An Unexpected Roommate

Chapter 4: Light Blue and Gold and Navy

JADE:

"And you didn't think to tell me that Ryder Mason was staying with you?" Lacey whispered fiercely in my ear, though her voice was all excitement and no anger. "He just kissed your hair, did you know that? He kissed you."

I rolled my eyes. "He did that for attention," I said.

"Yes, well, he deserves that attention, doesn't he? A face like that. A body from the gods." I didn't respond, and I could feel Lacey's eyes on me. "Oh my gosh, you're turning pink all over! You've got it for him!" She laughed and clapped, her blond curls bouncing and her eyes sparkling. "What are his eyes like up close?"

"Lacey-" I sighed.

"Don't Lacey me," she said through her grin as we slipped into our seats. "Hey, Noah," she said to my neighbor and other best friend. He leans toward us.

"Heard Ryder Mason is living with you," he said, brown eyes sparkling, tall form hunched over. "Is he as gorgeous as they say?"

"I'm trying to get her to describe his eyes," Lacey huffed.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Fine!" I said, throwing my hands up in defeat. "His eyes are so beautiful they make me want to write poetry about the ocean!"

"There we go!" Lacey said, high-fiving Noah. "More!" she demanded.

I laughed. "I've never seen eyes like his in real life before. They're exactly like in the pictures and movies. Light blue and gold, and the outside is ringed with navy blue."

Lacey slumped back in her seat, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I loved it when he played that character, Jason, in his movie last year."

"He's not a hot nerd in real life," I reminded her.

"He's hot in real life, and that's mostly what I care about," she laughed. "Seriously, if I were you I would have turned my face up when he kissed your hair."

"Lacey-"

"Just sayin'" she said, pulling a notebook out of her book bag. "You live with him. Take advantage. Flirt. Snoop in his room. Walk around in your underwear."

"I don't do that even when there's no one around in the house," I commented.

"You're not living your best life, then," Lacey said. When I gave her an odd look she just shrugged.

+++

"What's the most satisfying thing in the world?" This question, posed by Lacey to our group of friends as we sat at our lunch table, had us all raising an eyebrow at her.

"Feeling sentimental?" I asked.

She smiled. "Psychology project." She pointed down at her notebook with the pen in her hand. I looked down at her paper, but the writing was all in a light pink ink and written in her terribly curly lettering, it would give me a headache to read. "Now answer."

Brian raised a brow. For an undercover nerd, he was hot. And he knew that and used it to his advantage. He just never mentioned his affinity for videogames on dates, and focused more on his involvement on the soccer team.

Lacey swung her blonde locks around and hit Brian on the arm, but he just ducked his head and laughed, trying not to spit take the Gatorade he had just taken a swig of. "Don't be gross," Lacey said, placing her chin in her palm, and her elbow on the table. To do so she had to scrunch a little awkwardly. Almost as tall as Brian was, she didn't look like a hulking, strong figure, but kind of like a weeping willow. She was the tallest dancer in our class.