Chapter 2
Rylee~
This was it.
Alreadya month into the groove of things, this was my senior year at Hales University, and I was only a few months away from the next phase of my life. The energy all around me was sizzling with the undercurrent of all the possibilities after this.
I came from amodest but blessed family background. My parents, Glen and Robin Madden, were regular, everyday working folk. My father was a pharmacist, and my mother was a lab technician. They had met in college through their common interests, and it’s been a good life.
While I was twenty-two, my brother,Bishop, was twenty-six and a Marine. He was a career military man, and he was always deployed somewhere or other. However, with technology being what it was these days, we were able to communicate with him more often than had it been forty years ago.
My passion was computer science. I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my degree once I graduated, but I loved the challenge of technology. I loved trying to figure out how things worked and how to make them better.
I loved growth.
Now, while there wasn’t anything wrong with contentment, that wasn’t for me. I wanted every day to be a new day, and with technology evolving so rapidly, I was guaranteed to get that with a computer science degree.
Also, college was very important to my parents. My family wasn’t wealthy by any means, but my parents had saved and saved to make sure Bishop and I received quality educations. Bishop had lucked out with the military helping to pay for his education, but my parents had still made sure he’d gotten his fair share of what they had saved for him.
Their dedication and advocacy of higher learning has been a real motivation for me these past few years. With everything they’ve sacrificed, so that Bishop and I hadn’t had to take out student loans, it was enough to motivate me to make sure I did something magnificent with my education.
I’ve never taken one day at Hales University for granted.
Hales University was another thing altogether. HU was a welcoming campus, but you couldn’t help noticing that some of the students that went here were from some of the most prestigious and wealthiest families in the country. The first time I ever saw Ross Carmichael walking across campus our freshmen year, I had tripped all over myself. After that, whenever I’d come across any American royalty, I’d done my best not to gawk. Still, could you blame a girl?
Hales University was crawling with all kinds of beautiful people, but there were always those few who stood out, no matter how surrounded by beauty they were.
You had Ross Carmichaelwith his blonde hair and startling blue eyes. You had Saxton Voss with his dark black hair and grey eyes. You had Fox Harrington with his brown hair and bright hazel eyes. You had August Remington with his dark blonde hair and chocolate-colored eyes. Then you had Stone Lexington with his rich, dark brown hair and matching brown eyes. Also, let’s not forget that they were all built like goddamn Greek gods.
Oh, and let’s also not forget the females who walked Hales University’s campus. If the guys were magnificent to look at, the girls were just as stunning.
You hadone of my best friends and roommate, Laney Spinner, who was classically beautiful with her light brown hair and matching light brown eyes. She was taller than me at five-foot-six, but that’s because she had legs for days. Her personality also matched her perfect looks. Laney was going into social services after graduation, and that was a testament to how awesome she was.
Still,while Laney was pretty, you still had the Hastings Martins and Sutton Hadleys of the world. Those girls were so stunning that they made you stop in your tracks just to get a good look. Then there was Kincaid Black, and,Jesus Christ,if ever there was a girl who could stop traffic, it was that girl.
WhereHastings Martin had platinum blonde hair and hazel eyes, and Sutton Hadley had dark auburn hair and green eyes, Kincaid Black had black hair, like mine, but instead of dark blue eyes that were my pairing, Kincaid had black eyes that made her look exotic and a bit otherworldly. It wasn’t lost on me how her last name was Black, too.
There was also Kincaid’s reputation to consider. I’ve never spoken with her beyond a polite hello in passing, but the word on campus was that she didn’t suffer fools easily and the fucks she gave amounted to zero.
Now, while I didn’t run with the elite and beautiful crowd, I had a few good friends and plenty of acquaintances that have made my years at Hales a really wonderful experience. Plus, I’d done it all. I’d done the dorm living, the partying, the spring breaks, all that stuff. The only thing I hadn’t gotten involved in were sororities and fraternities. It had never been my thing to belong to something just for the sake of belonging to it. If the sport, club, team, or whatever, didn’t have a purpose that called to me, I didn’t bother with it.
As for guys, I’ve dated my fair share, but none of them had really stuck. However, I wasn’t too disappointed in that. College was just an extension of high school where you were still evolving and becoming the adult you wanted to be. To get serious so young didn’t seem wise to me, though I had nothing against serious relationships or at what age they developed. However, just like going to separate colleges could break up a high school couple, starting your new careers could break up college couples if your dream job was in New York, but your partner’s dream job was in Texas.
Imight be able to survive a heartbreak, but I still didn’t want to go actively looking for it.
Besides,I’ve been going to HU for three years now, and I’ve yet to meet a guy who fired me up on all levels. The three guys I’ve slept with since going here had done their best to fulfill me sexually, but either our interest hadn’t panned out or our personalities. Thankfully, my virginity had gone to Dale Century during our summer before he’d left for the Army, and I’d left for Hales. He’d been my high school boyfriend-on and off-for two years before we’d parted ways for good. It had been sweet and perfect, and that gift had belonged to Dale. He’d been a great guy and friend throughout it all, even during our off times.
Now, while I wasn’t looking for lightening in a bottle, I did want sparks. I wanted something a little more than basic arousal that you could get from anyone if there was enough alcohol in your system or your dry spell was long enough.
Laney and I shared asmall off-campus apartment, and while I’ve never judged her, she constantly had company, and I often envied how she could completely let go like that and just have fun with her choices. I wasn’t overly serious, but I couldn’t just sleep with guys if I didn’t feel some sort of deeper attraction for them.
Now,I didn’t need fireworks or sonnets or anything like that, but I did want passion. I wanted real passion to where I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to want a guy so badly that I felt like I couldn’t breathe if he wasn’t near. Crazy? Maybe. Heartbreak written all over it? Definitely. However, while I wasn’t looking for heartbreak, I’d risk it if just to feel that passion at least once in my life.
“This is going to be our bestyear yet,” Laney exclaimed as she waltzed in through our front door.
I shut thedishwasher door and pressed the wash cycle button to get it going. I turned to face her, a little smirk on my face. “What’s his name?”
Laney smiled as she made her way into oursmall kitchen. “There is no guy,” she denied. “This year, I’m all about me.”