Page 34 of Infatuated as They Come
I was dragged off the floor and out of the gym, my new gym bag in one hand as Natalie linked her arm with mine. “Where are you living on campus? Maybe we’re near each other.”
“Oh, I don’t live on campus,” I said. “I’m staying in an apartment.”
“You’re gonna miss all the parties.”
“I don’t think I mind missing them.”
“The football players always show up and start flirting with the whole cheer team. It gets annoying real fast.”
My eyebrows raised, the early morning air cold on my skin as we walked. “Another reason to live off campus.”
“Where are you staying exactly?”
“The Upper West Side. Me and my boyfriend are living together.”
“Is he a student too?”
“Sawyer’s not studying. He’s an artist, actually. He paints. You should see his stuff. He’s so talented.”
“Ooh, an artist. That’s cool. We have a lot of those here on campus. He should have joined you here.”
“Okay, this is where I am!” Claudia announced, wheeling around with that big smile that never seemed to leave her face. “I’m in Bettencourt Hall, room 5A. You guys can come over whenever you want, but we always meet up there to get ready before games. It’s gonna be so much fun having you all on the team! Go Falcons!”
“See ya!” Natalie gave me a wave before skipping over to Claudia, their arms linked as they made their way to class.
None of the other girls were studying journalism, so after we all said our goodbyes, I was left with a quiet walk over to Albert Hall for my first dayof class.
“Is that who I think it is?” I heard a playful, familiar voice say to my left.
Head turning, I spotted a face I had only ever seen back home in Dallas. Nate Whittaker. His dark brown hair was neatly swept back as he quickly shoved something into his pocket. I had known him for almost my whole life, and once upon a time, we went to the same ever so elite private school before I made my parents drag me out of there. Post private school days, I’d usually see him around one of my dad’s favorite hangouts: Centennial Hills Country Club. Invitation only, with membership fees in the high five figures.
“It is.” I laughed. “It’s good to see a familiar face on campus.”
Wrapping his arms around me, he pulled me into a hug. “I haven’t seen you in so long. Are you sure my face is still familiar?”
“My dad wouldn’t let me forget you,” I said when we stepped away from each other. “He mentioned you’d be coming here. You’re majoring in economics, right?”
“Yup. Gotta follow in my father’s footsteps, huh?” he asked, giving me a roll of his blue eyes.
“You soundsoexcited to be here.”
“I just wanted to take a gap year, you know? Maybe take a break from all those years of expensive private schooling. I was planning to go to Fiji for a few months and instead I’m stuck here.” He huffed. “Anyway, enough about me. Your dad said you were studying journalism or something? I remember before you ditched us for that other school you wanted to do it back then too.”
“I didn’tditchyou guys. I hated that school. Everyone was so…” I struggled to find the word. “… Rich.”
“Like you aren’t?” He snorted. “How have you been, huh? I didn’t see you at the club all summer.”
“I was kinda busy this summer. I had a lot going on.”
“Ah, yes. With your new boyfriend, right?” he said with a big grin. “Your dad told me about him. He told me a lot, actually.”
The words had me straightening up. That wasn’t shocking to hear. “Andwhat did he say?”
“Many, many things. The term ‘delinquent’ was used on several occasions. He also said ‘criminal’ a lot, so I’ve been wondering if you’ve fallen in love with a serial killer or something.”
“Look, whatever my dad said about Sawyer isn’t true.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “I know all about your little golf dates and how much time you’ve been spending together.”
“Yeah, those were… interesting. I think he was secretly trying to set us up.”
