what to do with them. Did I take them with me? I didn’t have a vase or anything to put them in. I was going to kill the first set of flowers a boy had ever given me. As my mind started to swim, Kingsley held up his backpack.
“I thought you might need this.”
I reached out to take his bag and he quickly pulled it away.
“Uh, sorry. I don’t like people touching my bag. Just hold on a second.” He unzipped the main pocket. Inside was a beautiful glass vase. “I didn’t think you would have brought one of these to your dorm, so I went out and got one.”
“You’re right, I didn’t have one. Let me take these upstairs and put the flowers in some water.”
“Great, I’ll come with you.” He took my hand and opened the door for me. We walked hand in hand to the bathroom to fill the vase with water, and then to my room. Geez, was I grateful I had nervously cleaned earlier, or this would have been really embarrassing.
“It’s nice that you have a single. You don’t have to worry about a nosey roommate or anything like that.”
“I like that I can set everything up the way I like. For example,” I said, and placed the flowers in the middle of my desk, “I like the flowers there and I don’t need anyone else’s opinion, well, except yours. Do you think they look good there?”
He laughed lightly and ran his hand down my cheek. “Yes, they look perfect. I’m glad you like them.”
I smiled up at him as my pulse raced. He was standing very close to me and I could feel his breath on me. He was going to kiss me. I held my breath and closed my eyes, willing myself not to panic. His lips brushed mine gently and the butterflies in my stomach settled. It felt right kissing him.
Kingsley pulled away before the kiss could heat up and smiled at me. “I didn’t want to wait until the night was over to kiss you. To tell you the truth, I’ve wanted to kiss you since I helped you get a hole in one last night. It was such a turn-on knowing I’d helped you do that.”
I forced a smile. This was definitely not the time to remind him that I actually already knew how to play. Instead, I did the one thing I could think of to change the subject. I placed my hand on the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss.
His hands snaked around my waist and he pulled me closer to him. He licked my lip a little and begged me to open to him. As soon as I did, I practically melted in his arms. Kingsley took control of the kiss and taught me a thing or two. I fought desperately to keep up with him as the kiss became intense. It wasn’t long before I caught up, realizing how easy it was to kiss him.
Suddenly, Kingsley pulled away but hugged me tightly. “If we continue this, I can promise you we will miss our reservation, and that green dress looks too good on you to stay in. I want to show you off.”
I gave him a light kiss on the lips and sighed. “Okay, I guess we can leave.” As we headed back out, I realized the truth. The thought of being with him in my room any longer was actually a little terrifying. Kissing was the furthest I’d ever gone, and I didn’t want to move too fast. Hopefully, Kingsley didn’t mind.
He offered me his hand as I climbed into his black Range Rover and we drove to the restaurant.