University Park Series Box Set: Books 1-3 (7 page)

Mom’s eyes narrowed and I swore I saw
billows of steam blow out of her ears. Pastor Clifton didn’t look too pleased
either as his eyes darted between Collin and I.

My phone chimed again.

Delaney: WTF? Nothing happened?

My fingers pressed several keys at one
time, but I managed to type a message to her.

Me: Nope. I tried to get him to touch
men bit e got nervous and spit soda on me.

The waiter handed me a glass of water
and I chugged half of it while waiting for Delaney to respond.

Delaney: What? He spit soda on you?

Me: No. Spilled. Damn autocorrect!

Delaney: That sucks. And yesterday? Tell
me he spent the night.

Me: No.

Delaney: No, you’re not telling me, or no,
he didn’t spend the night?

Me: He didn’t stay. Said he had to story
die.

Delaney: What?

I tried to type the right word, but my
fingers weren’t cooperating with my brain.

Me: Stuidy

Me: Stoody

Me: Shit! Study!

Delaney: Is this Lexi? Because she never
has typos!

I giggled.

Me: Yes, it me. I drank four Mimosas.

Delaney: Holy SHIT! You’re drunk!

Me: Yep. Feels good too!

Delaney: ROTFLMAO!

My phone buzzed as another text message
appeared from a number I didn’t recognize. I switched screens to read it.

Lexi, it’s Raven. I need your help. Can
we meet tonight?

“Shit! How did he—” I clamped my hand
over my mouth when I saw all eyes gravitate toward me.

“Is everything okay, Lexi?” Irritation
rang loud in Collin’s voice.

“Sorry, I just forgot to do something.”
I waved a dismissive hand in the air.

Whispering, he said, “Please watch your
language.”

I nodded, not sure how to respond. My
heart was pumping so fast I thought it would explode; not because of my
Freudian slip but because Raven was texting me.

I zeroed in on the keys, making sure to
type my message error free.

Me: How did you get my number?

Raven: Coach got it from Dr. Phillips. I
hope that’s okay because I REALLY need your help. I have a paper due tomorrow
that I forgot about
.

It wasn’t okay because I never
authorized Dr. Phillips to share my cell phone number. Typically, I only gave
it to students I tutored if I thought it was absolutely necessary. It wasn’t my
fault he canceled Thursday’s tutoring session again and failed to have his crap
together. Even if the entire university wanted me to help him, I didn’t want
him to text me.

Or did I?

I hesitated for a moment, looking at my
phone. My mind protested but something in my body welcomed the idea. A stampede
of emotions coursed through my blood, awakening various extremities. Would he
talk dirty to me? I pressed my lips together, forbidding the girlish giggle
from trying to escape. There was only one way to find out.

Me: I guess. Can we meet at five?

Raven: That’s fine. Where do you want to
meet?

My phone buzzed again and Delaney’s
message appeared at the top bar of my phone.

Delaney: I’ll be at the dorm later
tonight. Visiting with family.

Me: Okay. Can’t chat now. I’m talking to
Raven.

Delaney: The football player?

Another messaged displayed from Raven as
I was about to type back an answer to her.

Me: Yes, The Raven. The sexy football
player.

Raven: Thanks. I’m glad you think I’m
sexy.
☺

I looked at the top of the screen,
seeing the name in the ‘to’ field. I had sent that message to Raven!

“Oh no,” I gasped, pressing my phone to
my chest. How could I have been so stupid? That’s what I got for drinking and
texting.

 
Delaney would love to hear about
this. Should I tell her?

Using my better judgment, I decided not
to. If she asked, I would tell her I was tutoring him. That was the truth, after
all.

“Sis, is everything okay?” Luke asked.

“Yeah.” The surge of adrenaline sobered
me instantly.

Me: Sorry. You weren’t supposed to see
that.

Raven: That’s okay. *wink

Oh my God! He winked at me. Cautiously,
I typed back a message.

Me: Let’s meet at the library at five.

Raven: See you then.

I stuffed my phone in my purse, deciding
it was best if I stopped texting. I couldn’t afford another screw up. Collin
and Luke were back to talking baseball and everyone else was deep in various
conversations, seemingly ignoring me again.

“I’ll be back. I’m going to the restroom,”
I informed Collin.

He nodded, breaking eye contact with my
brother for a quick second.

I stood and the floor tilted to the
side. My head swayed and I gripped the chair for support. Placing one foot in
front of the other, I made it to the restroom without falling. The walls of the
stall seemed to move as I sat on the toilet. It reminded me of being in a fun
house except it wasn’t scary or spooky. I washed my hands, allowing the cool
water to spill over my fingers. My body felt hot. I thought about dipping my
head under the faucet, but I figured my mom wouldn’t appreciate it if I came
out looking like a wet mop.

I returned to the table to see everyone
standing, saying their goodbyes. “We’re leaving?” I asked Collin, gripping his
arm for support.

“Yes, it’s almost two.”

“Darn, where did the time go?” I grabbed
my purse and latched on to him.

He guided me outside and the bright
light immediately blinded me. I released Collin’s arm and reached into my
purse, searching for my sunglasses. I slipped them on and walked toward
Collin’s parents.

“Goodbye, Pastor Clifton.” I shook his
hand, keeping a safe distance.

“Take care, Lexi,” he said, squeezing my
hand tightly.

Luckily, Suzanne cut in before I lost
all feeling in my fingers. “Bye, Lexi. Oh, before I forget, I have a few
photographers lined up for you to meet next Saturday at our house. Your mom
said that would be fine.”

 I glanced at Mom and she smiled. Did
anyone care to ask me? “Well, I was going to ask my friend Delaney to take
pictures.”

“Isn’t she your maid of honor?”

“Um, yes. Yes, she is.”

Suzanne adjusted her sunglasses and
released a low laugh. “Then how will she take pictures, dear?”

The words jumbled in my head and I had
trouble focusing. Damn alcohol. “I guess you have a point.”

“Why not ask her to take some pictures
beforehand?” Suzanne started walking toward the parking lot and I followed her.
“I thought she was taking the engagement pictures?”

“Yes, she’s supposed to.” I quickened my
step, trying to keep up with her. The next thing I knew, my foot slipped and I
was airborne. My arms flayed to the side, seeking for something to hold on to
but there was nothing. My butt hit the concrete, sending a sharp pain up my
side. I lay on my back, sprawled on the sidewalk, crying out in laughter. Why I
thought it was funny, I had no idea, but I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Lexi! Are you okay?” Collin rushed to
my side, helping me to sit upright.

“Oh my God, she fell.” Mom covered her
mouth and I started laughing harder.

The Norris’ gathered around me, along
with my parents. Collin’s jaw worked back and forth and I knew he was
withholding a few choice words. Why was everyone so uptight?

“What happened?” My dad’s eyes narrowed
and his nostrils flared. I knew he was mad at me, but more so because my mom
would give him an earful all the way home. Poor Dad.

“I don’t know… I was walking and I,
um...”

“I saw it.” Collin’s younger brother,
Shane, hovered over me, checking out the scene. “She wasn’t paying attention
and missed the step. She was too busy talking to my mom.”

“Thanks, Shane, for that report,” I
grunted as Collin stood me to my feet.

“You didn’t break anything, did you?”
Mom asked in a curt tone.

“No.” I dusted my hands and picked up my
purse.

 “But she’ll have a big bruise in the
morning.” Luke flicked his cigarette and then pulled his keys from his pocket.
“Let’s go, I need to get back so I can study.”

Mom’s mouth fell open. “Why are you
smoking? You know that will impair your abilities on the field!”

“So.” Luke walked off and Mom scurried
after him.

Mom didn’t stop her lecture. “And why
weren’t you watching over your sister? I thought I told you—”

“I’m not her babysitter!” Luke got into
the car and slammed the door shut.

Collin helped me to the car and I
crawled into the back, pressing my face against the cold seat. It felt so good
that my eyes fluttered closed on their own accord. I knew I had embarrassed my
family and Collin, but it was unintentional. The drinks slid down effortlessly
and they seemed to wash away all the worries about the wedding. No wonder
people became alcoholics. The feeling was sort of addicting and I found that I
liked it too much.

“Collin, can I talk to you for a moment?”
Pastor Clifton stuck his head in the car.

“I’ll be back,” Collin said, before
walking off with his dad.

“Damn, Sis. I can’t believe you’re
drunk… and in front of your in-laws,” Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve
got balls girl. I’ll give you that. Mom and Dad are going to rip you apart once
you’re sober.”

“Don’t remind me,” I said, curling my
body into a ball.

“Lexi?” Collin interrupted my dozing
off.

“Yes?”

“I’m going home with my parents.” He
reached in the backseat and grabbed his backpack. Luckily for him, he never
went anywhere without it. “They’ll take me to my apartment later.”

I sat up and my stomach turned. This
couldn’t be good. “Oh, okay.”

“I’ll text you later.
We
need to
have a talk.”

I thought about telling him that I had a
tutoring session with Raven, but I didn’t. The door slammed and he walked off.

Reason number seven: I’m keeping
information from my fiancé.

Σ

My phone rang and I covered my head with
a pillow. A minute later, it chimed again, alerting me I had a message.

“Are you going to get that? It’s gone
off three times in the last ten minutes.”

“Huh?” I peeked out from behind the
pillow. My head throbbed with a vengeance, an obvious indication that I had too
much to drink. Slowly, my vision cleared. I was on the couch at the apartment
my brother and Collin shared with two other guys. I hesitated to look at my
phone, figuring it was either my parents or Collin calling me. Neither of which
I wanted to talk to.

I fished for my phone, finally pulling
it from the bottom of my purse. I had three missed calls and five text messages.
All from Raven.

“Crap!” It was fifteen minutes after
five o’clock.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked, opening the
refrigerator. “Mom’s already calling?”

“No,” I muttered as I quickly texted
Raven that I was running late but would be there ASAP. “I…um, what happened?” I
rushed to the bathroom in the hallway, praying that no one else was there.

“You passed out so I brought you here,”
Luke yelled. “And damn, you might be small, but you have one heavy ass.”

“What? No, I don’t.” I slammed the
bathroom door. After relieving my bladder, I took out a brush and combed my
matted hair. I wiped the black from under my eyes, applied some lip-gloss, and
then opened the door.

“Uh, you try carrying one-hundred and
twenty-five pounds of dead weight up the stairs.” Luke handed me a glass of
water and an aspirin.

“Thanks. How did you know I needed
that?” I swallowed the pill with a sip of water and then popped a piece of gum
into my mouth.

He raised a brow. “I’ve been there
before.” Although I’d never seen my brother drunk, I knew that he wasn’t as
innocent as I was.

“Well, thanks for taking care of me. Is
Collin here?”

“No. He hasn’t made it back yet.”

Thank God!

“Can you take me to the library?” I
slipped my shoes on and straightened my wrinkled clothing.

“Right now?” He looked at his watch.

“Yes, I have a tutoring appointment and
I’m late.”

Tracking down the hall, he said, “All
right. Come on.”

The ride to the library was a few blocks
away, but it would have taken me at least fifteen minutes to get there. We
didn’t say much and Luke didn’t ask me any questions or give me an earful of
his two cents. I guess he figured the lecture from my parents would be enough
not to mention the
chat
Collin wanted to have with me.

“Thanks, Bro. Catch you later.” I hopped
out of the car.

“Later, Sis.”

I hurried across the lawn and was
surprised to see Raven sitting on a bench in front of the library. He glanced
up from his phone and flashed a smile. My stomach flip-flopped. I had to admit;
he looked super sexy in a leather jacket and faded jeans that had a big tear
across the knee.

“Sorry, I’m late. I, uh…” I didn’t know
what to tell him. That I got drunk at brunch and had to sleep it off? Sadly,
I’m sure he would’ve understood.

“Lexi?” His eyes narrowed in confusion.

“Yes?” I took a deep breath, unsure of
why I was breathing so hard.

“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. You
didn’t have to get all dressed up for me.”

Tilting my head to the side, I giggled.
“Oh, I went to church this morning. I didn’t have a chance to change.”

“Oh, darn. I was hoping you were trying
to impress me, you know, since you think I’m sexy.” He winked at me.

A flash of heat burned my cheeks as his
teasing captured every bit of my body’s attention.

“Who doesn’t think you’re sexy?” The
words escaped my mouth and I bit my lip, knowing I walked a fine line between
flirting and being friendly. I knew what the fine print said about what was
acceptable between friends of the opposite sex, but I was choosing to ignore
it.

Reason number eight: I liked how Raven
flirted with me and that was wrong.

His lips spread in a wide grin that
revealed perfect white teeth. “Okay, now you’re embarrassing me.”

“Me?” I pressed a hand to my chest. “I
didn’t think that was possible.”

“Oh it is, believe me.” He stood and
towered over my five-foot-five frame. “Well, you’re thirty minutes late, so you
owe me.”

“Sorry. We’ll work until we get the
paper finished, even if it takes until midnight.”

He inclined his head and we traded
glances that yelled, ‘Warning! Danger ahead!’ but neither of us looked away.
Instead, he held my gaze until I slipped deeper into dangerous territory. I
tried to reel myself back in, but I couldn’t seem to catch hold of anything. I
was falling, emotions first, into The Raven’s trap. And I didn’t try to stop
myself.

“Great, but first, let’s grab a bite to
eat. I’m starving and since we’re going to be up late, I need some food.”

“Sure,” I agreed, knowing damn well that
was the worst thing I could have done.

We walked to a taco shop on the opposite
side of campus. My feet ached from the shoes I wore, screaming for me to take
them off, but I managed to ignore it. Between the pain in my head and feet, not
to mention, my heart, I hoped I wouldn’t pass out again. I felt horrible
knowing that I was probably ruining everything between Collin and me, but I was
tired of being ignored. I needed someone who wasn’t afraid to show me they loved
me and I was tired of trying to please my parents. It was my life to live and I
had to make sure I was making the right decisions.

“What would you like?” Raven stepped
aside, allowing me to order first. I told the girl at the register what I
wanted and took out my wallet.

“I’ll get it this time. Next time, you
pay,” he said, pulling a wad of money from his pocket.

“Okay, thanks.” Since Collin always paid,
I kind of liked the idea of buying a guy lunch or dinner. Raven thumbed through
several twenty and ten dollar bills. I thought about the stories I had read in
the campus newspaper and wondered if they were true.

We got our drinks and sat in the center
of the restaurant at a table. It felt weird not being with Collin, but I tried
to relax and strike up a conversation.

“So, what’s your major?”

“Business.”

Oh no.
Did he have
any classes with Collin?
“What year are you?”

“Sophomore, but I’ll be a junior after
this semester.”

“Oh.” I searched for something else to
say but nothing came to mind. After a few moments of silence, Raven spoke up.

“I had to sit out a semester,” he
explained.

“It happens,” I replied, acting like I knew
other people that had to do the same.

“Hey, you want a beer?” He reached into
his pocket and removed his ID. Curious to know his age, I slid it from his
fingers.

Raven Renee Davenport

3029 Lubbock Street

Fort Worth, TX 76133

“Twenty-one. You just celebrated your
birthday on September twenty-ninth?” I handed it back to him.

“Yeah.” He shucked off his jacket and
spirals of tattooed branches crawled up his right arm. His short sleeve shirt
hid the rest of it and I found myself wanting to trace my finger along the curves
to see where it led me. “Hey, you want a beer or a margarita?” He stood up.

“No, that’s okay. I drank enough
earlier.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” I bowed my head, keeping my eyes
glued to the table.

“That’s not why you were late, is it?”
He leaned against the table, hovering close to me. His wonderful scent
surrounded me and my knees weakened.

I played with the saltshaker, avoiding
eye contact. “Yes.”

He sat down. “I gotta hear this.”

“You don’t want to know.”

“I love to hear drunk stories,” he
clasped his hand together, “especially when they effect me.”

I laughed, but he kept a straight face.
“Waiting.”

“You really want to know?”

He nodded.

“After church, I went with my family to
Blue Mesa for brunch and—”

“The one off of University Drive?”

“No, the one off of Northwest Highway in
Dallas.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, I had too many Mimosas and had
to sleep it off at my brother’s apartment.”

He started laughing. “You got drunk off
of Mimosas?”

I felt my height shrink about five
inches. “Yes. They were really strong.”

“So you’re a light weight?” He turned
when he heard our ticket number called.

“A light weight?”

“Yeah, you know… someone who gets drunk
easily.” He eased up from his seat.

“Well, I—”

“Hold that thought, I’ll be right back.”
He pointed a finger at me while walking backwards to the counter. I laughed
when his elbow collided with the back of a booth and he bellowed a cuss word. That
was Raven, the bad boy that could charm the panties off any girl. But why had
he resorted to drugs and drinking? He seemed like he enjoyed life too much. Maybe
that was it. Maybe he didn’t know when to stop or how to say no.

He placed my basket of tacos in front of
me. “Thanks. They look delicious.”

“Sure.” He sat down and began eating his
food. With a mouth full, he said, “So, if you get drunk off drinking Mimosas
what does beer or tequila do to you?”

I shrugged and then wiped my mouth. “I
don’t know. Never tried them.”

He took a drink of his soda. “You’ve
never drank a beer or taken a shot of tequila?”

“Nope. Never have. I’ve only had wine
and the champagne that’s in a Mimosa.”

“What year are you?”

“Senior.”

He coughed, nearly choking on his food.
“You’re a senior?”

“Uh-huh,” I said in between bites.

“Have you been at PHU all four years?”

“Yes.” I smiled and then gulped down my
water. Water had never tasted so good.

“So, you mean to tell me, you’ve been
here for four years and you’ve never had a beer or a shot of tequila?”

I nodded while chewing my food.

“Wow. Do you live with your parents or
something?”

“Nope. I live in Charter Hall with my
friend, Delaney. My parents are really strict. They preached endlessly to me
and my brother about never drinking, partying, having…” I stopped, not wanting
to admit to the sex god that I was a virgin. That piece of information was
vital to me. One mention of that and he’d probably have me on my back, right
there on the table in the restaurant, in less than a second flat. The Raven
would not be deflowering this girl. No way.

“Sounds like you were homeschooled.”

“I was.”

Raven’s eyes widened and his light-brown
skin turned a shade lighter. “My bad.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “I
didn’t mean to offend you.”

His rough hand melted my skin, rendering
my arm useless. “It’s okay. No offense taken.” His hand lingered on mine a
little too long, but I didn’t mind. “It sucked. Believe me. And my parents
still try to run my life.”

“I see. Well, Lexi, sounds like you’re a
good person who’s been brought up the right way.” He finished off the last bite
of his taco.

“Maybe. But I’m dying to experience life.
I’ll be graduating in May and I don’t want to leave with all these regrets.
It’d be nice to attend one party before I…” I trailed off, refraining from
mentioning the word marriage
.

Reason number nine: I’m totally avoiding
the fact that I’m engaged.

He wiped his hands on a paper towel,
wadded it in a ball, and tossed it into the empty food basket. “You’ve never
been to a party either?”

I shook my head.

He pounded his fist on the table. “Damn,
you are a good girl.”

I crossed my arms and leaned back against
the chair. “But I’m tired of being a good girl. I want to have some fun. I’ll
be twenty-one in March and I haven’t experienced anything.”

A big smile formed across his face.
“That’s spring break, baby. I may be—”

“The Raven’s in the house!” A large
husky guy hollered and hooted as several more guys trailed in behind him. They
had to be part of PHU’s football team based on their size.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Raven clasped
hands with the guy and they exchanged a manly handshake.

They crowded around the table, some of
them shooting a quick glance in my direction while the others didn’t even
notice me. I recoiled further into the chair, feeling the rise of testosterone
in the air within the small restaurant. Never had I been surrounded by so much
muscle, sweat, and eye candy.