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  “Promise ya, Ruby. I didn’t come here with the intentions to lure anyone anywhere. That’s not my style. It’s just music. Well, not just music because nothing can be just music, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a girl with tastes that range from Elton to Slipknot. I’m getting the feeling that I may have hit the frat party jackpot with you and I’d like to get to know you better, away from the blaring, god-awful rap and stumbling drunks.”

  He paused as he looked towards the keg, where a girl in a seriously short skirt was doing a keg stand, apparently not minding that the whole world could see her pink thong. She giggled once she tapped out, falling into the arms of the nearest guy, who was quick to start kissing her neck. I grinned as I watched, wishing that I could be that carefree for once in my life. To just let go, let loose, and have fun, not caring about what anyone thought of me. Not caring what I thought about myself. Turning my attention back to this gorgeous stranger, I wondered if I could do that with him. If I should do that with him.

  He placed a hand on my hip and drew me into him, leaning down until his forehead was pressed to mine. Inhaling sharply, I decided the idea was becoming more appealing by the second.

  “Think of it as an exploration of our compatible musical tastes. What better way to get to know someone than comparing our favorite tunes while also possibly introducing each other to what could become brand-new favorites? I know I’m always looking for new artists to listen to.”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but he stepped back and continued before I could get a word out. “That being said, I will ask you to forgive me, Ruby. I’ve forgotten my manners, apparently, and my momma would be disappointed. The name’s Cohen. Cohen Wellington,” he offered in a sexy, albeit accentuated-for-effect, Southern drawl. In perfect Southern gentleman fashion, he tipped an imaginary hat before extending a hand to me.

  Silly butterflies, ones I was getting extremely used to when it came to this man, settled into my stomach as he told me his name—one that was just as hot as he was. I wanted to say it out loud, knowing that it would sound so perfect coming from my lips. In a breathy tone, elongating each syllable. Cohen Wellington. Instead, I placed my hand in his, and while I wasn’t given a jolt of electric shock from instant lust, the warmth of our palms connecting and our fingers crossing caused the butterflies to increase rapidly. I was two seconds away from either throwing my arms around him or running away scared.

  I felt like an idiot for being so drawn to the first guy to show me a bit of attention, even if he was the best looking one I’d seen on campus. And I kind of liked his idea about us getting to know each other through music. I told myself to calm down, that he wasn’t hitting on me or even flirting. He was just looking for a friend—and I knew that, through our musical connection, he’d probably be a good one to have. Pushing my butterflies away as much as I could, I returned his gaze and gave him a smirk.

  “Ruby? I guess that’s a little better than the usual Red, so I can’t complain.” Who was I kidding? I was practically melting at the nickname. “And it’s nice to meet you, Cohen. I’m Andi.”

  He grinned, and I didn’t miss the way he licked his lips before he surprised me by pushing back from the deck. “It was nice to meet and talk music with you, Andi. Thanks for making my first frat party a memorable one, even if you did spill beer all over my favorite concert T-shirt. I didn’t think I’d enjoy coming here, but I was wrong. I’ll always remember the ruby-haired beauty in the Elton shirt.”

  He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek. I had to stop myself from bringing my hand to my skin, wanting never to wash that spot ever again. Cohen turned away but then stopped to look back at me. I was still frozen in place as my mind began warring with my heart. As crazy as it seemed, the whole leaving-a-party-with-a-stranger thing, I just wasn’t ready to let him go. I wanted to get to know him, to spend more time with him. I didn’t want the night to end, but it was clear that he had no plans on sticking around this party any longer. And to be honest, I didn’t want to either. At the same time, my mind was screaming at me to let him walk away. He gave me a quick smile, and I almost melted when that dimple appeared. Weak in the knees? No. More like weak in the nether regions. Get a grip, Andi.

  Before one side could win out, he gave me a mock salute then gestured towards my shirt. “Check out the song. You just might like it. I’m sure I’ll see ya around.”

  Just as quickly as I’d met him, he walked away, disappearing into the house, but not before I got an eyeful of his ass—one that I’m not ashamed to say that I stared at until it was out of sight.

  Once he was gone, I looked around at everyone having a great time just like they should be a fraternity party. It’s just not my kind of fun, and I realized that I no longer cared to be at this party. When I turned to see the girl in the pink thong setting up for another keg stand, I wondered if I could be like that. Well, not that, but a little more carefree. Did I stay, or did I go after him? My heart and panties were screaming a resounding, Hell Yes! while my mind was telling me to stay put. I could still feel his lips on my skin, and my heart—and panties—won out.

  After taking a deep breath and with my mind made up, I followed him into the house. I searched the kitchen, the living room, and couldn’t find him, so I pushed my way outside to try and catch up with him. When I didn’t see him on the porch, I skipped down the steps and out to the street, where I sighed in relief when I was able to make out his figure not too far away. Even though I knew I was probably going to look desperate, I chased after him, breathless when I finally reached him.

  He must’ve heard my approach, because as soon as I was close enough to him, I could hear him singing The Bitch is Back in a very amused tone. I was running a little too fast to stop and I stumbled into his back, causing him to pause right as he was getting to the whole “stone-cold sober” line before he turned to face me.

  “Maybe not quite sober, but the thought still counts,” he said with a laugh, winking at me in the streetlight.

  I scowled at him playfully, and his arm came up to steady me before it settled around my shoulders as he pulled me into him.

  “So, Ruby, did you decide my intentions were pure, or did you just get really bored back there?”

  I fell into step beside him as we walked towards the dorms, his arm still hanging around my shoulder. Feeling bold from my beer buzz, I slipped my arm around his waist, sliding my thumb into one of his belt loops for good measure as I tried to down play my change of mind.

  “The keg was getting empty, and even if I end up in sordid photos wearing a scary mask, your company seems much, much better than that of all those frat guys.” I paused at the thought. “Wait, you don’t plan on becoming one of those, right?”

  He shook his head vehemently. “Hellll no. I’m pre-med, baby, and joining a fraternity is the last thing on my mind.”

  “Good to know. Pre-med, huh? That’s pretty exciting. I have no idea what I plan on doing.”

  “Well, I’m technically a chemistry major, but I’ll be applying to med school later on. You’re a freshman, right?” he asked.

  As I nodded, I realized that, as attracted to him as I was, we really knew nothing about each other. We had bypassed all the typical ‘getting to know you’ questions and skipped straight to talking about music. I hoped to remedy that quickly. I wanted to say that I liked him, and I did after our first impressions, yet it still felt silly to say that I liked him when I’d known him for less than an hour. I could almost hear Reese telling me to go for it in the back of my head, but I pushed her voice away, not wanting to read too much into things with him.

  “Same here. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do. I’ve just wanted to go into medicine for a long time—much to Dad’s disappointment.” He laughed it off, and the curious part of me wondered what the story was there. I ignored it, though, knowing that this wasn’t the time to discuss family issues.

  We continued to walk, making small talk as he told me about his roomma
te Seth, the one who had apparently dragged him to the part. Once we reached his building, he held a finger up to his lips and glanced around for the RA so he could sneak me in. We quickly shuffled down the hallway, and I had to stifle my laughter. As soon as we made it to his dorm room, he unlocked it and ushered me inside before he quietly closed the door behind him.

  I stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do now that we were in a confined space, completely alone. This was it. My first Friday night in college and I was already in a guy’s dorm room. Alone. Reese’s pesky voice trickled back in, and I could just imagine what she would say. Just go for it, Andi. He’s a total hottie, Andi. You have common interests. See where the night goes. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking, but for once in my life, I was throwing caution to the wind, and when I looked up at Cohen, his heated gaze met mine. Something sizzled in the air, and by the look on his face, I knew it was inevitable—and I couldn’t wait. Tonight, Andi Kane was going to get laid.

  AS SOON the thought crossed my mind, a blush began to creep onto my cheeks. I didn’t even know if Cohen was interested in me like that. I needed to pull it together and not get ahead of myself, but it was hard to as I watched him cross the room, his ass looking fan-freaking-tastic in his jeans. He went to the mini fridge and pulled out a couple of beers, causing me to cock an eyebrow as he handed me one, which I gratefully accepted. The air in the room seemed to be ten degrees warmer than it was outside, and I was thankful for something to cool me down.

  “Older brother who stocked me up when he helped me move in,” he explained as he gestured to his bed for me to sit.

  I did, slipping off my flip-flops and setting down my purse before I climbed onto the bed and rested my back against the wall. He grabbed his laptop and sat next to me, and I didn’t miss the way he made sure he was sitting just close enough so that our thighs were touching. The contact made me flush, but he didn’t seem to notice it as he pulled up his music library.

  “Okay. Here’s the song you’ve been missing out on.”

  I rested my head back against the wall and listened to the sound of Brandon Flowers, Elton John, and Neil Tennant, surprised at how well their voices blended. Not a match I would’ve ever thought of, but it worked. Once the song ended, Cohen looked over at me with a pleased expression on his face. It was adorable—almost sexy, even—and suddenly, I wanted to close the distance between us to place my lips on his until they were pressed up against each other just like our thighs were. Instead, I shook the urge out of my head and blamed it on the alcohol as I took another sip of beer.

  “That was fantastic. I can’t believe I’ve never of it before. I wonder how it slipped under my radar. I thought I’d heard it all when he collaborated with Eminem, but that was almost just as good,” I commented, emphasizing the almost because that Grammy collaboration is one of my all-time favorites.

  “See, Ruby? Just goes to show you that you can’t judge a guy by his concert T-shirt,” he joked, causing me to laugh.

  Time was lost to us as we started sharing our favorite bands, and it was fun learning new songs and bonding over some of our mutual favorites while playfully disagreeing on others. I didn’t care what he said—Boyz II Men will always beat out All-4-One, and Backstreet Boys over N’SYNC any day. As the night continued, I realized that my initial assessment of Cohen was right. I liked him and was really enjoying being in his company. He was just a genuinely nice guy, and the fact that he made me laugh until my sides hurt definitely was a plus.

  When I took a glance at my watch, I was shocked to see that it was nearly two a.m. Hours had gone by way too quickly as we’d continued to get to know each other. I was feeling a fantastic buzz—in both my head and my heart—when he got up from the bed and went to the refrigerator. Opening it wide, he pointed to the inside and gave me a sad frown, indicating there wasn’t any more.

  I felt a twinge of disappointment until, through my drunken haze, I remembered that Reese had slipped a gift into my purse earlier before we left for Cy’s party. As I went to scoot off the bed to retrieve my purse, Cohen chose that exact same time to hop back on. Somehow our bodies tangled together, and before I knew it, we were on a collision course, falling towards the floor, with Cohen landing directly on top of me. I caught my breath as he looked down on me, and my eyes willed him to finally close the distance so he’d kiss me. His gaze was hungry, wanting, and when he started to lean in, I closed my eyes in anticipation of his kiss—and he did not disappoint.

  When his lips met mine, the kiss was soft, sweet, with a lace of what I could only call hesitation. Fireworks didn’t go off and magic didn’t fill the air, but there was an electricity there that I’d never felt before, and I knew that this was the best first kiss of my entire life. It sounded cliché, but it was the truth. Every other first kiss had been filled with anticipation of how far the guy could get me to go, with racing lips and tongues that darted in and out like frogs trying to catch a fly. Cohen’s was different. It wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t frenzied. It was tentative, cautious, and it made my heart flutter at his tenderness. I’d never been given that before, and I knew I’d never forget this moment for the rest of my life, even if I was feeling a buzz. No amount of alcohol could take this memory away from me.

  My arms were stock-still by my body even though I wanted nothing more than to reach up and slip my hands around his neck so I could pull him in deeper. Before I could move, he made it clear that he had other plans.

  He pulled away from after the chaste kiss and grinned down at me. The instant his lips left mine, I missed them, and I whimpered, letting him know just that. It only caused his smile to widen, and I wanted to lean up and give him something else to smile about.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you said People Equal Shit.”

  My heart melted. Fluttered. Lifted. Swooned, even.

  Matching his own smile, I gazed up at him. “And I’ve been wanting and waiting for you to do that ever since you called me a bitch.”

  He laughed, and a shiver ran down my spine as his hand went to my waist, where it slid underneath my T-shirt and trailed along my bare skin. “You do know Elton’s talking about himself, right?”

  Nodding, I didn’t say a word. Instead, I wished he’d stop talking and get back to kissing me, but he didn’t. He just kept watching me as he traced his fingers up and down my side. It became unnerving, and I could feel my heart racing and my breathing turn shallow the more he moved across my skin. He didn’t say a word, just continued to touch me, but not where I wanted him to. It seemed like I’d have to take matters into my own hands.

  Turning my head to the side, I found that my purse was within my reach, so I pulled it to me. Slipping my hand inside, I rummaged around until my hand connected with the stainless-steel flask. I pulled it out and held it up for him.

  “Party favors?”

  His fingers stopped moving as he slipped his hand out of my shirt. I wanted to curse myself for ruining the moment, but perhaps a little more liquid courage would help things progress between the two of us. He pushed up and helped me off the floor before he led me back to the bed.

  “Woman, you’ve been holding out on me.”

  I unscrewed the cap and took a good, long swig before handing it over to him. “Nah, not holding out on you. Just saving the best for last,” I teased, giving him a brazen wink and what I hoped was my best come hither look as I patted the bed beside me.

  As soon as I said those words, the whole losing-my-virginity plan came to the forefront of my mind and I could hear Reese cheering me on to just do it already. The alcohol made my brain a little fuzzy. Not so much so that I didn’t know what I was doing, but just enough to get up the courage to take my virgin status by the reins and say goodbye to her once and for all.

  Hell, Cohen was cute. He was funny. He had a great taste in music. He seemed like someone I could get along with, and it felt so nice to be with a guy who didn’t look at me like Blake’s ex-girlfriend, a wild mare to be conquered, or the
mayor’s daughter. If he made love the same way he kissed, I knew he’d be tender, that he’d take care of me, and it’d be so, so worth it.

  “Oh yeah, you definitely saved the best for last,” he agreed after downing a bit of tequila. “I didn’t drink much in high school, and that stuff always goes to my head. But damn, that burn feels good.”

  “I lived in the sticks. All we did was drink, have bonfires, and listen to country music. Think of your most cliché idea of a small backwoods town and that’s where I’m from. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t downing tequila every weekend, but I’ve had my fair share of Boones Farm and Bud Light over the past couple of years.”

  He lay down on the bed and held his arm out for me to lie down beside him. Being around him was comfortable, and I didn’t hesitate to move in close. He put an arm around me and we cuddled up, sharing his pillow as we continued to pass the flask back and forth while talking about our high school years. I couldn’t believe how different they were. While I was from a small-ass town, he grew up in an affluent suburb of Nashville where celebrities lived. I never would’ve guessed he came from money, and the way he glossed over it, I could tell that he didn’t care to flaunt it.

  “What did you mean earlier about your dad being disappointed with you wanting to go to med school? I’d think any parent would be proud of that,” I asked, hoping it wasn’t too intrusive for a first date. Not that this had been classified as a date, but it had begun to feel like one.