“Heather, where’s my hug?” Seth pouted with his arms extended.

Not wanting to see anymore, I headed for my room. Elijah. I repeated his name in my mind as I turned the knob, and then closed the door behind me. It did hardly any good at drowning out the noise. Elijah…what a sweet name for a hot guy. Too bad he didn’t seem all that nice. It didn’t matter anyhow. It wasn’t as if I was remotely interested in him that way. I was seeing someone.

I figured that since I would be hanging out with Lexy and Seth, I should try to get to know their group of friends, which included Elijah. My heart pounded hard against my chest when I thought of his name, and I wanted this unnerving feeling to go away. My dad had told me many times before not to judge a person by their looks, and sometimes not even by first impressions. Maybe Elijah will surprise me. And where in the heck was Ellie?

Chapter 4

Alexandria

With a stretch and a yawn, I woke up the next morning feeling groggy and tired. I tossed and turned on the bed last night before I finally fell asleep. I wondered how long the party lasted. After a night filled with murmured voices and muffled music from the party, I felt like I hadn’t slept a wink. The intensity of the heat in the room indicated that it was going to be another scorching day. I could feel the warm, soft breeze blowing in from the window I had opened last night to let in some air.

I was quickly reminded of my new room. The first thing I saw was the wooden desk and a dresser by the closet. Thankfully, the heat made a blanket unnecessary. Recalling the couple having sex on the bed last night, a new blanket and sheets were the first thing on my list to buy.

I planned to ask Lexy to take me to Target so I could buy all my necessities. Thinking about Ellie and wondering what she looked like, I dragged across the carpet to the bathroom with the towel and toiletries I had unpacked last night. As soon as I walked in, the other door to the bathroom opened. I had forgotten that there were two doors, but what caught me by surprise was seeing Elijah standing there. I completely froze.

I think both of our eyes popped out, but maybe mine even more. He looked sexy as hell with disheveled hair, black shorts, and a tank top he was just pulling down. I got a glimpse of flesh and a tattoo on the left side of his chest…the letters C-L-A-R, and the rest disappeared under his shirt.

“Hey,” he mumbled. Running his fingers through his hair, he gave me a shy, half-smile as he turned back around. After he walked out, he shut the door behind him.

I had an “Oh My God” moment. He actually spoke to me. Just then, I guessed he was Ellie’s boyfriend since he spent the night. Disappointment struck me. He had been here with Ellie. He took my breath away and made me feel things I didn’t want to feel. Sure, Liam gave me butterflies in my stomach, but this was different—naughty different—physical attraction different. A huge part of me felt guilty toward Liam and my new roommate.

Ellie and Elijah most likely needed to use the bathroom, so I took the world’s shortest shower and unlocked their side when I was done. I rushed out the door and closed my side. This was very inconvenient, especially since I assumed Elijah would be spending the night here often. I would not only have to think about Ellie’s schedule, but Elijah’s as well. Having a roommate was hard enough, but adding a third person to the picture, especially a guy, was not what I had in mind.

My mind drifted back to yesterday. Maybe he was giving me strange looks because he found out I was the new roommate. A third person he didn’t want, especially since they were used to living together without a roommate for the summer. This was only an assumption; however, if it were true, everything seemed clearer. Maybe he wasn’t a jerk after all, especially now that I could understand where he was coming from…I think.

Before falling asleep last night, I had unpacked, somewhat. With a towel around my naked body and wet hair dripping water down my back, I walked to the dresser, and took out my shorts and the pink tank with lace trim at the bottom.

After I got ready, I walked out the door to a mess—an unbelievable freakin’ mess. Don’t people believe in cleaning up after themselves? I’d been to parties before, but it had never been like this.

The entire sofa cushion was out of place. There were spilled drinks and crumbs on the coffee table, not to mention the obvious gross stains on the carpet. This was not the ideal living situation I had in mind. Not a great start. Though I was disappointed, I needed to take one day at a time and make this work. I had no choice.

Digging through the kitchen cabinets, I found what I was looking for. With a trash bag in my hand, I started picking up beer cans, bottles, napkins, chips and peanuts.

Crinkling my nose and passing judgments against those who left a mess, I heard Ellie’s doorknob turn. Finally, I would get to meet her. I looked up as excitement burst through me, but it was short lived. A different kind of exhilaration flushed through me. My pulse escalated and I felt heat on my face.

I gulped from nervousness. “Hi…Elijah, right?” I knew his name, but I didn’t want him to think I was eavesdropping last night when Heather practically threw herself at him.

“Hey,” he grinned. With a quick flash to my eyes, he dropped his, as if he were embarrassed. Certainly, he wasn’t shy. There was something different about his attitude toward me. With his hands inside his pants pockets, he stood watching me, making me uneasy until he asked a question. “What are you doing?”

Hearing a full sentence out of him gave me the quivers. He had a deep, manly voice. The same tone you would imagine hearing from a hot guy. “I’m picking this stuff up for my collection. I collect trash.” I don’t know why I said that, but it broke the ice.