Page 30 of His Reckless Freshman

Caroline always raves about how great sex is. She must be out of her mind.

Or maybe I’m the problem.

My stomach twists into a painful knot as I park my scooter outside Marty’s.

I have another interview with Ben, and I’m not really sure if I’m up for it. I felt so sunny and joyful last time we met. Today, I’m stressed and anxious.

My new roommate moved in this weekend.

Yes, on top of my horrible date, I now have to cope with a new person in my space. And God didn’t hear any of my prayers, because what I was hoping for was a replica of Julia. Sweet, kind of nerdy like me, into all the same stuff I am.

What I got was this ultra-cool, super-sexy Black woman named Nylah.

See! Even her name is cool!

Everything about her oozes confidence. Her smile is supermodel pretty. She wears makeup and dresses like choosing the right clothes is the easiest thing in the world. She has this stunning figure with curves in all the right places. I look like a candlestick standing next to her.

Not only that, but she’s the football coach’s daughter! I don’t know why that makes her even more epic, but somehow it does.

When she walked in with her parents, I lost my voice.

We shook hands and I tried to be polite, but all I could think was… She’s so intimidating.

I can’t be friends with her.

My quirky little butt is so awkward and gangly. She’s so smooth and perfect and… okay, so she walks with a slight limp. She didn’t say why, but I definitely noticed it along with the cane she rested against the wall at the end of her bed.

But the thing is, even with her limp and the cane, she’s still a thousand times cooler than me.

I blink, not wanting to think about this anymore

I can’t go crying just before my interview with Ben Evers. Yet another cool person I have to try and be brave around.

No one warned me that college life would be so exhausting!

They always talk about classes and how intense they can be. Well, I’m finding classes a breeze. What I’m struggling with is all the other stuff nobody gave me a heads-up on. Like interacting with people who are way out of my league, going on disastrous first dates, and feeling completely alone in an ocean of humanity.

Blowing out a breath, I force myself to open the door and walk into the café.

Ben’s already there. He’s sitting at the same table we were at last time, and the second he sees me, a smile crosses his face.

I try to return it but only manage a closed-mouth lip twitch.

Come on, Jolie. You can put on a better show than this.

Smile!

And my lips do as they’re told, stretching wide when I point at the counter. “Want a drink?”

“My turn to get them.” He stands up, and I watch his tall body lope toward me. He’s a giant. A tall, beautifully shaped one. I dip my eyes to the floor just before he reaches me, trying not to notice how good he smells. “What’s your poison this time? I’m guessing no to the strawberry smoothie?”

I glance up with a little huff of surprise. He noticed that I had one sip and bailed on the last one?

Wow.

I give him a little nod.

He winces. “Yeah, I should have warned you to stick to stuff that’s already sealed.”