Two days after I got to watch Cora’s dialysis, I started college.
ESU was bigger than I thought it would be. I wished I’d been able to attend some of the orientation classes, but hopefully Freshman Experience would help me adjust.
Using the trusty map I’d printed off, I hunted up my first class—Art Appreciation, a general requirement that was easy to get out of the way.
The room was huge and tall, with steps in the seating area that lifted up with each row of chairs so everyone could stare down at the professor while he taught. I felt like a complete mess. My bag was packed with all the supplies I hoped I needed as I entered the lecture hall, but I was so nervous I worried I might give myself indigestion.
I was early, because I hated being late, but surprisingly I wasn’t the first person in the room; a couple more individuals sat scattered throughout. I ducked my head and started for a place at the end of a row, somewhere strategically in the middle section, when a voice called, “Zoey? Over here.”
Surprised to hear my name, I automatically looked over, even though I was sure there had to be another Zoey around. But I was even more startled to find a familiar blonde waving at me. She grinned and patted the chair next to her.
Relieved to see a friendly face, I changed directions and hurried to Caroline, who’d taken up a front row seat, directly in the center of the room. I’d feel overly exposed there, but it’d be worth it to sit next to her.
“Hi. What a coincidence. I had no idea we’d share a class.”
She grinned. “I know. I’m so glad we do. I looked over Noel’s schedule last night. But being a senior, he’s already taken all his basic requirements. We didn’t share anything together. I was so sure I wouldn’t know anyone in any of my classes.”
“Ditto,” I admitted.
As soon as I settled myself beside her, she reached out and gripped my forearm. “Hey, thanks again for Friday night.”
“I...” When my words stumbled over my tongue, I looked up from the notepad I was taking from my backpack to find the most sincere expression on her face. “Oh, but I didn’t do any—”
“You were there for me when I needed someone to just…be there. Trust me, your presence helped. I was so worried I freaked you out, though, because of the way I acted at the—”
“No! Not at all.” With a roll of my eyes, I admitted, “I would’ve freaked a little myself to learn what you’d just learned about your brother.”
“I know, right.” She leaned in to whisper. “I still can’t believe it. I’ve been hiding in a hole all summer, worried he thought I was the most wicked person ever for—” She stopped abruptly, as if she’d just then realized I had no idea what had happened to her.
With a small clearing of her throat, she shoved some hair out of her eyes. “Anyway, come to find out, Noel hasn’t been a perfect angel either.” She grinned and patted my arm. “It was actually kind of a relief to learn. I mean, it’s weird. Don’t get me wrong. But...I don’t know. I can’t really condemn them for anything because I’ve seen them as a couple and they just click together, you know. How they hooked up just doesn’t bother me.” Biting her lip, she sent me a hesitant look. “Do you think that’s wrong?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve always loved happily ever afters in romances. I love to see couples in love beat the odds. And those two really seemed to be—”
“They are.” Caroline sent me a nod of approval. “They really, really are.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but a call from across the room stalled her. “Caroline? Is that you?”
Caroline looked over, and her face instantly brightened. “Reese! What a happy surprise. I was so sure I wouldn’t know anyone all day. But look, I have you two in my first class. This is Zoey. I met her this weekend at the football’s fundraiser car wash. She’s roommates with Cora, Quinn’s girlfriend.”
The brunette with a nose ring skipping toward us latched her attention on me. “Oh, I love Quinn.” She gave a happy clap before carelessly flinging her bag onto the desk beside mine. “He’s such a good guy, and a total sweetheart.”
Caroline turned to me. “Reese is engaged to Mason, who also works at Forbidden with Quinn and Noel...and Oren.” Her smile faltered when she said that last name.
I nodded. “Oh.” Then I couldn’t handle the curiosity anymore. “What is Forbidden, exactly?”
“It’s a nightclub,” Reese explained, plopping into her chair with a relieved smile before she kicked off her shoes and began to wiggle her purple-painted toes. Then she took a sip from the steaming cup she’d brought in with her. “All our guys are bartenders there.”
“What...the hell are all you hens doing in this class?”