Page 35 of Vacancy

She turned her phone to show me the screen. When I first focused on it, I saw that it was Foster Union’s Facebook account, but then Raina tapped on one of the pictures, and I noticed Damien was in the photo with the guy he’d just been talking to on the quad. They were both shirtless and sweaty and grinning at the camera with their arms looped around the other’s shoulders and medals hanging from ribbons around their necks.

The caption read:Look who talked me into running a 10K with him today. Never again.

And it tagged one Damien Archer.

“There’s no denying his name’s Damien now,” Raina concluded.

I rolled my eyes. “Well, I already knew that.” Though, secretly, I was glad to have proof after the way Jaylani and Raina had made me question it.

“This is so cool,” Raina uttered as she turned the phone to gaze at the screen herself. “You’re renting a room from one of the seven.”

“Okay…” I nodded, still lost. “But whoarethey?”

“They’re theseven,” Raina repeated with more emphasis as if that should explain it better. “Just seven of the hottest men on campus. Though, they probably wouldn’t be that well known if it weren’t for Foster Union. He kind of put the other six on the map since they’rehisbest friends.”

Furrowing my brow with more confusion, I asked, “Except who the fuck is Foster Union?”

Raina blinked at me once before saying, “You’re joking.” She glanced toward Jaylani. “Please tell me she’s joking.”

“What?” I started, only for Jaylani to grip both my shoulders from behind and manually turn me toward a building we were standing next to.

“Oh sweetie,” she said in a sympathetic, you’re-too-clueless-for-your-own-good voice.

I opened my mouth to ask again what they were talking about when I finally noticed the huge billboard posted against the side of the wall. It showed a full-body, head-to-toe picture of the blond who’d just been talking to Damien. He was standing between two other guys—all three of them wearing football jerseys—and each had a title under them. The one under Damien’s friend readFoster Union, Quarterback. He was grinning out at me and holding a football in my direction with one hand. The other half of the billboard congratulated the team for being the National Champs the previous year.

“So… He’s a football player?” I guessed slowly.

“A football player?” Raina gaped at me as if I’d lost my mind. Then she glanced at Jaylani and shook her head. “A football player, she says. Oh, Oaklynn.” She sighed in defeat as she turned back to me. “He’s notjusta football player. He’s a freaking legend. A god. He took our team to thenationalchampionships last year. And he was only asophomore! He’s probably going to do it againthisyear, too, with the way their season’s going.” She shook her head, exasperated. “How can you not know any of this? I thought you were a journalism major.”

“I’m still new,” I muttered, offended. “And I don’t cover sports.”

I was still learning the names of all my professors. I hadn’t gotten around to memorizing notable students yet. Jeez.

Raina patted my back. “It’s okay,” she assured. “I’ll let it slide this time. But to catch you up to speed… Last year was the first time HaveU had ever won a national title in football, and it was the first time in fifteen years that we’d even made the playoffs. Foster has a passer rating of 168, which put him in fourth place as the most efficient quarterback inallof divisional college football, the big six included.”

“Wow,” I murmured, impressed by Raina’s knowledge but not so much by some guy’s football stats, since I had no idea what a passer rating even was. “You really like football, huh?”

“Uh...” Raina’s smile faltered. “No, not really. I don’t exactly know how the whole game works.” Then she shrugged ruefully. “I’m just a Foster Union fan.”

“I guess,” I said, nodding my head slowly.

“I heard he was, like, super friendly, too. Not arrogant or rude at all. Like the sunny, sweet, boy-next-door type of pure and nice.”

“Huh,” I said, thinking I preferred the dark, mysterious type better.

There had just been something thrilling and addictive about Damien’s enigmatic way that gave me a danger rush. Like parachuting or bungee jumping, where you weren’t a hundred percent sure if the cord would hold or the chute would open. That intense expression in Damien’s eyes made me question whether he was thinking of kissing me or strangling me. It was hot as fuck.

I shivered as excited goosebumps pebbled my skin.

“And get this,” Raina was saying, still going on about her pleasant, agreeable, boring football player. “He works as a humble pizza delivery boy at Duke’s Pizza Palace.”

“Let me guess,” I said, growing amused. “You eat a lot of pizza these days.”

“Three or four times a month,” Raina admitted miserably. “And Istillhaven’t gotten him asmydelivery guy yet.”

“Isn’t there porn that starts just like that?” I mused more to myself as Jaylani suggested, “Maybe he works at Finch’s Pizzeria instead.”

Raina gasped. “No way! Does he really?”

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