MY HEAD THROBBED as I parked my ass at one of the tables near the coffee bar the next morning and massaged my temples. I hadn’t gotten back to my dorm—and snuck inside—until the early hours of the morning, and my alarm had gone off not long after that. At least, it seemed that way.
“Mocha latte with an extra shot for JT,” the barista called out a few minutes later, and I dragged myself to the counter to grab it. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed out so late or had that much to drink—
No, wait. Graduation a few months ago had been a pretty wild time. It’d taken a couple days to recover from that.
I sank back in the chair, letting the coffee work its magic. The mocha flavor was perfect, and it felt amazing down my throat, piping hot, the way I liked it.
Even through the incessant pounding in my head, my thoughts drifted back to last night. West had promised a good time, and he hadn’t been wrong about that. The whole thing had been impressive, from the way he’d been able to show up at my door to the perks of watching the show as a VIP. He’d even turned down a sure thing to hang with me. I’d had a great time.
So what was that niggling feeling in the back of my mind?
I shifted in my seat as I sipped my coffee, trying to pin down the source of my unease. West hadn’t said or done anything to me at all to make me feel uncomfortable. There was no reason why I wouldn’t want to hang out again. He’d been nothing but welcoming since the day we’d met, and I couldn’t help but admire the guy’s confidence and the way he could get anything he wanted.
Anything and…anyone.
What was that Donovan had said last night? We’d been watching that stranger dancing—or rubbing himself, really—all over West, and he asked me why I didn’t want to join in. I’d let him believe it was because I didn’t dance, and that was the truth, but Donovan seemed to get the unspoken words there too. I didn’t dance with guys.
And that was when he’d thrown out that West could change my mind. That he could change anyone’s mind.
That. That was what the subconscious part of my brain had been focusing on since Donovan said it, since I’d heard it, shoved it into the back of my mind, and locked it up until now.
Why, though? It didn’t make sense.
He’d obviously been joking. I mean, it was clear West had the appeal to get whoever he wanted, but it wasn’t like he wanted me, and I definitely wasn’t into him like that. We’d both made it very clear on that front. That we were friends. New friends, yeah, but that was all there was to it. I’d never looked at another guy in my life.
Would I mind being more like West? Sure. Having that self-assurance in spades was something that could be beneficial for anyone, and maybe some of it would rub off on me. Hell, I wouldn’t mind the abs on him either. His body was ripped, something I only noticed when he’d come back with our drinks with his shirt unbuttoned.
Couldn’t blame anyone for wanting to be like him.
Not with him. Like him.
As I swirled my cup in circles on the table, lost in thought, my eyes landed on a familiar beanie by the coffee pickup.
“Hey, Caleb,” I called out, and he looked up, spotted me, and waved.
I inclined my head to the empty seat across from me, and he nodded before turning back to grab his coffee. When he headed my way, I took note of the camera he wore on a long strap around his neck today, and bit back a small smile. West had been right when he described Caleb.
“Mornin’,” he said, lifting the camera strap over his head to set it gently on the table before taking the seat opposite me. His eyes roamed over my face and narrowed slightly. “I hope you don’t take offense to this, man, but you look like shit.”
A laugh rumbled out of my chest as I nodded and ran a hand through my hair. I probably could’ve spent more time taming my curls this morning. No telling what state of hot mess they were in right now.
“You’re great for my ego, you know that?”
Caleb shrugged and popped the top off his cup. “Nothin’ but brutal honesty over here. What happened, someone pull the fire alarm in the middle of the night?”
“No, I went out last night.”
Caleb’s brow rose infinitesimally while he stirred his coffee. “Really. Anywhere interesting?”
“Yeah, I went to see Arrhythmia with West and his friends.”
Caleb only nodded once as he swallowed down his caffeine. The silence was deafening, though, and I shrugged as though it wasn’t a big deal.
“If you’ve never seen them, you should. They put on a great show,” I said.
“Arrhythmia or West and his crew?”
I gave him a pointed look. “You know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure I do. Both groups are incredible performers.”
Rolling my eyes, I sank back into my chair and sighed. “This conversation is getting old. We had a great time.”
“Okay. But I maintain what I said before: you need to be careful with that group.”
I groaned. “They’re not bad people, Caleb. I’m sorry if they’ve rubbed you wrong somehow, but it was a fun night out and this is college, for God’s sake. We’re supposed to sneak out of our dorms and into parties—”
“You snuck out of your dorm? How?”
“Well, technically, they got me out—”
Caleb let out a scoffing laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. “And you don’t think that’s a problem?”
“No. We weren’t doing anything besides watching a band, and let’s be real, a ten o’clock curfew in this city is insane.”
He watched me, those keen eyes of his assessing, before he dropped his hand from his neck and nodded. “Yeah, I guess you have a point there.”
“Damn right I do,” I said, glad he was laying off and seeing things my way. I appreciated his opinion, and that even though we barely knew each other, he was still looking out for me.
“Well, if you want to hang sometime without breaking the rules, hit me up. I’m a little more low-key, so maybe leave the fancy shit to your new friends.”
I grinned. “I dunno. I’m a little spoiled on private jets and personal butlers bringing me grapes now. I’m not sure how anything else will compare.”
“Damn. That’s exactly what I’d been planning for the weekend.” A grin turned up the corner of his lips.
“Plans for the weekend? Do tell.” The legs of the chair beside me scraped against the floor as it was pulled back from the table and West dropped into the seat. He winked at me as he threw an arm around my shoulders before aiming a devilish smile Caleb’s way.
Caleb’s mouth snapped shut, the easygoing look on his face turning to one of annoyance. “Nothing that would interest you.”
“Aw, why not? If JT’s up for it, I could be too.” West gave me a little, reassuring squeeze, and Caleb shook his head.
“I’m sure you’ve got better things to do. Terrorize anyone lately?”
West’s smile grew wider, but his eyes glinted dangerously. “Would I do that?”
“Wouldn’t you?”
A tense silence fell between them, some unspoken communication happening that had me frowning as I picked up on it.
Like he’d felt me stiffen, West dropped his arm from my shoulder and nudged me. “So how’s the head?”
He asked it in a way that had the tension instantly dissipating.
“I think it might explode,” I said before taking another long pull of caffeine.
“I figured you might say that. Here.” West reached into the pocket of his tailored grey pants and slid a Tylenol packet in front of me.
I let out a moan as I ripped it open quickly. “Oh my God, you’re the best. Thank you.”
“No problem. Might wanna get some water in you too.”
“Noted.” I threw back the pills as Caleb’s brow furrowed.
“So,” West said, ignoring the look Caleb was giving him and focusing on me. “No one ratted you out for our escapade last night?”
I’d passed by a couple of students at the vending machine on my floor when I snuck back in, but they hadn’t said anything.
“So far, so good,” I told him.
“Perfect. Then you’re free to come to my party tomorrow night.”
My coffee went down the wrong pipe as I swallowed, and I coughed, covering my mouth with my fist.
“You’re throwing a party?” I said when it cleared.
“Yeah, it’s tradition. The guys and I like to throw one every year, kind of a ‘start the new school year off with a bang’ shindig at our place.”
“Oh. It’s at your condo, then?”
“Mhmm. Mine and East’s.” He turned slightly toward me, his arm crooked and resting on the back of his chair. How was it that he was so put together today? Not a hair out of place, his clothes perfectly tailored to his body, no dark circles under his eyes. Was he just used to going out, or was he some sort of superhuman?
It was unnerving.
West cocked a brow, wanting an answer. “So? You’ll be there, right?”
“I, uh…” I wasn’t sure what my hesitation was. My head was still aching too much to think.
“Don’t worry, the guestlist is exclusive, so none of the riffraff are invited.”
Across the table, Caleb snorted, and I could’ve sworn I heard him say, “Because you are the riffraff,” under his breath.
West ignored him. “Since it’s technically the weekend, you don’t have curfew, right?”
I nodded. “Right.”
“Good. Then you’re coming.”
“Well… I don’t know.” I ran my fingers through the front of my hair, pushing it off my face, only for it to fall back onto my forehead seconds later. “It’s just… I was already out last night, and it’s the first week of school. I should catch up on homework—”
“You have the whole weekend to do that boring shit,” West interrupted. “You’re coming. I won’t take no for an answer.”
When my eyes widened slightly, he held his hands up.
“Only about this. The party won’t be the same without you.”
“Won’t you be busy, like…hosting it?”
West drummed his fingers along the tabletop and glanced at Caleb. “Tell you what. If it’ll make you feel more comfortable, you can bring Caleb too.”
Caleb’s brows shot up to his forehead. “Wait, what?”
Now that did make the party more enticing. I didn’t want to hang out in West’s swanky place by myself, and I hadn’t really gotten to know the rest of his friends yet. Having Caleb there would definitely be a good buffer, considering West had mentioned an exclusive guestlist, and I had no clue what that meant.
“What do you think?” I asked Caleb.
“No. No way.”
I bit back a laugh at the quickness with which he’d answered and looked back at West. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”
West leaned toward me, blue eyes shining. “You do that. Make sure to bring this to get through security downstairs.” He handed me an envelope, and a quick peek inside indicated it was the invitation.
“Got it,” I said.
West nodded once before getting to his feet. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, maybe so. But if I don’t, I hope you have a great party.”
West stopped in his tracks, glancing back at me over his shoulder. “Don’t forget I know where you live, Golden Boy.” Then he winked and walked away, as Caleb blew out a breath.
“You don’t really wanna go, do you?” he asked, but it sounded like he already knew the answer to that question.
“Of course I do.” I pulled the glossy black invitation out of the envelope. Shiny golden foil text indicated the location of the party, and there was a barcode of some sort beneath it. Probably something to do with security, if I had to guess. I slipped it back into the envelope. “I really don’t wanna go alone, though.”
I could see the debate whirling behind Caleb’s eyes, and I gave him my best pleading expression.
“Please come with me. I know you’re not a fan of West, but we’ll have fun and we can get to know each other better. If the party sucks, we can even dip out and go to… I don’t know. A dive bar or whatever you prefer.”
Caleb’s lips twitched, and I knew I had him.
“Motherfucker,” he said, then let out a sound that was a mix between a sigh and a groan. “If you’re absolutely set on going, then you’re not going alone.”
I grinned. “You’re the best, you know that?”
He snorted and flicked the empty medicine packet in front of me. “Nooo, West is, remember?” he teased.
