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I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, we were.” I grabbed one of my boxes and smiled tightly at Warner and Isabelle. “Can I get the rest later?”
“Sure, whatever you need.” Isabelle seemed so nice. She would have been an awesome roommate.
I shoved my socked feet into slides and headed out the door.
“Aren’t the first rounds of cheerleading tryouts this week?” Warner asked, stopping me in my tracks. “You should come by. I’ll put in a good word for you.”
“Really? That would be awesome.”
Warner just nodded. “Sure thing, cheerleader. Hope I see you soon.”
Eve
“So,let me get this straight. When Asher gave up his place, they canceled your room and not his?” Lily summarized my rambling explanation of my housing crisis.
“Yep. Thank God they didn’t cancel my scholarship instead,” I muttered, glum at the thought of having to see Beckett today. I’d hoped to avoid him the entire year.
“I don’t think scholarships go through the same office. Probably admin sent down to housing that the Martino housing needed to be canceled, and someone mistook your dorm for Asher’s,” Lily chattered away. She didn’t seem nearly bothered enough that I was going to have to live with smelly hockey players until everything got sorted and a new place came up.
“Well, as great as that is for them, it doesn’t change the fact that I have to stay in the Hellions’ dorm! It’s going to be awful – and what if someone catches me or complains or something?”
“First of all, no hockey player is going to complain about a hot girl living in the dorm. Second, it won’t be awful, because I’ll be there all the time, visiting Cayden. We’ll get to see each othera lot. My roommate, Aisha, is kind of quiet, and very studious. I don’t think I can bring Cade around there much.” She sighed longingly.
I knew she missed having more time with her boyfriend. Even though he’d started as Lily’s foster brother, their relationship had changed quickly. After Cayden had gotten a huge tattoo of Lily’s name on his arm in senior year, her parents had decided he should move out. He’d moved into Beckett’s pool house, and Lily had missed having him right next to hers.
We walked one of the manicured little paths that circled campus. The whole lush space was filled with them, crisscrossing over the well-maintained lawn and around the trees. HHU was a beautiful school, and despite my housing disaster, I felt excited looking around as we strolled. This was my home for the next four years. I couldn’t quite believe it.
“It’s just over here, I think,” Lily muttered, consulting the tiny campus map we’d been given out.
Unlike my previous dorm, the Hellions’ dorm was smack bang in the middle of campus. Also, unlike my previous dorm, this one was next-level luxurious. It made sense, considering how much money flowed into the school from NHL alumni and sponsors, specifically for the hockey team. Still, both Lily and I couldn’t help but pause and stare up at the beautiful building. It had been built in the same style as the other historical buildings around campus but was clearly new and in great shape.
It was four floors, and I knew for a fact that there was a hot tub on the roof and a pool in the basement, both justified as being useful for muscle recovery. Sure. HHU just liked to keep its hockey players happy.
“Let’s head inside. The Ice Gods’ apartment is number seven,” Lily said, already stepping over the entrance and into the lavishly decorated foyer.
The huge front doors were propped open to help people running back and forth, emptying their cars. Move-in day was one of the few days that cars were allowed on campus. After that, you had to have a special pass to bring your car in. Most students left theirs in the lot outside of school grounds or at home. Players from the Hellions were parked along the curb, emptying their cars. Parents were streaming around, helping out, hugging their huge, burly sons and kissing them goodbye. It was kind of a sweet scene. I headed upstairs with Lily as she searched for the right apartment. The Hellions dorm was split into apartments that each housed two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and living room.
“Here we are, number seven,” she muttered and knocked at the door.
After a moment, it opened. Arms enveloped her and carried her inside. So, at least Cayden was home.
I followed them in, while Cayden kissed his girlfriend senseless and lifted her onto the counter in the open concept kitchen, leaning over her and deepening the kiss.
“Um, not to be a downer, but I feel like I have to point out that I am here,” I reminded them.
Lily pushed her boyfriend off and nodded, her pale cheeks flushed in embarrassment. “Sorry,” she said and jumped off the counter.
Cayden seemed less inclined to be interrupted. “Just saying hello to my girlfriend,” he grinned. “We haven’t seen each other in ages.”
“I saw you last night,” she said to him with a laugh.
“Exactly. Far too long ago,” he murmured lowly and pulled her back into his arms.
“Is there no one else here, so I can stop feeling like the world’s biggest third wheel?” I demanded after a moment.
“I’ve got you, Martino,” a deep voice called, and Marcus Bailey appeared in the doorway of one of the rooms branching off the living room. He folded his arms over his wide chest and smirked at me. “Hello, gorgeous. You’re looking great.”
“Hi, Marcus.” I set my backpack down on the couch.
