CHAPTERTWO
Penny
I've never beena party girl. I was always the shy girl who stuck to myself.
I try my best to keep from pulling at my skirt self-consciously. My father would kill me if he saw me dressed like this.
At that thought, I raise my chin defiantly as I walk in the door and feel countless pairs of eyes on me. That's what this is all about, right? College is supposed to be about trying new things and finding yourself.
My father never trusted me even though I never gave him any reason not to. He was always notoriously strict on me and made me dress like a nun. I guess he was always afraid I would end up like my mom.
I don't remember her. She left us when I was just a baby, but from some of the comments I heard Dad make when he had one cognac too many, she ran off with another man and was always a bit wild.
Dad never wanted that for me. But in trying to prevent me from becoming like my mother, he stifled me. I never had any friends at school because when I was in middle school and tried to bring some over to the house, Dad always made them too uncomfortable. He made us feel like we were doing something wrong even when we weren’t, so eventually, no one wanted to hang out with me.
High school was hell, especially when he got a job as a principal at the school I graduated from. Nobody picked on me or anything, but nobody tried to engage with me either.
Of course, I made it pretty clear that I wasn't interested. I just made sure to always read, and hey, I guess that paid off because my scores were always outstanding—so much so that I was able to graduate early.
Of course, the only bad thing about graduating high school early is that I had to spend two years locked up at home since Dad wouldn't let me go to college early.
But I’m eighteen now, I remind myself, and my father can't control me any longer.
In a funny way, by locking me up, he helped me gain my freedom. Because of all the reading I did to keep myself from going crazy from boredom, I was smart enough to get a full-ride scholarship anywhere I wanted to go, which means I don't have to depend on his dime. I’m truly independent at this point, and it feels fucking amazing.
I push all thoughts of my father out of my mind and tell myself that no one here knows me. I'm free to be whom I want to be. I can reinvent myself as whomever I feel like being.
Not Penny, the shy girl. Not Penny, the principal's daughter. But just Penny. Me, whomever I really am.
“Hey, beautiful.” A guy suddenly pops up on my right. He has short blonde hair, and he's smiling at me with a charming smile.
I smile back at him, relieved that somebody made the first move to talk to me. “Hi,” I answer back a bit nervously, my voice coming out breathless.
His grin only widens as his eyes roll over me. “Freshman?” he asks me knowingly.
I let out a nervous laugh. “Is it that obvious?”
He licks his lips and leans in like he's going to tell me a secret, but then he’s suddenly yanked back. I take a step back and gasp when I look up into a pair of smoldering brown eyes.
A pair of brown eyes that I'll never forget.
Joey Brown.
I remember the first day I transferred to my last high school. His eyes were the first ones I saw when I walked into the building.
My breath catches, and my pulse races as the memories assault me. That same electric current I felt that day two years ago hits me full force like it was yesterday.
But then it's like a bucket of ice water is dumped on my head when I see the anger in his eyes as they blister down at me. “What are you doing here?” he snaps.
I instantly stiffen. I don't know that Joey Brown has ever said two words to me. Of course, why would he? He was the star quarterback, and I was a nobody. What would the school’s most popular jock have to do with talking to the shy girl?
He's never spoken to me, and now when he does, it's to ask me what I'm doing here. Just who the hell does he think he is? He might have been a big fish back in high school, but here we’re on an even playing field—at least I hope we are.
I guess he's pissed off that I'm cramping his style at his new college. Well, he’s not as pissed as I am. I purposefully chose this college because I didn't think anyone from high school would be here. I didn't want to be reminded of my old life, yet here's Joey Brown, as if to taunt me like I can never get away from my past.
If he’s here, there's no telling who else is here.
“I’m a student here.” I retort before I raise my eyebrow at him. “What areyoudoing here? Just visiting?” My implication is clear, and it might be a low blow to imply he’s not smart enough to get into college, but come on, he wasn’t known for his grades back in high school. As far as I know, all the guy can do is throw a stupid football and look infuriatingly handsome.