Shit.
All three of us freeze in place. I lift my head to find Nita striding around the corner of the building. Her mouth actually falls open as she takes us in, all three of us sitting against the building, the guys pressed against either side of me, our hands entangled.
And here it is. The moment I dreaded. The real world finding us out. Stopping us. I steel myself for the anger, the accusations, the freaking out at how strange this situation is.
Instead, I feel my own mouth dropping open as my best friend starts to laugh.
“Nita?” I ask, but she’s shaking her head, beaming at me, and I’m so confused.
“Cass.” She heaves a huge sigh and sinks to a crouch in front of us. “I get it now. Why didn’t you tell me sooner you liked both guys?”
Anthony and Vin tighten their grips on my hands, and when I glance between them, they’re both smirking now, relieved that we don’t have to hide anymore.
Nita tilts her head, a spark in her eyes. “If you explained the whole situation sooner, I could’ve given better advice, you know.”
Vin nudges me with an elbow. “We did try to convince her to tell you.”
“But you know what she’s like,” Anthony adds.
Nita laughs again and rolls her eyes. “Stubborn as ever. That’s what we all love about her though, right?”
“Definitely.” Vin stands beside me, pulls me to my feet, and Anthony stands beside us.
“Now,” Nita says, one hand on her hip as she surveys us. “Can we please get back to quizzing our girl here, before she flunks out of bio?”
I laugh, relieved and still blown away by the guys’ revelations, my heart pounding triple-time in my chest as the three of us follow Nita around the building, into the middle of the quad, our hands still clasped. Vin is right. Who cares what anyone else thinks? As long as we’re happy.
“Okay,” I agree. “I’m ready to actually focus again.”
“That’s my girl.” Anthony plants a kiss on my cheek and I swear I could melt right here.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the guys don’t need to be a distraction—they can be my biggest support as I tackle this whole college life.
Seven
This is it. Moment of truth. My final exam results.
I hold my breath. Nita is back on her campus but we quiz each other over Skype as often as possible, and the guys have done their fair share of pep-talking me—not to mention coming up with some pretty creative rewards for when I do well on the practice tests. My personal favorite game was the one where the guys would remove one item of clothing for every question I answered right. And then, after I got all those answers down, they would remove one item of my clothing for every subsequent answer… And then I earned a long, slow taste of their tongues against my bare skin, for every full test I scored high on…
I shiver and shake my head. We’re in our dorm room, Anthony and Vin seated on the bed behind me as I crouch on the floor, both watching me as I hold my breath and stare at the laptop.
“Just open it,” Vin urges.
“It’s like a band-aid. One quick rip and it’s done,” Anthony agrees.
I close my eyes.
“You did great,” Vin adds. “I’m sure of it. You worked so hard.”
“Go on, one click.” Anthony reaches across my lap for the mouse, but I shake him off and hit the refresh button.
And there it is. My final score for the last test of my first semester, in the class I care the most about.
Perfect 100.
“Ha!” I cry out, half in relief, half in sheer joy.
“Fuck yes!” Anthony pumps the air, and Vin slaps my shoulder, shouting along with him.