Best Friends Forever (3 page)

Five

The sun shines bright in our dorm room and I squint at my alarm clock. It’s after nine and I have orientation in an hour. With a yawn, I sit up and glance at Cheyanne. She’s sitting up on her perfectly made bed, already dressed and fiddling with her iPhone.

“Don’t tell me you’re a morning person,” I groan.

“You learn to appreciate quiet moments in the morning with a toddler running around,” she sneers, like I’ve insulted her. Maybe not as much of a morning person as I thought.

I throw the covers off. “I’ve got to shower and then coffee is first on the to-do list. You going to orientation?” I go to my dresser to find something to wear.

“Yeah, I think so. I don’t have to, but being a transfer, it’s probably a good idea. Hurry up, I don’t want to be late.” She’s more than short with me, but I expect it. Especially after last night.

I make my way to the shower and every shower stall but one is full. I go in and start my shower, more than ready to forget about last night.

While we were making out, things were definitely going to go all the way for us, considering my shirt was open and Roman’s hands were inside my bra. In between extremely hot kisses, I heard the sound of someone coming toward us and I pushed Roman off me, sitting up to cover myself and button up my shirt. Just as I ran my fingers through my sand-covered hair, Audric and Cheyanne reached us.

It was obvious what we’d been doing and Audric explained that Cheyanne wasn’t feeling well, so we needed to go. Audric offered to give her a ride, but she insisted that I go back to the dorms with her. It wasn’t even eleven o clock, I noticed with a glare in her direction. She had a car, so she drove us back to the college campus, lecturing me the whole time.

“Roman’s a player, Hazel. He’s the love’em and leave’em type. Trust me. Don’t let him get you, too,” she began.

“Look, just because you got yourself knocked up doesn’t mean I’m going to, too. I’m an adult and you are not my mother, so please stop acting like you are,” I spat back, arms folded across my chest.

She didn’t reply and our conversation when I woke up was the first thing we’d said to each other since we got back to the dorms. I understand where she’s coming from; being a teen mom is hardly something anyone wants to be when they grow up. But still, she needs to back off. I know what I’m doing.

I dress casually for orientation, a pair of jean shorts and a black tank top with a pair of clunky black shoes. They aren’t exactly the popular choice, but I love them, and they’re comfortable. When I open the door to our room, Cheyanne hasn’t moved. I put my dirty clothes in my hamper, making a mental note to get to laundry before classes start in two days.

I run a brush through my hair and pin back my bangs. Normally, I take the time to flat-iron them into submission, but I’m short on time today. When we got back last night, I stayed up until after two a.m. reading on my Kindle. I made sure to put headphones on, too, so Cheyanne wouldn’t speak to me.

I apply a liberal amount of makeup and then turn to Cheyanne. “Ready?”

She gets off her bed and nods. We leave our dorm room and awkward silence ensues. After five full minutes, we’re only halfway to orientation and I lose it.

“Look, I get why you don’t want me to pursue Roman. I really do. But I’m an adult, and you need to accept that,” I huff.

“You’re right,” she says and I stop in my tracks, shocked by her words.

“Come again?”

“You are an adult and you have a right to date whoever you want. But I’ll only tell you this once: Roman is bad news.”

“Well. Thanks for the tip. Can we be friends again?” I ask, wanting to keep her close. For now.

“Of course. If you guys do hook up, though, please don’t do it in our room,” she begs with a grossed-out look on her face.

I laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

We continued on and made it to orientation without any problems. Outside the orientation room, Audric was waiting for us.

“We saved you two a seat,” he explains and then ducks into the room with us trailing behind us.

The first thing I notice is that everyone from our little group is sitting in the row Audric leads us to. Except Nolan. I didn’t think he was a freshman, and I’m right. The seat next to Roman is empty and Audric and Cheyanne let me into the row first so I can sit next to him. He smiles at me and my heart soars. Making him mine is going to be much easier than I originally thought.

Before we have a chance to chat, an older woman goes up to the microphone on stage and taps it gently.

“Students, if I could have your attention please…” she continues with a variety of useless information, things no one truly cares about. Roman takes me hand and squeezes it, a sign that he really likes me. I keep the ridiculous need to giggle bottled up inside. No reason for him to know exactly how it makes me feel. We smile at each other and the world dissipates around us. Until Nolan walks across the stage, and catches my attention.

“Nolan is one of our model students and the residential advisor for the Woods Residence Halls, specifically, the Maple, Cypress, and Oak buildings,” she explains.

Nolan is our RA? I’m floored. This is the same guy I saw do a keg stand last night… I smile, though, thinking about how much we’ll be able to get away with in our building, since Roman is such good friends with Nolan.

“If you have an issue with a roommate, another person in your building, or a maintenance problem, Nolan is the person you want to visit. He lives in the Maple building, on the first floor, so you can go see him personally or give him a call. There is a packet being handed out now that has his phone number. For those of you in the Gardens Residence Halls, your residence advisor couldn’t be here today, but her name and phone number are listed on your contact sheet.”

I take a packet from Audric as he hands me a stack and then pass them along. I open the folder and flip through the papers inside. There’s a contacts list with all the names of people who I might need to speak with: my academic advisor, Nolan’s number, financial aid. The last sheet of paper is a list of the local delivery places. Pizza and Chinese restaurants flood the page.

I grin at Audric, who mouths, Score! And then turns to show the sheet to Cheyanne. She’s less enthused than I am, but he doesn’t seem to mind. Roman doesn’t really show any interest in his packet, or me, at the moment. He’s whispering something to Miranda. I suck in my anger, determined not to let him know I’m jealous. I put my hand on Audric’s arm to get his attention.

“What’s up, Princess?”

“Princess, really?” I whisper to him with a smile.

“Yep. I have a sense about these things with people,” he boasts.

“Whatever. What’s going on tonight? Any parties? I don’t have any classes tomorrow,” I explain, not caring one bit that I just invited myself.

“Rome and I were thinking of hitting up the Boulevard,” he says with a smirk.

“The Boulevard…?”

“Ocean Boulevard. There are shops and a small amusement park right near the beach. The waterpark closes at five, but the amusement part stays open until midnight. It’s not big, but it might be fun,” he says. “You and Cheyanne should come.”

Cheyanne. Ugh. I don’t want her tagging along, but I know Audric will invite her anyway. “Yeah, sure. You ask her and I’ll talk to everyone.”

I lean away from him and interrupt Roman’s chat with Miranda. “We’re going to the amusement park on the beach tonight. You in?” I ask Miranda. She’s not gorgeous like Cheyanne, but I still worry she might take Roman from me.

“Sounds good. All of us?” she asks.

“Yeah, spread the word,” I tell her. I look at Roman. “It’s okay that I invited people, right?”

“Of course. I can’t wait to get you on the Ferris Wheel. I hope we get stuck at the top,” he says seductively and any thought I had that he wasn’t into me fades away.

I sigh and turn my attention back to the speaker as she drones on. After she finishes announcements, she wishes us a great year and dismisses us. The auditorium erupts in applause, although I’m not sure why we’re clapping. When people quiet their hands and stand up, our group waits for the crowd to dissipate before we get up.

“So, do we want to do the waterpark, too?” Audric asks us when the room is almost empty.

“Sounds good to me,” Roman replies.

We all agree and Audric organizes rides for everyone. He and Roman each have a vehicle and Cheyanne agrees to drive as well. She doesn’t really need to, but I can tell she doesn’t want to be caught in Rome’s car. Audric lets us all know to meet him in the parking lot across from the Wood’s Residence Halls in an hour. And then he and Roman take off for their dorm.

Destiny approaches me. “Hey, we didn’t really get a chance to chat last night. I’m Destiny. I live in the Cypress Hall.”

“It’s great to meet you. I’m in Maple,” I say as we walk together out of the auditorium. We chit chat until we reach her building and say our goodbyes.

“We’ll chat more at the park,” she promises, and I’m not sure how to respond. I mean, she’s nice enough, but she seems too goody-goody for me. We’ll see.

Six

I end up riding in Roman’s car with Destiny and Nolan. It’s a short ride, but I can’t help point out the obvious.

“Destiny, I thought you and Andre were a thing?”

She laughs from the backseat. “Not even close. He and I went to high school together and he thinks he’s got to protect me or something. I told him this morning to chill out.”

“Gotcha. I can’t wait to hit the water,” I say.

“Me too!” Destiny exclaims.

“I haven’t been to the waterpark since last summer,” Nolan pipes up from the back of Roman’s sleek newer-model Dodge.

“I don’t think I’ve been in more than three years,” Roman adds. It’s sad how much having a child has altered his life.

We pull into the parking lot and it’s nearly empty. “Are they even open?”

“Yeah, things die off as soon as the universities open,” Nolan explains to me. “That just means we won’t have crazy lines.”

While in line to pay for our tickets, the rest of our group joins us. Once inside, we find an empty area near the main pool and lay out all our stuff. The guys brought coolers with sodas and waters for everyone. I made sure to bring my spray-on sunscreen so I don’t look like a fool rubbing it in. I suppose I could have asked Roman to rub it in for me, but when I turn around from setting my towel down on a chair, all the guys are gone, already in line for one of the tube rides.

I spray myself quickly down, careful to rub some onto my face, and then I take off after them, leaving the girls behind. I’ve always fit in better with guys than girls, anyway. I catch up to them and wrap my arms around Roman’s abs from behind.

“Hey,” he says and turns around, planting a kiss on my nose. “Want to ride down together?” The ride is a single or double and I am totally down for sharing a tube with him.

“Sure,” I say with a smile.

He hooks an arm around my waist as we wait.

“Where are the rest of the girls?” Andre asks, looking past me toward the pool area.

When I follow his gaze, I see that the area we all dropped our stuff at is empty. “I’m not sure.”

“They’re probably at the lazy river, man. Chill out. Destiny is a big girl,” Nolan says to Andre, his words calming.

Andre crosses his arms over his chest. “Her dad asked me to watch out for her. I’m just doing as I was asked.” His voice is almost pouting.

“Will you get a grip?” Roman pushes Andre’s shoulder playfully. “We’re here to have fun and I’m sure she didn’t go off on her own. Try to relax and enjoy yourself.”

Andre sighs dramatically but doesn’t reply. We make the climb up the stairs much faster than I anticipate; suddenly we’re at the top and my fear of heights kicks in. I clutch Roman’s arm with terror.

“You okay?”

“I’m a little scared of heights,” I admit in a whisper.

To my dismay, Roman laughs. What he says is more endearing. “I’ll protect you.”

I smile, already head over heels for him.

When it’s our turn for the water slide, Roman grabs a double tube off the ramp and gets in the back of the tube in the water. He holds his hand out for me and I take a deep breath, getting into the water and sitting down. I lean back and Roman’s arms close around my shoulders.

“I’ve got you,” he whispers, sending chills down my spine. I close my eyes and the guy who works for the park pushes our tube down the slide. We twist and turn, nearly flipping over several times. When we go into the darkened tunnel, I scream and open my eyes. I can’t see anything, but when we go up over a curve, we actually do flip over.

I’m thrown onto my stomach, my face soaked from the running water. I hold my breath, truly afraid. I hear Roman laugh from somewhere below me. How did he get in front of me? I barely manage to roll onto my back and do a half sit-up so that I can at least see what’s coming. We must be close to the bottom. When I see a light at the end of the tunnel, I’m relieved. There’s a waterfall at the opening, but I’m already drenched, so it doesn’t matter. I fly out of the tunnel and into the small pool at the bottom, sinking to the bottom before jumping up and sputtering.

I push my bangs out of my eyes and find Roman trying not to laugh at me from the edge of the pool. He’s already up the steps and offers me no help as I make my way to the stairs. I glare at him but his smile softens me almost immediately. And when he pulls me into his arms once I’m completely out of the pool? I’m lost.

“I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry, Hazel,” he says, pulling me close. “I hope you weren’t scared.”

I melt into him, drawing strength from his warmth. I forget about his laughter in the tunnel and just let him hug me. I don’t want to cause an argument between us, especially this early in our…relationship, if that’s what this is.

“Come on, you two! We’re going to the lazy river!” Nolan yells at us and then he, Audric, and Andre take off.

“You want to do the lazy river?” Roman asks me, pulling away to look in my eyes. He’s so sweet, so concerned.

“I can handle the lazy river,” I say. It’s a much safer bet for me.

Roman takes my hand and we walk to the lazy river. He wades in first and grabs a tube for me, holding it still while I jump on. He gives me a little push and then jumps onto his own tube stomach first. He spins me around so I’m floating backwards and he holds on to one of the handles on my tube to keep us together.

I try to look around and find everyone else in our group, but it’s hard to turn around in the tube without flipping over. “Do you see anyone?”

“Nope,” he says, just seconds before I’m flipped over.

I stand up, sputtering as I search for whoever flipped me over. I see Audric frantically swimming away. When he reaches the spot where the rest of our group is stopped, holding onto the cement sides of the river, he turns to look at me and busts out laughing.

“You want to get them back?” Roman asks me.

“Damn right I do.”

“Let’s go this way,” he says, pulling me toward a different path in the river. “We’ll catch up to them.”

I let him pull me. When we’re on the shortcut part of the river, I realize we’re alone. I pop up through the middle of my tube and pull him close. Just when he’s about to say something, I kiss him, thoroughly enjoying his surprise. He quickly takes over the kiss, his passion all but overwhelming me.

When I hear raucous laughter ahead, I realize we aren’t as alone as I thought. In front of us are a couple of young teenagers. We smile at them when we pull apart and then we walk in the water to go past them. Up ahead, I see our group, floating along and laughing.

“You ready?” Roman asks.

I nod evilly, ready to give them a piece of their own medicine. “Audric is mine.”

We duck down in our tubes so we can’t be seen and our tubes float mysteriously toward the group. I aim for Audric and they are all so caught up in their conversation, they don’t notice us.

Audric and Cheyanne are floating together, I get as close as I can to them and then sink under the water to get underneath their tubes. With all my strength, I push their tubes over and quickly move on to Destiny’s tube. She tries to get away, having seen me coming, but I get to her before she can go too far. I flip her over and glance over at Roman, who has successfully flipped Andre and Nolan. He’s stalking Miranda now, who squeals and then flips herself over to save him the trouble.

When everyone finally catches their breath, we’re all laughing at each other and having a great time. The rest of our time in the river is spent trying to flip each other over, and I have to admit, I get dumped upside down several times.