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Chapter 2
Hastings~
‘I just had to get through today’ was like a religious chant inside my head. My class schedule was hell Monday through Thursday, but I’d done that purposely, so that I could delude myself into thinking I had a three-day weekend each week.
The reality of it was very different, though.
As one of the daughters of Todd and Marigold Martin, I had some pretty big shoes to fill, and my Fridays were usually spent completing assignments or projects. Granted, I always made sure that I was free on Friday and Saturday nights to get my socializing on, but it made for a long week.
Hales University was exactly what you’d expect from an elite college. The qualifications to get in were stringent and the expectations were way up there. Hales University did not produce failures. It also didn’t matter if you were here on scholarship or if you paid your tuition with diamonds, Hales did not discriminate socially. If you were enrolled here, you were expected to succeed.
My father, Todd, was an engineer and my mother, Marigold, was a college professor. However, they weren’t just any ol’ engineer or professor.
Nope.
Not my folks.
Mom was a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but also a Director and Physician-in-Chief. Dad was an engineer, but a contract engineer who only designed one-of-a-kind structures. Though both jobs paid quite a bit, my family’s money was a generational thing. My great, great, great, great grandfather (not really sure how many greats) had made millions with oil way before we knew what it would be worth today. The family fortune had been structure like most family fortunes of its time, and the firstborn son inherited the majority of the wealth. Well, with my father being the firstborn Martin male, he had more money than he knew what to do with.
However, the expectation was to contribute to the family bank account, not deplete it, so all offspring were expected to make something of themselves. There were no exceptions to those rules. My older sister, Brantley, was only twenty-five and already a well-established expert in the field of geoscience. The girl’s written six books and has even done three honest-to-God talk shows.
My passion was animals, but rather than becoming a vet, I’d chosen marine biology because there was no way I’d be able to deal with animals dying on me. I’d rather study life and discover new things than cry myself to sleep three times a week, questioning the existence of God.
Nope.
Not for me.
There was also the freedom I had in being able to choose whatever career that I wanted. Dad had no firstborn sons, so the majority of his inheritance was willed to Brantley, but my portion wasn’t anything to sneeze at. The conditions of the trust weren’t so archaic that Mom and Dad had kept trying for a boy for the inheritance to pass down, so they had stopped with the two children they had wanted. Brantley and I were three years apart, and that had been perfect for our household. As for the conditions of the trust, as long as the money remained in the bloodline, it was all good.
Besides, who in the hell needed billions of dollars? While my family was very philanthropic, my parents’ generosity still wasn’t enough to put a dent in any of the substantial bank accounts. Though, I didn’t feel guilty for my family’s money, I was grateful that my parents hadn’t raised entitled assholes who didn’t have to work. I liked that some expectations had been placed on us, and our lives were going to mean something beyond posting the latest designer handbag on my social media.
The sad thing was that a lot of people mistook me and Brantley for being vapid socialites because we sort of looked the part. We’d both taken after Mom and had inherited her platinum blonde hair and hazel eyes. However, Brantley’s figure had come from our grandmother on our father’s side, and she was rocking a hell of an hourglass figure.
Me, on the other hand, had no such curves. Oh, I had curves, but not like Brantley. I had taken after our mother completely, and while I had a decent B-cup, I could go without a bra if I wanted to. I had a subtle flare in my hips, and my thin legs made them seem wider than they really were. Plus, I was only five-foot-two, so that threw me into the petite category, not that I minded, mind you. I was perfectly happy with what God gave me, and I had no problem showing it off. My plump ass was my best feature, and I often wore jeans that played it up to perfection. Some guys didn’t mind a small handful up top if there was a huge handful down below.
Besides, you had to have amazing self-confidence to be close friends and roommates with Kincaid Black. The girl was otherworldly gorgeous and there was no disputing that fact. With inky-black hair, black eye, porcelain skin, a doll’s face, and a body that could stop traffic, Kincaid was the entire package. We’re talking hourglass figure and so much confidence in her stride that she struck fear in the hearts of everyone who stood in her way. Plus, I’ve seen her do Krav Maga. The girl’s no joke.
She was also a great person, though not a lot of people knew that. Kincaid was intimidating as hell, so not a lot of people approached her in order to get to know her. We’d become friends during our sophomore year when the douchebag that I’d been seeing had hit on her at a party. Kincaid had been offended, but more so at knowing that I had been at the party with him. I’d been outside while he’d been in the kitchen, hitting on Kincaid.
Long story short, Kincaid had made mincemeat out of him, and a friendship had been born. It hadn’t been until the summer of our junior year that she had invited me to be her roommate. Kincaid owned a condo, and she thought it was stupid for me to pay for an apartment when I was at her place all the time anyway. Plus, her place was big enough that we’ve never tripped over each other.
The only thing that I couldn’t figure out was why Kincaid didn’t date. Guys did their best to hook up with her, but it was like she just couldn’t be bothered. I think I’ve seen her go on two dates the entire time we’ve been friends, and each one had ended with her coming home and no second date. At first, I had suspected that something was going on between her and Saxton Voss, but Kincaid had assured me that they were only friends. When she had gone further on to explain that they’d been friends since the second grade, his protective attitude towards her had begun to make more sense. I still didn’t know what her aversion to dating was, but I didn’t question it. Kincaid did her own thing. She wasn’t a follower of the masses, so that was enough of an explanation for me.
“So, are you going to Drummond’s party Saturday night?” Cindy whispered next to me. I always sat in the back of the class, and Cindy Turner always sat next to me for some reason. While I didn’t mind the girl, we were passing acquaintances at best.
“That’s the plan,” I whispered back.
While Drummond Markle wasn’t at the top, top, top of the food chain here at Hales, he was still up there. His family had money, but there was more to the guy than that. He was scorching hot, and he had a personality so charming that he was probably the Anti-Christ, here to lure us all into a false sense of security before devouring our souls. Everyone liked him, and his parties never disappointed. He was also never short of female companionship, and girls didn’t mind sharing him. If I were into sharing, I would have thrown my hat into the ring a long time ago, but I wasn’t into sharing.
No matter how hot the guy was.
“Halloween is only a week away,” she kept whispering. “I wonder if he’s going to have a Halloween bash.”
Halloween was next Friday, and it was always a big deal at every college across the nation. Halloween night and New Year’s Eve night were prime sex nights for college students everywhere. On Halloween, there was much flesh on display that it was hard not to feel the sexual energy in the air. On New Year’s Eve, there was so much hope for a better year that people wanted to start it off on an emotional high, and there was no emotional high bigger than sex.
My thighs clenched at the thought of how long it’s been since I’ve had sex. Scott North had been the last guy I’d been with, but that’d been about eight months ago. We’d met our freshman year, and he’s sort of been a friends-with-benefits options ever since. I liked him well enough, but there was nothing there beyond some satisfying sex when I needed it.
“Well, if Drummond is having a Halloween party, the walls will be busting with people,” I told her, doing my best to keep my voice low. I wasn’t one of those assholes who didn’t care about disturbing class.
“Well, if he’s having a party, I’m going to have to find something that stands out,” she said. “This is our senior year and my last chance at him.”
That surprised me a bit, though I didn’t know Cindy all that well. “You like Drummond?”
She snorted, then caught herself so as not to draw any attention from the professor. “I heard riding his dick is like experiencing a spiritual homecoming,” she replied. “And since he’s not a one-woman man, I’m settling for a one-night stand.”
“Oh, uh…well, good luck,” I muttered. I wasn’t judging her, but I also didn’t chase guys.
However, these days, no guys were chasing me, either, so what did I know?
