Bullet Read Free Page B

“Why?”
    Her lips curled up in a half smile.  “He’s awfully cute, you know.”
    “He’s in high school.”
    She raised her eyebrows, the smirk still firmly affixed to her face, making her tiny upturned nose look pug-like.  I was starting to not like this girl.  “So?  He’s probably still had a little experience.”
    I started laughing, unable to help myself.  “You don’t know my family very well.”  Our parents had us on tight leashes, so, while my brother might have had a little experience, that was likely all he’d had.  “Sorry, Charlotte, but he can’t come up.”
    “Oh, I get it.  I guess I’m just not good enough for your brother.”
    The last thing I wanted was an argument with my new roommate on my first day away from home.  “No, that’s not it.  I don’t know you well enough to make that call.  But I can tell you he wouldn’t be able to make it.  It’s a long drive and he has a lot on his plate.”
    “It’s not that long of a drive.”  She sat up.  “I’m going to the restroom.  Excuse me.”  Her tone of voice was nothing like the sicky-sweet purr she’d used earlier.  She stomped across the room and walked out the door to find the restrooms down the hall.  I started to suspect this school year would be a long one.
    * * *
    Good-looking guys roamed every part of the campus.  A girl could get lost just looking at all of them—well, this girl, at least.  But the ones I got to know during my first month on campus were either taken already or not the guys a father would want his daughter to date.  And, since I’m inherently a people pleaser, especially when it came to my parents, that made them off limits…while my guard was up, anyway.
    Needless to say, in spite of Charlotte, I enjoyed my first few weeks of college.  It was tough, but the professors and other students were friendly and helpful, and that meant a lot to this small town never-been-away-from-home girl.  I soon became familiar with the campus and the surrounding college town.  I loved the weather (so far) and the surrounding countryside.  I began to feel like this place might be a nice home for the next four years.
    I was a happy freshman the first month and a half.  But October rolled around to eventually change the entire course of my future:  I met him .
    I walked into a building full of stuffy classrooms from the beautiful crisp outside.  The sun had been shining brightly as leaves were beginning to fall.  I was a little disappointed because I had to sit in a dull history class instead of walking on campus, listening to the soft crunch of dead leaves beneath my feet.
    I set my books on the desktop, and I slid into its cramped seat.  As I waited for the professor to walk in, I glanced around the room…and saw him.  I wondered why I’d never noticed him before, but I knew why.  I’d pretty much kept to myself for the most part the first month or two as I adjusted and tried to find my way around this new world.  But as I became more relaxed, more comfortable with my environment, I felt that I could stretch my legs a little.
    So I spotted him.  And he was probably one of the best-looking guys on campus.  How had I never noticed him before?  I immediately became intrigued by this handsome stranger.  He appeared to be close to my age, and I fell in love with his shoulder-length reddish-brown hair, his light-emerald green eyes, his firm, strong jaw.  He didn’t appear to be overly tall sitting in that desk, but he didn’t look short either, and—even from where I sat—I could see his biceps were nicely sculpted.  One plus—he wasn’t talking to anyone either…that is, a girl .  But even on that first day, I saw a look of anger in his eyes, a look of hate, of revenge—from where I sat, it was barely noticeable, but it was there, just the same, and it would always be there.  I think that attracted me the most.  It made him mysterious.  I should have known then to stay away