Our apartment is on the 12th floor. The apartment is spacious and I can't help a grin stealing across my face when I take it in. When we walk in, a small foyer guides us deeper into the apartment. To the right is a large kitchen with an island and a steel fridge. Stools are already sitting at the breakfast bar. To the left, there's a living room, the walls a light charcoal gray.
Blair has already started decorating the living room. A large loveseat sits in the middle of the room in front of a large T.V. She's placed colorful throw pillows onto the couch artfully and already has a bowl of fruit in the middle of the coffee table. Off to the side is a set of doors that lead to the balcony. I can see plants resting on the railing underneath the sunlight.
I breathe in the stagnant air. It smells like the earth from all the plants Blair has brought and a hint of the humid summer air. It makes me feel energized after being confined to my house in California for the last few months. This smells like freedom and new chances.
We're only an hour into unpacking when a knock on the doorjamb grabs both Blair's and I's attention. There in the open door frame, with a wide mischievous grin, stands Eden Cummins.
Eden is one of those lucky men born with classic looks. He has a thick head of dark hair that's cropped at the sides but left curly at the front. His brown eyes have always been wide and expressive. Eden's face was one with almost no faults. His body was on the lean side, but he consistently worked on it and it showed when his flannel shirt stretched across his chest.
I dropped the bag I was holding on the floor and flew towards him. He prepares himself as I barrel into him and squeeze him with all my strength. Eden chuckles as he returns it, lifting me off my feet. His face nuzzles into my hair and I shove mine into his shirt.
"I thought I was going to have a peaceful day to unpack," I say into his chest. I don't mean it, ecstatic to see Eden. I almost choke up in his arms.
"Where's the fun in that?" His deep voice rumbled. Eden was my second closest friend. He was the person you met and instantly connected with. It felt like I had known him for years when we had met in freshman year.
"How was your spring semester?" I say as I draw back and finally let him breathe. He smiles softly as he tweaks my nose in a way that I hate.
"It was boring without you here." He replies just as softly. His eyes ran across my face and I let him take me in. Blair, Eden, and I were like the three musketeers. It wasn't the same when one was away from the others.
"You just wanted someone to go to gay clubs with you." I tease him as I usher him farther into our apartment.
Eden makes a sound of agreement. "You know what they say. One gay is a sad sight."
"Blair could have kept you company." I laugh. The thought of Blair going to a gay club sent me into hysterics.
Her blonde head, as if summoned, pops out her door as she glares at Eden. "To be fair to me, I offered after all his complaining. He wouldn't go with me."
"It's not the same when you take a straight person," Eden says aghast, like the mere suggestion of taking Blair would cramp his style. I immediately put Eden to work, handing him one of my bags and gesturing towards my room.
"Congrats on making primary gossip columnists," I yell at him from the kitchen where I drag a box labeled 'kitchen' towards me to open. I unpack a few pots and pans into their spot as Eden appears above me at the counter.
"Thank you, Jamie. I will rule with an iron fist." Since I met Eden, he has been the type to know everything and everybody, which is why he and Blair were both Journalism majors. They were thick as thieves and I had a feeling their professors dread having their names on the rosters.
"You're like the paparazzi." I scold. Eden shrugs it off before smiling widely.
"It's fixing to be a good year already. I have the first piece ready." He looks excited as he rubs his hands together in a villainous manner.
"School hasn't started yet and you're already tormenting the student body," I shake my head in mock disappointment and I reach for another box.
"That is the thing about journalism. If you move too slow, no one wants the story." Eden defends.
I hum and let him tell me about multiple stories he has stumbled across or interviews that he had already set up. I know Eden wanted to prove himself to the senior editor this year. It was only when he mentioned the two new students that my attention went to him.
"I'm going to do a welcome article about the new Colby students and that's sure to get me a few readers," He reaches forward to grab from the fruit basket on the counter. A loud bang comes from the hallway and both Eden and I jump as we turn towards the sound.
Blair rounds the corner, her eyes sparkling, as she abandoned whatever she was doing to come into the kitchen. Her eyes are firmly on Eden when she comes to a halt by him, "Who are they?" she demands almost breathless from excitement.
Eden, eager to share, leans in as if to share a secret, "They're the Colby's. Some hotshots from Georgia. They just enrolled and they're rolling in dough, even for Iverson standards."
Blair whistles at the knowledge and I have to admit, it's a lot of money. She and Eden share an exciting look. Eden continues and I watch as they gab like old ladies, "One is a very fine hunk with a very southern accent. I met him and almost melted."
"The scruffy one?" Blair perks up at the mention of the man from earlier.
"I call dibs on him," Eden quickly claims over the man. Blair's mouth drops open before she wails dramatically.
"No fair, you didn't give me a chance," Blair complains. Eden scoffs as he reaches over and grabs one banana on the counter.
"I'm not giving him up. His name is Leonidas, and it's destined between us," Eden bats his eyelashes at Blair's dejected face.
"How do you know anything about them? They just got here," I question, exasperated.
Eden sits forward and proudly exclaims, "I got a brief breakdown from admissions for one reason. You're looking at the welcoming committee. I get to show the new transfers around this semester."
For a second, I can only blink at him as I try to process his words. "We don't have a welcoming committee," The surprise heard in my voice. We don't. There is no actual point. Iverson doesn't accept transfers or new students, so there is no one to welcome.
Eden shrugs at my look, looking confused himself. "Look, not saying I'm not grateful that I get to be around that fine piece of meat-" Blair squawk out of her disapproval, clearly not likely competition for her price of the transfer, but Eden continues, "But, I didn't volunteer. Admissions pulled a few students to create one."
It's only when Eden lowers his voice, that I know he's about to tell us something that he overheard, "Apparently the college was told by their parents that the transfers were to have approved chaperons with them at all times."
"Approved chaperons," I muse while shaking my head, "What's that supposed to mean?" I give up on trying to unpack the kitchen and focus solely on Eden.
"It means," Blair weighs in, leaning over the counter, "That mommy and daddy Colby don't trust them to be by themselves."
I can't help but sputter at that. "You would know something about that, wouldn't you, Blair?"
Blair haughtily flips her hair but doesn't deny it and she can't. The summer before sophomore year, Blair had promised her parents she was attending a conference in California for an internship. She was cruising in the Bahamas with her old flavor of the month. The last week of their cruise, they had figured it out and had yet to let it go.
Eden clicks his tongue, shooting a thumb up at Blair, "Bingo. The parents don't trust the siblings but Iverson said 'Hell no'. Iverson can't have bodyguards or chaperons running around campus. It says in the Iverson brochure that they will treat everyone normally,' He proudly sticks out his chest, grinning from ear to ear as he proclaims, "So they brought in me."
"You lucky bastard." Blair breathes. I can tell that she's disappointed that she wasn't lucky enough to be a committee member. Eden leans back farther into his chair while crossing his hands behind his head, proudly.
"That boy is eye candy heaven. I swear my class being canceled was by the grace of God."
"You're not religious." I take the time to remind him.
"I am now."
I roll my eyes at him before allowing my thoughts to consume me. It had to be intimidating to transfer to a new college, let alone a private university full of stars. Trying to make friends and settle could be difficult. People typically made friends their freshman year, however, the Colby siblings were coming three years later. Hopefully, with Eden's help, they would find some good friends.
My focus comes back to the conversation when Blair grabs my shoulders and shakes a bit. "We have to celebrate that Jamie is back!" Blair squeals, "I hear they're doing a welcoming party at The Viper later this week," Blair bats her eyes at me.
The Viper was a popular bar in downtown Iverson. It was a seedy bar filled with college kids till the early hours of the morning. A fun place where booze flowed fast and plentiful, it was one of the hottest spots on campus. Maybe because all these privileged kids wanted to experience what they thought was a measly bar, instead of another posh environment.
I was lucky enough to land a job at The Viper during my freshman year. The owner, Lucy Haren, was a woman made of spikes. She hired no one who went to Iverson University, claiming they were only after free drinks and connections. It was a stroke of luck when she hired me sophomore year. It limited me to only a server and cleaning for a while, but I became a bartender as soon as I hit twenty-one. I immediately fell in love with it and since then Blair and Eden have used me as their personal bartender.
Eden ponders the thought for a second before his face lights up. "I'm going to bring the Colby siblings. The administration thinks they're shut-ins."
I can't help the small inquisitive sounds that come out of me. "Does no one find it weird that the school is so involved with them?" I ask. Even if they transferred, Iverson shouldn't care so much whether they leave their dorms often.
Blair and Eden both shrug, unconcerned as they change topics, discussing the upcoming year. The Colby's are only a memory for now. I'm the only one left lingering as I remember the Colby daughter. Standing tall and rigid as she looked at the campus.
When I realize I'm standing just thinking about her face, I kick myself mentally and push off the counter. I had too much to do this semester than worry about new transfer students. I just needed to get through this last year and finish my degree. That was my only goal now. With a sturdy nod, I head to unpack my bedroom.
The sun has set when half of my items are in place, and I'm no longer thinking about the new girl.
--
Author's Note: Second one down!
In the past novels, I've tried to write this would be where I would write the corniest joke in an attempt to get people to interact with this. I would brag and rave about how this was my second chapter and in my mind, that meant the book was guaranteed to be finished.
Throughout my writing career, I now know that it was funny to think like that. Of course, I can only speak for my experiences but a second or third chapter never meant I would finish it.
The writing process for Citrus was messy. I didn't even write this in order. I did segments when the ideas came to me in class, at work, or even during the night before I laid down for bed.
It wasn't until I had a good chunk of the book written that I wondered if I would finish it for once. During the time, I wasn't hopeful and I didn't put much thought into finishing it, instead enh=joying the snarky moments my mind came up with.
Please, ignore my musings, I'm feeling sentimental as I post my first full-length novel on Wattpad. An accomplishment many can claim and some would say means nothing. But it means something to me. :)
-Jasmine