We run into Lacey and her group of girls on the way to the cafeteria.
“Hello, girls,” Lacey says when she sees us and blows air-kisses. “There’s a party tonight. Are you coming?”
Kat and I both nod. We could do with a bit of fun after we broke ourselves for this test.
“Good,” Lacey says and gives me the address. “Don’t be late. And…” she glances me up and down. “If you need something to wear, call me, okay?”
I laugh. “I think I’m okay.”
Lacey and I aren’t friends exactly, but we’re on good terms. When I got here, I let her dress me up and drag me around because I needed to fit in. But now, I can be myself. I don’t need to pretend anymore. Everything is real. Kat and I go on to the cafeteria and each grab a tray of food.
“So, next year is going to be a blast,” Kat says. “I spoke to the RA, and we’re roomies again. Isn’t that fun?”
“It’s great,” I say. “Do you think she’s being told what to do again?”
“I don’t know,” Kat admits. “But it works for me either way.”
Stone never told me that it’s because of him that Kat and I are in the same dorm now, but there’s no other way it could have happened. It’s not a coincidence that I was moved on the same day I received the official papers that I’m a student here.
“So, how are things between you two?” Kat asks. “You seem happy.”
“I am,” I say with a contented sigh. “I mean, he’s still a dick sometimes.”
Kat laughs. “It’s Stone Giles. I don’t think he can be anything else.”
I shrug. She’s right. But that’s what I like about Stone. He doesn’t give a shit what everyone else thinks of him. He likes to party his way through college, and he likes being the kingpin around campus. I like being on his arm, the Queen of College. Although, something about Stone is different lately. He’s still the guy everyone wants to be, but it’s like he’s showing more of who he really is. And the more I see, the more I like it.
“Whatarewe wearing tonight?” Kat asks.
“I think I’ll just wear this,” I say, looking at my jeans and tank top.
Kat grins. “Yeah, I was thinking that too.”
We giggle, and I relish in the fact that Lacey will be appalled.
The party is in the same house it usually is. It’s a student home just off campus, and the seniors who live there always open it up for us all to have fun.
When we walk in, someone pushes two plastic cups into our hands, and I take a sip. The alcohol is strong. Perfect.
I look around, trying to find Stone. A group of guys are in the living room, already daring each other to do stupid shit. They look like they’ve been drinking for a while.
“Oh, God,” Kat groans when she sees them. “Guys like that make me wonder why humans aren’t extinct yet.”
I laugh. “Pure luck, if you ask me.”
Someone comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. When I turn, Stone kisses me hard. He has alcohol on his breath but not excessively, and his eyes are bright and clear. He hasn’t taken any drugs in a long time, and he barely drinks anymore.
“Hello, beautiful.”
I blush and Stone turns, acknowledging Kat, too. He nods at her in greeting and she smiles at him.
He turns back to me. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Guess what?”
I look up at him. “I’ve been drafted for an NHL team.”