“Good luck, baby!” He leans down one more time and gives me a kiss right next to my ear. “You look absolutely gorgeous today.” He turns me around and gently nudges me toward the door and then walks the opposite direction down the hall.

I fumble into my room which is filled with mostly freshman. I see the stares and whispers around me. Oh shit, I don’t think my body can hold off much longer. Thoughts of him in bed make me so aroused, I can feel the burn inside of me. I sit down at my desk and take a deep breath, willing myself to concentrate on Algebra but Brady continues to fill my imagination. His scent is so strong I would swear he is sitting next to me if I didn’t know better.

Walking back to the dorm, I feel confident with my exam. I definitely didn’t ace it, but I most likely achieved a B. Next time I see Grant, I will have to thank him. When I get to the hill, I stop in my tracks. Vodka Vince is sitting on a park bench with a middle-aged woman. She’s dressed in a nice black pants suit and heels. They are eating sandwiches and I notice the woman is doing most of the talking while he eats. I can’t explain why Vodka Vince piques my curiosity but I take a seat on a nearby bench and pull my phone out, pretending I’m checking my e-mails.

The woman is strikingly beautiful with short blonde hair styled so that every piece is in its specified place. Her long legs are crossed facing Vince, and I haven’t seen her stop talking the whole time. She talks with her hands, constantly touching his arms, hands, or legs. I can’t figure out if she is someone that is like that with everyone or if she has such a close relationship with him, it’s just second nature to her. Vince doesn’t acknowledge her except for a minute here or there. Otherwise, he stares over at her like he is trying to figure out why she is sitting with him.

After ten minutes, their sandwiches are finished. The blonde woman starts taking the sandwich wrappers, placing them in the bag. I see her dig in her purse and she hands Vince a couple of bills. He takes them from her and says thank you. With a small tap on his knee with her hand, she says goodbye and kisses his cheek. Vince stays sitting there staring out to the open field, appearing lost. It is getting colder outside and I hope he uses that money she gave him for a coat, but I realize it will most likely go to vodka.

I stand up to make my way to the dorm. My heart starts beating faster when I’m about to pass him. I could kill Brady for bringing these thoughts into my head. Willing myself to calm down and take a breath, I glance at a smiling Vince and nod my head.

“Heya,” Vince’s deep voice says as I walk by.

“Hi,” I respond, my voice a couple octaves higher than normal. I give him a small wave and continue walking.

“Are you Grant’s girl?” he asks, making me stop.

I turn around, shocked that I’m about to have a conversation with him. Brady would kill me right about now. “Oh…no, I have a boyfriend,” I admit.

“That’s good to hear.” The smile that forms across his lips is wide and genuine. I smile back, unsure what to say as he continues to stare out to the open field, satisfied with the end of our conversation so I turn around and make my way back to the dorm.

When I reach my door, I can hear the music on the other side. This is a common occurrence when Jessa has a guy in the room, or if she’s just happy. The last thing I want to see is Rob’s ass in the air, grinding into her on top of her loft. The visual alone makes me nauseous. I slowly put my hand on the doorknob like I was taught if there was a fire on the other side. I know I should just turn away but I turn it gradually so if Rob is in there, I can shut the door quickly and flee to the common area. I peek through the small opening and then continue opening it all the way when I discover Jessa dancing all around the room, waving a scarf like one of those ballerinas with the ribbons. She turns around and finds me staring at her, and I quickly try to shut my mouth.

“Guess what, Sadie?” she screams over the music and runs over to me, grasping my arms with both her hands.

“What?” I ask in return, still shaking the image of Jessa dancing around the room out of my head. In the months I have known her, she has never been this chipper.

“Rob asked me to go home with him for Thanksgiving.” I feel my mouth already turn down into a frown but swiftly attempt to lift it up. My hatred for Rob shouldn’t interfere with my happiness for Jessa.

“That’s nice,” I say, closing the door behind me. I walk over to the stereo to turn it down a little.

“I can’t believe it. I mean…I thought…well, you know what guys usually want. I thought for sure once I let him have the boom boom,” she says, pointing down to her private area just so I understand what she is talking about, as though I wouldn’t, “he would be on to the next girl.” She flops herself into her chair.

“I’m happy for you. Won’t your parents be upset that you aren’t going home?” I ask, knowing there is no way I could get away with something like that.

“They understand that I don’t want to go back there, plus it’s such a short break. I’ll see them at Christmas. Maybe Rob will want to come home with me.” She quietly contemplates that thought and I envy the smile on her face.

“You really like him, huh?” I hope the disgust is concealed in my voice.

“I do, Sadie. He has completely kicked my ass, in a good way,” she laughs. “When it’s just me and him, he is so sweet and considerate. I’ve never had that, Sadie. I’ve never had a guy who puts my needs before his. You probably don’t understand; the guys you usually date probably buy you diamonds and flowers.” I forgot that under that hard exterior, Jessa is just a typical girl.

“Not really,” I shrug. I don’t tell her that the guys I date open the door for me when other people are around and always bring me flowers so people can see them, but when we are alone they have only been worried about one thing. I’m not ready to share with her that when Brady left the show last week and put something of his on hold to spend time with me, that was a first in my life.

“So, what’s going on with you and Brady? I heard the guys walked in on you two getting hot and heavy in the studio.” She beams over at me.

“Things are…good…great, actually. I really like him,” I admit.

“So…have you hit it? Because an ass like that is made for grabbing.”

“Jessa!” I scream. “No, we haven’t. I’m not ready yet.” It surprises me how easy it is talking to her.

“Sadie, can I ask you a question without you getting offended?” her voice lowers and I hope this isn’t about my secret.

I nod over at her.

“Are you a virgin?” Her hazel eyes peer over at me through her eyelashes and I can’t help but laugh.

“No. Is that what you think? Oh god, Brady probably thinks that, too.” A heat wave hits me as guilt erupts in my stomach. That’s what Brady meant when he said he wouldn’t rush me. Oh Jesus, what am I supposed to do? How do I tell him I’m the furthest thing from that?

“Really? You can tell me, Sadie, I won’t tell anyone.” Jessa puts her hand on my knee.

“I promise you, Jessa, I’m not a virgin. Actually…” I want to tell her. I miss my girlfriends. The gossip sessions, girls’ nights out. I need a friend right now, someone’s advice on a boy who has me so wrapped around his finger, it makes it hard to breathe without him around. Pushing my worry aside, I finally tell her, “I have slept with a lot of guys, Jessa.”

“You have?” From her reaction, you would have thought I just told her my dad is the president.

“Yeah. I’m afraid to tell Brady. It’s killing me keeping him at arm’s length. We’ve only kissed.”

“He won’t care.” She waves it off.

“I’m afraid he will run, especially now that you asked if I’m a virgin. I think he probably assumes I never have as well, and here I’m going to tell him I slept with half the male population at Drayton.”