“What in the hell was that?” Jen asks the group as soon as Brooks is out of earshot. “He acted weird the entire time he was here.” She was right, and I couldn’t argue otherwise, but I didn’t want to talk about it. No one has a chance to answer though. Amber fucking Jennings and two of her little friends, more rich sorority sisters no doubt, stroll up to our table.

“Well, Jennifer, I didn’t know you were doing charity work, or are you just taking a break from money to see how the other half lives?” I look to Jen, who is wringing her napkin between her hands. I wasn’t surprised that she would have something rotten and snooty to say to us, but I am most certainly surprised that she and Jen know each other.

“You know I like you about as much as you like me, so what could you possibly want?” She doesn’t even bother to look at Amber. This is a rich girl standoff, and I have no idea how to proceed. Back home, there would have been a brief fight in a pasture, you would shake hands, and it would be done. These girls play a whole different game, and I want no part of it. It’s sneaky and conniving, where everyone pretends to be your friend, but then stabs you in the back just to elevate their social status.

“I just didn’t know you liked the company of white trash, and I thought that you would have informed Brooks that he could do so much better than this.” She points to me like I’m only an object to discuss and not a person with feelings. “We both know our parents have been planning our ending up together since we were little; I would think you would have a little more loyalty to your social ranking.”

I turn to Jen, ready to invite her old best buddy outside to settle our little disagreement country style. But she shakes her head, silencing me. I follow her instructions; she knows more about this girl than I do, and if Jen tells me to shut the fuck up, then I will.

Jen takes a deep breath, pushes back her chair, and stands to meet her nemesis head on. “The thing about trash, Amber, is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s something you are, and money can’t change that. Right now, the only piece of shit I see is packaged in a Sigma shirt and heels. Now, I suggest that you get the fuck out of my face before I take you outside and show you just how loyal I am.”

“Wow, how classy; don’t you think you’ve disgraced your family enough?” Amber’s words are harsh, but they lack confidence as she takes a step back, fearful of what results they may provoke.

Jen falters a bit; whatever issue Amber is referencing, strikes a nerve with Jen. She recovers quickly though. “You want to talk about social ranking, Amber? Well, who do you think controls those city permits and tax credits for your dad’s business?”

Amber’s face loses all color and she stumbles over her words. “You wouldn’t.”

“No matter what I’ve done, it would only take one phone call, and my father could make your family’s empire crumble.”

When she fails to return a response, Jen pushes in her chair and steps around a dumbfounded Amber. “Come on, girls. It’s time for class. Amber here is going to take care of our trays.” We quickly jump out of our chairs and move to catch up to Jen as she exits the dining hall. It feels good to walk away winning the fight, but with girls like Amber, they don’t walk away and let it lie. I know she’s already plotting her revenge; I just hope I’m not part of the collateral damage.

Vivian

Today is the day I’ve been waiting most of my life for. I’m going to find out what happened to my dad. Brooks promised to drive me to the courthouse and go through everything with me, but I’m nervous. I’m worried about what we’ll find out, and that he’ll look at me differently if we find out something really bad. I’ve always worried that I would be judged for what my dad was involved in, and I don’t know if I could handle Brooks pushing me away because of it.

The light is peeking through his old dusty curtains that I’m sure had been hanging in the dorm since the school opened. I put my hand over my eyes to shield the unwanted wake up call, hoping for just a few more minutes of sleep before I have to peel myself from this delicious guy and get ready to go to Colorado Springs. He quickly reaches for my wrist and gently holds it down to the pillow behind me.

“Please don’t cover your eyes; this is my favorite part of the day.” A small smile creeps across his face, and I realize that he has been awake for a while.

Feeling a little embarrassed as to what he might have seen–who knows if I snore, or talk, or oh, God, what if I fart in my sleep? My face begins to heat up, and I try to turn my head away. He places his hand on my cheek and slowly turns me to him. “You don’t know how beautiful you are, do you?”

I’m no longer slightly embarrassed; I’m totally uncomfortable, shifting to try and scoot away. I have never had a guy really compliment me, and I really don’t take them well. He doesn’t let me go anywhere though, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me so close I could feel his heartbeat pounding in his chest. He lets out a little sigh and briefly closes his eyes.

“You don’t understand, Viv. What we have, how I feel about you, it’s like nothing I’ve ever had. You are the most beautiful thing in my world. I can tell that you don’t hear things like that often, and you know what? I’m thankful for that.”

I raise my eyebrow in confusion; I’m not quite sure if he was saying that he is glad other guys don’t find me attractive, but it sounds like one heck of a backwards compliment. His lips curl around his teeth like he’s trying his damnedest to hold in his laugh, and then he lets out the loudest chuckle. Shit, this asshole is laughing at me. I panic and try to get off the bed.

As I struggle to untangle from his arms to get away from him, the smile on his face quickly vanishes. He grabs my hands and rolls on top of me, settling his hips against mine. His eyes are searching mine, seriousness oozing from him. “This is coming out wrong. What I mean is that I’m glad that you haven’t heard a lot of those nice things from other guys…not because I don’t think that you are the most gorgeous girl that I have ever met, but because I want it to be me that you hear those things from. I want to be the only one that puts that amazing smile on your face. I want to be the one that holds you every night, to make you feel good,” he leans his head down and kisses my lips before resting his forehead against mine. “You’re my clover, Viv,” he whispers.

I relax in his grip, but the lump in my throat begins to desperately attempt to claw its way out. “Your what?” I squeak out.

“My clover,” he repeats. His eyes are closed, and I can tell he is gathering the strength to tell me whatever is rolling around in his head. He releases my hands and settles himself on his forearms, caging me in and nuzzling into my neck. I bring my arms around him, and lightly stroke his tight back muscles, urging him to talk to me or kiss me…something.

Finally, he slides off me and rolls us both so that we are lying on our sides, face-to-face. He sweeps a piece of my long chestnut hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear, before slowly moving in to kiss me in the same spot. A shiver runs down my body; the action is reminiscent of our first night in his bedroom, when we did nothing but kiss and sleep in each other’s arms. I want to pull him back on top of me and let him devour me, but instead, I let him take this where he needs it to go. He is struggling with the words that I know we both feel. Right now, I’m fine with him showing me his feelings with his body; I don’t need the words. I know that I am his–he doesn’t need to say it; I feel it. In this moment, we belong to each other.

“Do you know why mornings are my favorite time of day?” he asks, rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip. I shake my head and kiss the tip of his thumb, adding a little nibble for good measure. He lets out a deep moan, but continues.