The Billionaire Boys Club (Billionaire Romance Series Book 1) (13 page)

“Perfect. Come on, Kels,” Jessica said. Kelsey put her tablet into her bag and the three of them left the library.
 

“Want to invite Ash?” Jessica asked.

“My roommate was laying out clothes earlier. I think Ashley has a date,” Dylan said.

“I think she mentioned it to us, Jess,” Kelsey said.

“I blocked it out. I still can’t believe she’s going out with him,” Jessica replied.
 

They dropped their bags off at the dorm, walked to Dylan’s car, and drove to the restaurant. Dylan parked and handed the keys to Kelsey.
 

“I’m drinking tonight. You drive us home,” he commented.
 

“OK,” Kelsey replied, putting the keys into her pocket. They walked into the huge restaurant and were seated.
 

“So hungry,” Jessica said. “I think it’s the stress. Let’s order a lot.”
 

“It sucks,” Dylan said, looking over the menu.
 

When the waitress returned, they ordered three appetizers, meals for each of them, beer for Dylan, and sodas for the girls.
 

“I’m going to gain that 1L eighty doing this.” Jessica commented. “Maybe I should work out with you, Kels. I’ve got to get up early to work out with the billionaire boys though.”

“Who?” Dylan asked.

“Ryan Perkins and Tyler Olsen work out with Kelsey at 6 a.m.”
 

“Interesting. You’re still working out, Kels?”

“It helps with the stress,” she replied.
 

“Maybe I should try it,” Dylan said.
 

“It’s good for you,” Kelsey said.
 

“You worked out in college, Kelsey?” Jessica asked.
 

“I did.”

“That’s why you’re so skinny.”

“I’m not skinny.”

“Skinnier than me,” Jessica pouted.
 

“Not for long,” Kelsey said as their nachos were delivered to the table. She took a chip covered in cheese and salsa and popped it into her mouth. “Oh, yeah, that’s good.”
 

The fries, drinks and wings were delivered in short order, and the trio descended on them.

“It’s like we haven’t eaten in days,” Kelsey commented, lips covered with grease.

“It’s the stress,” Jessica said, licking sauce off her fingers. Dylan ordered a second beer.
 

“So what’s our game plan for Civ Pro?” Dylan asked.

“Besides not failing?” Jessica asked, taking a fry.

“We aren’t going to fail,” Kelsey said.
 

“Speak for yourself,” Jessica replied. “Dudley is completely incomprehensible to me.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll just use the other resources available to us to figure things out,” Kelsey replied.
 

“Wikipedia,” Dylan chimed in.

“Funny,” Jessica said. “Look, we’ve learned something from those outlines.”

“Yeah, we’ve learned that we need to learn Civ Pro from somewhere else,” Dylan said.

“Don’t be a hater, Dylan,” Jessica snapped.

Dylan shrugged and took a fry.

“We have to stick together,” Kelsey said, biting into a chip. “I don’t know about the two of you, but I need all of the help I can get.”
 

“Agreed,” Dylan said.
 

“Me too,” Jessica said. “Cheers,” she said, holding up her glass. Dylan clinked it with his.

“What do you think of Torts?” Kelsey asked Dylan.

“At least I sort understand what’s going on.”
 

“How’s Maclellan for property?” Jessica said.

“Tough,” Dylan replied, shaking his head.
 

“I like my class,” Jessica said. “It actually makes a little sense. Who do you have, Kels?”
 

“Weber. He’s okay.”

“Just okay?”
 

“He never seems to follow the reading. I’m not sure why he assigns it.”
 

“Just another hurdle for us. It’s like being hazed,” Dylan commented.

“I’m sure there’s some logic to it,” Kelsey said.
 

“You’re the only one who believes that, Kels,” Jessica said, winking at her.
 

“Kelsey is going to do really well here,” Dylan said.

“We all will.”
 

“No, you have the discipline,” Dylan said.

“So do you.”

“This isn’t like college,” Dylan said. “I feel like I’m over my head.”
 

“We’ll learn to swim,” Kelsey said. “Anyway, stop scaring Jess.”

“I’m just going to eat my way through this semester. That’s a benefit of fleeces. They hide the fat well,” Jessica said, taking another fry.

Kelsey laughed.
 

“You guys are killing me,” she said.

“We just have to make sure that Darrow doesn’t kill us,” Jessica said, chewing.

Kelsey worked out with Ryan on Saturday and Sunday. Tyler did his workout and ignored both of them.
 
Afterward on both days, Kelsey and Jessica spent the rest of the day in the library, trying to get a handle on Civil Procedure. Dylan said he was studying in his room, and didn’t join them.
 

“All right,” Jessica said, holding her casebook on Sunday. “What does Rule 8a require?”

Kelsey thought for a moment. “You need to make a statement about jurisdiction, state a claim, and say what relief you want.”
 

“Great, Kels!”
 
Jessica said.
 

“Okay, this is starting to make a little sense,” Kelsey said.
 

“You think?” Jessica said. Kelsey smiled at her. ”OK, maybe a little bit. It’s too bad Dylan didn’t come today.”
 

“Maybe he needs a break from Civ Pro,” Kelsey said. “We do have two other classes.”
 

“We’re only taking exams on two of them this semester though. Civ Pro is half of this semester grades,” Jessica said.
 

“Don’t remind me,” Kelsey said. “Give me another question.”
 

“What’s a 12-b-6 motion?” Jessica asked.

Kelsey bit her lip. “Aren’t you asking for a dismissal of the case? But I can’t remember why.”

Jessica put the book in front of her and pointed. “I’m not reading that explanation,” she said. Kelsey read the paragraph.
 

As Kelsey read, Jessica twirled her curly hair and twisted it into a bun.
 

“Ok, that makes sense,” Kelsey said.

“I’m glad you think so,” Jessica said.

“Jess…”

“There’s a reason I’m reading the questions, Kels,” Jessica said.

“We have some time.”
 

“I know. I can’t believe we’ve only been here for three weeks.”
 

“It’s incredible,” Kelsey said.
 

“Let’s take a break,” Jessica said, pushing the book aside.
 

“Okay,” Kelsey said. She took her hair out of its ponytail and combed her hand through it.
 

“So you saw your hottie this morning.”
 

“Jess.”

“Come on, Dylan isn’t interested in me, so I’ve got to live vicariously through you.”
 

“Dylan’s too stressed to be interested in anyone,” Kelsey mused.
 

“Anyway, about Ryan.”

“What about Ryan?”
 

“Are you going out with him if he asks you?”
 

“I don’t know,” Kelsey said. “I don’t know if I need the distraction. I’m not here to find a husband, unlike some people.”
 

“Some people are keeping their options open,” Jessica retorted.

“I’d have to think about it.”
 

“He’s really cute though,” Jessica said.

Kelsey giggled. “That he is.”
 

On Monday and Tuesday morning, Ryan was a no-show in the gym. Tyler Olsen was there at his usual time. Having nothing else to do except her own workout, Kelsey noticed that Tyler had changed his workout while she had been chatting with Ryan during the weekend. Instead of working out his legs for as long as before, he had added two exercises on his arms. Kelsey mused that it was too bad that he was so irritating, because he was almost as cute as Ryan.
 

When Tyler stood up to leave Property on Tuesday afternoon, Ryan took his seat. Tyler looked back at him and Ryan winked. Tyler didn’t react and left the room.
 

“Hi, Kelsey,” Ryan said.
 

“Hi, Ryan,” Kelsey said. He really was a breath of fresh air.
 

“So I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me on Saturday?” Ryan continued.
 

Kelsey looked at him and smiled. “Where?”

“Movie? Dinner? Both?” Ryan asked. “Both, I think,” he answered.

“Sounds good,” Kelsey replied.
 

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” Ryan said. He gave her a big smile and walked off.

“Ryan Perkins asked me out,” Kelsey said over dinner.
 

Jessica put her fork down and looked at her. “No way,” she said.
 

“It’s true.”

“I didn’t think those guys would go out with just anyone.”

“Thanks.”
 

“You know what I mean.”
 

Kelsey grinned. “I know. Normal girls.”

“Yeah,” Jessica replied. “So what did you say?”

“I said yes,” Kelsey said, with a bit of surprise.

“Wow, Kels, you’ve been pretty serious about your studies. I wasn’t sure that you’d take a night off for a guy.”
 

“You have a point, but Ryan’s really nice.”
 

“He hangs out with those mean guys though.”
 

“They’ve known each other forever, like Dylan said. Anyway, I’m not sure that we’ve judged them fairly. Only Brandon and Matthew are really mean. Zachary is fine.”
 

“What about the one who calls you princess?”

“Tyler? Whatever,” Kelsey shrugged. “Anyway, Ryan’s nice and I’m going out with him on Saturday.”
 

“Does that mean you’re skipping the trip downtown with us?”
“Yeah, I probably should. Then I can study that afternoon.”

“I’ll bring you back something nice.”
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey said, taking a bite of her dinner.
 

“Do you like him?” Jessica asked.

“Ryan?” Kelsey smiled, thinking for a moment. “Maybe.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” Dylan asked as Jessica looked for her keys.

“I’m sure,” Kelsey said. “I need to get some work done.”

“It’s so awesome,” Ashley said. “I’m going out with Matthew, you’re dating Ryan.”
 

“It’s one date,” Kelsey replied.

“Sure,” Ashley said. “I think that Ryan really likes you. Have you seen how he looks at you?”
 

Kelsey blushed and Dylan frowned, just a little bit.
 

“Found them!” Jessica said in triumph.
 

“Okay, Kels. Have a good time studying,” Dylan said.

“And a better time tonight!” Ashley smiled at her.
 

“See you later,” Jessica said.
 

“See you guys,” Kelsey said, as the three of them left, and shut the door. Kelsey turned back to the books on her desk. She opened one, then sat back in her chair, thinking.
 

Ever since she had met Ryan Perkins, Kelsey had wondered about what he was like. He was cute, of course, but so was Tyler. Jessica had wondered if something was in the water of Medina to make them so attractive.
 

But Ryan was different from the rest. More friendly, more willing to get to know her. Sure, Tyler had helped her in the gym, but she figured that it was because he thought of her as a little girl who might hurt herself on the big equipment. Ryan had always been looking for a chance to talk to her.
 

Kelsey found that she was excited to finally have the opportunity to sit down and get to know him. Darrow was so small that it was difficult to have dinner with someone on campus without everyone asking if you were dating the next day. In fact, people had already assumed that Dylan was dating either her or Jessica because he joined them at the dining hall on occasion. So Kelsey was looking forward to being with him off campus, getting to find out what made Ryan Perkins tick. First, however, she needed to read 80 pages of property cases.

At six, Kelsey started to get ready. She had run over to the dining hall for a quick lunch, then gone right back to work. She hadn’t been on a real date in months. Her last semester of college, she had been too busy to go out, and in Port Townsend, although she went out with her girlfriends a few times, she wasn’t interested in any of the few boys she knew from high school that were still there.
 

Kelsey had decided to prove Jessica wrong about Northwestern girls and get a little dressed up for tonight. She took a shower and blow-dried her hair with Jessica’s blow dryer. Her brushing gave her blonde locks a sleek shine. Kelsey looked through her dresser and pulled out a slim black dress that she had packed for just such an occasion. It fitted the athletic curves of her body well and, when it covered the lacy, lightly-padded bra that she had also brought along, made her look like a model.
 

Kelsey opened the tiny bag which held her sparse collection of cosmetics and perused them for a minute. She took out a small tube of BB cream, which was almost full, and placed a small amount on her fingers. She carefully smoothed it over her face, looking in the mirror as she wasn’t used to the process. After adding eyeshadow, mascara, and a little bit of Jessica’s coral blush, she looked at the full effect and was satisfied. She put on a sheer lip gloss to complete the look.
 

She put on her only pair of heels, over a pair of pantyhose she had bought at the pharmacy the day Ryan had asked her out, and smoothed down her dress. Kelsey was beautiful and she felt like it.
 

As she placed her keys and the lip gloss into her black bag, she heard keys in the door.