Warm Blood Over Marigolds

CHAPTER ONE: Reunited

                                         Zoey

"Zoey!" Hunter called from afar.

I stopped in my tracks and spun around to see her running towards me, dragging her suitcase behind her. 

"Babe, I missed you so much!" she exclaimed as she crouched down, scooped me up into her loving embrace, and kissed me intensely. I cupped her bottom lip between mine and squeezed her tightly.

Putting me back down carefully, we relished the moment of finally being reunited after what had seemed to be an eternity away from each other.
While Hunter spent her summer break going to Korea to visit her father, I stayed back at the family farm to help care for my grandmother's garden. It had been too long and we had to catch up with each other and make up for the lost time. After a few more hugs and kisses later, we continued to walk hand in hand towards our dormitory building.

I really believed that she and I were meant to be. Even though, we couldn't be more different from one another. Hunter Park was half Korean and half Irish. She had fair, freckled skin and she kept her naturally red and wavy hair at medium length. Very rarely, did she let it down from the ponytail she religiously wore every day. She was athletically built and very tall- about 5'10". Her height was an advantage for her because she was a beast on the courts for our school's basketball team. 

On the other hand, I was a midsized, third generation Cuban-American. My skin was tanned and I wore my bright purple dred locs in a high bun at the top of my head. If that didn't make me stand out enough, I even had a silver septum piercing and a couple tattoos- nothing major though. I didn't play any sports like Hunter. Instead, I was a garden gay and loved flowers and nature.  

"I can't wait to be alone with you!" I squealed, looking up into her sexy, hazel-green eyes and clenching her hand in excitement. 

Hunter gave me a sexy smirk and flirted, "Oh... you have no idea about the things I'm going to do to you..."

Flushed, I nervously laughed but I looked forward to finding out what she was talking about. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer because we had now made it to our building.

"Welcome to Miramar College, where your dreams come to reality and your future starts now," Hunter sarcastically read the banner hanging above the yellow double doors. The outside of the dorm was made of brick and radiated a drabness. Making our way inside, however, we immediately felt welcomed and refreshed by the colorful communal area that hosted a cozy living area and an all-white kitchen.

There were four other women there that had arrived before we did. Three whom I already knew. Two of them were hugging and catching up in the living room. One of them was going back and forth out of the building to grab more of their belongings, and the other woman went up the stairs to the living quarters. My eyes followed her until she disappeared to the second floor.

"This place is so cool! So much better than last year's place. Right, Amanda?!" one of the women exclaimed as she threw herself onto the huge, pink sofa that centered the living area.

"Yes, girl! Say less!" agreed the other woman while obnoxiously waving her long and freshly manicured nails around. 

She looked all around the space and continued, "The parties we could throw here... Just imagine, Gracie."

Amanda and Gracie were party girls for sure. Both were on Miramar's cheer squad and were total divas. Looks-wise, they both were in great shape and they each had blonde hair and blue eyes. They looked so much alike- they could easily be mistaken for twins. It also didn't help that they matched outfits often.