He smiled and she had the distinct impression that he knew what she was trying to do. "I was in the same frat at my old college. Before I transferred I arranged it so I'd be able to move in here right away. Besides, I've known Mike, Jack, and Doug since we were kids."
"Mike's a good guy, not so good at math though."
"He never has been," he agreed. "Jack and Doug are good guys too."
She had seen them at parties over the years, even shared a couple of classes with them, but she'd never really spoken to them. Although, they were among the few frat guys who had never really bothered her, or stared at her like she was a piece of meat. They had always been polite, but distant. To her, that alone made them likable. "I don't really know them," she admitted. "Where did you go to school before?"
"Buffalo."
"What made you move to Massachusetts?"
He twirled the water in his elegant fingers. A shudder tore through her as she recalled those fingers on her body. She tore her gaze away from them and forced herself to look at him. Again, there was a knowing gleam in his eyes as he smiled at her. "I grew up near here, and I thought it was time to come home again. I know a couple of guys in this house, and Phi Beta, from high school."
"Then why did you go all the way to Buffalo?"
"Wanted a change in scenery, something new, but I'm not a big fan of the cold, and after last winter I decided to come back."
She raised an eyebrow. "This isn't exactly Florida."
He laughed and placed the water bottle on the floor. "No it's not, but it's also not as cold, or snowy as it is up there." He smiled warmly as he slid back on the bed and leaned against the wall. "What about you Sera?"
"What about me?" she asked warily.
"Why are you at this school?"
She sat on the corner of the desk. She tried not to show him how uncomfortable the question made her so she forced herself not to bite her lip as she met his inquisitive stare. "It was far enough away so that I could live at school, but close enough to my family so that I could go home on vacations. Plus, this is a good school."
"Good reasons. Did you know anyone here?"
"No, but that was the point. I was looking for a new beginning, a chance to start my own life, and make new friends. I like the way things have turned out."
It was only a little lie there was no reason to feel bad for it, she told herself. "That's good. Why don't you date?"
She blinked at the abrupt change of topic. Her hands automatically clenched upon the desk. "Excuse me?"
"Why don't you date? All the guys around here say that you've never dated anyone on campus."
"You asked about me?" She couldn't keep the alarm out of her voice.
He watched her with an amused gleam in his eyes. For a second she was reminded of a panther studying its prey, unfortunately she seemed to be the prey. She swallowed heavily as apprehension began to prickle its way up her spine. "Just a little."
Sera had to fight against the violent shaking that threatened to overtake her. "What did they say about me?"
He smiled at her and shook his head. "It was nothing bad. They just said that you didn't date anyone, that you never had, and not to waste my time. So, why haven't you gone out with anyone else?"
Some of the tension eased from her, and she found herself able to breathe regularly again. Then his words caught her attention. Her brow furrowed as she stared at him questioningly. Why hadn't she gone out with anyone else? Were they going out? Her heart did a hopeful flip-flop, but she buried it.
"Nobody ever asked me," she replied, "while they were sober anyway."
"That's because they didn't have the courage unless they were drunk."
"What about you then?"
He grinned cockily. "I don't need alcohol."
"Conceited," she commented dryly.
"Far from it. Not having the courage to do something just means that you lose out on it. If you get rejected, so what, at least you tried. Besides, it isn't the end of the world."
