She shrugs, thinking. “Besides running? I love the water—paddle boarding and wake boarding and…I don’t know. Swimming? Um. Christmas?”

“Christmas is one of your hobbies?”

“Duh, it’s magical. Who doesn’t love it?”

Okay. Moving on… “What else?”

“I love traveling but haven’t had the chance—or the money.”

“Where would you go tomorrow if you could go anywhere?”

“In the United States?”

I nod. “Sure.”

“Vegas.”

“Vegas!?” What an odd choice.

“Is that weird? I’ve never been there, and it seems so fun.” She shrugs. “Plus it’s not that expensive and there’s so much to do.”

She’s not wrong about that—it’s not that expensive and there’s a fuck ton to do, loads of trouble one could get in.

“It’d only take a day or two to drive.”

Indeed; a couple blokes and I drove there when I was a freshman, fresh off the plane from Britain; they tried to hire me a prostitute, too, but I hardly need to pay someone to suck my dick, do I?

I don’t think they realize prostitutes aren’t as novel to lads in the UK as they are in America. The idea of paying to bang made me want to throw up; it didn’t make me hard.

“Where would you go if you could go anywhere? Anywhere at all?” Georgia asks in kind.

Not Vegas, I want to retort. “Somewhere warm.” With a beach and hammocks hanging beneath palm trees.

“Like Florida?” she counters with a laugh.

“Too many tourists. I’m sick of them—that’s why I stay out of London when I’m home.”

“So maybe the west coast?”

I shrug. “It’s not in America, but Greece is warm.”

Her eyes practically bug out of her skull. “Greece! That sounds so…fancy.”

“It’s warm and a stone’s hop from London.”

“What a stone’s hop?”

“I don’t know, ’bout three hours?”

“That’s it? That doesn’t sound terrible…”

“It’s not a long flight and it’s worth it—bluest water you’ve ever seen.” I woolgather, feeling a bit homesick if I’m being honest, remembering the trips we would take around the holidays, Mum, Dad, Jack, and I—down to Greece after Christmas, usually when my brother and I were home from school. “Yeah, I think I’d like to go back sooner than later now that you mention it.”

“Sounds like a dream.” She sighs, probably not on purpose, a far-off look in her eye as she gazes out at the view before us.

I gather Georgie didn’t come from privilege and didn’t have buckets of money growing up, which is why she had to transfer so late in her college career. She had to follow the money because she didn’t have it in the bank and neither did her parents.

So me talking ’bout Greece and her wishing on Vegas…

The two of us sit here a little longer, listening to the birds and the wind and the rustling of the trees. Watching the foursome as they sit at the edge of the cliff, arms around each other.

Georgie removes her baseball cap, pulling the elastic band from her hair. Braids it in one thick rope falling down her back.

I stand on the picnic table bench and look down at her. “Ready to split?”

She looks up. “Sure, we can go.”

It’s going to take some time to hike back down the bluffs, an hour to get home—maybe stop and grab another coffee—and I may like a nap if we’re going to Nomads for a drink.

Georgia leads the way down.

I watch her braid swing back and forth, back and forth against her back as she navigates the stones and rocks and occasional branch on the hiking trail.

Jaunty.

Cute.

Do my best not to focus on that hair, swinging there, daring me to feel it to see if it’s as soft as it looked when it was down around her shoulders.

Fuck.

Focus, Ash.

Focus.

Words I know I’ll be repeating to myself for the remainder of the year, already regretting the decision to ask her to live with me.

I never did learn the easy way…

Fourteen

Georgia

I wasn’t planning on doing both my hair and makeup to go to a divey little college bar, but here I am anyway, looking cute and feeling rather fine…doing a twirl for Ashley when I entered the kitchen earlier.

He got us an Uber so we could drink, though it’s the end of the weekend and we both not only have class tomorrow, but also training.

I have to be up at five in the morning to run laps at the track, and I’m already dreading it. Already counting the hours of sleep I’ll get based on the time I hop into bed later.

If we’re back by 10, I’ll get six hours once I take my makeup off and rinse in the shower.

If we’re back by 11, I’ll get five hours.

If we’re back by…

And so on.

The smell of my perfume filled the entire car ride on the way to Nomads—and not in a terrible What did you do, bathe in it? kind of way. I caught Ashley sniffing the air in my general direction after we buckled ourselves in, noting with satisfaction that he didn’t comment.

We’re downtown relatively early—most students start heading out around ten, but we want to be home by then—so there are plenty of spots to sit when we arrive at Nomads.

Sidling up to the bar, we choose two stools at the far end, the perfect place for people watching as co-eds begin to slowly trickle in.

Ashley’s knee bumps into mine as we settle in, the contact searing my skin through my jeans.

His elbow jostles my ribcage.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, larger than life and not nearly as compact as I am, constantly bumping into me each and every time he moves.

It’s not his fault he’s huge, but it’s unnerving when he touches me.

I’m not supposed to get butterflies when he bumps me.

I’m just. Not.

Ashley is hungry and orders some food—loaded nachos and mozzarella sticks—and my stomach growls thinking about greasy bar appetizers, also wondering at the same time how clean the kitchen could possibly be.

I’ve watched one too many bars-gone-bad reality TV shows for my own damn good.

“I’m gonna go to the bathroom—can you order me whatever you’re having?”

Ash nods, patiently waiting for the bartender to acknowledge us even though it’s not crowded in here at all. Just a few dudes playing pool in the adjoining room and one or two other people at the counter does not a busy bartender make.

I find the bathroom easily, the women’s slathered in a vomit-inducing shade of pink paint I can’t imagine looks any better the more intoxicated a person becomes.

As I’m pulling my jeans down past my hips so I can use the toilet, my eyes lock onto the bright, colorful artwork on the back of the pink stall door.

Sitting, I pee and scan the flyer at the same time, scanning the words with excitement.

NEW & exclusive Heart Hotel and Casino

All expenses paid

$1000 spending cash