Then it was all over.
2
EVELYN
Iran.
Ibolted, like my damn heels were on fire, knocking over stacks of books and tripping over my own shoes in a desperate attempt to flee. The gorgeous guy said nothing, but I also hadn’t waited around to give him a chance.
How embarrassing. What the hell was I thinking? I mean, aside from the obvious—how insanely attracted I was to the library stranger—but that was no excuse. Christ, knowing my luck his girlfriend would be an absolute smoke show, too, just to make me feel like more of an idiot.
He’d definitely kissed me back, but maybe it was a reflex thing?
By some stroke of luck, I found my way back to the office building without any trouble and forced myself to calm the fuck down long enough to collect my schedule, room assignment, and key.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I scolded myself under my breath as I located the Marigold dorm, which was right next door to Hibiscus Hall, both following Meadowridge’s lovely flowertheme. “What the fuck were you thinking? You can’t just kiss random guys without speaking to them!”
I managed to keep my volume to little more than a whisper, not wanting the entire floor to hear me talking to myself, but damn near choked on my next words when I looked up and found a girl sitting on my bed with a curious look on her face.
“Um…hi?” she greeted me, tilting her head to the side. “Are you lost?”
I frowned, glancing around. No one mentioned that I’d be sharing a room and…“Where’s the other bed?”
The girl wrinkled her button nose. “What other bed? Are you okay? You were just talking to yourself.”
I shook my head, thoroughly confused. “I’m…yeah, I’m fine. Is this room 338?” I took a step back to check the door and verify this was indeed the right room. “I think you’re in my room.”
The girl snorted a laugh, her delicate features crinkling. “Doubtful. This has been my room since sophomore year. Should I call the college medical wing?”
Why would she…Oh.Oh. “You think I’m crazy. Okay, sure, fair assumption given the evidence, but there must just be a mix-up. I picked up my key and welcome packet just five minutes ago, see?” I held up the key ring and showed her my booklet with maps and important information like how to connect to school wifi and what my room number was.
She hopped off the bed and took the booklet from me, then snickered. “Room 833, dummy. Not 338.”
I blinked at her like an idiot, then peered at the booklet myself. Yep, sure enough…room 833. My cheeks flushed with heat. “Shit, I’m so sorry. I accidentally kissed a stranger, and it got me all flustered?—”
Now it was her turn to blink at me, before it turned into a massive smile. “Well, kissing random strangers has that effect, or so I hear. I’m Nina, by the way. Nina Liu.”
“I’m Eve,” I replied on reflex.
“Cool. I’ll walk with you up to your room so you don’t bust in on anyone else. Not everyone in this dorm building would be so nice about it.” She rolled her eyes dramatically but led the way back along the corridor to the small elevator at the end. “So who was the guy?”
I followed her into the elevator, raking my fingers through my messy hair. “What guy?”
Nina gave a short laugh. “The one you were berating yourself for kissing. Wait, didn’t you literally just arrive? That’s…quick.”
More embarrassment, and I groaned. I had to try and explainsomethingthough because otherwise she’d think…I didn’t even know what. “I was in the middle of a panic attack and I ran into the library and then there was thisgorgeousguy and he asked if I was okay and then I kissed him because apparently I was having a stroke or an aneurysm or something that makes people do totally out of character dumb shit and?—”
“Whoa, girl, take a breath.” Nina laughed but it wasn’t unkind. “Longest run-on sentence I’ve ever freaking heard. How hot are we talking here? One to ten?”
“Fifteen,” I responded quickly. “At least. Tall, dark chocolate-brown hair with kind of natural blond highlights, and the most intense, breathtaking green eyes with these long, dark lashes and?—”
“Oooh, sounds like Connor,” she said thoughtfully. “Although the library isn’t his usual hunting ground.”
“Connor?” I repeated, testing the name against the image in my head.
Nina nodded with a shrug. “Sounds like him, but maybe not. Anyway, here we are. Room 833.”
I hadn’t even registered the fact that we’d reached the eighth floor, let alone that we'd arrived at thecorrectdorm roomwhich was, logically, locked. “Oh, cool, thanks, Nina. And I’m sorry about the mix-up downstairs.”
