Life changed after that, but for the better. It was something I wasn’t used to.
As for my stuff and what all happened to me, a few people brought it up on campus. Not many, though. Less than what I expected and more than what Stone wanted. Siobhan had resumed being my friend. It was a slow-go at first. It meant something that she came to the house, she found me, she apologized, and she further apologized for staying away one time during a study session.
“I was hurt. You didn’t tell me you knew him and all the people you live with. They’re just so not what I am, and I felt insignificant. I felt foolish.” Her head bent down. She was picking at her pen. “But I thought about it and realized you didn’t need to tell me. You didn’t owe me anything. I was insecure, and it was all me. Not you. You were this ‘big’ person and I had no clue. Thought you were like me.”
“Like you?”
“Small. You know?”
I covered her hand with mine and squeezed. “You’re not small. No one’s small, and it doesn’t matter who you know. That doesn’t make you not small. I am like you. I just know a few people you don’t, that’s all.”
She looked like she had more to say, but Trent came back to the table then and we went to studying.
My housemates, they were ecstatic.
They went to a couple of Stone’s games. Stone went to a couple of their games with me, Colby and Jake, too. I was learning that the three of them had a friendship dynamic that I didn’t think I’d ever understand. Colby and Jake razzed each other. Stone was quiet, but somehow, the three were always so in tune with each other that it was a little freaky. Stone told me later that that wasn’t normal. Guys on the teams didn’t get close to each other. It was a job. People showed up. Did their job. Went home to their family. A few times, a couple guys might get close, get friendly, but with the threat of being traded to a different team always looming, most didn’t let themselves get super attached.
It was too late for him, Colby, and Jake. They were attached. Cortez came over to Stone’s house a few times, too. He was like an appendage, like an arm to the body of the three.
Noel. Wyatt. Nacho. Dent. The four lost it every time the three or four of them sometimes showed up.
Colby had started mentoring Noel.
Stone sometimes gave Wyatt pointers, but I could tell there was something there. The pro-ballers were a little detached from the college footballers. I didn’t know why, except Jake made one comment that they shouldn’t be partying as much as they were. Colby and Stone didn’t rebuke him. They both just got a nod and that was it. Made me wonder if maybe my housemates weren’t as dedicated as they should be, but Colby mentioned they had one more year before the Combine.
No clue what that meant, but again, the other two just nodded and said nothing else.
“You’re fidgeting.”
We were driving in his truck, and he was right. I kept playing with my hands, moving around in the seat. I was not comfortable, and I’d try to get comfortable and I just kept doing that. It was a whole cycle. Over and over again. Cursing, I stuffed my hand under my leg. I was about to do the same with my other hand, but Stone reached over. He grabbed my hand, laced our fingers, and threw me a smile. “Okay. Let’s not get hasty here.”
I laughed, and it was enough, just enough. No. It was perfect because it calmed some of the nerves.
We were driving to Acquiesce, a more upscale restaurant that bordered on a club. I’d heard about it. Stone mentioned it in passing, that we should go because we’d never been on an official date. I relayed the name of the place to Nicole, and she and Savannah went apeshit, claiming how prestigious the place was. Mia’d been walking through the living room, overheard our convo, and paused to give her two cents. “I’ve been there. It’s cool. They have dancers.” That’d been it. She kept moving, reminding me of the first time I met her and thinking she was a gazelle in human form. Her long legs striding forward, but moving as if she were delicately prancing. It worked for her. Me. I’d look like a goose trying to pretend it was a flamingo. Just couldn’t pull that one off.
But I was nervous because one, it was our first ‘out’ date together. People knew. Blogs knew. Half the male population on campus knew, and not because of me, because of their love for Stone. This was different, though. Felt different, more official, and I was sweating buckets. Hence, the fidgeting.
“What’s in your head?”
I tried to pull my hand from Stone, but he only tightened his grip and squeezed me back.
“Stone.”
“Tell me.”
He was swinging into the parking lot, and it was a circle drive-up thing. There was a line of cars in front of us, and they had valet. Stone was glancing around, making sure he didn’t have anything expensive laying out. Wasn’t supposed to happen with valet, but let’s be real. It happened. I just went right back to fidgeting and smoothed my hand down over my dress.
I was wearing a pink dress that Savannah insisted on. There was a sheer covering up my top, with green beading that made it look like I was wearing a fairytale garden. The bottom was pink tulle and she’d thrown on a long necklace of white beads at the last minute. I’d done away with the blue hair, and my hair was now dyed back to my dusty blonde color. I thought it was appropriate. It was up in half curls and a half braid. According to Mia, the only housemate who’d been to Acquiesce with Wyatt because they had dinner with his parents there, the dress was perfect. I wasn’t sure, or I hadn’t been until now. Stone was wearing a nice button-down shirt and nice jeans. He could’ve stepped off a yacht in Cannes and fit right in, but the couple in front of us got out of a fancy car and I settled even more. The woman had on a gold sparkling dress, top to bottom. Diamonds dripped down her neck, so yeah. I was probably underdressed.
“This place is a different level of fancy.”
It was our turn next, and he pulled up, but when the valet opened his door, Stone didn’t get out. He was watching me. “You don’t want to go here?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“It’s in your voice. I can tell.” He looked around, cursing, and motioned to the guy. “Sorry. Change of plans.”
“What are you doing?” I asked as the valet nodded and stepped back, helping Stone shut the door at the same time, and then we were moving forward, pulling back onto the highway.
“You don’t want to go there. I can tell. I’m sorry. Asked around. Everyone said to take you there, said all chicks would want to go there. I should’ve known. You’re different.” He sighed. “Thank fuck you are.”
I should protest, have him turn back, but he was right.
“Besides.” Stone threw me a wolfish grin. “Pretty sure we’d have our pictures sold to a gossip site.” He reached for my hand, our fingers sliding against each other. “Way you look, we would’ve been put up somewhere.”
The paparazzi buzz had settled, too. Mostly because we never went out. Stone didn’t have the time. If he wasn’t at practice or traveling for away games or at the stadium in meetings, he was watching tapes at home his place. We divided our nights. The nights before my early morning classes, we were at my place. All the other nights, we were at his, so I almost thought home—my home—but it wasn’t. And that was moving too fast. We weren’t there, but as his thumb started rubbing over the top of my hand, I started wondering if we were actually already there.
I definitely felt like I was.
It wasn’t long before I saw where he took us.
We pulled into the parking lot of the Quail.
I shot him a look. “Way to keep a low profile.”
He laughed, parking and getting out of his side. Coming around, he opened my door and helped me down, saying, “Your school knows who you are.”
A fact he’d been a part of since he kept coming to the Quail when I was working. He’d stop in, get food, give me a kiss, and then usually head out. Or he’d come in with either Colby, Jake, or both of them, and they’d sit a while. His presence wasn’t as big of an uproar. There were still a few whispers, some looks, maybe one person asking for an autograph or a selfie, but for the most part, he was right. He’d blended in, and he was also right because as soon as we walked in, a collective laugh came up from the corner booth. My housemates were all sitting there. It seated twelve, so the adjacent booth had the rest.
Nicole slid out and came over, a beer in hand. “What happened to the date?”
Stone’s arm came around my shoulder. “This is it. We’ll do fancy for Valentine’s Day, but till then, this is what my girl wants.”
He was right, and I was grinning, feeling weird about smiling so much, but it was what it was.
“Well.” Nicole’s tone turned into a warning. Her face grew somber real quick. “Then I should prepare you…”
“Is that her?!”
Coming out of the bathroom, behind Mia, was another just-as-beautiful-looking girl. Charcoal black hair. Pert nose. Tiny chin. A dimple on one side. Flashing green eyes. Megan Fox look-a-like. She stepped around Mia, her hair being tossed over her shoulder. She was finishing drying her hands and she came forward, walking as if she owned the Quail, the whole college, and the whole world.
“Hi!” She held her hand out, but her eyes were raking in Stone. “I’m Char. Finally nice to meet you.”
Char.
Oh.
Shit.
Char.
Nicole sighed beside me. “This is Char, Dusty.”
“Dusty. I just love your name. It’s the best ever.” I didn’t shake her hand quick enough. She transferred it to Stone, upping her smile wattage. “Hi! I’m Char.” Her eyes widened and she took a step back. “Holy shit. You’re Stone Reeves. Aren’t you?”
Stone looked at her, her hand, me, and shifted back, placing a hand in the small of my back. That was his cue he wasn’t engaging. This was all me, but he was there to support me.
I eyed Nicole. She was flashing me an apology. She wasn’t saying it, but it was there in her eyes.
A double dose of ‘oh, shit’.
“You’re back.”
Char was frowning at both Stone and me, but put her hand back to her side. “Yeah. I’m back.” She gestured to the booths behind her. “Got a cheap ticket and flew back, surprised everyone just as you guys left. They weren’t expecting me and voilà.” She indicated the bar around us. “We’re here to celebrate.”
I caught sight of Wyatt and Noel making a point to drink gulpfuls of beer.
That eased some of the knot in me, but Nicole wasn’t saying anything. Mia had followed to stand behind Char. She looked more constipated than normal, but knowing Mia, this could’ve been her trying to be supportive of a friend she was still hurt by. It was also a show of solidarity and she was there. Yeah. That’s what that look relayed on her face.
Savannah just had her mouth closed tight, her arms folded over her chest. She was sitting back in the corner. Noel on one side. Wyatt on the other. Lisa hadn’t gotten up. I noted that. How’d I miss that?
“And,” Char was talking as if none of what I was noticing was happening, as if everyone was happy-go-lucky to have her back. “Don’t worry. I won’t kick you out of my room, not just yet. You can take a couple weeks to look for a new place. My family has an apartment here, downtown. I’ll stay there. And I’m not joining C&B until next semester so it’s not like the commute’s going to be a nag. I’m sure they’ll all come see me half the time.”
I didn’t want to move out.
I knew it then, and hearing that I’d have to, I didn’t want to. I wanted to keep what Stone and I were doing. Maybe in the future, we’d have that conversation, but it was too soon. Living together was serious, and I wasn’t ready. I was enjoying what we had.
As if feeling my turmoil, Stone had enough. He asked her, “Who’s your man?”
“What?”
“Your man. You got a man?”
She blinked, taken aback by how blunt he was being. “No.”
“Who’s your handler then? Who handles you in this group?”
“Uh.” She looked behind her, and hearing that, Mia stepped forward, but she was still frowning.
“I think I do.”
Stone frowned. “You don’t sound so sure.”
She was eyeing Char before a look flashed over her. Her face cleared and she was set. “Because you can’t come back and declare it’s your room again. You left us. Like, completely. We had no clue what you were doing, where you were, until the day before Dusty showed up. And we didn’t make it super easy for her to be in the house.”
Stone’s hand pressed on my back. He shifted, standing closer to me.
Mia still just looked so annoyed. She said to me, “I said it before, but I’m so sorry for being such a bitch. Now I care about you and I worry about you and you,” she turned to Stone, huffing, “you better be good to her or I will hurt you. Somehow. Lisa and I will both hurt you. We’re the vengeful ones in the group. Sav’s the prim and proper one, and Nicole’s the nice one. Char was just the bitchy one of us, but not anymore.” She turned to her old best friend, now on a roll. Her head went higher. The Greek goddess look was coming back as she straightened to her full height. “You’re back. Fine. Welcome home, but not in the house. We got Dusty now, and we’re not letting her go. You, we can work on being friends again if you apologize for what you did to us.” She twisted around, looking at Savannah and Lisa. Both were watching. We were within hearing distance, a fact that Char was noting, too, because none of the others were speaking up. Guys either. Her face was getting more and more pale as Mia went. And Mia wasn’t done. She added, nodding to herself, “Right. Yes. It’s decided. You left us in the lurch. You don’t get to just come back. As long as Dusty wants the room, and she’s got the basement room.”
Char winced, sucking in her breath. “No!”
“She gets to keep it.”
She finished, and no one said a word.
I didn’t look, but I could feel Stone’s amusement. He didn’t like hearing they’d been not so nice to me, but everything else, he’d been keeping in his laughter. Now he ducked down, saying softly enough so only I could hear, “Colby and Jake would’ve sold a jersey to witness something like that. Who’s this chick again?”
I elbowed him but fighting my own grin.
“You guys hated on me dating Brian.”
Now it was Char’s turn, and she’d snapped back. Her face was filling with color.
I had to give her props because she’d bounced back quick. She’d been pale up to the last second Mia stopped talking.
“That again?!” Mia rolled her eyes.
“Yes, that again. I loved him and you and Lisa were riding my ass, saying what a dick he was, saying I shouldn’t date him. You know how that makes me feel? Great supportive friends, huh. You made him dump me because of your bitching.”
Lisa was pushing out of the booth, a finger in the air, and she was coming in real hard. “Brian Caldriona is an idiot and he was not worthy of dating you. And he proved that fact. He rebounded by banging Vallia Cortega.”
Char sucked in her breath again. “He didn’t.”
“He did.”
She looked at Mia.
Who nodded, her hand resting on her hip. “He did. Week after you left for Greece, he went through half her sorority house.”
Another sucking in of air. “That piss ant. He knows I hated her. That’s why he banged her.”
“See.” Both Lisa and Mia. At the same time.
Char’s mouth pressed together, fury was tightening her face. “But whatever. I can destroy him before lunch tomorrow. You. Me. Us.” She waved between the three of them. “I need you guys back. It was so hard being in Greece without you guys. I mean, yeah. My new boyfriend chartered a boat for us and they had chocolate-dipped strawberries and would make us truffle fries at our request, and their coffee was divine and the wine and cheese, don’t get me started, but I didn’t have you guys. I needed you guys.”
Nicole tugged on the back of my dress, motioning to go back a few feet.
Stone read the situation and leaned in. “Grabbing a table just for us, some beer and food. Find me?”
I nodded. That was always easy. He’d be surrounded by at least a couple guys. It happened every time. They all wanted to talk football, and especially with Stone Reeves.
Nicole indicated the girls. “Don’t worry about Char. Those three will make up, probably tonight. They’re halfway there, but Mia meant what she said. We’d all talked about it a couple weeks ago because Char sent an email, hinting she was coming back. We took a vote. Three to zero, but not about if we’d kick you out for her. It was if we’d find a room somewhere in the house for Char. Mia was the holdout because she didn’t vote. She didn’t know what she wanted.” Her eyes trailed past my shoulders, going to the girls again. “Looks like she decided. Char’s not in until she majorly kisses ass. Between you and me, Char will be our sixth roommate by next semester. That’s just how those three are, hot and cold, but usually always hot together. And again, that room is yours for as long as you want it.” She turned, finding Stone and nodding at him. “Unless you and he are moving in together?”
I wasn’t ready. I just wasn’t ready.
“I think if that happens, it’ll be later, much later. Like senior year later.”
“Good.” Nicole seemed relieved. “I have to ask. It’s been on my mind, but I know you’re going for marine biology, but I don’t know. Your cooking, it’s fucking phenomenal. You could go to culinary school and be a personal chef. I mean, you got the hookup.” She went back to watching Stone, who, as I knew would happen, was now talking to two guys.
Had I thought about being a chef? Yes. Stone suggested the same thing a week ago, but the marine biology thing stuck deep in me. It was my vow, and who knew. Maybe I’d do both at some point. I didn’t know, but I didn’t have to make that decision.
I had time.
I had lots of time.
And I felt good knowing that.
Instead of answering Nicole, I went over to Char.
She stopped talking, blinking at me. “Yes?”
“You owe me a full month’s rent.” I narrowed my eyes. “And if you don’t pay, I can make your life hell.”
Her mouth opened but held there.
Mia clamped a hand on her arm. “Don’t even think it. We will back her up in a heartbeat, Char.”
Char’s mouth closed. She nodded to me. “You’ll get the check tomorrow.”
“Good.” I grinned at the rest. “Now, excuse me. I’m going to go sit with my boyfriend.”
And that’s what I did. As I went, I heard, “Blue!” Looking over, Joe slid a beer toward me. I reached out a hand just in time, and the mug slid right into my palm, splashing a little. He tipped his head. “Nice to see you enjoying life right now, but can you take a shift in two days? You never answered my text.”
A second laugh from me. I was letting more and more of those out. “Thanks, Joe. And yes. I’ll cover the shift.”
He held up a hand, leaning down to hear another customer’s order.
As I got to our table, Stone already had a beer in hand. Cammie was bringing over a tray of food and a couple of waters. A basket of fries and I already knew there’d be two chicken sandwiches with them. “Heya! How’s the date?” Her amusement was evident, and as I slid onto a stool on the inside of the table, right next to Stone, she tapped my arm. “Let me know if you need anything. I don’t work tomorrow, so we should grab lunch, yeah?”
I nodded. “Sounds good.”
It was more than good. It sounded perfect.
Stone excused himself and moved so he was facing only me. He blocked out the rest of the room. He leaned over, resting a hand on my hip and reached forward to grab a fry.
“That all okay back there?”
I looked. Char, Mia, and Lisa were still talking, their heads pressed tightly together. Nicole had returned and Dent put his arm around her shoulders. Savannah was snuggling against Noel’s side, and I knew my answer.
“Yes. It’s all good.”
Yes. Mushy. Me.
I didn’t care.
I reached up, my finger under his chin, and I said, “Come here.”
He flashed me a grin, bending, and his mouth fit over mine just how it should’ve been. Perfectly.
