So I was fifteen minutes late for class this morning. The professor gives me a dirty look when I walk past her on the way out after class. That's not the first time I was late for her class either. I was half expecting her to call me out on it.

I kick a pebble as I walk across the lawn to reach the quad. I'm still fuming...not because I was late for class, but because my red high heels are gone! Gone! And so's my birthday gift for Allie. That woman in red must have taken it. What was she? A memory stealer? A thief?

I'm not sure which one I am more pissed about- losing my sexy red high heels or Allie's birthday gift.

I pause to think it over. The high heels. I'm definitely more pissed about the high heels. It's the sexiest and the priciest things I'd ever owned.

Not that I'm not upset over losing Allie's gift, especially since I spent my last penny on it. Allie had hinted...no, she had told me straight up that she liked the rose gold bracelet that we saw online a few weeks before her birthday. Being the good friend that I am, I bought it for her even though I'm dead broke.

I look around in search of my friend. She sometimes hangs around here after one of her classes, especially around this time on Thursdays. Sometimes she's by the water fountain and sometimes under the cherry tree. Our cherry tree.

I hitch the strap of my book bag higher on my shoulder and kick another pebble.

My spine tingles and I have this feeling as though I'm being watched. Glancing around, I survey the crowd around me. A lot of students are rushing to their classes, some are lying or sitting on the grass alone or as a couple. Some are studying in a group. But I don't see anyone paying any particular attention to me.

I find Allie sitting on a picnic bench under the cherry tree. It used to be our spot when we first arrived. Just the two of us sitting there, sipping coffee or something when we both had free time in between classes. But it's no longer our spot now. Her sorority sisters hang out there most of the time now too, and right at this moment, Allie is looking happy surrounded by them.

She's laughing with them but the moment her eyes fall on me, her smile disappears. The others; Vanessa, Bianca, and Shelly nudge each other as I approach and suddenly all the laughter and conversation stop.

"A bit late for the party, aren't we?" says Vanessa, looking at me up and down with a smug little smile.

"Can we talk?" I ask Allie, ignoring Vanessa. "Can we go somewhere?" It seems that we rarely spend time together anymore. Just the two of us.

Allie and Vanessa share a look before Vanessa says, "You can talk here. We don't keep secrets from each other, right Allie?"

Allie crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me. Her lips are in a tight thin line.

I sigh. "Look, Allie, I---"

"It was my birthday, Damaris!" she explodes before I could go on. "I can't believe you didn't show up for my birthday!"

"But I did show up!" I argue. "I went to the bar and waited for you. You're the one who never showed up!"

Allie gives me a disbelieving look while the rest of them snicker.

"We stayed at Funky Joe's for almost an hour, waiting for you before we moved on to another club," says Allie.

"Wait, Funky Joe's? But I was told to meet everyone at Lemon and Lime bar downtown at seven." I glare at Bianca. She's the one who told me to meet up with them at Lemon and Lime Bar.

Funky Joe's is a club not too far from campus and is popular with the students. It's much closer and much easier to get to than the Lemon and Lime bar downtown. I had to take the bus then walk for twenty minutes to get there because my crappy old car wouldn't start and I have no time nor money to fix it.

"Why would I tell you to go to Lemon and Lime?" says Bianca, looking incredulous. "It's downtown. Can you imagine the traffic to get there?"

Oh, I could more than just imagine, I experienced how terrible it was for myself yesterday evening! I narrow my eyes on her and she maintains the look of innocence. Except for a little tug of a sneer on one corner of her lips.

I know what she's doing, but it's her word against mine now. I have a feeling that Bianca did that on purpose because they didn't really want me there.

"I called, so many times but you didn't answer the phone," I tell Allie.

"Vanessa kept my phone in her clutch so I could have fun and wouldn't lose it," she replies.

Of course! How convenient.

"Well, look at the time," says Vanessa, making a show at looking at her wrist even though she's not wearing a watch. "We'd love to stay and chat but we have to get going."

I watch them get up to leave. Allie gives me a look of disappointment before she grabs her disposable coffee cup and leaves with them.

I watch until they disappear from view before I turn and walk dejectedly back to my apartment.

Why does it feel as though I'm at fault when I didn't do anything wrong? Why wouldn't she let me explain?

Allie and I have been best friends since high school. A crack has appeared in our friendship ever since we came here or rather after Vanessa became President of her sorority. No matter what I do, it feels as though the crack between us keeps widening until it becomes a chasm.

The fresh air and the 20-minute walk back don't make me feel any better.

I unlock the door and let myself in. The apartment I'm renting is tiny and isn't the greatest but it's close to campus and affordable...sort of. It's a two-bedroom and one-bath unit and I have a housemate, Amber who I rarely see.

Amber is a bit older and I don't know what she does for a living but she pays rent on time. The few times that I saw her, she's very friendly and nice to me, so I count myself lucky.

I drop my book bag in the sitting area and head straight to the kitchen. I open the cabinet and the small fridge in search of something to eat- some hidden or stray ramen, some cereal...expired cheese or yogurt would do too.

Ha! a granola bar! I feel like I just won a lottery.

After peeling back the wrapper, I stuff it in my mouth. Yummm...why does everything taste so good when you're hungry?

I grab my book bag off the floor then push my bedroom door open. I drop the bag on the floor inside my room with a thud, lift my face up, and let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Oh my God! Who are you?" I ask breathlessly after I'm done screaming.

Lying on my bed is a man. A stranger.

My head is screaming stranger danger. My knees feel weak and my heart is racing from the shock. I'm leaning against the door, clutching at my chest

"Are you lost?" I ask him. Maybe he's Amber's friend and came into my room by mistake.

"Very funny, doll face," he says. His smile is panty-meltingly wicked and mischievous. He has hands behind his head like he owns the bed. My bed.

Now that I get a good look at him, I can see that he's good-looking. No, heartstoppingly good-looking. It's like he made a wrong turn on the way to a photoshoot session or a movie set and ended up in my room.

His face is angular and chiseled with high cheekbones and a sharp jawline. Dark glossy hair is effortlessly stylish and it falls over his thick dark eyebrows. His icy blue eyes are framed by long dark eyelashes and they slant slightly downward but it totally works for him. They make his face look more appealing, somehow. His skin is bronze like he's spent a lot of time in the sun. It brings out the color of his eyes, making the pale icy blue look striking. And his lips, oh God, his lips. The top is a perfect cupid bow and the bottom is full and sexy.

"Checking out the goods again, are we?" he asks, looking thoroughly amused and I narrow my eyes on him.

"What? No, I wasn't checking you out!" Yes, I was. The man is unnaturally gorgeous. Too bad he's probably a serial killer or something.

My eyes slide down to the rest of him without my consent- to his wide shoulders, his defined pecs, and flat stomach underneath that white t-shirt. The muscles of his arms bulge against the short sleeves even though he's not overly bulky.

His legs look awfully long, clad in those dark blue jeans, and...nope, not gonna look any further.

He chuckles as though he's proved his point and my cheeks heat up. "Oh, you can keep checking me out. I don't mind," he drawls with an amused but heated look. "Did you miss me, doll face?"

I huff indignantly. He talks as though we've met before and the way he's looking at me like he has all the right in the world. It's like a man staring hungrily at a lover he knows intimately. Something clenches tightly in my belly and my heart does a little somersault. "Who exactly are you again? And why are you in my bed?"

"Ouch!" He clutches his chest yet his baby blue eyes are laughing at me. "You wound me. I was nine inches deep inside you just last night and now you're asking who I am?"

"What? No... no way. You're...we..." My stupid eyes slide toward the bulge of his crotch and heat blooms on my face. "There's no way you're nine inches." Wait! What am I even asking?

His grin widens as he angles his body forward to lean on his elbow. Then his expression turns serious. "You're right, there's no way," he agrees, rubbing his chiseled jaw thoughtfully. His thick eyebrows furrow and he adds, "I think I'm close to thirteen inches."

My jaw drops. Oh, my God! The audacity... I fight to keep my eyes from dropping down to his groin area again.

He chuckles. Deep and wicked. Then he sinks his straight white teeth into his bottom lip as if to contain his amusement and that makes him look even hotter if that's even possible. He raises an eyebrow and his eyelids drop to his crotch suggestively. "You want to find out for yourself? We could continue where we left off. I'll even let you bring a ruler this time to measure...or to spank me if that's what you're into."

"That's not necessary, I mean...that was highly inappropriate," I huff and tear my eyes away from his stupid crotch and his sexy face. But like a moth to a flame, my eyes keep returning to it. I mean, it's considerably... I mean, it's right there! "We didn't! There's no way!" I snap, furious with myself. Why am I even entertaining this... this strange man in my bed? "And I don't care how...how...how big you are!" I announce belatedly.

"Oh, really? That's not what you said last night."

"Stop it! Stop talking like we've...as though we were together last night. We've never met. I've never seen you before." I would have certainly remembered if I ever met anyone who looked like him. "And you better leave before I call the police."

He lifts an eyebrow. "Oh, that's rich. You stole something from me last night and now you're threatening to call the police?" he says. There's a steely coldness in his eyes for a second before it disappears. "And yes, we've met before, dollface. We've more than met. Stop acting like you don't know me when last night, you were in my bed."

*******************************************************

Hello everyone!

Again, if you want to read more of this story, go to Inkitt. And if you want to read the first of the Legacy series, A Legacy for Katherine, go to Inkitt now! It will be available there until the end of next month. After that, it will only be available on Galatea (in its original form).

Much love,

Nicole♥