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Len put his hand out to give hers a shake. “Nice to meet you, sister’s friend.”
“Same,” she said, “and thanks for offering to help.”
“Of course,” Lennox said, still holding her hand. “Always happy to help a friend of Auden’s. Plus, I’ve always wanted to see how the other half lives. Guys aren't allowed in the underclassmen girls’ dorms except on move-in day. It all feels very scandalous.”
“Right,” she said with a nervous smile.
Auden was about to elbow Lennox for even the hint of innuendo, but he caught the way O’Neal’s gaze swept down over Lennox, taking in the tattoos, the black jeans, the Docs. She rolled her lips together and looked down, her cheeks taking on a pink tinge. He couldn’t get a read on if it was because she was uncomfortable with Lennox’s look or if she was into it, but he knew Len had to have noticed the natural submissiveness in the move. The guy picked up on that stuff like a bloodhound catching scent.
Auden wished in that moment that O’Neal wasn’t so innocent, that she wasn’t his sister’s best friend, that she was someone who wouldn’t be traumatized or horrified by what he was into.
Lennox put his hand on Auden’s shoulder. “Why don’t we get started? We can knock this out in no time and then take O’Neal to get some decent food off campus. You don’t want to start off your college career with cafeteria food. Trust me.”
Auden sent Lennox a look. They weren’t supposed to be inviting her anywhere.
O’Neal’s gaze jumped to Auden as if seeking permission. She must’ve read something in his expression because she quickly said, “Um, no, y’all don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have other things to do today, and I have to meet my roommate and stuff.”
The fact that she’d deciphered anoon his face made him feel like a jerk. She was here alone on a campus she didn’t know. He forced a smile. “We’re going to be grabbing food anyway after this, so you’re more than welcome to join.”
She still looked unsure, but she grabbed her backpack from the bench. “Thanks. Maybe.”
Lennox put his hand out to take her bag for her, and then she led them both to her car. She didn’t have much beyond two heavy duffel bags and a few boxes, so they had her loaded into her room in about twenty minutes. O’Neal didn’t say much beyond where to put the boxes, and she kept glancing to the other side of the room. Her roommate’s bed was already made up with a colorful flowered comforter, so the girl was around somewhere.
“Do you know who you’re rooming with?” Auden asked while he helped her unload some books from a box.
“I know her name. We’ve exchanged a few texts. She seems nice,” she said, putting her books on a shelf in an order that apparently only she could understand. “It will be weird living with anyone at all, though. I’m so used to having my own room.”
“Yeah, it was weird for me too,” Auden said.
Lennox laughed. “Especially when he walked in and saw me. I think he suspected I was a Satanist or something. I was going through a goth/guyliner phase.”
O’Neal looked surprised for a moment and then laughed. “Not a worshiper of the Dark Lord then?”
“Nah,” he said, sitting on the edge of her bed. “More of a Stoic these days. I think schools of philosophy offer better guidance than organized religions most of the time.”
Auden snorted and sent O’Neal a conspiratorial look. “Did I mention that art majors are the worst? They say things likeschools of philosophyin regular conversation.”
She gave Auden a half-cocked smile that sent heat straight downward. “I hope I get along as well with my roommate.”
Len made an amused noise in the back of his throat. One that seemed to say,you have no idea.
Auden sent him a warning glance and then turned back to O’Neal. “Aiming for not wanting to murder each other is a good first step. Set the bar low.”
“Got it.” She held his gaze for a moment as if she wanted to say something else then turned back to her bookshelf.
Silence stretched for a long moment.
“So,” Lennox said, slapping his thighs and standing up. “Looks like we’re done. I’m going to bring these empty boxes out to the recycle bin, and then let’s get that food.”
“Yeah, sure,” Auden said. “We’ll meet you out front in a minute.”
Lennox grabbed the boxes and gave him a little nod as he passed. “No rush.”
Auden realized then that Len was making himself scarce so that he could talk to O’Neal alone. Clear the air. “Thanks.”
Lennox headed out, whistling a tune that sounded suspiciously like Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.”
O’Neal watched Lennox go, tracking him like she was a scientist who’d discovered a new species, and then sat on the spot he had vacated. When she looked back to Auden, her blush was back. He sat down across from her in the desk chair.
