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Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!
I was going to have to be on my guard. Keeping my face relaxed, I remained outwardly calm while my insides felt like that were frozen in fear. The last thing I wanted was questions from Aiden as to what was wrong. He was attuned with me.
As we made our way to class, I tried to stay with the conversation, but my thoughts kept going to back to . . . What if they found me?
THE MIDDLE OF October approached. There was a crispness in the air I loved, always had. The weather here was only slightly warmer than what it at been at my previous home. In between classes, I loved sitting on the bench while drinking a cup of coffee, watching the leaves fall to the ground. There was a peace about it.
The picture from the paper had made it in the national news, but so far I hadn’t seen anyone I knew from The Society. Thank goodness for terrible photo quality. I’d be nearly impossible for anyone from my previous life to recognize me in the grainy image. Day by day, the worry lessened.
This morning in my bedroom, like usual, I was up early. I’d bought a small frame for a picture of Mom, Dad, and me at the lake. The silver beaded frame reflected a light I was lost in. What would have I been like if I’d stayed in this world? Would I still be me? No doubt, we were affected by our environment we grow up in, but I wondered if Matthew saw me today what he would think. Maybe The Society had given me a perspective I needed to be the person I was. That was the silver lining I was going with.
Two months has passed since I’d come to Fayetteville. Overall, I think I’d adjusted well. The headaches were lessening as it took less concentration to fit in as I understood more. Aiden and I had been together for a few weeks. He got me in a way I don’t think anyone ever had.
Brooklyn bounced on my bed. “So whatcha doing today?”
Setting the frame aside, Brooklyn smiled at the picture. I’d shown it to her last week. It had been hard to dance around why I didn’t have recent pictures of my mom. The only thing I could think of was that we couldn’t afford a camera. Until I’d gotten here, I didn’t even know cameras existed until I’d researched what takes pictures and makes movies.
Focusing back on the question of today’s plans, I responded, “Aiden’s taking me up to Mount Kessler. After that, I think we’re coming back here to eat Chinese. What are you and Mike doing?”
She flopped back on the bed, fresh out of the shower from her workout. Per their
usual tradition, Brooklyn and Aiden had met to run at the gym. I’d been invited, but I thought it was important to still do things on our own at times.
Propping up on her elbows, Brooklyn sighed. “Mike’s working tonight and I’m going out with some of the girl’s from the sorority. It’ll be fun and I know I need to still hang with my friends, but I hate all the drama. Mike’s easier and I do love the orgasms he can give me.”
I blushed. My body was wound up from all the touching Aiden and I’d been doing. I wanted to feel his fingers between my legs.
“When do you think is the right time to start doing more together?” My question was serious as I looked to Brooklyn for answers.
Her lips quirked to the side as she thought. “I’ve only been with four guys. I’ve had sex with three. For me, each time, I let how I feel about them guide me. The question I ask is, will I regret doing this if it ended tomorrow? If the answer’s no, I go for it.”
That made sense. “I like that philosophy.”
Brooklyn laughed. “Thanks for making me sound smarter than I am. I know we’re talking about my brother, which I’m trying to pretend is someone else, but he won’t pressure you, Kenzie. He adores you and will wait.” Had he told her about what we’d done together? That felt private. “And before you think Aiden said anything, he hasn’t. I figured because of your question, things were still in the foreplay stage.”
Foreplay? Quickly, I added the term to lookup later. “I know. He’s wonderful.”
Brooklyn put her hands over her ears. “No details. No details.” We both snickered.
When we calmed from our giggle fit, Brooklyn changed the subject. “You do know you’re welcome to come out with me and the girls any time we go. They’d love you.”
I’d met a few of Brooklyn’s sorority sisters and they were nice.
“I know. That means a lot. Sometime, I’ll have to go. I’ve been really busy acclimating.” Also, with Stacy so connected to the Sorority scene, I tried to avoid it. She was still trying to get Aiden to talk to her. He simply ignored her. Besides dirty looks and small catty comments, Stacy left me alone. However, that didn’t mean that I wanted to encourage her.
Large crowds were still daunting to me. Sometimes, I wanted to be alone and recharge. I’d been to one other low-key Sigma Chi party since the incident with Trent. The whole time, like the first, I had to focus on what was going on so I could understand what everyone was referring to.
From that party, I’d learned about the term cougar and sugar momma. Apparently one of the guys was hooking up with someone nearly twice his age. She was a cougar and his sugar momma at the same time. Sugar momma was a weird way of saying the female was rich and doted on the person. The terminology made me laugh.
Brooklyn stood as the doorbell rang. “It’ll be fun. Did you still want to go Halloween costume shopping with me tomorrow for Sigma Chi’s party?”
“Yes, I can’t wait.” I stretched before standing.
The Sigma Chi Halloween party was apparently a big deal. Of course, I was going as Aiden’s date. Since he was an officer of his fraternity, I thought it was important that I be part of these types of events. Eventually, they’d get easier.
Brooklyn traipsed toward the door. “I’ll go let Romeo in.”
My hair was up in a loose ponytail and I wore a flannel shirt, jeans, and had a warm jacket to wear. Brooklyn had loaned me a hat and gloves. It was the next thing on my list to buy as the temperatures continued to get colder while transitioning into the winter months.
