So Damn Beautiful (A New Adult Romance) Read Free

out and saw that I’d received a text from Kendra.
“Since when did Gothic Terror start boning Mass Comm major
meatheads? CANNOT COMPUTE. Gag me with a spoon!”
    Professor Claremont replied, “Thanks for the
assessment, Miss Donegan, but the additional personal anecdote
brings to mind a word that Miss Green just used: ‘gratuitous.’
Okay, now let’s move on to neo-Expressionists.”
    I was just as astonished as poor Elsie, whose
previous smirk had become a crestfallen pout. She glanced over at
me again and paused for a moment, as if to say, What are you
looking at, bitch?
    My phone vibrated again. It was another text
from Kendra. “EPIC FAIL!!!!! LOLOLOLOL.”
    I smiled slightly, although I had to admit I
felt bad for Elsie.
    “Okay, class, that’s all for now. Don’t
forget to pick up your graded response papers up front!” Professor
Claremont exclaimed, as students began shuffling out of the
room.
    As I made my way to the front, Elsie came up
next to me and either intentionally or accidentally pushed me out
of the way as she proceeded down the aisle.
    “Ouch!” I exclaimed.
    Elsie didn’t bother to respond as she grabbed
for her graded paper.
    “Hey, you know, Elsie really wants one of
those art internships,” said a voice next to me. I continued to rub
my elbow as I turned to look at who was talking. It was Elsie’s
jock boy toy, whom I recognized as Scott—another freshman who lived
in my dorm. I didn’t know much about him, except that he had some
kind of wrestling scholarship. I studied his face to see what he
was trying to accomplish by telling me any of this, but he was all
business and no emotion.
    “And your point is . . . ?” I didn’t mean to
sound so harsh, but, considering I had unwittingly found myself on
his girlfriend’s shit list, I wasn’t interested in playing
nice.
    He raked a burly hand through his short, dark
hair (somewhat nervously, I thought) but remained impervious.
“All’s I’m trying to say is that she really wants it and
she’s been working hard since spring.”
    “She’s at one of the best schools in the
country. I would surely hope so.” I felt like I was talking to Ryan
Lochte or something.
    Scott looked at me blankly. He was
surprisingly quiet for a jock. Finally, he muttered something.
    “What?” I asked, despite myself.
    “Just . . . be . . . careful,” he said, a
little louder, his eyes widening somewhat for effect.
    Before he could explain himself, Elsie called
his name (or, rather, whined). She shot a venomous look at me. He
quickly joined her, not bothering to pick up his own paper, which
made me suspect he wasn’t even in the class, and they left
together. For some reason I couldn’t put my finger on, Scott’s
taciturn little warning bugged me. A lot. I wondered what tricks
Elsie had up her sleeve.

Chapter Two
    “Are you
sure about this?” I asked, as Kendra and I made our way across the
street. I’d heard some pretty dodgy things about the area we were
in, after all. Keen as I was on exploring New York City and all it
had to offer, the hard stares of the tattooed guys lining the
blocks, scrutinizing us from head to toe, made me shudder. I’d read
a lot about what can happen to fresh-faced college coeds who get
lured in by the thrill of the big city: drugs, danger, violent
encounters with shadowy men hardened by life on the streets.
Thinking about that stuff from a safe distance was all good and
fine, but now I could smell the whiff of liquor on the hot breaths
of the street punks. It hit me in places on my body I wished to God
I’d thought to cover before I’d headed out of the dorm that
morning.
    “Annie, don’t be such a square!” Kendra
pinched me playfully as she tugged me along behind her. I almost
laughed. Kendra had announced on the day I’d met her that she was
bringing back the term “square,” which I’d always considered part
of my mother’s generation. As Kendra had explained, “What’s old
always becomes new again,