I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but the butterflies in my stomach did.
“Hey Danny, thanks,” one of the Alphas called after us.
“One sec,” he told me, and then spoke to the frat boy. “No problem, it was fun. Hey Eric, do you know Wren?”
Eric shook his head and said, “Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming. I’m sure this dude was part of the attraction.”
“Remember what I told you about calling me dude?” Daniel side-eyed the Eric guy.
“This guy.” Eric inserted a weird, almost evil laugh while slapping Daniel on the back.
“Actually, never heard of him before tonight. This dude, I mean.” I jabbed my thumb toward Daniel for emphasis.
Ihadn’theard of him. I mean, clearly he was on the golf team and damn good at it, but I didn’t follow the sport. What I did know was that he was the first guy to make me laugh with his wit in a long time.
“Well, you’ll hear of him when he’s on the tour.”
“See you in class, Eric.” Daniel snatched my hand and spoke while leading me to the door.
“What’s with the tour?” I asked outside. “By the way, do you have a car?” Sometimes my lack of common sense and stupidity astounded me, and I worried how I would manage life. I just assumed he had a car, but what if he expected me to drive?
“I have a car. Drove separately.” He cocked his head toward a vintage BMW convertible, older than the Cabrio.
“I take it that thing doesn’t have airbags?”
He shook his head. “It has seat belts.”
I didn’t have a chance to reply as he swung the door open, and my body slid inside of its own volition.
Daniel
We rumbled down my street, and I turned into the parking lot as I watched Wren out of the corner of my eye. It was a posh building for a student, but I wasn’t the only one who lived here. This was Arizona, and there were plenty of girls and guys spending their parents’ money to go to a school in a resort town. Yeah, I was spending some of my parents’ money too, but I planned to pay them back when I made a name for myself… The thing was, I didn’t think this was how Wren lived.
“Nice,” she commented when I pulled into my designated spot.
“It’s home for me, in a different country, away from my family.”
She nodded, and I realized that was all she was going to give me. No slapstick or sardonic comment. She was ingesting.
Car in park, I ran around to open her door. She obliged me, taking my hand, allowing me to help her out of the seat before slipping her fingers out from mine.
I walked next to her toward the elevator, wanting to run my hands through her curls, pulling her face close for a kiss, but I didn’t dare. At home, they’d call her a bonnie lass, but I could tell Wren was more than a beautiful package and not thehit it and quit ittype—I wasn’t really about that style, but I’d learned the expression from my American teammates. I was more afriends with benniesguy, but Wren was a challenge, and one I couldn’t afford to get wrapped up in. Yet here I was, bringing her home with me.
“Have you lived here all four years? Or three so far?” She broke the silence, looking at me with her dark-pool eyes. I wanted to dive into those murky waters and explore in a way I’d never wanted to do before.
The elevator arrived and I ushered her in, my palm at the small of her back. “Was in the dorms my freshman year, and then here. I don’t go home for all the same breaks as everyone, and I like the space,” I explained as we rode up to my floor. More silent nodding as I led her off and to my door. “You good? I can take you home if you prefer?” I had to ask. I wasn’t one to make a woman feel uncomfortable.
“I’m good. Just kind of in awe. I live in an apartment too. It’s a shitty building with paper-thin walls and no pool, but this is nice. I get to go home…for holidays.”
She trailed off as I opened my door and stepped inside. Of course, as soon as Wren walked in, Brutus was off his bed in a flash, sitting right at her feet, looking for lavish pets and attention.
“Brutus, meet Wren. Wren, this is Brutus.”
And then, of course, she was on the floor, on her knees, kissing his face, telling him what a good boy he was.
“Okay, okay, Brutus, she’s here to see me,” I finally said.
She stood and said, “Are you going to give me a tour?”
