“Night, Jayden.”
* * *
I hadn’t slept nearly long enoughwhen I was pulled from my dreams by the shrill beeping of Jayden’s alarm. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have the same problem. The screeching continued for a solid minute before someone pounded on the wall. Even that wasn’t enough to wake Jayden.
I slipped out of bed, debating if it would be poor etiquette to turn off the alarm. Doing so would mean touching his phone, which surely had to be against the roommate rules. But the alternative was trying to wake him myself, and I wasn’t sure if he was the type to wake up swinging.
“Jayden,” I hissed, making sure to keep my distance. “Hey, it’s time to wake up.”
He didn’t move. I’d have worried he died in his sleep if I didn’t notice the steady rise and fall of his chest. And yeah, I looked to make sure because you never knew when something would happen to someone as they slept.
The pounding on the wall was louder the second time around. “Jay, get your ass out of bed or I swear to God I’m going to give you a fucking ice bath!”
That didn’t sound very nice at all. I scowled at the unknown threat to Jayden. Okay, so he couldn’t see me, but I was very convincing in my irritation.
“Jayden,” I said again, louder this time. I made the judgment call to turn off his alarm, telling myself I would apologize as soon as he woke up.Ifhe woke up.
This was my fault. He’d been sleeping peacefully until I woke up in the middle of the night. Hopefully that wouldn’t keep him from paying attention during his classes today.
“Jayden,” I repeated for a third time. I took a deep breath, held it, and stepped next to his bed. His skin was warm and soft, his muscles firm under my hand as I gently shook him. “It’s time to wake up. Someone keeps pounding on the wall and he’s threatening an ice bath if you don’t get up.”
“Fucking Matt,” Jayden muttered, pulling the pillow over his head. He stilled, lifting the pillow to look at me. He cracked one eye open. “Oh, hey. Did you sleep better after—”
“Yes, thank you,” I cut him off. I didn’t want to know how he would have referred to my middle of the night restlessness.
Jayden lifted his head, frowning when he noticed the disheveled state of my bed. Great. I had a neat freak on my hands. It wasn’t that I was messy, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about him judging me for not making my bed when it was his fault because he slept through the alarm and I wasn’t willing to risk the guy on the other side of the wall mistaking me for Jayden and givingmean early morning ice bath.
“Make your bed and shower, Chase,” Jayden directed me. I was oddly fascinated by Jayden’s feet when he swung them over the edge of the bed. I never would have considered myself influenced one way or the other by feet, but his were attractive. I wasn’t sure there was any part of him thatwasn’tappealing, other than possibly his inability to wake up when the alarm went off. “What time is your first class?”
“Huh?”
Jayden chuckled, and when I looked up, I realized he’d caught me staring at his feet. Yep, I gave myself forty-eight hours before he labeled me a complete loon. “Class. What time?”
“Oh, um…” I knew this. I’d memorized my schedule as soon as they were sent out, and I’d mapped out my path from one class to the next so I couldn’t get lost. “Eight-thirty in Cunningham.”
“No shit? Me too. We’ll head over there together,” he proclaimed as if it was a done deal. “I mean, unless you were meeting up with other friends. I just thought it’d be cool to walk and maybe get to know one another a little bit.”
“Why?”
Jayden cocked his head to the side. He’d done that a lot in the short time we’d known one another. “Why? Do I need a reason other than it’d be cool to not be complete strangers since we’re stuck with one another for the rest of the spring?”
“Oh, I suppose not.” I didn’t tell him I wasn’t used to anyone going out of their way to be nice to me. “I’d like that. Thank you.”
“But first, breakfast,” he reminded me. “You’re more than welcome to head over to the lounge whenever you’re ready, but be warned, the guys are a bit much at times. We’ve all lived together a couple of years now, so boundaries aren’t always a thing.”
“Would it be okay if I wait for you?” I asked as I turned away from him. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and I wasn’t ready to see pity for the weird kid on his face. “I mean, I know we’re not friends or anything but at least I know you. I’m not great at meeting new people, so it might be easier if I don’t feel like I’m on my own.”
I flipped through the clothes I’d hung last night, trying to find something that would allow me to blend in with my classmates, not that I’d ever done a great job at that. I was always one of the youngest, smallest guys in my classes, and even though I doubted others noticed me,Inoticed.
“Sorry, I tend to ramble when I get nervous,” I apologized, deciding on a black tee and jeans. That was safe. Sure, there was the outline of a pokeball on the shirt but, unless someone looked close, they probably wouldn’t see it, and I’d be wearing a hoodie over it so I wouldn’t lookthatweird. “Last semester went sideways on me and I really want to have a good end of the year, otherwise my parents might not let me come back. And they won’t even consider letting me move off campus if they think I’m distracted.”
“Calm down, Chase. It’s going to be fine,” Jayden reassured me. I stiffened when he placed a hand on my arm, his thumb rubbing back and forth slowly. “You can absolutely stay in our room until it’s time for breakfast. I’ll try and hurry once you get out of the shower. I meant it when I said you don’t want to miss Brandon’s breakfast.”
“Does he do that often?” Living in the suites was already proving to be nothing like the dorms had been. I might not know this Brandon guy, but I wasn’t going to miss slop in the dining hall. Some buildings had food courts, the suites had kitchens, but until this morning, I’d been stuck with bland cafeteria food.
“Every day. I’m telling you he makes it worthwhile to do your homework in the mornings if you don’t have class.” Jayden licked his lips and rolled his eyes. “I know it sounds dramatic, but the man’s a culinary genius. His skills are wasted in pre-law.”
“Looking forward to it.” And I was, as long as I focused on a decent meal rather than the prospect of meeting six more people I’d have to hide my secrets from.
