“You’ll be made to stop. They’ll file sexual harassment against you.”
His smile dropped, his eyes turned to stone and he came closer than ever; his clean smell tickling her nose. He smelled so good, and his nearness had her knees trembling. She told herself it was just because he was so tall, but truthfully, it was because he was devastatingly attractive.
Muscle lumps in all the right places, dark hair, and eyes that when he looked at you, made it seem that everything but you didn’t exist.
Now he was looking at her like she was amusing him with her stupidity.
“How, exactly, am I harassing you, Raven?” he folded his arms across his broad chest and Raven couldn’t help but flick her eyes to that area.
“You say inappropriate things, constantly, you always look me up and down like I’m a piece of meat, and you always refer to ‘number five’ on your list as being the best thing that will ever happen.”
Beck laughed after her rant and shook his head, still chuckling.
“Oh Raven. Do you know why I do those things?”
She shook her head ‘no’. “I don’t care, but I want you to stop.”
“Well, I’ll tell you anyway,” he said, holding his fingers up to count his reasons. “One: I say that stuff because, believe it or not, it’s actually funny; you need to get a sense of humor. Besides, no other girl complains. They seem to like it; a lot. Two: I look at you like that because you’re actually hot. Lots of other guys look at you like that, and yet you say nothing to them. Three: Number five
will
be the best thing to happen.”
“I’m leaving,” Raven snarled and turned on her heel to walk away.
She felt the tug on her arm when Beck gripped her, turning her back to face him. She didn’t expect the shock it gave her when she felt herself flush.
“You’re seriously going to complain to the Dean?” he growled.
Without answering, Raven pulled her arm from his grip and walked towards the main building.
“Raven!” he yelled after her.
A few more feet and Raven risked a glance over her shoulder.
Beck was standing with his hands behind his head, his eyes closed, and his face up to the sky.
The strange thing was, she expected to see him full of anger, possibly glaring at her, and even so much as trying to go after her.
What she
didn’t
expect to see, was the sad look when he opened his eyes.
She turned back to see where she was going, and continued on to the Dean’s office.
“
Why the fuck did you go to the Dean?” Donnie spat, making Raven almost jump out of her seat in fright. She’d been sitting on the bench in the hallway waiting for Ava.
“
Do you know what that’s going to do to Beck?”
“I…” Raven began, but Donnie didn’t let her finish before he started on her again.
“He’ll get a fucking smear across his family’s name, his dad’ll kick his ass for it, and he could be thrown out of college!” he yelled, getting too close for her comfort. “Not to mention the amount of students that’ll go bat shit crazy.”
Donnie reached out his hand and gripped her shoulder, tight. His fingertips dug into her skin, hurting her.
Raven acted on instinct and brought her knee up to connect between his legs. Donnie dropped to the floor in agony as he cupped his sensitive area.
“Don’t
ever
touch me again!” she screamed down into his face. “And for your information, I didn’t tell the fucking Dean anything, and if you’d have let me speak you would’ve fucking known that, asshole!”
Ava came rushing out of the bathroom to see what was happening, her eyes wide and her hand over her mouth as she noticed Donnie in a heap on the floor, Raven standing over him.
“I’ll explain on the way,” Raven sighed, leaving him groaning on the ground.
After explaining everything to Ava, and getting a sympathetic hug from her friend, Raven left their dorm to go to the library. She looked around to make sure that there was no sign of Beck, or Donnie, before rushing across the pathway to the main building.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she got there, and went to the back with her notepad and pen.
It was short lived when the chair next to her pulled out, and a person sat down.
“What do you want, Beck?” she asked nervously.
Raven tried to look bored, but her hands began to shake. She had no idea if Donnie had told Beck what had happened, or if he was there to do the same.
“You didn’t tell the Dean,” he said as a matter-of-factly. “Why?”
“Does it matter?” she replied, in a bored tone. “I didn’t ‘tattle’ so you can go now.”
“I want to know why. You seemed pretty certain, earlier.”
Raven turned and looked right into his eyes.
Big mistake.
He was looking at her so intently, she forgot where she was for a moment. The silver-gray hypnotic as the light reflected off his irises.
“Raven?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“Oh..um…” she stammered, swallowing hard. Her heart hammered in her chest under his gaze.
“Donnie told me what happened. Nice move, by the way.”
“Uh, what?” Raven was confused. He was praising her for kneeing his friend in the nuts.
“He had no right to touch you without your permission.”
“Excuse me? You do that all the time!” she whisper shouted.
Beck’s face twisted into anger.
“I have never grabbed or hurt you, Raven. I would
never
hurt you.”
He was right.
He’d touched her hair, put his hands on her hips as he stood behind her, ran his finger down her arm, even brushed past her, but he’d never tried to grab at her. However, he’d gripped her when he’d tried to stop her.
“You grabbed my arm earlier, and pulled,” she said quietly as some students walked past, looking at them.
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, with a knowing look. He knew he hadn’t. His fingers had merely held her without tightening. She could still feel his hand on her elbow as if he’d branded her.
Beck’s face softened as he took a deep breath. “Well, thanks for not saying anything.”
“So, are you going to leave me alone now?” she asked, then saw the devilish look in his eyes. Not a chance.
“I’ll give you a break…for now,” the corner of his lip turned up in a smile. “But I’m not promising anything, Raven. You’re too hot for me to back off completely.”
“Oh, God, “she groaned. “Bite me, Beck.”
“Whisper as you say that, then I’ll gladly oblige.”
Raven closed her eyes and shook her head. He’d lasted all of five seconds.
“See you around campus,” he whispered into her ear, causing shivers to run down her spine and goosebumps on her skin.
Then he was gone.
“Hello, Earth to Ray! Come in Ray!” Ava said, waving her hand in front of Raven’s face. “Where did you go? You looked a million miles away.”
“I was just thinking about sophomore year,” she replied. “When Beck told me he’d give me a break. It didn’t last long.”
“Yeah, wasn’t it like, three days?” Kerry snorted.
“Something like that.”
It wasn’t like Beck would constantly touch, or make innuendos. No, it was the stares, the eye winks when she glanced to him, the suggestive lip licking, the air kisses, the husky ’Hi Raven’ as she walked past.
She didn’t let him see just how much him doing those things affected her.
Every wink made her stomach flip.
Every blown kiss made her heart flutter, especially since he didn’t do kissing.
Every time he said her name that way, made her knees weak.
No matter what, she wasn’t going to let him win. She wasn’t going to cave and jump into bed, or a closet -as many girls had done- with him.
“
Are you ok, Ray?” Leila asked, and Raven instantly knew what the girls could see in her expression.
Her eyes were filling with tears, and she needed to go before they spilled over.
“Go,” Ava whispered. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Raven chanced a glance over to Beck’s table as she got out of her seat. He was watching her, his brows knitting together and his mouth in a tight line.
“I couldn’t even have the first day,” Raven murmured as the four girls left the hall.
Chapter 2
“Ray, come on!” Ava shouted through the bathroom door. “Orientation games are starting soon, and we’re up second. I don’t want to be late for the first one.”
“I’m coming,” Raven groaned as she trudged through the door. “Let me just finish my hair.”
Raven gave her long shiny dark locks a quick once over with the flat irons, from where she’d slept on it, and was done.
“What’s up first?” she asked.
“Well, we have seventy-two seconds, that Kerry and Leila organized, and then our telephone game is up after.” Ava grinned happily.
Ava loved the orientation games and loved getting to know the new students, even though she only ever hung out with her, Kerry and Leila.
“Isn’t there another afterwards?” Raven asked. There were usually three games on the second day back, followed by another get together in the main hall.
“Yeah. I think Donnie and Beck are doing that one,” Ava looked nervously at Raven. “I can’t say for sure, but that’s what the itinerary says.”
Raven couldn’t believe it. She picked up the sheet from Ava’s desk and, sure enough, the guy’s names were there. They weren’t the original names, but there nonetheless.
She didn’t want to see Beck. Not after what had happened on the first day. She hadn’t seen him for the next two days, but that was only because she didn’t want to come out of her dorm.
Today though, today she
had
to because unbeknownst to her, Ava had signed them both up for the games.
Just fucking great.
Now that Beck and Donnie had volunteered too, they’d be there the entire time because the leaders had to join in all the other games too.
The girls walked out to meet the other students there. Kerry and Leila had already gotten the students gathered around for the first game.
Raven looked around and spotted Donnie. Then she saw Beck stroll over to him, a huge grin plastered to his face.
Her heart almost gave out when she saw that he was wearing a white v-neck tee that was neither tight or loose, but fitted enough to see just how tight his body was. The beige board shorts hung on his hips and stretched across his thick thighs as he walked.
“Ray, what are you..?” Ava paused, realizing just what Raven had stopped for. “Holy shit, Ray. Beck looks damn good.”
Raven swallowed; hard.
“How can you
not
want that?” Ava asked, bringing Raven’s attention back to her. “Sorry, Ray, but come on…”
Raven sighed. “Yes, Ay, he’s gorgeous, but that doesn’t mean anything. His mouth is his let down.”
“So you’re saying you’d jump his bones if he wasn’t a dirty talker?”
“It’s not just that, Ay. Dirty talk isn’t appropriate with an audience, or when it’s used to embarrass people. If he didn’t do that then…” she paused as she turned back to him. “God he looks good.”
“Oh shit,” Ava whispered.
They’d been caught staring.
Beck had been talking to Donnie when he turned and zoned in on Raven. His smile dropped for a second just to be replaced with a lazy grin when he knew they were staring.
“I’m so going to pay for that, aren’t I?”
“So,” Kerry shouted out over the crowd. “You have seventy-two seconds per turn, and meet as many people here as you can. You need to exchange names, where you’re from, what hall you’re staying in, a favorite memory, and what you hope to achieve here at Gable College.”
It was Leila’s turn to talk. “When you hear the whistle; go. When you hear the next whistle, move on to the next person.”
She blew the whistle and there was a frenzy of eighteen years old rushing around. A lot were rushing to get to Beck first.
“Hi,” a boy stood in front of Raven, panting for breath. “I’m Joe.”
“Hi Joe, I’m Raven,” she smiled.
Ava had her own teenage boy to get to know.
After exchanging details, Leila blew the whistle and then another boy rushed to Raven. She quickly glanced around. Beck was watching as a young girl bounced up and down trying to get his attention.
“Hi,” the boy’s voice was smooth and flirtatious.
“Hi,” Raven replied, trying to hold in a laugh.
“I’m Bobby. What’s yours pretty thing?”
“Oh my God!” she laughed, and the boy’s smile faltered for a spilt second.
“That’s too cute. I’m Raven.”
“Cute? I can be more than cute,” he wiggled his eyebrows.
“Look, Bobby. I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I’m a little old for you.”
“I’m almost nineteen.”
“Yeah, and I’m almost twenty-two.”
“Age is just a number baby,” he purred, looking her up and down.
Leila blew the whistle, and Bobby’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t tell you where I’m staying! Where are you staying?” he asked, frantically.
“Bye Bobby,” Raven waved, giggling as he turned with a disappointed look on his face.
“Fuck
me!”
Ava laughed. “He was trying so hard.”
“Too hard,” Raven laughed.
“Hi. I’m Courtney,” a pretty girl said as she approached Raven. Petite, blonde, and huge brown eyes.
“Hi, Courtney. I’m Raven.”
Courtney’s mouth popped open. Raven had no idea why.
“
You’re
Raven?” Courtney asked in an almost whisper.
“Yes, why?” Raven could see Ava had overheard, and was trying to listen whilst talking to her own student.
“Oh, it’s just that guy over there,” Courtney pointed to Beck. “When we said what we wanted to achieve, he said Raven.”
“Excuse me?” Raven shrieked, then immediately lowered her voice when they got a few heads turning their way.