“I’m Carter, by the way,” he says.
“Haven,” I answer.
“All right, Haven, I’ll just be out here, holding my breath for your verdict when you get back.”
I laugh lightly and enter the room. There’s an open doorway in the corner that leads to the bathroom. I sneak a quick glance around the room on my way there and note that it’s actually pretty neat for a guy college student. No stacks of dirty laundry on the ground or stale food strewn about. The bed is even made, which is more than I can say about my own.
Ducking into the small bathroom, I quickly do my business, wash my hands, and then return to Carter, who’s waiting exactly where he was before.
“So?” he asks with anticipation.
“Hmm,” I say, pretending to think it over. “The made bed was impressive, but I did spot some dirty socks on the floor, so I’ll have to dock points for that. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect score.”
His shoulders sag in mock despair. “If only it weren’t for the socks . . .”
“If only for the socks,” I echo. “But you get half points restored for the organic chemistry textbook.”
Okay. Totally flirting. And totally crushing it.
“You snooped in my textbooks?” he asks with raised eyebrows. But the easy smile on his face tells me he isn’t upset about it.
“Not so much as snooped, but more recognized it.”
“You’re pre-med too?” he asks, looking impressed.
I shrug, suddenly feeling a touch self-conscious. The topic of my major is a sticky subject in my household. It’s my dream to be a pediatrician someday, but my parents think that’s too public of a profession. They want to find something that I can do remotely, to limit my contact with people.
“Still figuring it out.”
“That’s a chunky class to take if you’re still figuring it out,” he says, and he’s not wrong. It’s arguably one of the hardest undergrad classes, but the sciences fascinate me. It’s essentially the human form of magic, and if I’m not allowed to figure out my own magic, I might as well dive into theirs.
I shrug again.
“Professor Chandler?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
Carter whistles. “He’s a toughie, right?”
I nod. He’s tough but fair in my opinion.
Carter and I chat as we make our way back down the stairs. I sneak a glance at him over my shoulder, taking in his shaggy hair and lean build. We reach the landing to the second floor and I’m about to start down to the main level when he catches my hand, stopping me.
“Umm, I was wondering if I could hang out with you a bit more tonight,” he asks, looking almost nervous. I find that endearing since I feel the same way.
“Well, I’m here with my friends, actually,” I say, and his hopeful expression falls, so I quickly add, “I’m sure they won’t mind if you want to join us. We’re just dancing, really.”
He rubs the back of his neck, like he’s trying to decide something. “I was actually hoping I could show you around the house a bit. There are some decorated rooms up here that are pretty cool I thought you might want to see. Only the brothers know about them. It’s like the VIP areas.”
“Oh, well,” I hesitate. I can’t just ditch Tate and Kendra.
Picking up on it, he rushes to say, “It’ll only take a few minutes. I promise your friends won’t even miss you at all. We’ll go find them right after.”
I glance down the stairs, half expecting to see Tate or Kendra start up them looking for me, but of course they’re not there.
“Just a few minutes, I promise,” he says, and I find myself nodding.
Still holding my hand, he tugs me down the hall in the opposite direction as the bathroom, stopping when we reach a closed door with the sign, “Private” hanging on it.
