So why am I?
Snapping myself out of my trance-like state, I look over to the Cafeteria God himself standing in my doorway.His sister.Leah is his sister. Cafeteria God is Aussy’s roommate. Everything starts to click into place, and I snap back to reality, feeling an overwhelming amount of emotions all at once. I reply to the man who looks too damn comfortable leaning on my door frame with an attitude that probably has too much bite.
“Oh, look, you found my dorm anyway,” I deadpan.
“That one’s spicy.” He nods his head in my direction and gives me a wink.
Austin brushes past Kash and pads over to my side of the room. The end of the bed dips under his weight. He rests his arms on his legs, letting out a sigh.
“Vix, Kash. Kash…” He waves his hand back and forth between us.
“This is Vix.”
Cafeteria God’s eyebrows rise, making me think he’s pleasantly surprised.
“Kash, Kashious the Righteous, if you prefer.” He grins while reaching out to shake my hand. “It’s nice to meet youformally, Vix. You look hella great when you’re clean and dry.”
The whole room grows quiet.
“Kash, what the hell is wrong with you?” Leah walks over and slaps her brother upside his head.
“Ow, fuck. She knows what I mean. Tough crowd.” He chuckles, retracting his hand. I’m still unsure what to say in this situation. I feel my anxiety creeping under my skin like a snake attacking every bit of my calm. Tension builds in my shoulders, and a lump forms in the back of my throat. Today has been a lot. A lot of people, a lot of surprises, a lot revealed to me, and I’m feeling overstimulated.
Kash is Austin’s roommate.
He’s also Leah’s brother.
Leah is hooking up with Austin.
Aus and I are… still best friends?
This year is going to be a hoot.
Feeling awkward and a little out of place, I give the best smile I can manage and try to think of something to say to fill this awkwardness.
“Hey, Kash. Nice to meet you.” He flashes his million-dollar smile my way, and I swear I saw a twinkle in his eye when I said his name. Strangely, it calms me.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, are we hitting Booths tonight?” he questions as if it’s already decided that we’re all hanging out together.
Booths is the local pub just off campus. Good food, a bar and at night, the place where HHU students go to forget their worries and dance the night away. It’s not your typical club-type bar. It’s notorious for having theme nights every now and then. It’s one of the places I’ve been excited to visit in hopes of finally forming that social life I’ve always longed for. Tonight’s theme is angels and devils.
“Fuck yes!” I jump up from the floor, unable to contain my excitement and play it cool.
“Atta girl, Vixy.” Kash drapes his arm over my shoulder, and I blush. Even with his cocky attitude and goofy sense of humour, there’s no denying how insanely gorgeous he is.
Aus stiffens, and I can tell he’s uncomfortable with how close Kash and I are.
“I’m down for Booths; we’ll swing by to pick you guys up at nine.” He stands from the bed and shoves Kash by the shoulder, directing him to the door. Is he… jealous?
The guys leave,and it grows quiet. I can feel eyes on me, so I turn and catch Leah staring at me, like she’s waiting for my next move.
“So, shall we get ready?” I ask her, trying to break the tension in the air.
“Do you like Austin?” she asks me in such a bubbly tone that it completely catches me off guard.
“What? No… Austin is my oldest friend.” I can feel heat rising to my cheeks.
“That’s a shame,” she replies, rifling through colourful outfits hung neatly in her closet.
