The Secret Crush (2 page)

I
POPPED A PIECE OF
kettle corn into my mouth and smiled as I watched Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy woo Elizabeth Bennet. It was my all-time favorite movie, and I never grew tired or watching it. The romance of the 1800s was on point. It frustrated me that I was born in a decade where a guy’s version of pursuing a girl was asking to see her boobs on SnapChat. No flowers. No love letters. Just “Facebook Official”—which was way lame.

Grabbing the last few kernels, I shoved them into my mouth and stopped pining after fictional characters. I went back to avoiding the blank piece of paper mocking me on my lap. The only thing I’d managed to write over the last hour of brainstorming was the title and several flower doodles.

“This project is never going to get done,” I mumbled.

“Still nothing?” My best friend and roommate Piper asked me, digging into our dorm fridge for a bottle of water. As much as we’d wanted a house off-campus this year, we’d lucked out getting a private senior suite. It was way cheaper than anything we would have found in town, so the dorms it was.

“At this rate, I’ll have graduated before I think of something.”

The girls of my sorority, Gamma Delta, had voted me social chair this year. It was the social chair’s responsibility to come up with and organize a fundraiser for charity. Our sorority had a proud tradition of giving back to our small town community, and it now fell on my shoulders to continue that. I didn’t want to do the typical car wash or—in an epic-fail fashion from last year—a “Girls of Gamma Delta” bikini calendar. The only people who had bought it were creepers using it for their spank bank. Gross.

I shook my head, chewing on my pen cap. “Last year we raised over five thousand dollars for charity, but I don’t want to do something stupid like the calendar. I want to do something that’s going to generate a lot of money for the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity without making us all feel disgusting in the process.”

Piper pursed her lips, coming to sit next to me on the couch. “What about a casino night?”

“No, the dean vetoed all gambling options a few years ago. We can’t even have a raffle.”

Piper sank back into the couch, pulling her socked feet up under her as she stared into the empty popcorn bowl. “We’re going to need more sustenance if we’re going to come up with an epic idea. Maybe a change of scenery will help. C’mon, let’s go down to The Beanery. I think JT is working tonight, and you know he’ll hook us up with free drinks. I’m pretty sure he has a major crush on you.”

“He does not!”

She raised her eyebrows. “Trust me, I’ve seen the way he stares at your ass when you turn to leave. He does.”

I glanced out at the frost already forming on the window, ignoring her last comment. It was only the beginning of October, but already temperatures were dropping into the thirties at night. By this rate, we’d have snow by Halloween.

The word “no” was on the tip of my mouth when Piper added, “I know you can’t resist a pumpkin spice latte. And they have those delicious salted caramel cupcakes too…”

That did it. I changed out of my plaid flannel pajama pants into a pair of skinny jeans and shoved my feet into a pair of Uggs. After running a brush quickly through my hair, I grabbed my ΓΔ hoodie and pulled it on as we headed for the door.

The Beanery was one of Westin University’s most popular late-night destinations. It was located right in the heart of campus. They were also open until three in the morning, so whether you were cramming for an exam or just bored and looking to hang out, you went to The Beanery. I wasn’t surprised at all that it was packed tonight, and I spotted several of my friends. I waved and made my way to the end of the line, which was long.

Davis Chapman sidled up next to me, throwing his arm around both Piper and me. “Hey, ladies. Coming to the Kappa Rho party tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” Piper shrugged, giving him a little wink. She’d been not-so-subtly flirting with Davis for several months. Not that one could blame her. He was crazy-hot with piercing green eyes and blond hair shaved into a buzz cut, resembling a hot Marine out of uniform or something. “You gonna get us VIP?”

Several of the frats now offered a VIP service, with real cups and good alcohol unlike everyone else who just got whatever was cheapest in the keg. It mostly went to the girlfriends or hookups of the brothers, but exceptions were made from time to time.

Davis looked us both up and down. “For you lovely ladies? Of course!”

“Then we’ll be there,” Piper announced, leaning her head on his shoulder. “There a theme?”

Davis raked his eyes over Piper’s backside. She wore thick black leggings that only amplified her curvy figure, paired with a thin long-sleeve T-shirt and a thick faux fur vest that cinched at the waist with a belt. She was completely adorable and looked like she was ready to hit the ski slopes.

“Nah, just show up looking good like always.” He turned to me. “You’re coming, too, right, Hadley?”

I tried to hide my shock that he even asked. I didn’t even think Davis knew my name. He was the captain of the lacrosse team and had girls flocking all over him. Sure, we had a lot of the same friends, but we rarely talked.

“Yeah, I can make it.”

A smile stretched across his face. “Fantastic. I’ll be sure your names are added to the list. See ya then!”

He waltzed out of line, high-fiving a few guys who occupied a corner booth. Carter Jennings, one of the guys on the football team, smiled at me as I turned back to Piper, who looked practically giddy. “Did that just happen?”

I laughed. “Yep.”

“Next!” The barista called, and I scooted up in line. The girl serving was from my pediatric psychology class. We both were Child Development majors, so we’d had a lot of the same classes over the years. I gave her a little wave.

“Hey, Trina! I’ll have a small pumpkin spice latte and one of the salted caramel cupcakes, please.” I handed her my dining hall card, but she held up her hand.

“Already been taken care of.”

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Trina shrugged. “Someone placed an online order a few minutes ago, said you’d be in, and ordered your drink. Pre-paid. It’s down at the counter waiting for you.”

Confusion must have been evident on my face, because she pointed with her finger to where, sure enough, a drink and a cupcake sat.

“Um, thanks then.”

I stepped out of line and grabbed the cup, staring at it while Piper ordered. It had my name written on the cup, along with a winky face. I could see a few more letters peeking out from under the cardboard sleeve, so I slid it down. Underneath was written: “Just like you—sweet and spicy. ~ Your Secret Crush”

Piper gasped when I held it up for her before she started squealing. “Oh, my gawd! That is sooo cute! You’re such a lucky bitch.”

I chuckled at her dramatics, but still couldn’t believe it. I looked up at JT, a guy from my philosophy class who was making the drinks. He shrugged. “I just wrote what he told me to write.”

“Who told you to write it?”

JT smirked. “Couldn’t tell ya. Order came in from our online system. No name.”

I gazed around the crowded café, looking for anyone who seemed to be paying extra attention to me. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Did I really have a secret admirer who bought me drinks?

It was such a sweet thing to do. Something Mr. Darcy would do. But why wouldn’t they just say something to me? And why all the secrecy?

CHAPTER THREE

T
HE WAY HER EYES LIT up when she saw the message? The small, crooked grin on her face as she glanced around, looking for the source of the note?

Worth every penny.

I couldn’t wait to tell her it was me all along.

CHAPTER FOUR

P
IPER JUMPED UP AND DOWN
next to me, scooping up my cupcake as I replaced the sleeve on the hot drink before we went to find a seat.

“Who do you think it is?” she asked.

I shrugged, still in shock. “I honestly have no clue.”

“You don’t think it’s Brent trying to get back together, do you?”

I scrunched my nose in disgust. “God, I hope not. Besides, I haven’t even seen him in months. He’s been laying super low since all that went down with the dean.”

“Good. I hate that asshole.” She slid into the table. “This is so exciting!”

“What’s exciting?” Aiden asked as we joined him and everyone else at a table.

“Hadley has a secret crush!”

The table seemed to all stop what they were doing and turn in my direction at once. I could feel the heat rising from my neck and flushing my cheeks.

Two of our sorority sisters, Gabriella and Chloe, along with a few of our guy friends, Aiden and Ethan, and Chloe’s twin brother, Caleb all sat around the table.

The entire group was waiting on my explanation, and I just wanted to crawl under a rock. The center of attention was not my favorite place to be.

“Nothing, never mind.” I tried to redirect the group. “I really need help coming up with an idea for the fundraiser.”

Chloe groaned. “Anything but a calendar. Please don’t make me do that again.”

“Or a bikini car wash,” Gabriella added. “Nothing that requires me to take my clothes off. It’s way too cold for that shit.”

“No way. Never again.” I took a sip of my latte, savoring the warmth as it slid down my throat. There really was no better time of year than pumpkin latte time.

“What if we did like a pumpkin patch or something?” Gabi asked.

The thought was intriguing. “It’s a great idea, but where would we get all the pumpkins?”

She pouted. “Yeah, I guess.”

“How about a carnival?” Ethan chimed in.

“Still a lot of resources. We need something without a lot of overhead so we can keep more of the profits. The less we spend up front, the more we can donate.”

Aiden snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it! Haunted house.”

Piper clapped her hands together. “Ooh! Yes! That’s perfect. We can get the sisters to volunteer, and maybe some of the guys from one of the frats—”

Ethan added, “I know Kappa Rho would love to scare the bejesus out of a bunch of girls, jumping out of dark corners and stuff.”

It really was a great idea, but only if we could work out the logistics. “Where would we put it?”

Everyone sat silent for a minute thinking.

“What if we used the Chester farmhouse out on 210?” Caleb suggested. “It’s been abandoned for like, two years, and I bet we could talk the real estate agent into letting us use it since it’s for charity. It’s definitely big enough, and since it’s abandoned, it’ll add that extra layer of spooky.”

Excitement stirred across the table. It was perfect. I took my pen and notebook out of my bag and started writing furiously as everyone threw out ideas.

“We could even maybe add like a corn maze!”

“We’d need a corn field for that, moron!”

“What if we sold hot chocolate and cider at the entrance when you buy a ticket?”

“This is going to be way better than a carnival.”

“And a thousand times better than that stupid calendar.”

“Wait.” Piper sighed. “It’s over a mile down a dirt road and parking is tight. People aren’t going to want to walk that far in the cold, and no way could we get like twenty cars at once.”

Crap. She was right. “Isn’t there a pharmacy like right at the end of the road? Maybe people could park there.”

“And what, walk the rest of the way? In the dark? When it’s barely thirty degrees out?”

A wide grin came over Aiden’s face. “Hayride.”

“What?” Gabi asked.

“We could get a tractor or even a pick-up truck or something and tow a flatbed full of hay. Like a haunted hayride thing. Get people in the spirit.”

The entire table erupted again, everyone throwing around ideas and getting excited. I wrote down everything people said until my hand started to cramp. I really should have brought my laptop instead.

“This is going to be epic,” Chloe squeed.

Her brother rolled his eyes at her excitement. “It really is.”

We spent the next three hours planning out every detail, from how much to charge for tickets to where to get donations for supplies. Piper used her iPhone to research the owner of the property while the twins found where we could get hay and other decorations. Our cups had long gone empty, but we were too in the zone to notice.