Lesson learned? Don’t have sex on the top bunk in a dorm room. It doesn’t matter if the girl weighs a buck-oh-five and you know you plan on only lasting for ten minutes tops. Those bunk beds are made out of sticks.

I told Jade I’d pick her up but I’m wary about actually going inside because that means I’ll see a variety of girls. Some of them I might’ve…been with before. Maybe? I don’t know. Most of the girls in the dorms are on the younger side and I haven’t fucked a freshman in a while.

That I know of, at least.

I swipe a hand over my face, feeling like a world class asshole. I’ve never cared about all the girls I’ve been with. It’s not that I use them and toss them away like yesterday’s trash when I’m done with them but…okay, yeah. That’s sort of how I’ve always treated women. I’m not mean. They know what they’re getting when they hook up with me. After all, those are the key words.

Hook. Up.

Commitment is for sissies. I see the way my parents are. I seriously believe they don’t like each other. More like they tolerate one another. They’ve been together for so long, they don’t know how to function without each other. My sisters are all lined up to be involved in the same sort of marriage. Giant, over the top wedding, spit out the requisite kids quick like, get a little plastic surgery to keep the bod and face intact, work out like crazy while the husband works long hours. Or pretends to work long hours. Extravagant house, glorious vacations. Wash, rinse, repeat.

No thanks.

I’m a free agent. It’s the best way to be. I’ve seen enough turmoil and bullshit to last me a lifetime. Girls want to sink their claws into me and I shake them off every single time. They’ve eventually given up. My reputation precedes me. I usually prefer it that way.

So what’s up with the way I think about Jade? I’m freaking myself out. I want her…that much I know. She acts like she hates me most of the time and I fucking love it for some twisted reason. She’s a challenge. No girl is a challenge for me.

Ever.

Deciding to hell with it, I get out of my car and hit the keyless remote, locking the doors. I head toward the front of the dorm hall, shoving my keys in my pocket, my steps determined, my thoughts in turmoil. Let’s hope she walks out and meets me. That would make my life so much easier. So freaking much easier it’s not even funny…

I head up the steps, no Jade in sight. I already have her dorm room number memorized. I know exactly where to go and as I enter the building, I turn right, ready to head in that direction when I hear someone call my name.

And it’s not Jade. I’d recognize her voice anywhere.

Slowly I turn to find some girl standing in front of me, her tight T-shirt showing off her small boobs—no bra in sight, nipples everywhere—and tiny shorts that should probably be illegal. As in, one wrong move and I’ll probably see her vagina.

Yes, I can think the word vagina like a grown up. Say it out loud? Probably not. At heart, I’m sometimes still a twelve-year-old boy trapped in a twenty-one-year old’s body.

“Hey,” I say, flicking my chin in her direction.

She rests her hands on her hips, looking pissed off. Her hair is blonde. Like super blonde. “You don’t remember me, do you?”

This is the last thing I want to deal with before I pick up Jade to take her on a date. Jesus. “Refresh my memory.”

“Your cousin’s party, right before winter break.” She glares, her eyes like icy lasers. “Tell Tristan he can go to hell.”

Relief sweeps over me, making my legs weak. Thank God this is all about Tristan. “Will do,” I tell her cheerily, earning a pissed off look for my efforts.

I turn and get the hell out of there, heading down the narrowed hall that leads to the promise land.

Otherwise known as Jade’s room. Jade’s bed. Why that gives me a thrill I have no clue. Again, the twelve year old is rearing his immature head.

I hope to hell she doesn’t have a bunk bed or I’m screwed.

I find her room and stop just in front of it, my arm raised, hand curled into a fist to rap my knuckles on the thick, old wood. The door swings open before I get a chance to knock, another girl standing in front of me. The girl Jade was with the night of the poker game.

She smiles at me, the look in her eyes full of pure evil. Not the, I will slice off your head variety. More like, you have no idea what you’re in for. She pulls the door close to her, so I can’t see inside.

Swallowing hard, I smile at her, deciding to put on the charm. “You must be the roommate.”

“And you’re the asshole who’s trying to collect on a bet.” She sticks her hand out, her smile serene. “I’m Kelli.”

“Shep.” I take her hand and don’t feel a thing. Not a zing, not a zip, nothing. I figured I’d feel something. She’s cute, this girl. Not kick me in the balls gorgeous like Jade but she’d do. Normally.

But again, there’s no reaction. My body is keyed up all right, full of anticipation over the fact that Jade is mere feet away from me. Mere inches.

“Shepard Prescott, in the flesh.” Kelli makes a tsking noise, like I’ve already disappointed her. “Are you as bad as they say?”

I give her my very best, most wolfish grin. “Worse.”

Her eyes sparkle. “Good. That’s just what our Jade needs.” She holds the door open a little wider and calls over her shoulder, “You ready sugar plum?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, sweet cheeks.” My mouth goes dry at hearing Jade say the words sweet cheeks, which is the stupidest thing ever because how cheesy can we get?

But then she appears and it’s like my mouth turns into the Sahara Desert. What in the holy hell is she wearing?

Black skirt that hits her about mid thigh—maybe higher, good God—and black stilettos with thin straps that crisscross over the top of her feet. A tight white shirt that accentuates her chest and nipped in at the waist and ah, shit, she just grabbed a black sweater and is pulling it on, ruining the entire affect.

This is probably for the best.

“Hi,” I say, my voice cracking like I’m going through puberty and I clear my throat, pissed that my thoughts are constantly straying to my general immaturity. How the hell am I ever going to impress this girl if my mental state is set back in my middle school days?

She smiles, pushes her wavy hair back so it falls behind her shoulder, exposing her neck and I’m hit with the overwhelming need to kiss her in that exact spot where her pulse throbs. Breathe in the scent of her skin, let my lips linger, maybe even lick her to see if she tastes as good as I think she will…

“Hi.” Her voice shakes the slightest bit, as does her smile and I realize she’s nervous. Cute. I’d like to put her at ease but hell.

I’m a little nervous too.

“You ready to go?” I ask as she exits her room, coming to stand closer to me. I can smell her now, sweet and clean and I clamp my lips shut, breathing through my nose, trying my best not to inhale her.

I really want to fucking inhale her.

She casts a wary glance over her shoulder at her roommate before returning her attention to me. “Yes, I am.”

“You kids be safe,” Kelli calls as we start down the hall. “Use protection. Make good choices!”