Sire (2 page)

He smiled. "It's no problem, really." He bent over and grabbed the bag, and slung it over his shoulder like it wasn't a giant canvas sack stuffed with all of Alexis' earthly possessions. "Which suite are you in?"

"We, um, I," Alexis said.

"2B," Caitlin finished.

The guy smiled again. "Great, we're right across the hall, 2A." He turned and disappeared into the dorms.

"He, um,
arms
," Alexis said, and followed him.

Caitlin smiled, grabbed her own bags, and headed inside.

***

The suite itself was
amazing
, like pretty much everything else on campus. There was a living area just inside the door, with a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, and a television. A set of cupboards and a bar lined with stools separated the living area from the kitchen, which had a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and coffee maker. Everything was new and clean and fancy. It almost didn't feel like college. Of course, that was one of the things that had attracted Caitlin here in the first place.

A girl was standing behind the counter, putting some boxes into the cupboards. Her brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a simple, floral-patterned top.

"Hi," Caitlin said. The girl jumped, and threw her hand over her heart.

"Sorry!" she said. "I didn't hear you come in. Bethany Lourdes. Are you staying in this suite, too?"

"Yep! Caitlin Manning." She walked to the counter and stuck out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Did you travel far?"

"California. You?"

"Oh wow, no, nowhere near as far as that. I'm like two, two and a half hours away, New Hampshire." She looked at Caitlin for a second, then looked down at her feet.

"We tried to talk to you over the summer, so we could get to know each other a bit, but ..."

"Oh, yeah," Bethany said. Her cheeks were turning red. "I don't ... really go on line very often. Not my thing."

"Oh, okay." Caitlin sat on one of the stools at the bar. "So, what are you studying?"

"I'm, uh, I'm a sculptor. I'm studying sculpture. Well, I guess fine arts, but my emphasis is in sculpture."

"Oh, that's so cool! Maybe we can use a couple of your pieces to decorate the suite."

Bethany blushed, and smiled. "You think so? I mean, I'm not
that
good."

"Oh come on. This place is so hard to get into, you
have
to be amazing. I thought I was going to cry during my portfolio review."

"Oh right, I'm sorry, I never even asked what you're studying."

"That's okay," Caitlin said, laughing. "So yeah, photography. My father kind of wanted me to go into photojournalism, said it was more practical, but I really think I'm going to focus on art." Caitlin shrugged, and laughed again. "I guess I just like making pretty things."

The front door banged open, and a stunning blond girl walked in. She was tall and lean, wearing white shorts that revealed a mile of tan leg, a white top that showed at least a C-cup worth of curves, and big, brown sunglasses. She walked down the hallway that led to the bedrooms without saying a word to the two girls. A tall, muscular guy with brown hair followed her, carrying her luggage.

"That must be Olivia Cross," Caitlin said. "She's the only one I haven't met yet."

"She seems kind of ... fierce." Bethany replied.

Caitlin chewed on her lip. "Yeah, I think she kind of is."

"Okay, who took the corner room?" Olivia called from down the hallway. "I do
not
plan on listening to all of you tromp down the hallway all night, every time you have to pee or something. Jordan, just put those out in the hallway, and put my stuff on the bed."

Caitlin's mouth fell open, and she walked over to the hallway. Sure enough, Olivia's little boy toy was stacking bags out in the hallway.

"Oh, it's all right," Bethany said in a low voice. "I mean, I didn't have my heart set on that room or anything. It's just the one I happened to pick because I got here first, and I had to pick one."

"That doesn't make it okay," Caitlin said. "I can talk to her, if you want ...?"

"No, no, let's not stir anything up." She grabbed her bags and dragged them into the third bedroom.

Caitlin watched her, and debated whether or not to say something anyway, but decided to let it go. If Bethany didn't want to make trouble—even though Olivia was really the one making it—Caitlin wasn't going to force her.

But she still didn't like it.

Anyway, it was time to get settled. Caitlin grabbed her stuff and took it into the only remaining bedroom, the first one off the entryway.

The furniture was basic, but it wasn't spartan. There was a desk for her computer, and a dresser. The closet was surprisingly big, which Caitlin was excited about, because she had a lot of clothes to hang up, and there was a full-length mirror hanging on the door. Caitlin sat down on the bed and bounced a little. Sunlight streamed in through the window, which looked out at the forest surrounding the campus.

Yeah, this could be home.

By the time she finished unpacking, Alexis and Arms Boy were sitting at the bar. Bethany was sitting there, too, but it looked like she was trying to be invisible.

Alexis turned when Caitlin walked in, and gestured toward Arms. "Hey, Caitlin, this is Evan. He's right across the hall from us. He's here on a football scholarship."

"Hi Evan, I'm Caitlin. So, football, huh?"

Evan smiled a bit shyly. "Well, yeah, but don't make a big deal out of it or anything. I mean, it's a great opportunity for me and all, but, well."

"So where are you from?"

"Iowa."

"Wait, so you're a corn-fed Iowa boy going to school on a football scholarship?"

Evan blushed. Actually
blushed
. Caitlin hadn't been entirely sure that boys were
capable
of that. "I know, I'm a big walking cliché, right?"

Alexis ran her fingers over his arm. "Well, I wouldn't say 'cliché.' Maybe 'stereotype' or 'generic white boy.'"

"Generic? Hey! I will have you know that I'm bursting with defining characteristics."

"So what are you studying?" Caitlin asked.

"Electrical engineering."

"Ooh," Alexis said, "brains
and
brawn."

There was a knock, and the door swung open. A bald, chocolate-colored head popped in. "Evan? You in here man?"

"Over here, bro. Everyone, this is Garret."

Garret walked into the room and smiled. "Hey everyone." Bethany perked up when she saw him. "Hi Bethany."

She smiled like she had a secret. "Hi Garret."

"What's up, Gar?" Evan asked.

"Hey man, some of the guys from your team dropped by. They wanted to know if you were going to Indigo tonight." He walked further into the room. Bethany followed him with her eyes.

"Indigo?" Alexis asked.

"It's a club down in the city," Garret said.

"Actually, it's
the
club," Evan said. "Everybody's talking about it, supposed to be fantastic."

"What do you think, ladies?" Garret asked. "You want to join us for a night out on the town?"

Bethany looked around at everyone; her face said that she was hopeful that she was included in "ladies."

"I don't know," Caitlin began. "I kind of want to get settled in, and—" Alexis looked at Caitlin, and opened her eyes wide and pushed her head forward. "
But
," Caitlin continued, "this is our first night as college students, so I guess we might as well have some fun."

"Great!" Garret started back out the door. "We're going to head out around ten. Ladies. Bethany." She blushed.

Evan stood up and headed for the door, too. "Okay, I have some unpacking to do. It was great to meet you," he said, looking at Alexis. Then, he looked at the other two girls, "All of you. I'll see you guys tonight."

***

"Wow ... you're beautiful."

"Thanks, Bethany," Caitlin said, laughing. She wasn't arrogant about it, but she knew that Bethany was right. She wasn't tall, about five two, but most guys didn't like really tall girls anyway. She was lean without being bony, and her legs were strong from all of the running she did. Her hair was a thick cascade of brown and gold curls that fell almost to her waist, and her eyes were brilliant and green. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a black top that accented her substantial curves. She took care of herself, sure, but Caitlin knew that she had been born pretty, and she was grateful.

"What about you?" Caitlin asked. "What are you wearing tonight?"

"Oh, I ... I don't think I'm going. It's ... really just not my thing."

"What about Garret? Garret seemed like he was your thing."

Bethany's face turned a fierce crimson. "You saw that, huh?"

Caitlin smiled. "Relax, I'm not judging. But yeah, I could tell that you were interested. You two know each other?"

"Only kinda. He helped me carry my stuff in, and we sat and talked for a while. He's ... fun."

Wow. The boys across the hall sure were chivalrous. "So why don't you come out with us?"

Bethany screwed up her face. "Because, Caitlin. I'm not you. I'm not like you. I'm not confident, I'm not fun, I'm not beautiful. Garret is cute, sure. But we both know nothing's going to happen, and I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. So I'm just going to stay home and read, and maybe try out the massaging shower head."

Caitlin was surprised. She had suspected that Bethany was thinking something like that, but she hadn't expected her to be so, so
blunt
about it. She had expected her to make an excuse about being tired or something.

"Bethany, I don't know what to say. No, actually, I do. You're an idiot."

Bethany did a double take. "I'm, I, what now?"

"You're a big stupid-head. Have you looked in a mirror?"

"Um, yeah, I have. That's the point."

"No, it's not the point. Have you seen those movies, where a girl's wearing glasses and overalls, and then some boy comes along, and she takes off her glasses and puts on a skirt and lets her hair down, and then she's totally hot?
That's you.
You are totally the plain/hot girl next door."

Bethany looked skeptical, but Caitlin wasn't going to allow any argument. "Trust me. I'm a photographer, I'm supposed to know when a person can be pretty. And you, babe, you are. Tell you what ... why don't you let me do your makeup and fix your hair, and then we'll just wait and see what Garret's reaction is. Do you have contacts?"

"Yeah, but I, I don't really wear them."

"Well let's start there. Go put in your contacts, and then we'll fix you up."

Bethany smiled a bit, and looked down at the floor. "Um, okay, then. But I don't know what I'm going to wear."

"Let me worry about that. We can look through your closet, or maybe you can borrow something. I'm pretty sure some of my stuff would fit you."

"Okay," Bethany said with another shy smile.

When she came back, Caitlin put Bethany in a chair and went to work. She was used to making people up for a photo shoot, and while she had to be more subtle for real-life, the principle was the same. You just needed to draw attention to the best parts, and play down any flaws. Then a little bit of work on the hair, and ...

"Hey, can I get some help picking ... whoa." Alexis had stuck her head around the corner, and was looking at Bethany with wide eyes. "Who's the hottie?"

"You really think I look good?" Bethany asked, smiling.

"Garret is going to be putty in your hands. Well, hopefully not for too long, but whatever. Can I get a ruling over here?"

"Sure," Caitlin said. "What's up?"

"Not entirely sure what to wear tonight. I was thinking black lace," she held up a set of underwear, "but then I was thinking, maybe Evan is more of a white bread kind of guy, and that might be too much, so ..." She held up a plainer set of cotton boy shorts.

Caitlin laughed. "You don't think you're moving a
bit
fast? I mean, you've known him for what, ten hours?"

"Hey," Alexis said, "we made a real, deep connection in our long, long minutes together. And I plan to make a longer, deeper connection later tonight. Besides, what's college for, if you can't make terrible decisions with possible life-altering consequences?"

"Okay, okay," Caitlin said, spreading her hands. "I'd go with black lace."

"Me, too," Bethany said. She was still staring at the flimsy material. "Where did you
get
those?"

Alexis laughed. "We'll take you shopping this weekend. Okay, black lace it is. Now where did I leave my handcuffs ...?"

Caitlin and Bethany looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. Well, at least the girl knew what she wanted.

"Come on," Caitlin said, "let's go find you something to wear."

***

They all fit inside Evan's car, but just barely; Evan and Garret sat in the front, and the three girls had to squeeze together in the back. Alexis, because she was the smallest, was kind of on the others' laps.

Fortunately, Indigo was only about ten minutes away. Less fortunately, it seemed like Evan was right; it was
the
club in town, and it looked like the entire campus had shown up.

The club was a big warehouse, two stories tall. Caitlin could feel the
thump thump thump
of music from where they parked, and strobe lights flashed through some of the windows. The entrance was a heavy metal door, and the line of people waiting to get inside stretched almost a block.

"Are you sure you guys want to do this?" Caitlin asked. "I mean, it looks like we're going to be standing out here all night."

"Of course we want to do this!" Alexis said.

"I don't know," Garret said. "I mean, I'm pretty sure there are a couple of places just down the road that we could get right into."

"But doesn't the line mean this place is popular?" Bethany said. Her eyes were on the ground, and her voice was a little hard to make out over the bass, but she pressed on. "I mean, there wouldn't be this many people in line if it wasn't awesome, right?"

"See!" Alexis said.

Caitlin smiled. "Fine. I'm in."