Chapter One
I set out to run the path around my dorm's building after my long day in class. It was my release after being swarmed with lecture after lecture and being forced to read books I didn't want to read. The lights from the street lamps lit my way as I ran along the curvy trail. I didn't want to stay out here too late. We did, after all, have a huge day planned for tomorrow. As I ran, all the things we had to do to set up tomorrow's run filled my mind along with the stress of finishing up my year at Berkley. I would be sad to leave my friends behind, but England was calling to me. I had this all worked out for years, and it was finally within my grasp. I looked forward to finishing up the rest of my college life and becoming a teacher. I could actually see it play out in front of me like a movie. So far, it went as planned. I spent my one year here in California, and I joined a sorority, got great grades, and made new friends. I would stay in England perhaps and teach there if I wanted. I was only nineteen and had accomplished so much already. It helped that I took accelerated classes in high school, giving me extra credits. The only downside to that was missing out on actual teen-life. I didn't date then nor did I have a lot of friends. I made up for that here at Berkley though.
I wouldn't be stuck in Bay Ridge like everyone I graduated with. I would be living abroad. I would have tea in the mornings and in the afternoons. I wouldn't be suffering freezing temperatures like I grew up with in Maine, choosing not to be subjected to a life on the Maine coast any longer.
Saving all of my money, I got grants so I could go to school. I did everything with the focus that in the end I would be happy. I wouldn't be like Gram, not that being like her was a terrible thing, but I wouldn't be the town librarian. She had hoped that I would take the reins after she retired and I would take over the library. But I just couldn't see myself sitting at a desk and re-shelving books every day. Gram was good at her job. She read to the kids every Tuesday, and she helped the seniors every Thursday. She got three computers for the library and set them up so people in Bay Ridge could actually have Internet. That's another thing I didn't miss. The service there was terrible.
Taking the corner at high speed, I felt my muscles tighten up as I ran faster and faster. There was always this feeling of exhilaration while I ran. I craved it on stressful days, like my muscles yearned for the torture the run put them through. I sighed as I felt the burn in my legs, and at the same time my stress sort of melted away. The study session I had with Chahee was gone out of my mind for just a second. Then a guy came out of nowhere, and I crashed into him with a smack.
He fell, actually he tumbled, and I smacked my face on the grass.
"Oh my God, are you all right?" He laughed.
He held out a hand, and I took it as he pulled me up and my face burned with embarrassment. I was really tired, and no matter how graceful I was as a runner, I always seemed to hurt myself when I ran after a long day. I brushed off my knees and the guy did the same. Thankfully I fell face first into the grass, not the concrete.
"I think I'll live. But these yoga pants are done for," I told him as I stuck my finger through the large hole at the knee. I looked up, and as the street light shone down on his face, I could see him fully. He was gorgeous, and I recognized him. I'd seen him around and drooled over his hot body a few times.
"I'm Jennie by the way. Sorry for running into you."
I pulled my hair back off of my sweaty face and gathered it into a high ponytail. I suddenly wished I wasn't standing in front of him so grossly slick with sweat. He didn't seem to mind, though, as he checked me out.
"I'm Kai, and you can run into me anytime you want. You belong to Alpha Chi Beta, don't you?"
"Yep." I was proud of my sorority and even prouder that he knew I was part of them. "Are you coming tomorrow?"
He nodded, and I knew a guy like him would be up early to watch the 5k we had put together. Of course any guy who wasn't there was a complete idiot or not into girls.
"The Undie 5k is a great idea," he said eagerly. "I can't wait." I bet he couldn't.
It really was a genius idea. Chahee was the one who came up with it. Once we started sign-ups, at least half of the student body was there begging to sign up. Girls wanted to strip down to their panties so that they could show off their assets and hopefully gain the attention of some guy they were hopelessly pining for. The guys were there checking out the hot girls who would be stripping down and running in their skivvies. We made sure it was only a girl run. That was my idea. No guys in their tighty-whities would be running. No one needed to see guys junk flopping around as they ran. No thank you. The event was limited to only female students who were participating and anyone that donated to the run, we made sure. We were using the money for our sorority and donating fifty percent to cancer research. We had made bank on this run, and I was proud that we were sending quite a bit to the fund.
As much as I hoped to run the 5k, I had to work it. Although, I would still be stripping down to my undies; it was the one thing Yeri insisted we make a requirement for all of us. We had to be in our undies so we showed the school that we were like them. So many people thought all sorority girls were snotty bitches—granted some were—but not all of them. I agreed to strip knowing that someday I would look back and hopefully laugh about these days. Besides, what is college for if not to have fun and be a little reckless?
"Will I see you there?" Kai asked me with a smile.
I nodded and bit my lip. I hadn't really let myself get too attached to guys here. Sure some girls want relationships, but I wasn't ready for that, especially since I was leaving soon.
"Yeah, I'll be there. Come by and see me," I said as I backed away from him slowly.
He nodded and said, "I can't wait."
I ran back to the dorm, ignoring the pain in my knees. I could feel Kai's eyes on me as I ran. I made sure to run slowly so that he could see me better. I wasn't afraid of flirting; I actually liked it. It was fun to meet a guy and hang out and maybe, if the timing was right, hook up. I was all for meeting new people. I wasn't ready for a serious relationship. It seemed I was at the right school for that since none of the guys I had met called or even hinted at a date after things got physical. It didn't ever hurt my feelings. I was here on a temporary basis only and didn't need any loose ends to tie up before I went to England. I already had Gram calling me every week, asking me when I was coming home. I could just imagine how awful a long distance relationship would be.
I reached the dorm, and by then my knee was aching so badly that I was seriously limping. I opened my door and found Chahee and Yeri, my sorority sisters, fighting over which panty and bra set to wear tomorrow.
"I already told you I like the blue, now you're trying to get me to like the gold," Chahee accused. "Gold is for hookers, and we, my friend, are not hookers."
I laughed. Chahee was my hippie friend. She was into free love and peace, but not selling her body.
Getting her to agree to wear the underwear was like pulling teeth. Finally she gave in when she realized it was for a good cause. She's a sucker for those.
"Chahee, you don't like gold? Fine, but I hate the blue. We'll have to go out and exchange these for a different color," Yeri huffed putting her hand on her hip. I knew Yeri's tactic here, and I stood back to see what Chahee would do. Chahee hated shopping malls and everything they stood for. I bit my lip and watched her face, waiting.
She looked from the pile of underwear to me and back again. She threw her hands up and said, "Fine! Let's go to the mall."
My mouth fell open in shock. I couldn't believe she chose that over the gold underwear. Yeri picked them up and found the receipt inside her purse, then turned to me and said, "Get dressed, Jennie. We're going shopping."
I saluted her and found a new pair of comfy yoga pants. My limp was getting worse by the time we got to the car.
"What the hell is wrong with your leg?" Yeri asked in irritation.
"I fell, but it's okay because I fell into this hot guy. So I hurt myself for a good reason," I explained. They stared at me, then burst out laughing like I said the funniest joke they'd ever heard.
"Only you could make hurting yourself sound fun," Yeri said.
We piled into the car and drove to the mall. It was a quick fifteen minute ride from our campus if we took the highway, which we did. Luckily, since it was now dark, the mall was dead. Yeri pulled the car into a handicapped space, and I shook my head as she pulled out her grandpa's card and hung it onto the mirror.
"What?" she asked, feigning ignorance. She pointed to my knee and said, "You're injured."
After limping through most of the mall, we finally made it to the lingerie store. I could stay in there all day smelling perfume and picking out cute undies. I had a thing for adorable underwear. I liked to look sexy, and there was nothing wrong with that.
"How about pink?" I asked holding up a pale pink panty and bra set.
Both girls shook their heads and argued over a floral pattern. I sighed and looked up and found a black and hot pink set that stood out and practically begged me to take it home. I reached out and ran my fingers over the lacey pattern. It was beautiful and so my style.
"This…this right here," I told the girls. They stopped bickering and stopped to stare.
"Wow, you really have a passion for shopping," Chahee said quietly.
"No, Chahee, my passion isn't for shopping. I have an eye for beautiful things, and this is beautiful," I explained. I felt a slight buzz in my pocket—my phone.
I pulled it out and answered right away. The caller was my best friend from back home, Rose.
"Rose, what's up?"
She sighed, and I could hear a tremble in her voice. "Your Grandma Mavis is here. They brought her in via ambulance, Jennie."
I dropped the bra and panties and backed out of the store slowly as if getting away from the beautiful things would lessen the heart-pounding fear that I felt at that moment.
"Is…is she all right?" My voice cracked, and I knew instantly it was a stupid question.
You know when you feel the bad news is real bad? Like when you get that call in the middle of the night and you know it's not good news because it's so late at night and who would be calling you? The fear of the answer Rose had for me was tightening around my throat like a noose.
"It's her heart, Jennie. It's growing weary. She was complaining of shortness of breath. She called me instead of 911, stubborn woman. So I dispatched an ambulance right away." Rose was a doctor at Bay Ridge Regional, our town's only hospital, and was always there for my Gram when she needed help. "She is experiencing heart failure."
She was doing that thing she did ever since she became a doctor; she was talking to me like a patient. I absolutely hated it. I didn't like to be babied, especially by my best friend.
"Shit, Rose, spit it out. What the hell is going on?"
"She's dying, and if you want to say your goodbyes, then get your ass on a plane as soon as you can."
"Okay," I whispered and hung up. I looked at my friends and tears slipped down my face unexpectedly. "My Gram is sick. I have to go."
