Edge of Glory (Friendship, Texas Book 1) (15 page)

He smiled slightly. "As flattered as I am to hear that, no matter how long my fingers are, that wouldn't cause you to bleed. Um, I think you got your period."

Holy. Mother.

I sprang from the bed and didn't even bother gathering my clothes as I ran into the bathroom, and closed the door behind me. I tried not to focus on all of the white around the room with the tile, sinks, and toilet. That only made me think of the white bedspread, which my damn body probably ruined.

No. This couldn't be happening.

I sat on the toilet and sure enough, there was my Aunt Flo to greet me.

Holy Hell.

I didn't plan for it. My period was always off, so I never exactly knew when it was coming and now it was here at the worst time.

Tears pricked my eyes. I didn't want to cry, but it wasn't like I had anything else to do. I was naked, still a virgin, and sitting in the largest bathroom I'd ever been in.

A knock came at the door.

Oh, God, Jay. I'd probably mortified him. He was probably going to tell me that he chartered a plane for me to go back to Texas.

"Hey, babe, um, I'm going to go for a swim down in the hotel pool and let you have some alone time. Do you, um, need anything?"

I didn't answer. I didn't even know what I was supposed to say, so I just stayed silent.

I waited forever before I finally decided I had to leave the bathroom, get dressed, and probably find a drug store to get tampons.

I had just finished washing up and getting dressed when a knock came at the door.

I thought it might be Jay and I wasn't sure I was ready to see him yet then a voice yelled, "Room service!”

I ran and opened it, seeing a man in a suit with a wheeled cart. Our bags were delivered and sitting near the couch, so he steered the cart next to them. I didn't know what I was supposed to do since I'd never had room service before so I kind of bowed and said "thank you".

The man nodded and then left.

Slowly I walked toward the cart and looked at the array of covered silver dishes and a large brown bag, sitting next to them.

Oh God, I hoped it wasn't a giant box of condoms and things to use for sexual foreplay and now Jay was very turned off by my lady parts.

I kept staring and psyching myself up until finally I opened the bag. Instead of condoms, it was a variety pack of tampons. The good kind, not the cheap, cardboard ones I always ended up buying.

"What the hell?"

I set them down and then opened the different silver trays, which revealed every single chocolate dish I could imagine from cake to crepes.

The last tray I opened was a chocolate tart with an envelope on the top with my name written sloppily on it.

I opened it and read it slowly.

Hey, Lia, wanted to make sure you had what you needed before we head to USC then my parents. See you soon. -Jay

I held the note close to my chest. It wasn't what I expected. I shouldn't have been so emotional, or maybe I should’ve since I was on my freaking period.

But I held that note to my chest and let the tears fall from my eyes.

Holy Hell.

I wasn’t just falling in love with Jay Morningstar, I was there.

And maybe, just maybe, he was too.

When Jay came back up to the room, he was in a sweat suit, his hair still wet from the pool.

I was camped out on the couch.

Jay glanced at the tray of chocolate then back at me. "So...I hope that didn't piss you off."

I stood up, shaking my head. "No. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you. I figured you would’ve just left and instead of chocolates there would be a plane ticket home."

Jay stepped forward, closing the space between us. "I would never do that to you, Lia."

He tipped my chin up and gently kissed me. "But I’m going to have to leave you to shower. I don't think you want to walk around USC's campus with a boyfriend who smells like chlorine."

"Wait. What? When are we going to USC? When did you plan this trip?”

"You said you wanted to go there, so we're going to check it out and you can see your future home for the next two years. And I thought I'd go with you, unless you're embarrassed of my smell."

I kissed him again. "I like the smell of your chlorine."

He grinned. "If you ever want me to get in that shower, you'd better stop that or I'm going to take you down on that bed."

I blinked, stammering and trying to gather my words.

He kissed me again before squeezing my hand and stepping back. "Don't think too hard, okay?"

I just smiled. That was easier said than done.

***

The entrance to USC was even more beautiful than the pictures online. All of the cardinal red and gold flowers were in bloom, surrounding the cement sign that read "University of Southern California."

Jay held my hand, not saying a word as I kept staring at all the Roman architecture of various buildings.

I'd dreamed about going to school for music business for years. I didn't want to be in front of the microphone, but behind the music? That was what I wanted. To make the magic happen. To discover those new artists and bring them to everyone's ears. And USC had the best program.

"Not too bad, I guess. There aren't as many cows here, though," Jay said, nudging my side.

"I think I've seen enough cows in Friendship to last a lifetime."

I couldn't help but marvel at everyone around me. They just walked along doing their normal business, not realizing they were literally walking in footsteps that I'd wanted to walk in for so long.

My senior year of high school, I faked a call in sick to school and drove into Dallas to go to an information session on USC. The first time I talked to a counselor, I knew it was where I wanted to be.

Of course my parents didn't agree.

Dallas did have its great amenities and it was a lot closer to home. But I didn't want to live in my parents’ house and under their rules for my entire life.

The option was also thrown out for Nicky’s alma mater of UT in Austin, but that was where Christy went and just about everyone else from our small high school that went on to college.

No way in hell I wanted a repeat of my sucky high school years in college, no matter how big the campus was.

"So...what's the plan? Do you want to keep walking around? See any of the buildings?" Jay asked.

"Maybe I could talk to one of the admissions counselors? See when is the latest I can get signed up for fall classes as a transfer? Then maybe they can give me something that I can bring home to my parents so they won't hate the idea of me going here so much."

Jay grinned, letting go of my hand and putting his arm around me. "I think that sounds like a great idea. I'd like you staying here. Maybe you could even get a co-ed dorm so I wouldn't have to sign in all the time to come visit you."

A lump formed in my throat.

I'll admit that I had some brief moments where I thought about a future past this weekend with him, but I didn't think he was actually planning on it. Thinking about my dorm and seeing me in the fall.

This was a big deal.

And I had no idea how to handle it, so I just stayed silent, mulling over everything while we walked to the building.

A bubbly looking, younger girl around my age sat behind a desk, looking at her lap.

"Um, hi." I approached the desk.

The girl looked up then did a double take, setting her phone on the desk. "Oh, hi! How can I help you?"

But she wasn't asking me. She was looking right past me at Jay.

"I'd like to speak to an admissions counselor about my transfer. My name is Rosalia Conti, hopeful transfer student for the fall semester."

The girl still didn't look at me as she twisted toward her computer and furiously typed on the keyboard. "Okay, it looks like a lot of our counselors are busy today with fall semester sign ups this next month, but I can move around some appointments and squeeze you in."

She twirled back to us and looked right at Jay. "Are you going to be signing up for classes as well?"

Jay smiled that megawatt smile and shook his head. "Nope. Just my girlfriend."

She nodded, her eyes flitting back to her phone. "Okay. But think about it. We have a great swim team!"

Jay just kept smiling and nodding. "Okay."

Obviously she recognized him, but didn't do her due diligence in Olympic stalking or she'd know that he'd have to give up his endorsement deals if he were to swim for the NCAA and those were probably what kept him in Speedos and private planes.

With that we walked over to the little cardinal red chairs in the waiting area. There were a few other students who mostly stared at their phones. USC was known for having celebrities and dozens of movies filmed on campus. It wasn't like Friendship, Texas, which is the hometown of country superstar Eddie Justice, but mostly we are just known for cattle.

"Rosalia Conti?"

It wasn't even five minutes when a door opened and a very young-looking woman with wavy brown hair called my name.

I stood up and so did Jay. I didn't think he'd want to come with me, but by the way the girl at the front desk was taking not so stealthy photos, it was probably better to get him out of her grasp.

The woman who called my name smiled as I approached her and stuck out my hand. "Yes. I'm Rosalia, or Lia, and this is my boyfriend, Jay."

The woman smiled, shaking both of our hands. "I'm Reina Stowe, and of course I recognize Jay Morningstar. Our student secretary even put his name on the appointment notes. I wasn't going to see any more prospective students today, but for you two I can make an exception."

I was going to correct her that it was just me signing up for the fall semester, but she went on talking and led us down a small hallway to a dimly lit office that was piled with different books and papers on just about every surface.

"Sorry it's such a mess. I've been trying to get everything together before spring break." She moved a few papers off the chairs. "I'm sure you two are busy as it is with what, is Worlds coming up?"

Jay shook his head. "No just a pro meet in Charlotte next week. I'll have some more coming up in the winter, though."

Reina smiled, sitting behind her desk and typing a few things into the computer. "That would be perfect if you wanted to start this summer or even in the fall and we could see about some online classes for the spring or winter session."

"I'm just here to support my girlfriend. She’ll be transferring this fall." Jay put his hand on my knee.

Reina smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Well, maybe Rosalia can convince you to become a Trojan."

I swallowed hard, thinking of the other Trojan we almost used, but was failed by my damn period.

"Um, yeah, my acceptance letter came in, but I just wanted to know the next steps and see what kind of financial aid is available for a transfer student or anything really that I can take back to my parents to help convince them that I should be here."

She didn't even look up from her computer as she answered. "Have you filled out the FAFSA forms? There are also local church and non-profit organizations that offer scholarships."

Yeah. This wasn't my first rodeo. I'd been filling out the FAFSA forms for the past two years in community college.

"Um, yes, I've done all of that. I was just hoping you'd have some other insight to give me, maybe anything specific for music business majors?"

Reina folded her hands on her desk, finally looking up from her damn computer. Of course she never really looked at me, maybe some quick glances, but her eyes kept going to Jay. "USC has a very competitive admissions process, as you know, and a lot of people don't even make it as far as you have. I would fill out the FAFSA, if you haven't already, and continue to look for scholarships or even private loans if it's a financial situation. "

It wasn't financial. My parents had more than enough money to go around. I just wanted something. Something that would show them I belonged. But it seemed like nothing was going my way in Los Angeles and now I was too emotionally exhausted to continue the fight, so I just nodded.

"Thank you for your time, Ms. Stowe, I'll look into that." I stood up and she followed suit with Jay slowly standing next to me. I didn't even look in his direction and just shook Reina's hand before walking out.

Reina kept trying to keep up a conversation with him, but he followed me down the stairs and out to the warm spring air.

"Hey, are you okay?" He spun me around, forcing me to meet his eyes.

"Yeah. I guess I just hoped that would go better," I muttered.

"Look, not everything goes as we want it to. We can go in with these big hopes and dreams and then have them crushed because it didn't turn out exactly as we expected. Do you know how many times I've lost out on a medal in competition? How many times I've gone in thinking I had it down and this was going to be 'it' and then it wasn't? Did you know I tried out for my local swim club team twelve times before I actually made it? As soon as I was old enough to make the cut for Olympic trials, I kept chasing that glory. At fifteen, I made it to trials and then didn’t even place on the leader board. Some people said I should have just given up, gone to college, or whatever. But I didn't, because I knew it was what I wanted. I wanted that gold medal around my neck and I didn't stop until I had eight of them."

I sucked in a deep breath. I didn't know about all the tryouts. I figured he was always in good shape and that the guy could do no wrong. "But I'm not you. I'm not an Olympian."

He licked his lips and shook his head. "You don't need to be. You just have to know what you want and go for it. You've already gotten farther in one try than I did in ten tries. You got into your dream school, now we just have to go and find you some scholarships and maybe we'll tour a dorm, or look into apartments. I can even call some people and see about getting you a job at the local swim club or the gym I work out at. Whatever it is, you've got me as your teammate."

I smiled in spite of myself. "I think that's the first time anyone has ever referred to me as their teammate."

Jay laughed and put his arm around me. "I could go back to girlfriend or maybe
lovah
or something else like that?"

I shook my head, walking in step with him through campus. "How about we stick with girlfriend?"