Protected (Book 1 in the Ariya Adams trilogy) Read Free Page A

and since I’m the only one with any sort of fashion sense, it’s what you’re stuck with,” she said, as she flitted through the closet for her own outfit. When she turned, I brought my hand up to salute.
    “Aye-aye.” Turning, I headed to the bathroom to throw everything on. Before shutting the door, Caroline barked out another ensemble order at me.
    “Grab those black boots out of the front closet when we leave and you’ll be set.”
    “Have I told you how much I love you?” I asked, poking my head out of the bathroom door.
    “It’s obvious, now hurry up.” She shooed me in to change and I quickly pulled on the clothes she had picked out for me.
    The black boots were one of my many fashion enemies . It was like a wrestling match to get them on and up over the jeans, but Caroline would murder me if I wasn’t victorious. I had to admit, I did tend to feel prettier when I put some effort into it, or rather when Caroline put some effort into it. Once the boots were on, I ran back to my room to apply some light make-up and take one last look at myself. This is as good as it’s going to get, I told myself, shrugging at my reflection.
    We left the apartment and headed down the path behind our complex that led to Ashley’s place. She didn’t live in the same development , but there was a path through the woods that would take us directly behind her apartment building. In a small college town, none of us were really that far from each other. It made our get-togethers that much easier.
    We were early and the first ones to arrive for the night. Ashley acted excessively enthusiastic about meeting Nick. She got the death glare a couple times, from Caroline, when she reached out to touch Nick’s arm. Beyond that there was no drama between the girls. I walked into the kitchen before hollering back to the group, asking if anyone wanted a drink. Of course there was a resounding, “yes,” from all of them. I quickly grabbed some cups, filled them up with beer from the keg, and handed them out to everyone.
    It wasn’t long before more of our friends showed up. I squealed when I felt arms wrap around me and lift me up off the ground. I turned my head to see that I was in the embrace of Riley Blake. Riley was my best friend besides Caroline. He dropped me to the floor and grabbed a cup off the counter, then reached over to the keg to pour himself a beer.
    “Can you believe this is it?”
    “No! Don’t tell me you’re going to go all mushy on me thinking you’re never going to see me again after graduation.” I laughed, pushing into him playfully.
    “Please, you’d miss me too much if we never saw each other again. Now, how about a celebration kiss for your favorite guy before our time runs out here?”
    Riley was always trying to charm everyone around him. It usually worked , too, because he could sweet talk his way in and out of just about anything. Teachers, police officers, and even parking cops were no match for Riley. I’d seen him weasel his way out of almost everything in the past three years that I’d known him.
    Tall, dark, and handsome is how most people would describe him. He had hair that looked like a Ken doll’s, maybe just a shade darker. Each strand always sat perfectly on top of his flawless head. His eyes were the lightest green I’d ever seen, and they stood out even more because of his dark head of hair. Besides being quite handsome, Riley was also an amazing athlete. He played left wing on his intramural hockey team.
    He was one of the worst womanizers , though, yet he was one of my favorite friends. No girl ever really seemed to stick for him. He was always finding some reason why they weren’t good enough. They’d start dating, seem to be getting along great, and then he’d be over at our place, telling us he was going to end things. He was always asking our advice for the best way to let whomever it was down easily.
    I had a soft spot for the wounded-guys-turned-jerks like Riley. He