Chapter 1 Thirty Days Later

I run my finger along the hem of the black and white damask bedding covering the single size mattress in my dorm room. My mom and I managed to decorate everything on my side while Dad set up my desk and chair, bitching the whole time.

“Honey, stop, I can hire someone to do that, or I can even do it. I don’t want you hurting your hands.”

“I’m a surgeon, not a pussy.”

Yes, those are the lines I heard over and over as my parents settled me into my room. They drove me out a week before camp and stayed several days with me. It was the hardest goodbye this morning, and I nearly took off running and screaming, begging them to take me back home with them.

When my mom broke down crying during her goodbye, I had to turn away from her. Dad slapped her on the ass and then cracked some joke before he wrapped us up in one large family hug. The man pisses me off for never being serious, but in moments like those it’s just what we need from him.

I have no idea when my roommate may or may not be marching through the door. We’ve texted a couple times. Her name is Sophia, but she gave me strict orders to call her Sophie. We were lucky enough to be roomed together since we’re both freshman cheerleaders at Preston.

My dad was relentless in his efforts to have me rush and join a sorority to experience college life, but I know full well there’s no way I’d have time to keep my grades up with cheer practice and then sorority life mixed into all of that, so I settled for the dorms. And to say I was nervous about my roommate would be the understatement of the century.

My stomach growls, the sound deafening in the silence of the room. I make my way over to the mini-fridge my parents bought and stocked. Nothing looks good, or even halfway satisfying. Greek yogurt…um, no. String cheese…um, double nope. Lean turkey lunch meat…um, that’d be a hell to the fucking no. I’m more in the mood for a double bacon cheeseburger spackled in grease with an extra-large order of fries.

The bonus to dorm life is all the fast food joints are conveniently placed around the outskirts of the area. Grabbing my turquoise cross-body purse from the hook, I slide it on over my head and hook it on my neck. I check the perfectly placed mirror by the door to see how out of control my hair is. Thank you, Mom. The bright blonde pile is still a hot mess. My hair is the one thing that sets me apart from other girls. It’s long, thick, and a bright golden blonde…and all natural, at that.

I’ve threatened to chop it off a time or two, but every single time those words came out of my mouth my mother nearly stroked out. On my sixteenth birthday, my dad made me promise to never threaten my poor mom again, and to sweeten the pot he threw in a bright red Rover. Nothing like a brand new spanking-ass car to keep a girl’s mouth shut, and yep, since that day the thought of cutting my hair has never crossed my mind.

I leave behind my car keys and choose to hoof it, knowing it will waste an ample amount of time, and I could do a little sightseeing the old fashioned way. Throwing on my aviators, I step out into the hall and notice there’s bit more commotion than there has been. The football team must have arrived, hence all the hot-stacked men loitering in the hall.

For the love of all things steam and sex, these men are tanned and gorgeous. Absentmindedly, I use my hand to keep my jaw from dropping to the floor and saliva from pooling out. Thank you, aviators, for hiding my stares. These men are nothing compared to the boys back at my high school. They’re freaking giants with looks and…um…and very well-defined bodies.

I avoid the elevator because I don’t trust myself and really don’t want to get caught ogling on my first trip out of my dorm room. My roommate can’t get here fast enough, I chant in my head while jogging down the stairs.

I can only hope she’s the loud, obnoxious type I can hide behind. In high school, I was the leader and the forerunner, and quite frankly, I just want to fit in here. Cheer, good grades, and cheer are the only things I’m concerning myself with. The social part, well, I want to follow, be in the background, and enjoy life from the back seat. I’m sick of being the driver and navigator.

Pushing open the door to the outside, I soak up the sunrays.

“Miss Blue.”

I turn to see the security guard at the u-shaped cherry wood check-in desk.

“Yes,” I say, smiling brightly back at him.

“Have a nice afternoon.”

“Um, thank you.” I stand frozen in the middle of the lobby.

“Sorry, my name is Steve.” He rounds the desk and makes his way to me. “Your father introduced himself to me earlier.”

“Oh, go figure.” I relax bit.

“Have a nice afternoon, and if you ever need anything, just ask.” He runs his hands through this thick, greasy black hair, and I can’t help but stare at the grime under his nails. Nice enough, but surely a shower wouldn’t kill the guy.

“Thanks.” I wave as I walk off.

I giggle and move further outside. I damn well know my dad either paid him off or scared the piss out of him with his pussy surgeon hands. Guess I can’t blame the guy, since I’m the only daughter and he just dropped me off to live states away. My dad will be the first to admit he’s not the biggest fan of me being a cheerleader, and trust me, he has a plethora of corny blonde cheerleading jokes to throw around, but at the end of the day he’s in a tie for being my biggest supporter.

The sun in Colorado was always welcoming and highlighted my tan perfectly, but there’s something about the California sun I can’t seem to get enough of. It has a unique touch of warmth that I find addicting. I feel the tingle on the top of my shoulders as I stroll down the wide campus sidewalk, and just like on the inside of the dorms, there are more people loitering around outside.

I can guess most of them are student athletes since we tend to show up earlier than most to attend training camps and such. A second group of football players passes by me, and again I find myself scanning them from head to toe, mentally undressing them. Which isn’t a hard task since they’re only clothed in loose fitting gym shorts and shirtless, with sweat trickling down their tanned six packs.

Focus, Blue, focus, for fuck’s sake. It’s just a short stroll until I’m off campus and walking down a long chain of businesses ranging from strip malls with all sorts of retail stores to fast food. One small, red brick building has a line spilling out of it, so I choose that one. I mean, no one stands in line for shit, right? Well, let’s hope not.

Pulling my phone from my pocket, I check it for messages, and find several texts from my parents and one from Sophie.

Sophie: I’ll be there in about an hour. Be prepared to meet the most amazing person of your entire freaking life! Well, let’s hope you do, because if you don’t that means I’ve driven off a cliff, hence my annoying-ass mother and grandma Vitty driving me.

I chuckle at her text because I can hear her rambling on and on. The few times we chatted on the phone, the girl ran her mouth until my ears nearly bled, but her enthusiasm is contagious, I’ll give her that.

Quickly, I slide open my mom’s text and instantly bust out laughing. They sent random ridiculous pictures of them at different stops. I honestly have no idea how I turned out so normal as I study the picture of my dad riding a pink flamingo statue in front of a gas station.

“What’s so funny?”

One of those hot, delicious football players is studying me, boring a hole into my chest with his dreamy blue eyes. My jaw does that drop thing, leaving my mouth hanging wide open while my hands remain planted on my cellphone. Oh shit. Oh shit, I wonder if he’ll notice if I simply turn around and sprint like a motherfucker.