I shook my head. “How the heck did you have time to manage that? And why wasn’t I invited?”
“Well.” She looped her arm through mine and started leading us toward our next class. “While you were sucking face with my cousin day and night, I started exploring my ‘after high school’ options.”
Wow, how very un-Lexi-like.
She continued, “And I didn’t invite you because you were too busy sucking face with my cousin all the time.”
Geez. That stung a little but was probably close to the truth. “So what is he like?” This was normal. Comfortable. Talking boys with my best friend. I needed normal right now.
She got a starry quality in her eyes. “Hot. Athletic. Hot. Dreamy eyes. Hot. And the best part…he wasn’t put off by me.”
Her giddiness was infectious. “I think I get the point.” He had Lexi drooling, and the icing on the cake was he, apparently, was like me. Lacked the gene that made most people leery of Divisa. I knew that was what Lexi had been longing for. What she thought she would never have. I couldn’t help but hope this guy wasn’t a d-bag.
If anyone deserved the fairytale ending with her prince charming, it was Lexi. No one deserved sublime happiness more.
“You have got to check it out. The campus I mean, not the guy. It’s perfect,” she gushed, rambling. “I know that you and Chase would love it. Just think, the three of us in college, together.”
I groaned. I didn’t exactly share her gusto. A bunch of horny, drunk frat boys in the same vicinity as my protective (that was putting it nicely) half-demon boyfriend. Add Lexi into the mix…
Total recipe for disaster.
But now that there was a definite future for me, college was becoming more and more appealing.
Dorm rooms.
No parents.
Chase whenever I wanted.
It was a no-brainer. We were going to college if I had to drag him there by his ear. “I think I’d like that,” I heard myself say just as we walked through the classroom door.
“Eeee!” she squealed. “We are going to have the best summer. I can’t wait to tell Emma.”
“Don’t tell me. Emma has decided she wants to attend the same school.”
She nodded. “She came with me to visit the school, took one look at their archery department, and fell head over heels in love. But she has to attend summer classes if she wants to graduate on time.”
College.
Watch out University of Illinois. Things were about to get very interesting—or weird—on campus. If it was anything like high school, we were all going to be in hot water. There were only a few months left before graduation, which meant Chase and I better work on our applications ASAP.
After school, I handed Chase a school admittance form for the university and plopped down next to him on my couch.
“What is this?” he asked, giving me a funky look that was still cute on him.
I tossed him a pen, which he caught midair. “A college application,” I informed him, clicking the top on my pen.
He stuck his pen behind his ear and stretched out his legs in front of him. “When did we decide to go to college?”
“Today.”
One dark eyebrow went up, the silver hoop catching in the lamplight. “Do you really think college and I are a good idea?”
“Yes.”
He wasn’t convinced.
I turned toward him, our legs bumping. “Chase, you can’t let what you are limit you. So what if you have a dark side? Who doesn’t?”
I got the one-sided smirk. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
I shrugged. What else made sense? I didn’t know what was going through his head on a good day. Emotions—sure, I could detect those all day long, but Chase was good at making my head go loopy. “If that’s not it, then what is your beef with obtaining a higher education?”
“Will it make you happy?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He let out a long reluctant sigh. “Okay. Let’s go to college. I am so going to regret this,” he mumbled.
Throwing my arms around his neck, I planted a quick kiss on his lips.
“I got you something, too,” he said as I pulled away. “But I am thinking I got the shittier side of the stick.” He dug around in his book bag and pulled out a humongous red bag.
I couldn’t stop the stupid smile that flashed on my lips. “A month’s supply of Skittles.”
He gave me a lopsided grin. “Only the green and purple ones.”
“Did you sort them yourself?”
He snorted. “I don’t love you that much.”
I sent him a long, under-the-lash look. “Yes you do.”
His eyes, a burnish gold, dazzled me. “It’s no big deal. I just thought you could use something sweet in your life.”
“Chase, shut up,” I murmured and sealed his rambling with a kiss. I already had something sweet in my life. Him.
Our souls were bound together. Our hearts were tied together. And now our bodies were pledged to one another.
He might be part demon, but he was my guardian angel.