Year One

chapter 2

Four weeks in, and Spencer had already realized that mornings like these would be few and far between. Coach had blessed them with a lighter practice, and for the first time that month, the wide receiver was on his way back to the athlete's dorms to get a glorious nap in before his afternoon summer classes.

Or at least he had been.

That was before he spotted a girl with a headful of twists scowling at an innocent piece of paper.

The focused, and exhausted, part of his brain yelled at him to keep it pushing, let her deal with whatever she had going on on her own. But something about this irritated-looking, doe-eyed woman had him gravitating closer. "Aye, you good?"

He eyed her up and down, and before his eyes could make it back up to her face, a crinkled, unfolded pamphlet got shoved at him.

"I've never been good with maps."

His eyes shot up, alarmed at this stranger's brashness.

"How the hell am I supposed to know which way north is?"

As a subtle reminder of human decency, he extended a hand. "Hello, I'm Spencer. And you are?"

Her already wide eyes somehow went wider. "Shit, I'm sorry." Within seconds, her soft fingers were wrapping around his, her gentle touch serving him an intoxicating dose of whiplash. "I'm Olivia, and... I'm lost."

While she shook, his eyes took the liberty of roaming this new beauty. The first thing he noticed was she had money. Lots of it. The next, she didn't really comprehend the concept of weather. It was hitting 90 out, and she had on oversized shorts, a tube top, a wool blazer, and... combat boots?

She must not be from here.

"You said Spencer, right?" Smirking, she dropped her gaze to their connected hands. Even though she had been the one to start shaking, he was still holding on, swinging away.

"My bad." He tilted his head at the map. It was of their campus. Correction, his campus. He had no clue what relation this girl had to the school.

Which didn't matter because he was on his way back to his dorm to a nap that was still calling his name.

"Where you tryna go?"

"Um, I don't know. I think I heard them mention something about The Center... The Community?"

"The Commons."

"Yeah, maybe there? I stopped to look at the school of Fine Arts, and then they were gone."

He crumpled the map in his fist and took a chance. Fuck a nap. He could sleep when he's dead. "How about I show you around instead?"

Her eyebrows shot up, and she assessed his seriousness, eyeing his cutout tank, the sweat stain spreading on his chest, his Nike backpack with the school's logo printed on it. "You sure I'm not interrupting something? I'm sure I can find my way."

"You like sushi?" he blurted.

Her lips twisted. "Depends."

His stomach dropped. He knew nothing about sushi, but for the first time in his life, he had money coming in, and this girl looked like she ate it on the regular. That's what he got for assuming.

"Are you inviting me?"

Every muscle in his shoulders relaxed. Never mind the fact that raw fish made him queasy. The leftovers in his dorm would keep him over.