As soon as I unlock the door to our apartment, Tara rushes to the hallway and draws her arms around me, squeezing the air out of my lungs.

"I'm happy to see you, too." I laugh, patting her back.

"I'm glad you're back." Tara stops hugging me and gives me a once-over. "What did I miss?"

"A lot," I say as we go to the living room and plop down on our couch. "Brian and I got back together while we were in our hometown."

"If the pierced one makes you happy, I'm happy for you, too," Tara says, wiggling her brows.

"He does. Very happy. Too happy, and it's kinda scary."

Tara leans her head against the back of the couch and then turns it to look at me. "Nothing to be afraid of. I only saw him once when he came looking for you, but even then, I could tell he cared. Did you talk about his silence?"

"He wrote me some letters I didn't receive. And had a bunch of letters he never sent and didn't want to show me. I know he cares; that's why I forgave him and decided to give him another chance."

Tara gives me a thumbs up. "You did well. If the two of you are meant to be, I don't see the point in suffering."

"Thank you," I say, smiling. "What about your summer?"

"I spent a lot of time on the beach and hung out with my childhood friend. I'm glad to be back. I'd rather keep myself busy."

"Our classes start in a couple of days. Busy will be an understatement. My course load is full this semester."

Tara groans, pressing her palms to her temples. "So is mine. But unlike me, you won't have to put up with The Nerd. It turns out, we'll have a couple of classes together this academic year, too."

"There's no escaping him, huh?" I giggle, biting my lip as my eyes rake over Tara's slightly flushed face. "Maybe it's destiny."

Tara picks up a cushion and hurls it at me. "Don't you dare jinx me like that. I'd rather...I'd do literally anything if it meant not seeing his smug face ever again."

"That's what I thought about Brian, and look at me now," I say. "Maybe there's more to him."

Tara hops off the couch and gives me the view of her back and her swaying ponytail as she strolls to her bedroom. "Of course, there's more to him," she says without turning to look at me. "More crap I will have to put up with."

***

In the evening, I stand in front of the full-length mirror in my room as I finish applying my makeup. I opted for darker eyeshadow and nude lips and decided to wear a crop top and some jeans, paired with high heels.

There's no way to calm down the butterflies in my stomach. Brian and I are going out with our friends. He wanted to introduce me to his roommate and some other guys he's already met.

Our schedules will be different, and I'm sure we won't have any classes together. The evenings and nights will be the only times we'll manage to see each other on weekdays. Having Brian in my college is something I could only dream of, but I'd lie if I said it doesn't make me nervous.

Before, all we knew was our hometown and our friends, but now, we're going to be surrounded by lots of new people. 

I close the tube of lipstick and shove it in the side pouch of my purse. After one last glance at myself in the mirror, I smooth out my straightened hair and exit my bedroom.

Tara appears in the doorway of her room, as stunning as ever in a short white dress and a pair of golden sandals. Her blond hair is curled and looks straight out of a shampoo commercial.

"You look hot." Tara winks at me. "The pierced one will be unable to stay away from you."

"Please, don't call Brian that in his presence." I giggle. "I would have lots of explaining to do."

"I won't," Tara says. "But here between us, does it really make a, you know, difference?"

Blush erupts on my cheeks. It's hard to answer that when Brian is the only one I've known intimately. "I don't know," I tell her the truth. "I guess I would have to ask him to take that thing out and tell you after."

Tara claps her hands. "Do it tonight. My curiosity needs to be satisfied."

"It can wait," I say as we exit the apartment. "Let's meet the guys and have some fun first."

***

The Nerd is wall-to-wall with students. As Tara and I push through the dense crowd of guys and girls swaying to the music as they sip their drinks, I swivel my head around, scanning the dimly-lit interior of the bar for Brian.

Warm hands land on my waist, caressing my skin. I turn around and end up in Brian's arms, pressed to his body clad in his signature tee and jeans.

"Hey," he whispers and leans in to plant a kiss on my lips.

"Hey, Bri," I say, failing to keep a smile from forming. We spent lots of time together while we were in our hometown, but I missed him as if I hadn't seen him in months.

"How was your afternoon?" Brian asks.

"Good. Tara and I caught up, and I unpacked my bags. What about you?"

"Same. Bast and I talked a bit. Speaking of, let me introduce you to  him."

"Wait," I say. "I need to find Tara."

"I'm here." Tara appears next to me, holding a bottle of water. "Tara," she says to Brian and extends her hand. "Although we've already met."

"Brian," Brian says, giving her hand a shake. "Leah's boyfriend."

The last part makes me smile. Brian draws an arm around my shoulders and kisses my temple before nodding toward two guys and a girl wearing big glasses. "Those are the guys and Elena. Come on."

Tara trails behind us as we approach the small group. As we stand next to the three of them, she crosses her arms in front of her chest and quirks an eyebrow.

The handsome guy who was talking to the tall boy I recognized as Drew Evans narrows his eyes at my roommate and smirks. "Isn't that Barbie?"

Tara gives him a you're-so-dumb-it-hurts smile. "Isn't that the Nerd?"

Brian hugs me from behind. I feel him shake with laughter as he says, "Well, we saved time on introductions, but just to be polite, Sebastian, she's Tara."

Sebastian rolls his eyes. "I know. Unfortunately. How's life in the palace, Barbie? Did you fire many maids this summer?"

Tara holds her finger up as she takes a drink from the bottle. "Only one," she eventually says. "What about you? Did you bore holes in many textbooks?"

Sebastian rests his glass on a table behind him and stretches, folding his arms behind his head. "Why, Barbie? Would you like me to be your tutor and teach you how to read? It won't be cheap, but that's not an issue, right?"

Tara says nothing. Her cheeks redden slightly, and there's a determined gleam in her eyes. 

She moves fast. I barely register the movement of her hand. In a heartbeat, water is dripping down Sebastian's styled hair.

"You're insane," Sebastian grits through his teeth, running a palm down his face.

Tara pivots and walks away without sparing any of us a glance. I want to go after her, but Drew beats me to it. Tara lets him catch up with her, and they weave through the crowd, disappearing in the throng of students.

"You deserved it, man," Brian says, looking at Sebastian, who's studying the water-soaked front of his shirt with his brows creased.

The glasses-wearing girl snorts. "He didn't. She's crazy, and everyone knows it."

"She's not," I say.

The girl's eyes land on me. "And you are…?"

"My girlfriend Leah," says Brian. He drops his hand to my waist and squeezes my side gently. "Come on, baby, let's get some drinks."

I nod, tilting my face up to kiss Brian's cheek. He leads me to the bar and orders Jack on the rocks for both of us.

Instead of staying inside The Nerd, we make our way out of it, glasses in hand. 

The August evening is warm. I inhale deeply and lean against the brick column to the side of the entrance. 

Brian takes a sip of his drink and cups my cheek with his free hand. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thank you," I say. 

Silence envelops us, but I break it. "Your friend is rude. Tara is very far from stupid, you know?"

Brian tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know, Kitten. Bast is a good guy. He just has his asshole moments. Tonight was one of those."

"He'd better apologize," I mumble, bringing my glass to my lips. 

For some weird reason, I assumed our friends would get along, and I hate to be wrong.

Brian and I finish our whiskey in silence. He tells me to wait and takes the empty glasses back to the bar. 

When he's next to me again, he takes my hand in his, and we circle the building. There's a bench under some trees not far from The Nerd. Brian sits on it and pulls me onto his lap. 

I circle his neck with my arms and lean my head against his. 

"I missed you," Brian whispers, turning his head so that he can kiss me.

Our lips meet. My skin erupts in goosebumps, and I close my eyes while Brian's lips caress mine.

"I missed you too," I say. 

Brian runs his fingertips over the skin of my lower back. "Would you like to go to my place later? Or I could go to yours."

"We have to think about the best way to do things," I say, taking one of Brian's hands in mine. The ring I gave him is on his finger. I trace its contours, waiting for Brian's answer.

"You mean the sleepovers?" Brian asks.

"Yeah. It was easy at home. We were always alone, but now there's Tara and Sebastian."

"Would you be uncomfortable knowing he's in his room? My place isn't that small. He wouldn't hear much."

"We would have to be quiet. At my place, too," I say.

Brian chuckles, combing his fingers through my hair. "I could kiss you and swallow your cute little moans. I hate sleeping without you. We've been apart for so long I feel bad when you're not with me now."

"Clingy much?" I tease, rubbing my nose against the side of Brian's face.

"Too much. We can figure out the schedule and make time for being together, Kitten. And if you stay at my place, we can just sleep if you're uncomfortable making love when Bast is there. I just want to hold you. Please?"

I caress Brian's jaw, looking into his eyes. "Okay, but I need to find Tara first. She's my friend, and I want to make sure she's okay. I didn't like the glasses-wearing girl, either."

Brian sighs. "I'm not a fan myself. I don't know what Bast sees in her."

I raise my eyebrows. "Are they together? For real?"

Brian shakes his head. "They just fuck. Luckily, they never do when I'm home. I'm sorry the introductions didn't go the way we wanted, baby."

I snuggle into Brian, closing my eyes when he caresses my exposed skin and trails soft kisses down my neck and over my shoulder. "It's okay. Everything I want and need is right here."

Hey, hey!

Hope everyone is doing great. I'm super tired, so you'll have to forgive me if there are typos in the chapter.

Brian and Leah are the cutest, am I right?

The introductions didn't go well.

Bast seems rude. Elena and Leah won't be friends.

Thoughts? Predictions? Guesses?

Love you all.

P.S. send some energy or caffeine my way...