A couple of hours later, I’d gotten my room set up with all my favorite band posters, some twinkle lights that gave the place a nice touch and the oldest, goofiest picture of Greta and me from third grade. The temperature had changed from pleasant to hot as hell and damn, I must have stunk. Thank god I had my own bathroom to hit the shower whenever the hell I felt like. I loved Greta to death, but as an only child, I’d never had to share. I refused to start now. As I belted out the words toSmells like Teen Spirit, waves of happiness flowed through me. I’d worked pretty damn hard, saving money to be at my dream university.Dad and his crazy take-it-or-leave-it deal. ‘Prove you can make it on your own—pay for your own school. You’ll never survive on your own.’
My parents had attachment issues—understandably, as I was their only daughter. But more, they didn’t think of me as college material. I hadn’t gotten straight As. I’d done okay in school, but my focus had always been sports. I scoffed.Huh, odd, isn’t it? My dad’s been a baseball coach his whole damn life, yet I’ve gotta choose a different career path.
Hypocrite.
Not caring that I still wore a tiny robe, I shuffled into the kitchen to grab a drink before making a list of class materials. We had two full weeks of chilling until classes started and I intended to take total advantage of every free minute, but I needed to get settled in and figure out where the hell the Bookstore was, because I wanted good grades. I needed it more than the average person because, if I could pull off straight As, my parents planned to help me out with payments.Thanks a lot, Dad. For your unfair twofer deal of proving myself to get here and also making me do it again.
“Hey, G?” I hopped up onto the bar stool and flipped through the magazine on the counter. I never read any gossip mags and it didn’t pique my interest, but I saw something about Blink 182. That definitely caught my eye. “Get your tiny ass out here and have a drink with me.”
No response. I took a large swig of water and bent over the magazine. I was reading about the latest tour schedule when someone cleared their throat and I glanced up to find two pairs of eyes staring at me. My heart kicked up, shooting adrenaline down my body. I held the bottle tighter, in case I had to use it as a weapon. I glanced back and forth between them, hoping to figure out who these guys were and what they hell they were doing there. “Neither of you is Greta.”
“G? I like that.” The shorter one with perfect teeth smiled at me as he rubbed his jaw. I’d never seen such a large forearm before. Like, the size of my leg. He could have killed me with one punch. Before thoughts of getting robbed or murdered overtook my brain, he held out his hand. “You must be Callie.”
“Maybe.” I stood and backed up a couple of steps, ignoring his hand. The taller one stared at me with intense blue eyes. Or maybe they were green. I couldn’t tell and should not have been thinking about his eye color when two strange yet attractive guys were in my apartment. “Don’t make me throw a bottle at you.”
The tall one’s lip quirked so quickly that I almost didn’t catch it. I clenched the bottle tighter as the shorter one introduced himself. “I’m Aaron. This is Tanner. Sorry if we scared you.”
“Cool.” If they were robbing me, they were kind about it at least. “Forgive me for being rude, but why are you here? I don’t really have money if you’re burgling me.”
“Shit.” Aaron shared a look with Tanner before smiling. “We’re friends of Greta and we usually walk in. We heard you were moving in over the weekend and we wanted to meet you or see if you needed help.”
His smiled appeared nice and safe, but I’d never heard of an Aaron or Tanner before and I knew of most of her friends. “Listen, guys, I have no idea who you are and G’s my best friend, but if you’re messing with me, you win. You should go.”
“We’ll leave, but you and Greta should start a band up again. Your voice is pretty good.”
I blushed, wanting them to leave that second.Great first impression, idiot. These strangers heard me singing in the shower and know how much of a dork I am.
“Johnson! Hilly!” Greta’s voice carried from the hallway and I smacked a hand to my forehead.Damn.I knew of Johnson and Hilly, Greta’s baseball friends. “I see you met my best friend for life.” She handed a chocolate cupcake to me and I moaned in pleasure. “Isn’t she hot?”
“Greta.Jesus.” I choked on the dessert at her question.
Aaron laughed and nodded. “She lived up to every expectation I had. Although, is she normally violent? She threatened to throw a bottle at us.”
“Hell, yeah, she is. She’s gotten into fist fights a couple of times. She always wins, too.” Greta put her arm around me. “That’s why I love her.”
“Shit. Don’t tell them that. I’m not that bad.” I set the bottle down on the counter. “I just definitely assumed these two were going to rob or kill me.”
“Please. They’re harmless.” Greta ignored them as they flipped her the bird.
“Do they have keys? Should I be worried about them trying on my clothes or something?”
“Hell no. I love them but not that much.”
Relief filled my chest but I didn’t express it out loud. “I’m sorry I thought you were bad guys. I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to meet you.”
“You as well.” I eyeballed Tanner and smiled at the pair. They were both way too good-looking so I had no idea how Greta remained justfriendswith them.
“You realize you were in the shower and if we were good robbers, we would’ve taken every penny you had and slipped out without you knowing?”
“Great point. Okay, he has brains and looks. I’m surprised.” I totally checked Tanner out and he ate it up. Flirts I could deal with. The younger kids in my classes worried me. I hated feeling insecure, and already being a year behind put me at a disadvantage. “I only knew of you guys as Johnson and Hilly. I never guessed last names…” I stopped talking. Tanner’s eyes had dropped to my chest. I forgot I was wearing only a robe and it had come undone, revealing a sliver of skin all the way down my body. I quickly tugged at the hem and pulled it together. “I make really good first impressions, if you couldn’t tell.”
Greta chuckled and opened up a beer for herself. Her parents were the cool ones, always buying drinks for her in the summer. Mine, not so much. Tanner continued grinning at me. “I’d say I’m going to remember our meeting…your robe forever etched into my mind.”
I put my face in my hands and laughed. “I’ll be right back. I don’t want to embarrass myself even more.” I threw on the same cut-off shorts and a different band tank top before heading back out there. I rarely wore makeup or did my hair, making my prep time less than five minutes. Greta drove me crazy with her hour-long routine.But to each their own.I came out to see them in the same position reenacting something that had happened the weekend before.
“So you two are the baseball players, right?”
“Well I’m also an Aries and charming as hell, but yes.” Aaron hopped onto the counter and pointed to Tanner. “This guy is totally a Virgo. Shy, cranky and modest.”
