ROMANCE: Romantic Comedy: Love in 30 Days - The Best Plans Don't Always Work! (Plus 19 FREE Books Book 13) (51 page)

We kissed again, then, and I ran my hands through his hair. I stood on my tip toes to kiss him  and then spoke.

"Oh, should we see one another again?"

"There is nothing else I would want more," he told me.

"Then the same goes for me."

"All right, then. We'll see one another again."

I, for the first time, went over to his house. He lived in a penthouse on top of a high-rise in the heart of the city. It was furnished with modern decor and I wondered if he had done it himself or if he had a decorator. It was beautiful inside and I felt at ease and happy in his penthouse, immediately.

"I'm making you a dinner," he said happily as he walked towards an open room. "Everything is in the oven for a few more minutes, if you don't mind."

"No, not at all. It's nice to see you, again."

"It is," he said.

I told him, "I've been thinking--"

"About what we're doing?" he said, cutting me off.

"I want to keep seeing you, too, but it feels like something that other people won't want to have happen. My parents, your parents..." he trailed off.

"Neither of them want this."

"But we want this," he said.

I replied back with a genuine smile and nod of my head, "We do."

We had the meal he made, which was a duck confit over a mushroom risotto that I loved.

We went out for dessert to a nearby late night donut shop and enjoyed ourselves there. We loved just being with one another and nothing could make that less fun for the both of us.

"How do you like my cooking?" he asked.

"It's actually the best I've had in a long time."

"Even better than dinner at the lounge?"

"Even better," I said.

"Thanks for the compliment, it actually means the world."

We continued to talk and laugh with one another.

He said to me, "This is too much fun, I'm having too much fun with you."

"What, too much because you're my big brother?"

"No, no. Well, yes. Yes, actually."

I laughed and he joined me.

We continued the night in much the same way as we had been before and I slept over at his place. We continued to see one another for weeks after that and had a good time doing it. We planned to hide our relationship from our parents, but have one nonetheless. BBQ's and family events would be awkward, but if we both put on our best poker faces, we would likely get away with it. We liked the planning of it and had fun together making sure we had covered all of our bases.

One day, he said something I had been expecting.

"I'm falling in love with you," he told me.

"I already know, I love you..." I said, trailing off.

"You love me?" he asked incredulously. "I love you, too."

*** THE END ***

Back to Contents

Book Sixteen

EVE’S CHOICE

By Sarah Styler

Chapter One

Eve looked out of the window across the grounds of Brown University, savouring the sight. Across the whole campus, students were arriving to spend their first year there, just like her. She could see people walking in every direction around the dorms, shouldering heavy backpacks or wheeling suitcases behind them.

Eve smiled. Her own roommate had not yet shown up. She had arrived earlier than most, wanting to get set up as soon as possible. She felt like she had been waiting for her whole life to stand here, ready to get stuck in and study the subjects that would make her life a success. She was finally here.

She went back to her suitcase and continued to unpack, hanging up clothes and putting out a couple of small picture frames that contained photographs of her with her family. She had always been close to her parents. She had spent all of her time in school studying hard to get ahead, and her social life had never been hugely active. She had never had a boyfriend, and no one asked her to the school prom, even though she had kissed Brett McCullen that one time in the back of his parents’ car. All of that was finally paying off. Tomorrow she would go down and get her first taste of Literary Arts, and then the rest of her life would begin.

It wasn’t that she was unattractive. True, she had blossomed a little later than most girls – it was only in the last few years that she had really grown into her face. She had long, dark hair that fell straight, clear brown eyes, and a good complexion. That, too, had only been a recent development. But she tried hard in gym class to keep her grades up, and she was fit and healthy. She had slim hips and kind of average sized breasts – nothing to be ashamed about. But boys were too much of a distraction. Even here, she had to remember that. Study came first.

It seemed like a hurricane arrived in the room all of a sudden, as a flash of dark skin, long and tightly curled dark hair, and multi-coloured bags burst in through the doorway. Eve looked up to meet the grinning eyes of a very much out-of-breath girl, who was already unloading her bags onto the other bed in the room and jabbering at a hundred miles an hour.

“I never should have brought this many bags, it’s been a
nightmare
let me tell you, I didn’t realise how far I would have to walk,” she burst out before Eve had even opened her mouth. “I take it we’re roomies! My name’s Jena Hunter, I’m so excited to meet you.”

“Eveline North,” she replied after a moment’s pause, still somewhat taken aback by the other girl’s entrance. “You can call me Eve, though.”

“Wow, Eve, it’s so great we’re sharing!” she exclaimed. Jena had a mouth that was used to smiling, and Eve had the feeling that she was no stranger to being to centre of attention. “We HAVE to go out tomorrow night. Let’s see what kind of hot frat guys this campus has to offer!”

“I don’t know about that,” Eve said, turning back to her clothes and carefully sliding a couple of shirts onto hangers.

“Why not? Got a boyfriend already?” Jena asked. When Eve glanced around again, she was pouting slightly, hands on her hips.

Eve laughed, without meaning to. “No, I’ve never had a boyfriend. It’s just that I wanted to start studying tomorrow night. We’ll find out our timetables, and then I can get stuck in to looking at the class materials.”

Jena frowned, and grabbed hold of her by the shoulders. “Seriously, Eve, I don’t think you realise where you are,” she said, half-playfully. “This is
college
. If you’ve never even had a boyfriend, then it is my solemn duty as a roommate to make sure that you get a guy by the end of the semester.”

Eve laughed, a little drawn in by Jena’s manner. “Alright, maybe one night wouldn’t hurt. It’s not going to get in the way of studying, though. I’m going to be attending poetry and lit classes and I’ll have a lot of work to do.”

“Well, you’re lucky I speak the language of love,” Jena announced, letting her go so that she could strike a dramatic pose. “I’m taking French Studies. And we will find you
un amour grand
, I promise.”

The two of them worked together to put their room in place, Jena sticking up colourful posters while Eve stacked books, both of them agreeing on how much space each of them should take up in their cupboard. The room could have been bigger, but there was space enough. When it was all done, it looked just a little bit like it could be home – for the short term, anyway.

Jena had a wicked sense of humour, and seemed perfectly at ease talking about racier subjects. She would not stop talking about how eager she was to find a really cute frat guy, and how she hoped to join a sorority so that she would get invited to all of the top parties in town. From time to time, Eve had to remind herself that this was Brown: that if Jena wasn’t smart and committed to studying, she would not even have got in. Perhaps it was possible to both have a social life and see academic success after all.

The first night was tough. Eve wanted nothing more than to sleep and see the next morning come, eager to make sure she was registered for all the right classes and that nothing on her timetable would clash. But it was strange to sleep in a new place, and with a stranger on the other side of the room. Jena’s breathing switched to a heavy, deep rhythm before too long, and Eve knew she was asleep, but it was hours before she could finally drift off.

As she lay staring at the ceiling, she traced swirls of paint and tried hard to calm her mind down, hoping it would help. Some part of her was worried, though, about what it might mean to live with Jena for the rest of the year. Would she be a bad influence? Would she be coming home from parties with boys at all hours of the night? Would she try and drag Eve along with her? One thing was for sure – she would never let anything like that get in the way of her studies. She was never going to miss a lecture because of a party or a boy.

But still, somewhere deep in the back of her mind, was a little thrill of excitement about the thought of meeting someone new and maybe, finally, going all the way.

---

They headed out in different directions the next day, with a promise to meet later on in the afternoon and check out the societies together. By the time Eve was browsing amongst the last of the stalls, still waiting for Jena to show up, she began to wonder if she had forgotten to come at all. But at last she spotted her: over by one of the sorority stands, talking over the details of pledging with one of the sisters. Eve couldn’t help a small smirk from forming on her face. A sorority was the last thing she wanted anything to do with. She was here to learn, not to go to endless parties.

“Not a fan either, huh?” came a voice from just behind her, and she turned with a blush.

“It’s not really my thing,” she said, half-apologetically.

“Nor mine,” the girl who had spoken replied. She was small and blonde-haired, with thick oversized glasses that seemed too big for her face. Eve half-recognised her from the morning: she was in the Literary Arts building looking at the classrooms earlier, when Eve must have passed by her. “You’re doing lit too, right?”

“Right. Majoring in poetry,” Eve replied. “I’m Eve.”

“Alison,” she said, sticking out a hand promptly. “I’m majoring in fiction, but I’ll be taking Poetry 1 as well.”

“I guess I’ll see you there,” Eve smiled, just as Jena came bouncing over to them.

“You made a new friend already?” she exclaimed, a large grin on her face as she threw an arm around Eve’s shoulders. It seemed they were, in her view at least, best friends already.

“Jena, this is Alison, who is also doing lit studies,” Eve said, playing the part of gracious host. “Alison, this is Jena, my roommate.”

“You guys want to go grab a coffee?” Jena asked, looking between the two of them. “The sisters told me about this great little coffee place down on Thayer Street. Apparently it’s the place to be, so I wanted to go check it out.”

“Well, if it’s the place to be,” Alison said, dryly. Eve laughed. She was getting to like Alison’s sense of humour already.

“Sure, I think I’m done looking around,” Eve agreed. She’d only seen a couple of societies that were even remotely interesting to her, and she was still in two minds about whether to join them. She had spent a lot of time in extracurricular activities in high school. Maybe now was the time to cut herself just a little slack.

The coffee shop was already bustling with students, most of them excitedly chatting over cups of steaming coffee or showing each other things on their laptops. It was getting crowded, but they were lucky enough to grab a table with three seats. They decided to make a late lunch out of it, picking up a few pastries each and sandwiches to go with their coffee.

It was easy to talk, and the conversation flowed freely. Still, there was something of a discord in their group, like one note being played out of tune in a symphony. As she looked between the two of them, Eve felt that Jena and Alison would never really get along. Each of them was so different, that was very clear. Jena wanted to party, go shopping, join a sorority, wear expensive make up, and get a boyfriend or three. Alison was only interested in studying. Eve wondered briefly whether she came across like Alison did – but no, there was something almost maliciously sarcastic about the way she talked. If Eve didn’t want to do something, she would just say so. Alison wanted to rip it to shreds first.