Addicted

"None of your business, and no, I didn't forget. You guys said nine. I have fifteen minutes to spare. Now, if you'll excuse me." I moved past Carolyn, bumping her shoulder before I raced up the stairs. I needed to pull myself together fast. Presenting in front of the recruits wasn't the challenge, but having all of my sisters watching was. Knowing that Carolyn would be praying for me to mess up or look ignorant didn't make matters any better, either.

I closed the door behind me and let out a long sigh. Having only been with Tate for a few days, I knew one thing was for sure: he wouldn't have run for the presidency to impress anyone in his life.

Maybe I shouldn't, either.

*

Katelyn and Lucinda walked beside me as we made our way to campus a little later. I'd walked the new recruits through their first assignment for the house, which was to clean it spotless. They each had a room, and everyone was quite happy with my choice. We'd come home to a good-smelling house and everything being picked up. Carolyn had turned up her nose at me as I left, but she was simply jealous – as always.

"Tell me more about Sam." Lucinda poked me in the side as I reached for the door to the business building. I tried to ignore my father's name plastered to the side of it. Most people didn't know that I was related to the all-mighty Scotts, and I was grateful for the small reprieve.

"I don't actually know much. He seems like a great guy, and he and Tate have been friends forever. He's coming to the game tonight. Just make sure you're there and grab the seat next to him if you can. He's pretty open, from what I can tell." I looked up to see Kade holding the door to my business law class for me.

"Ladies." He smiled and turned his attention back to me. "Val."

I laughed. "What? I'm not a lady?"

"Yes, but you're a special lady." He opened the door winder and I walked in after giving my friends a silly look.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" I turned to face him.

"Because. You were right." He crossed his arms over his thick chest.

"About?" I tugged at the straps on my backpack.

"About Amy being a great girl. I took her out for dessert last night, and we laughed until our sides hurt." He shrugged. "I'm not sure about dating, but she's going to be a great friend."

Warmth filled me at the news. "That's awesome. The dating part will come later. I promise."

"Maybe." He shrugged. "My parents have some girl they want me to meet, so who knows where that's going to go. I'm almost twenty-three and they're still setting me up on blind dates like we live in a third world country."

"I know the feeling. My parents aren't much better." I moved to the front of the classroom with him. "Mine haven't done anything like that in a while, but I messed up the last date pretty good. I'm not sure I'm out of the woods with my mother still over that one."

"What did you do?" A smirk lifted his mouth. He was impossibly handsome, but surprisingly enough, I felt nothing but a good friendship growing between us. I was glad. The last thing I wanted was the internal drama of having feelings for more than one guy.

"Let's see... I slurped my soup, burped three times, and wore my hair in pigtails to a nice restaurant." I wagged my eyebrows. "You just thought I was a goodie-two-shoes."

"Actually, I could see the rebel peeking around the edges of your personality at the first party we went to a few weeks back. It's the reason I asked you to dance." He turned as Professor Griffith walked into the room. "Come have coffee with me after class. Just two friends hanging out?"

"Yeah, sure." I walked to the middle row and took my seat as Kade passed out the test we would be taking. I wasn't nearly as prepared as I'd hoped to be, but with all the drama swirling around me, it was a miracle that I was dressed and sitting in the right class.

I finished up faster than I thought I would and told Kade that I would be waiting outside for him. He nodded curtly, not really giving me his attention, at all. I ignored it and walked out into the chilly mid-morning. After dropping down onto a bench, I pulled out my phone and texted Tate to find out how things were going.

I hadn't gotten a reply by the time Kade walked up beside me, but it was probably for the best. Tate had plenty to deal with without having to entertain me and keep me updated on their every move.

"Hot chocolate or coffee?" He stopped beside me and smiled.

"Coffee, for sure." I picked up my bag and walked beside him toward Barney's Cafe. "Do you know anything about this chick your mom and dad are setting you up with? You might be surprised and find out that she's the one. Sometimes parents get things right."

"Nope." He opened the door for me. "No clue who she is, nor do I care. I'll take her to dinner and be as pleasant as I can for her sake. She's probably in the same situation as me. Poor thing."

"What? Being set up on a blind date?" I moved up to stand behind the long line at the register.

"No, having her parents threaten her college funds if she doesn't do exactly what they say when they say it." He rolled his eyes. "I'm so ready to get the fuck out of here. Six more months and I'm gone."

"Where to?" I tried to stave off my interest in him. It was an attraction to the fact that he knew my pain and seemed to have experienced the same life I was living.

"Somewhere warm. I hate the cold."