“No. No party here,” I lied. The truth was it wasn’t the party I was avoiding but the person throwing it.
Like, who the hell has a party on a Wednesday?
The Elite does, a little voice in my head chimed.
Suppressing an eye roll, I ignored that stupid voice of reason.
“That’s not what I heard,” Ainsley said, grinning so big she damn well nearly beamed. “Chi Sigma is hosting their annual back-to-school event.”
I snorted at her choice of words. This was not an event but a frat party. I had to give her props for trying to make it more sophisticated than it was. Only Ainsley.
She moved to join Josie and me on the bed. I scooted over to make more room. It wasn’t like there was much space to begin with; anything bigger than the twin beds we had and our entire dorm would have been one massive bed. “I also heard that some girl got shoved into the fountain. Can you believe that?”
My mouth flattened into a disapproving line that bordered on a pout. “I didn’t get shoved. I fell,” I corrected. Were people actually already talking about it? Instinct told me this was all Sterling’s doing. He might not be going around directly telling everyone, but if he was as well known around campus as I was beginning to believe, then just being seen with him brought attention to me.
Ainsley blinked at me, taking in my appearance—the wet hair, the lack of clothes—for the first time. “It was you?”
I didn’t confirm or deny but stood at the foot of the bed giving her a pointed look. I didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
“Oh my God,” she exclaimed, mossy green eyes widening. “I would give up my vibrator for a month to have seen that.”
My nose wrinkled. “Ew. TMI. Keep that shit to yourself.”
Josie just laughed, used to Ainsley spewing any and everything that came to her mind. She had no filter, and most days, I liked that about her.
A wicked smile curled on her dark cherry lips. Ainsley loved makeup. A lot of makeup. “As if you didn’t bring yours.”
“Have you seen my boyfriend?” I countered. “Vibrator completely unnecessary.”
“So, you and Micah have…” She made a crude gesture with her fingers.
“None of your business,” I smacked in return.
“That means no. What are you waiting for? It’s not like you guys haven’t slept together before.”
What was I waiting for? The truth—I was afraid of being hurt again, of being vulnerable. Sex for me wasn’t a basic need like it was for Ainsley. It was an emotional connection, and it wasn’t easy controlling my body when I was alone with Micah, because wanting him was never the problem. HowmuchI wanted him scared me.
And we did have sex. Just not every night.
“Who said I was waiting?”
She didn’t look convinced. “Not all of us came to college with hot-as-fuck boyfriends, and the only way I’m going to get the real deal is by meeting people. And to do that…” Ainsley glanced at me expectantly, giving me her pleading eyes and pouty lips.
My shoulders sagged, and I could feel myself caving. “I get it.”
“Come on, let’s make memories. For tonight, it doesn’t have to be about guys. It can just be the four of us. A girls’ night to celebrate our first week on campus.” Ainsley had about a thousand excuses for why a party was a good idea. She always had a reason to celebrate. The moon was out. Party. A new season of the Kardashians came out. Pour the champagne. And so forth.
My first day at college had been memorable all right, just not the kind of memories I’d been looking to make. Did I really want my stumble into the fountain to be the only memory I had of today? The only way to change that would be to make new ones.
“Fine, but I’m not dancing on the tables… tonight,” I said, certain I would regret the decision later. “I have class tomorrow. We can pop in for a little bit, check out the scene, and then be back in the dorms at a decent hour without a hangover. That’s the deal.”
Ainsley squealed, launching herself at me as she threw an arm around my neck and then moved in to include Josie, causing the three of us to fall onto the bed.
A bead of apprehension curled in my belly. Why did I have such a bad feeling about this party? Was it Sterling? Or something else entirely?
CHAPTERTWO
MICAH