“Goodnight, Tuck,” I holler back.

Within moments, I’m standing in front of the dorms all alone in the darkness, feeling exhausted and satisfied. Falling asleep will be easy tonight.

Tuck, who the hell are you beneath that iron-clad persona?

Chapter 3

Walking back into the dorm, it seems the crowds have gathered behind closed doors, as muted sounds escape each room I pass. Some sounds make my ears bleed. I’m surprised to see the door to our room cracked open slightly, and when I push it further open, Sophie and Lane are all sorts of tangled up…and very naked.

“Oh lord,” I squeal.

“Shit, I told you to lock the door.” Sophie slaps Lane’s back.

I snag a medicine kit off my dresser. “I’ll wait out here. No worries.”

Holy shit, unbelievable. I better become a betting woman.

My mom really thought of everything when she helped me pack and buy stuff for the dorms. An emergency first aid kit was the last thing on my mind, and I do remember rolling my eyes at her when she tossed it into the shopping cart at Target. And if on cue, my phone blares out Mom’s ring tone. I swear she knows everything that happens.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetie,” her voice rings out. “Hi, baby Blue.”

Oish. I must be on speakerphone. My parents love this shit.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“How was your first day?”

“Good, Mom. It was really good.”

“Say bye to your dad. We’re just checking into a hotel for the night.”

“Bye, Dad. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Blue. Don’t go getting knocked up.”

“Deal,” I say.

I listen to my mom fumble with the phone while she turns off the speakerphone, and then my father slams the car door.

“Okay, I’m back. How’s your roomie?”

I giggle at my mom’s vocabulary and then prop the phone between my shoulder and ear. “Mom, I don’t even use that term. Sophie is fine. She arrived late, and well, then…”

“Well, then what?”

“She wanted to go out to eat, and I…”

Before I have the chance to finish my thought, my mom takes control of the conversation.

“Did you offer her some of your food?”

“Of course, Mom.” I roll my eyes. I really need to stop that shit. It may get me in trouble one day. “But she had already made a new friend, and they went out.”

“You got ditched on your first day in the dorms?” Her tone is bathed in horror.

“No, Mom. I told them I didn’t want to go, and it was a guy she’d met, and they are now currently finishing up bumping uglies in our room.”

I smile to myself as I pop open the tube of antibiotic cream. I’ve never kept anything from my mother, but her facial expressions as I revealed stuff like this are always priceless to see. I can only imagine her now.

“Oh, dear, where are you?”

“Out in the commons room. I took a slight tumble tonight on my run, and I’m just cleaning up the scratches.”

I’ll leave it at scratches when it’s more like craters and feels like fucking Jaws is gnawing at my kneecaps.

“How did you fall? Who were you with? Are you okay?”

And the rapid-fire questions begin.

“Just being a dumbass and running after dark. Only some scrapes.”

So, I guess I don’t tell my mom everything. I leave out Tuck and the larger cuts on my knees and my torn running pants. I listen politely as she gives me her motherly lecture and asks about twenty times if I need to go to the hospital. I know she’s made it into the hotel room because I hear my dad chime in just like he does every single time. “Shit, just tell her to rub some dirt on it and move on.”

Listening to the two of them eases my homesickness a bit, and by the time my mom’s done talking, I have both knees cleaned and bandaged up.

“Okay, bye, Mom. I love you.”

“Love you, too, Blue. I can’t wait to hear about your first day of camp, and remember Dad and I are coming to the first home game to watch you cheer.”

“Got it. Night, Mom.”

I hang up the phone, knowing the goodbyes could last a century with that woman, and it’s best to cut it short. I try to stand up and realize I may have gone a little heavy on the Band-Aids, as I’m unable to bend my knees. Walking like I’m on stilts, I laugh out loud at the day I’ve had and wonder if it’s any sign of how the year will go.

“You laughing again?”

I look up to see Ethan and a beautiful woman draped off his shoulder. My butt puckers up at the realization this must be Stephie the Ball Crusher. I’m unable to form a word, not knowing which direction to take. A, admit I know Ethan and had lunch with him. Fuck, that sounds so bad and incriminating. Or B, pretend I have amnesia and peg-leg it to my door. But, there’s a slight chance of naked bodies humping each other behind my door.

“Bad habit, I guess.” I shrug and take a few steps away from the couple.

“This is my girlfriend, Stephie.”

I cringe and turn around. I’m fully trapped and at their mercy, just like a rabbit under the teeth of a hungry coyote.

“Hi,” I barely squeak out.

“And how do you know her?” Stephie places a hand on her hip and stares down her boyfriend.

His stall gives me a moment to take in Stephie. She’s gorgeous from head to toe, with shoulder length blonde hair and long, lean legs.

“I had lunch with her and the boys today.”

My butt fully cramps from the tight puckering, and I kiss my chance of fitting in on the squad goodbye. I’d just pissed Stephie off and painted an overly large target on my back.

“Oh, nice, and what other females were there?” she spits out.

“It was just Blue.”

Might as well slit both wrists now and offer up my blood to the vampires of cheerleading hell. I’m toast.

“I went there on my own and had my own table. Lane started singing a song and being obnoxious. They really forced my hand,” I ramble on and wish like hell my knees weren’t locked tight with bandages. If I live past this encounter, I’m swearing off Band-Aids the rest of my life.

Stephie processes my words, but the look on her face doesn’t soften. If anything, she grows more and more pissed off at the whole situation.

“Stay the fuck away from my boyfriend and know your fucking role tomorrow on the squad, freshman.”

Clearly, she enjoys using the four-letter word. I only nod and carry on to my dorm in penguin fashion. This time when I open the door, Lane is standing and zipping up his fly.

“Sorry about that, Blue. We got carried away.”

“You don’t say.” I plop down on my bed and inhale the fresh scent of fabric softener.

“Yeah, really sorry.” Sophie sits up in her bed, guarding her chest with Lane’s shirt.

“How about we keep the bumping and grinding to Lane’s dorm?”

“Absolutely. You’re not mad, are you?”

I don’t have enough energy to explain how highly inappropriate her actions were, so I just shake my head.

“I told you Blue was a cool chick.”

“Get the hell out of here, Lane, before I decide to kick you in the baby-maker.”

And that’s when their eyes land on my knees.

“Good lord, who was the lucky man?” Lane asks.

I grab the closest water bottle and sling it toward his head.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He uses his arms to deflect the bottle.

Lane places one final kiss on Sophie’s forehead before he exits the room, shirtless. And then, without shame, Sophie sits up in bed, exposing her tits to the world, and slides on his shirt. I’m not sure if it’s an only child issue, but I’m extremely modest when it comes to lady parts. Even in locker rooms you can find me changing in a stall. I try not to stare at her perfectly shaped boobies and then wonder if they’re fake.

“That will never happen again, and you have to believe me that I’m not a slut.”

“Are you boobs fake?” slips from my mouth.