Rose" What kind of place? " I asked suspicious of all her enthusiasm." 'A Victorian townhouse, it was built a few years after this one, it's not that well maintained, you'll have to do a few renovations, like replacing some broken windows and peeling wallpaper " she explained " But since the house has been without tenants for a while, I can make the rent for a great value for you.”" Sounds great," Liam smiled.I exchanged a not-so-confident glance with Christian. There's some kind of catch in this proposal! But anyway, we decided to follow the realtor to the new address that wasn't too far from there, and when I stopped in front of the house, I knew exactly why she was smiling." She's got to be kidding!”" You didn't expect a place as nice as the last one, did you? It's already clear that we can't afford it," Christian pointed out, getting out of the car to meet the others who were already waiting for us in front of the house.I followed him, still looking at the big house in fron
Rose I used the spatula to work on the wet clay, separating the legs of the male model I was sculpting for my work, starting to work on the muscles of the thighs, trying to make the model as realistic as possible." Rose, I swear, if anyone finds out about this…”I raised my face, smiling as I admired Christian completely naked in the middle of the room, looking a little uncomfortable with the situation in general." Chris, no one will know it's you, and even if they do, would it be so bad? I promise to be very generous." I winked at him, teasing him.He approached the desk that I had lined with newspaper to work without much dirt, resting his hand on the wood, leaning towards me, making me put the sculpture aside for a moment." Don't you get tired of manipulating me to get everything you want? " he asked with his face just inches from mine.I reached up, giving my boyfriend a brief kiss, catching his bottom lip with my teeth, tugging lightly before pulling away." The point is, I d
Rose "You really want to convince me that you weren't doing anything at lunch, come on, you spent two hours locked in your room " Liam teased me as we left." Liam, do you really want to know what they were doing? " Theo laughed." That's none of our business, the two of them have already admitted that they’re together, there's no reason to give any other explanation " Sky scolded her boyfriend.I remained silent, walking with the group through the campus, heading towards the housing. I knew what Liam was trying to find out, but I hadn't decided whether or not to tell him about the sculpture." It's not like they're two rabbits, they used to run away at lunchtime because they didn't have much time, now they're practically living together," Liam pointed out.I rolled my eyes, trying to remain silent." If I were Chris, I wouldn't leave the room," Theo shrugged, looking awkwardly at us all as we turned towards him, "Why are you looking at me like that?” Did he even hear what you just
Rose Yes, it was still winter, but Wayne had told us that he had set everything up so that we could enjoy the heated pools at a tropical-themed party, and all the most popular and influential people from the college would be there. And as much as we couldn't stand the presence of some of those people, we weren't going to be left off that list." Are you girls really going to wear bikinis? " Cam blinked dazedly as we walked up the stairs." Of course, what else do we wear? It's a pool party! " I frowned." No, it's just that I always wear swimsuits " the girl explained " I don't even own a bikini.”" Ohhh, that's the problem? You can go in a swimsuit, there's no problem " I tried to reassure her." Do you think anyone else will wear a swimsuit? " She asked.I thought for a second, surely there would be someone with a swimsuit there, she shouldn't worry about that." Of course! " I smiled in response. " Are you going to wear one? " She asked hopefully when we were already entering my
RoseI found the bikini Liam had given Skyller as a present and held it up, taking pleasure in watching my friend's face turn red." Why am I not surprised? " I laughed." He might dream that I'll wear this in public at some point, but it's not going to happen.' She snatched it out of my hand, pocketing it and putting it in the bottom of her bag." That was the smallest thing I've ever seen,' Cam laughed." What about this one? " I offered a vintage high waist option with a navy blue top with white polka dots and a blue bottom with white stripes on the waistband and delicate red contour lines highlighting the piece " If you get a hat, Theo will die when he sees you!”" Oh my God, Rose! " Cam blushed." I agree with her on that one! You're going to be perfect! " Sky endorsed the chorus." And despite what you've said, I doubt you've never been curious to see what he looks like," I teased her and for a second, I thought the girl might faint right there." I've seen it by accident once,
ChristianI was lying in an armchair in the common area of the dorm, fiddling with my cell phone to kill time while I waited for the girls. I couldn't deny that I was anxious, this would be the first time Rose and I would go out as a couple and make our relationship known to everyone, but still, I tried to look disinterested.Since I was the first to be ready I was alone there, hoping my friends would show up soon while I exchanged messages with my sister.You're telling me she took that story? Really?You talk like it was so easy. It was hell until she decided to listen to meWait a second, I want all the detailsBefore I could respond, a video call popped up on the screen, making me snort before accepting it." Can you be a little less gossipy? " I teased her." I'm not a gossip, I'm looking out for you, right Vihn? " she retorted with a smile on her face."Sure, Christian, speak loudly, I can't stop what I'm doing and I want to hear it too," the man asked, making me snort once agai
Christian" You haven't said anything to me yet, and you didn't even lose your breath when you saw me, so I guess I'll have to wait until I get to the party, right?" Rose teased me as soon as we entered Brigitte's." What? " I frowned, casting a brief glance at her before starting the car." I thought I couldn't look stunning all the time, so I decided to let you all dazzle me with my beauty at the party,” she winked at me.I know she expected me to make some acid comment about her ego, or give her some compliment, but my mind was still stuck on her reaction from before." Rose, what was that?” " What do you mean?” I divided my attention between Brigitte's direction and her face. Does she really not understand what was wrong? " You ducked when I went to kiss you,” I pointed out." Well, we were in the middle of the common area, why would you do that in front of everyone? " she returned the question." 'Why wouldn't I? You're my girlfriend!”" But we agreed that we would keep it jus
RoseI remained standing in the same place, watching Christian walk away. Yes, I was still annoyed with him for his insistence on that subject, and I was willing to make him suffer at that party, but his last sentence broke me.Of course, I didn't think that people would replace me just because my parents made those jokes, after all, I know it's not for real and they love me, but... Why did that make me want to cry? " Rose, aren't you coming? " Sky turned to me as Christian followed without looking back."Of course,” I forced a smile, walking back towards the stairs.We followed the staff's instructions, passing through a glass door and down a small staircase before reaching another opening covered by a curtain where the lively music was coming from.Liam pulled the curtain aside for us to pass through, and as soon as I found myself in the hall, I lost my breath a little. The place was large with double"height ceilings, exposed brick walls interspersed with large panes of glass that
Christian"Did you hear Liam's speech? "Rose asked.I turned my head to the side to watch her, she was sitting on the floor next to the bed, wearing only my boxer shorts while drawing on a pad. No one had come home yet and we were enjoying the silence.I felt exhausted after everything that had happened over the last few days, I couldn't believe that this nightmare had finally come to an end. After getting home and taking a long shower with Rose, the only thing I could do was lie down and stare at the ceiling in my room, imagining how everything would happen from then on."Could you not hear? "I sneered."Do you think he was serious about his vision of the future? "she turned her face to look at me."I don't know, maybe. But...I kept quiet, wondering what exactly I was going to say. Because more and more the whole scenario he described came to life in my mind, and every second I found it more enjoyable."But? "New Orleans is a nice city. We could live near each other and... I can se
ChristianI sat down, taking the bottle of beer from my sister, taking a sip before she grabbed the bottle from my hand and slapped me upside the head."Your father-in-law has guaranteed that you'll beat Bobby and Otto at pool, they've never lost at the bar "My father pointed to the table where Rose and Jack were getting ready to start the game."My father-in-law is... a bit competitive. Rose got that from him," I commented."A bit? That's a joke, right? Last time the two of them ended up in a snow race just to break a tie in a series of board games "Cam rolled his eyes."Snow race? "My mother raised both eyebrows."While they were taking off their clothes," Theo added."Taking their clothes off? "Amber choked next to me."They had a series of target games in the middle of the course, and every time they missed they had to take off a piece. At the end of the race, he was only wearing shorts and boots and she was wearing a gym top, shorts and boots "I explained, taking the bottle of be
ChristianI stopped the bike in a parking space in front of the bar where Rose met Josh at the beginning of the year. I frowned as everyone got off their bikes there. That place wasn't one of my favorites and Rose must have known that, since we hadn't been back there since everything happened.She got off before me, taking off her helmet, running her fingers through her hair to adjust it and standing next to me when she noticed my hesitation in getting off the bike."Come on, it's about time we gave this place a second chance "she winked at me "let's enjoy it like we should have done that day. That was enough to convince me, so I took off my helmet and got off the bike. From there we could hear a band playing a cover of Aerosmith. Everyone started to enter the venue, not bothering to wait for me. I took a deep breath, slung my arm around Rose's shoulder and started heading towards the entrance. Both Rose and I ended up with the backs of our hands stamped indicating that we were unde
ChristianI was lying in bed, watching the sunset light coming through the small window in the corridor facing the cell I occupied. My cell was the only one occupied in the police station, and that was no surprise. In a town as quiet as Grayfox Mills, it was difficult to see any movement at the police station during the week, when all the university students were busy with their classes.Everything I wanted. To get on with my classes without having to deal with some asshole who decided to play with my girl! But that asshole made it impossible.I'd been there for over twenty-four hours, and that had been enough time to calm my mind, at least as far as Jax was concerned. But even though I'd taken a few naps during the day, I couldn't stop imagining how Rose was doing, the look on her face as I was handcuffed never left my mind, and I just wanted the chance to talk to my girlfriend and make sure she was okay.My biggest concern with everything that had happened was just her. I didn't reg
RoseMy gaze wandered around that hellish scene without knowing what to do. Everything unfolded in slow motion in front of me. On one side, Jax was lying, moaning in pain in a pool of his own blood, being supported by a waiter. His friends were on the other side, keeping some distance with an expression that ranged from surprise to fear, keeping as much distance as possible from Christian, who was standing next to me with both hands raised in a sign of surrender after handing Theo the keys to the bike. The sidewalk outside was starting to fill up as well, several people crowded near the glass window watching what was happening, some taking pictures or filming with their cell phones as the police approached us." Dad, do something " I begged for a magic solution, one that would stop my boyfriend from being taken by those men. "Chris..." I tried to put one of his hands down to pull him to me, but he stood his ground, looking the other way while someone talked to one of the policemen,
Christian" Chris, you heard the dean, he'll probably be expelled... CHRIS! " Rose raised her voice as I stood up, heading for the exit." What's his problem?”" Damn it, Christian, get back here! " I heard Rose call before I got into the elevator that was standing on the floor, not waiting for her to arrive to press the button to close the doors.I checked the time on my watch, great, it's right on lunch break time, I'll find this bastard and finish him off wherever he is. Deciding not to waste any time, I got on the bike, driving inside the campus, heading towards the main cafeteria. I stopped the Harley anyway at the entrance to the cafeteria, ignoring the stares I was attracting, I opened the door without a care, looking around for my target. But to my dismay, the son of a bitch was nowhere to be found." Chris, what are you doing here? " I heard Sky's voice approaching.I turned towards her voice, finding her standing next to Theo with a frown as she watched me." 'O'Donnel, hav
ChristianSavannah and her friends stood up, looking satisfied with the outcome of that little meeting. All they wanted was to make sure that they would not be involved in that situation and they succeeded. " So? You can start " Rose took a deep breath with her arms crossed. " 'We're going to talk in a meeting with the dean,” Savannah said." 'That wasn't agreed,” Addison pointed out." We haven't agreed on anything yet, Mrs. Miller, and we're just making sure we don't get involved in any of this,” she returned.It was at that moment that Jack decided to get involved, seeming not to agree with the proposal." 'We're not going to guarantee any of this without knowing what you have to say.”" We can guarantee that Alicia and Audrey are responsible for everything, we will give the names of all those involved and we will tell you in detail everything we have discovered. " Savannah said " we even have message exchanges to prove it.”Everyone considered that information for a second befor
ChristianI hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen, finding Jack and Addison in an uncomfortable silence. Their gazes fell on me as soon as I walked through the door, causing me to stall in my seat." What?”" Were you arguing? " Addison asked." Ohhh no... Rose is just frustrated with the situation, I suggested she paint a little to distract herself " I explained " I was supposed to bring her breakfast at the studio.”" I'll do it," Addison volunteered, getting up.I didn't argue with the woman, sitting down in the same place as before, accepting the muffin Jack handed me. We sat there, eating in silence for a few minutes, until the sound of the doorbell interrupted us. Jack signaled for me to remain in my seat, getting up to go answer the door.Frowning, I remained silent, trying to hear something to find out who was at the door, but they were either talking very quietly, or not at all. I stood up, deciding to satisfy my curiosity at once, that's when Addison's voice reached m
ChristianI turned over in my bed, watching the face of Rose, who slept next to me curled up in a fetal position. My room was small and we didn't usually sleep there, but Rose couldn't bear the thought of sleeping in her room that night and I couldn't blame her. My girlfriend that day did not show all the usual tranquility when sleeping, which sometimes left me in doubt whether or not she had suddenly died in her sleep. On the contrary, she spent the whole night restless, and was not even sleeping on her stomach as usual.The silence outside the room showed that our classmates had probably already gone to class, only the two of us were left behind, trapped in our private hell. Deciding to let her rest a little longer, I got up, going to get dressed and brush my teeth before heading downstairs.The house itself seemed deserted, silence dominated the upper floor. I looked at the open door of Theo's room, where Jack ended up sharing the bed with Addison that night, finding the place empt