Chapter 1

Meet Frazier Ronan. He’s the meanest of mean, a notorious bad boy who always gets what he wants when he wants in the way he wants. There’s nothing he wants more than a sassy brunette girl who drives him crazy at the college party, Autumn Summers.

She’s done something no female has ever done before, she turned him down. In public.

Right now, he’s hellbent to make her college life a living hell.

* * * * * * *

TYLER POV

I dumped the rest of my clothes onto my bed and took the suitcase out of the cupboard. I’d meet with Autumn, Jess, and Colton in a few hours. The day has finally come for all of us to leave D.C. and started our university life in New York.

I opened the suitcase and put it on the bed next to the piles of clothes. I knew I didn’t have to bring all of them but putting them all on the bed helped me choose which one to bring. My eyes immediately fall upon a blue T-shirt and grabbed it. It was the same T-shirt Autumn had told me to wear the first time she spent the night here. I folded the shirt and put it in the suitcase. I smiled as I grabbed the plain black T-shirt, one that she wore the same night, and put that in as well. The rest of the clothes I picked randomly and in a few minutes, it was packed and ready to go.

My phone buzzed and I fished it out of the front pocket of my jeans. I frowned. It was an unknown number. “Hello?” I cradled my phone in the crook of my neck, pinning it between my ear and shoulder, as I grabbed my suitcase and put it on the floor.

A deep voice greeted me, “Tyler Vincent. It’s been a long time.”

I froze, unable to move or speak. I knew this voice too well that it sent chills down my spine.

“I’ve told you before, you can’t run away from me. New York isn’t that far away. In fact, no place on earth is really that far for me. I will always find you,” the man paused for a moment before he continued, “Don’t worry I won’t do anything as long as you come back. I promise I won’t even touch that lovely girlfriend of yours. You have my word.” The call ended.

I stayed still for a few minutes, so many thoughts ran inside my head. It was stupid of me to think that I could escape him. Incredibly stupid. Yet I could care less about myself, I was more worried about Autumn.

A sound coming from the door brought me back to reality. I turned to watch Autumn standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. “Ready to go?”

At that moment I knew, I’d do anything, absolutely anything, to keep her safe. “Yeah.” I nodded and forced myself to smile.

* * * * * * *

Autumn POV

I woke up with the feeling of being watched. My lids fluttered open and I turned to stare into a pair of brilliant dark eyes only a few inches from my face. A smile appeared on his face, he leaned down and lightly bit my shoulder.

Every time our eyes locked, I remembered the first time I had looked up into those dark hazel eyes. I’d been so incredibly naïve and he’d been so impossibly handsome. I’ve too caught up with the status quo, dismissing him just because he was a nerd. Who would’ve thought that we’d be here, sleeping on the same bed in an apartment in NYC, two years later?

“Good morning,” he said against my skin, sending warm shivers all over my body.

I stretched my body and groaned at the stiffness and soreness yesterday had made me. We had spent the whole day unpacking and getting ready for the first day of school on Monday. I couldn’t wait for orientation and university life. I’ve been waiting for the last two years of high school to finally get here.

“Morning.” I smiled and kissed his forehead lightly. “What time is it?” I stretched my sore body one more time.

Ty glanced at the small clock on the nightstand beside him. “It’s half-past eleven.”

“Oh my God!” I sat up and the white sheet slid to my waist. “It’s late! I’m late!” “A sudden knot of panic kicked up the beat of my heart and tightened my stomach. “Jess is going to kill me!” I sprang out of bed and started to pick up my discarded clothes on the floor. I dumped them in the laundry basket and glanced over my shoulder at Ty who was still sitting cross-legged on the bed. He has been watching me move around like a naked crazy person.

Slowly he raised his gaze up to my body and he looked deeply into my eyes. Those dark eyes filled with lust yet there was an adoring look on his face. He looked damn adorable and I was tempted to cancel my meeting with Jess just so I could spend more time in bed with him.

An idea popped into my head. I went to the drawer and quickly took out the Polaroid camera. “What are you doing?” asked Ty from behind.

“Stay still.” I took a photo of him sitting on the bed. Once the result came out, I handed both the camera and the photo to him. “Shake it for me, please.” He frowned. Ty wasn’t a big fan of having his photo taken, he always thought that he looked ridiculous in photos. However, he loved taking photos of me. Almost every time we went out together, he always took photos of me, sometimes even secretly when I didn’t notice or have time to pose. He stopped complaining about me taking photos of him once I told him I wouldn’t let him take photos of me unless he let me do the same to him. Now he simply pouts instead of complaining.

His hand grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me down for a kiss. I quickly put my hand to cover my mouth. “I haven’t brushed my teeth!”

Ty rolled his eyes as his other hand grabbed my hand and brought it down. “And I don’t give a damn.” I was going to complain further but once his lips touched mine, all my worries melted away. We kissed for a while until we both ended up breathless. “That to keep me in your mind while you’re hanging out with Jess.”

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes at him. “You know you had nothing to worry about, right?” I brushed the lock on his forehead away and massaged his ear, something I knew he liked me to do. After dating him for two years, I’ve picked up a few little things about him that I hadn’t known before.

Ty leaned down and kissed the back of my ear softly. Just like me, he picked up a few little things about me as well. “How can I not worry when there are so many guys around who can’t keep their eyes elsewhere?” His breath fanning the sensitive spot below my ear sent shivers down my spine.

It was his first time getting jealous over a small remark made by a guy in the bar last night. I honestly have already forgotten the guy’s face and what he had said, but apparently, Ty had both stuck in his head. “Are you still thinking about what the guy from last night said?” I let out a deep sigh. “I’ve forgotten his words and his face and you should too.” I kissed the top of his head and went to the bathroom to have a quick shower. I’ve promised Jess that we’d meet up after we got settled and right now, I was thirty minutes late.

* * *

“I’m sorry I’m late!” I plopped down on the seat in front of her, dropped my bag on the floor, and opened the menu on the table in front of me. Unlike back in D.C., the waiters and waitresses in New York didn’t wait long before asking for our orders. Perks of living in a city where everyone was busy and needed a quick meal.

Jess raised the cup to her lips and took a sip. “It’s okay.” She gave me a reassuring smile, being generous as always even when I was one hour late. “I just came. Colton didn’t wake me up and I was so tired that I couldn’t even hear my alarm.” Jess shook her head. “Damn, I miss my mom yelling at me from downstairs, telling me that I was late for school.”

I could only smile instead of nodding along. My mom has always been up before everyone else since she had an early broadcast in the morning and had to reach the station by six to get her hair and makeup done. “I miss Steven yelling ‘good morning, sunshine’. Though I hated it whenever he did that.”

Jess’ hands reached for mine on the table and she squeezed it lightly. “We’re finally here!” Her face showed the excitement she had within her. “I almost can’t believe it when I woke up this morning and nearly kicked Colton out of bed.” She let out a giggle and I laughed.

“See,” I countered as I squeezed her hand back. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You two aren’t just high school sweethearts.” All through high school, Jess had always been worried that she and her boyfriend of four years, Colton Barnes, would break up once they finished high school. Yet here she was, in New York, living with Colton as they attended the same university, NYU, together.

She frowned a little. “Shame that we have to live apart,” said Jess, referring to the fact that I lived in Broadway, Upper Manhattan, while Jess lived in Lower Manhattan. She and Colton pinched some money and rented a small loft near NYU.

“We’re close at hearts!” I tried to cheer her up. With Mey in Taiwan and Norma staying back in D.C., Jess was my only best friend left who lived in the same city although we were postal codes away. New York was such a big city compared to Washington. “We’ll go out often that it feels like we’re living close to each other, okay?”

Jess smile and nodded. “Okay! We’ll make time to meet despite our college life!” She gave my hand a little squeeze and I squeezed back. We grinned at each other just like we always did, back in D.C.

Nothing would change, everything would be just the same. Not even New York could change our friendship.

- - -

“Hey, let’s go check your university while we’re here!” said Jess once we went outside the cafe in downtown Manhattan.

We went to NYU yesterday but we haven’t got any chance to see Columbia. “Let’s go!”

It didn’t take long to get to Columbia since the cafe that we went to was only a few blocks away. We took our time by walking instead of calling a cab or taking a bus. We went to the school of business, the major I was enrolled in.

“Your campus is huge!” exclaimed Jess almost as soon as we arrived. “Carlton is nothing compared to this.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Carlton is just a high school, this is a university. You can’t compare the two.” I nudged her arm jokingly.

Mentioning Carlton brought back some memories. Those joyful times when we skipped the first period to celebrate Jess’ birthday, the spot behind the sports building where Ty and I shared a kiss under the pouring rain, the big hall where we had our proms, and so many other places in Carlton that we made meaningful memories. After all, we’ve spent four years of our lives there.

I let out a deep sigh and put my arm around Jess’ shoulders. “Damn. I really miss Carlton.” I told her what was in my mind.

Jess raised her hand and entwined her fingers with mine. “I know right,” she countered. “We spent four years wishing we could get out and move to NYC. But now that we’re finally here, we’re feeling homesick.”

We spent two hours walking around Columbia. Ignoring the look that everyone gave us, we kept saying ‘aww’ and ‘wow’ like kids in a toy store. Once our legs screamed their protest, we sat on the bench under the shade of a huge tree.

“How’re you feeling?” She looked up at me with a concerned look on her face. A small frown appeared on her forehead telling me her worries. “Tomorrow’s your first orientation day, right?”

“Yeah.” My brows lifted. “To be honest, I haven’t given much thought to it.” I’ve been unpacking these last two days. The small loft that Ty and I rented, wasn’t fully furnished. We ended up going to IKEA and buying some stuff. While Ty was trying to figure out how to set the small cabinet, I was unpacking our clothes and putting them in the drawers.

“Don’t worry. Just be yourself.” The small frown disappeared as her lips turned into a smile.

I groaned. “Everyone always gives that advice, but don’t you know how hard it is to be yourself when you’re nervous? Hell, I don’t even remember how I usually behave when I’m super nervous.” I kicked the small rock with the front of my boot, sending it straight to someone else’s shoes.

I wouldn’t give much thought if the person didn’t suddenly kick the rock and send it back to me. My eyes widened in surprise. I let my gaze follow the shoes up to a pair of beautiful dark brown eyes.

A guy with dark brown hair offered me a smile. “Hi, are you girls new here?” There was a trace of an accent in his voice but I couldn’t tell what accent it was.

Jess and I exchanged looks before she replied, “I’m not but she is.”

The guy gave a small nod. “I’m Irwin.” He held out his hand. Jess took his hand and shook it. “I’m Jess.”

I followed suit and introduced myself. “Autumn.”

“Like the season?” asked Irwin with a smirk. He would’ve rolled on the grass laughing if he knew my surname.

“Yes. Like the season,” I replied with a nod.

“So,” Irwin paused to clear his throat before continuing, “are you girls free tonight? We’re having a party.”

“Who’s we?” asked Jess. By the look on her face, I could tell that she was excited about the prospect of showing off her makeup skill. I stifled a groan and kept my mouth shut, choosing to be a spectator rather than a speaker.

Irwin shrugged. “Some seniors and newcomers.” He shifted his gaze to me and smiled. “Wanna come?”

“I don’t think--” I wasn’t able to finish my sentence since Jess suddenly nudged me on my ribs, causing me to flinch.

“We should come!” She faced me and winked. “We will come. Tell me when and where.” She turned to Irwin who was grinning from ear to ear like he just won a lottery.

“Give me your number, I’ll text you!” Again, his eyes were on me when he said that although he pulled his cell phone and saved Jess’ number when she told him hers. “I’ll see you girls tonight!” He beamed before leaving us to join a group of guys who were sitting on the grass a few feet away. Some of the guys slapped him on the back and they were all laughing like a typical group of college boys.

I took a deep breath. “Do we really have to go to that party?” My whole body was still feeling sore and I really could use some rest before the big day tomorrow. Plus, Ty had texted me saying that he had massaged me before bed tonight.

Jess looked at me like I was asking the obvious. “Duh?!” She turned to watch the guys sitting on the grass. “It’d help you break the ice. You’ll meet a bunch of people at the party. Some of the newcomers might be there as well, who knew there’ll be a few who are going to be your classmate?”

“But party means dressing up and pretending I’m having fun when I’m actually missing my bed at home,” I tried to argue.

Jess turned and gave me a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fun!”

I let out an exasperated sigh. “I doubt it.” Irwin caught my eyes and I shifted my gaze to the right. I had a bad feeling about this party. If only there was a way to change Jess’ mind.