I love this place. Ithought with a grin as I drove through the university parking lot looking for an empty spot.
A group of 5 shirtless guys about 19 years old jogged along the sidewalk next to me. It was a warm day and this was the result. Hot, shirtless guys everywhere.
After finally pulling into a spot near Sexton Commons I pulled out my phone. It was 2:45. I shot a text to my brother.
New Message to: Sammy
'hey, i'm out in the parking lot. r u in ur room?'
My brother, Sam was a 19 year old freshman at Saint John's University and also my best friend. His moving out of our house just a few months ago and into his college dorm, was especially hard for me. When my dad died almost 6 years ago in a drunk car accident, my brother became a father figure for me. My mom went downhill from that day and turned to drinking and who knows what else. Sam was all I had.
Today, my first visit to his campus was very important and very exciting.
New Message from: Sammy
'yeah. room 356. 3rd floor.'
I grabbed my purse from the passenger seat and threw my car keys in it. Looking in my rear view mirror, I fixed a few strands of my long, dirty blonde, curly hair. I wasn't sure why I was nervous. This was just my brother. And maybe a few of his hot friends.
I cursed at myself for wearing my black jean shorts as I picked the white cat hairs off them. Why must they always lay on my clothes the day before I wanted to wear them?
Hopping out of the car, I put on my dark shades and headed toward the dorms. After climbing up six short flights of stairs, I made it to the third floor. I opened the door to the hallway and was immediately surprised at how loud it was. I could hear boys shouting and laughing and talking all through the corridor, excited to get outside on this warm Sunday. Realizing how annoying it must be to live in an all-boys college, I began to feel bad for my brother.
I made my way through the groups of boys to room 356. The door was open.
"Sam!" he dropped his X-box controller and stoor to give me a hug. He smelled like he always did and it made me grin. Sam's hair was a little shorter than but other than that he looked like the same.
As we stood there hugging, I noticed there was someone else in the room. He was standing as well, but seemed just a little shorter than my brother. His hair was a sandy brown and flipped up to the right in a quiff. He had musculer build and was wearing a fitted, dark blue T-shirt that showed it. Our eyes met and he smiled raising his eyebrows.
Sam broke the hug and stood me at arm's length.
"Damn! When did you grow up!?" he asked me, still smiling.
"It's only been two months since you last saw me!" I told him, laughing.
"I know, but you've had your birthday since then, right? You're 17 now, aren't you?" Sam said.
"Yeah." I casually coughed and looked in the direction of the guy standing behind my brother.
"Oh!" Sam put his arm around me and we took a step toward the guy. "Jo, this is my roommate Connor."
Connor set down his controller and shook my hand, an awkward smile on his face. "Hi."
"Hi." I said, trying not to feel how warm and soft his hand was. "I'm Jo." I couldn't be attracted to this guy. Not my brother's best friend.
"Is it okay if he hangs out with us today?" Sam asked me.
"Yeah, sure." I replied, smiling at Connor. As much as I didn't want to like him, he was so cute.
"JO!" Someone shouted. Thankful the awkward silence was broken, I turned to see Lizzy and Zach standing in the doorway. Lizzy was my brother's girlfriend who was my other best friend, just two years older than me. Her brother, Zach, was a sophmore at St. John's and had helped my brother with moving into his dorm in September.
I gave them hugs too and then Sam suggested we all walk to The Local Blend, a coffee shop on campus. We all agreed and after my brother and Connor grabbed some stuff, we headed out.
Zach picked me up on his back in the hallway and began to run me down the stairs. I was laughing so hard I almost didn't hear Sam shouting after us,
"Don't break my sister!"
When we finally got outside, Zach put me down and I merged in with the rest of the group. Sam and Lizzy walked ahead of us, holding hands, which received much teasing from Zach.
"So Jo," Zach was saying. "How is highschool treating you?"
"Alright." I replied. I was walking in the middle of him and Connor and noticed that Connor wasn't saying much.
"Got a special man?" Zach asked with a wink. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Connor glance toward us.
"No." I laughed, aware of Connor's eyes on me.
"How about you, Connor?" Zach said. I could hear the tease in his voice. "Got a girlfriend?"
My stomach turned and for a second wished for Connor to say no.
"No." said Connor, blushing a bit behind his sunglasses.
"Well, you know, Jo here has always had a thing for older guys--" I turned and socked Zach in the arm.
"That's a lie." I told Connor, laughing as Zach rubbed his arm.
Connor grinned and held my gaze for a while.
The rest of the walk was fun. Zach took Connor's SJU hat and we all played keep away with it.
Once Lizzy threw it to me and I started running with it when Connor grabbed me around the waist from behind and lifted me off the ground.
"NO!" I screamed, laughing uncontrollably.
A warm shock was sent through my body at his touch and goosebumps popped up on my arms. His face was pressed against mine as he tried stretched around me to reach his hat. My heart started to beat faster as I took in his intoxicating smell.
I stopped struggling as he slowly pried the hat from my hands. I felt his body move away from mine and as it did I turned to face him. For a moment everything disappeared and Connor's eyes locked on mine. I felt a small gravity pulling me closer to him in slow motion. His smile was fading into a look that I couldn't quite interpret.
Then, it was gone. Connor turned away from me and fitted his hat back on his head. He jogged up to Sam and they began talking about a football game.
When we got to the coffee shop I ordered a blueberry muffin and a pomegranate smoothie. Lizzy and Sam slid into a booth together and I got into the one behind them. A second later Zach ploped down across from me. He gave me a cheeky grin and nodded toward the counter.
I turned. "What?"
"Connor's still ordering."
I frowned. "Okay?"
"When he comes over, see who he sits next to." Zach said, watching Connor.
"What do you mean?"
"It's the ultimate test. Look Jo, it's clear he's got a litle-boy crush on you."
"He does not!" I exclaimed, even if my heart did flutter at Zach's words.
"Fine. If you think so." Zach raised his hands, surrendering. "But if he sits next to you, we'll all know the truth."
I glanced to my left and saw Connor walking over. Zach caught my eye and raised his eyebrows grinning.
Connor reached our booth and slowly slid in next to Zach. I tilted my head toward him and mouthed, See? Zach made a face back at me.
I took a bite of my muffin, looking down. I was a bit crushed that Connor didn't sit with me, but what was I expecting?
Stretching out an arm around Connor, Zach leaned back and sighed.
Oh God, this can't be good. I thought.
"So, you're just gonna leave the lady by herself?" Zach said loudly to Connor.
"Zach--" I began. I could feel my face burning. Why does he always do this to me?
Connor put down his muffin and looked up at me. I sank deep into his green eyes, searching for any reaction. Finally, he broke into a small grin and let out a chuckle. At the sound of his laugh, I melted inside.
"I'm, uh sorry." he said, still smiling.
Zach locked eyes with me and tilted his head forward, mouthing See?
I ignored this and took a sip of my smoothie.
---------------
The air outside had cooled down and the sun was beginning to set by the time we set foot outside the coffee shop. Lizzy had already set off home which left me to walk back to campus with the three boys.
"You've got school tomorrow, don't you Jo?" Connor asked me quietly as Sam and Zach walked ahead.
"Yeah, another joyful day of highschool." I teased.
"Well it's not too late. Wanna watch a movie when we get back to the dorm?" I smiled back at him.
"Definitely!"
I found out that Connor was also a movie enthusiast and we discussed all of the greatest movies ever made on the way back. We had decided on which one we wanted to watch the most, since it was in both our top 5 favorites.
"I've got some homework to do so I'll have to pass up on that offer but thanks anyway." Zach said when Sam invited him to join us.
When we got back, I found The Perks of Being a Wallflower in my brother's movie pile and popped it in. Sam climbed up to his bunk and I shyly decided to join Connor on the couch.
"I love this movie so much. Emma Watson totally makes it amazing. Of course you can't forget Logan. He does such an awesome job playing all innocent in this role. It's like perfect." Connor went on like that throughout the movie which was okay because I agreed with most of what he said. Sam on the other hand started snoring about 20 minutes into the it.
When it got to the more serious part of the movie Connor got quiet and that's when I started to feel tired. I'm horrible when it comes to movies because I love them so much but I can't stay awake for the life of me especially at night. My eyes started to flutter and soon my breathing slowed and I fell into a deep sleep.
---------------
The first thing I felt was the rise and fall of a chest underneath my head. I liked the way it smelled and how warm it was on my face. Then I felt someone's fingers intertwined with mine. I slowly blinked a few times and saw a faint light coming through a window above me. Where am I?
I pushed myself up, off the body and rubbed my eye lids.
Then I remembered. Last night. The movie. Me falling asleep. On Connor. Of course.
Being careful not to wake him, I wedged my phone from my pocket and stood up.
It read 6:21. Monday. Monday morning.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" I hissed. It was six thirty in the morning, I was a good 30 minutes from my house and I had school in one hour.
I had one text message. It was from my mom.
'y arnt u home yet'
Wow. Nice to know she was worried.
I dashed to the bathroom, splashed some water on my face to wake myself up and fixed my hair, more as a force of habit than anything.
Grabbing my bag from the side of the couch, I took one last look at Connor sleeping there with his hair all ruffled and cute before sprinting out the door and down to my car.