Chapter 3: Thomas

"Shy, can I borrow your amber necklace for my date Friday night?" Ivy asked eagerly.

Cheyenne turned her head away to conceal the fact that she was gritting her teeth. It was Wednesday night at dinner in the dining hall, and for the past three days Ivy had not shut up about her date with Damian. It's not fair, Cheyenne thought furiously. I'm the popular one, I should be the one going out with him.

Cheyenne turned back and smiled sweetly at Ivy. "Sure, you can borrow my necklace if you want."

"Thanks, Shy, you're the best!" Ivy exclaimed.

Damian waved as he walked past their table. Ivy immediately stood up to follow him. "You don't mind, do you, Shy?" she asked.

Cheyenne shrugged half-heartedly. Ivy hesitated, then followed Damian anyway.

A few minutes later, someone sat down across from Cheyenne. "Hey, Cheyenne," Thomas Pearson said casually. "How do you like Easton so far?"

"Hey, Thomas," Cheyenne answered. "It's not too bad. I guess I'm still getting used to it." Cheyenne knew Thomas from before Easton, when they both were growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Back then, Thomas had been a geeky, awkward boy who loved video games. Still, he had changed a lot since Cheyenne had last seen him. Thomas was actually pretty hot these days, and his bad boy mystique was the polar opposite of the equally handsome but much more clean-cut Damian.

"You want to come by my room and hang out for a while?" Thomas asked. "My roommate's painting in the art studio, he won't be back for a couple hours."

Cheyenne glanced over at Ivy, who was busy chatting with Damian, her hand resting casually on his forearm. She turned back to Thomas and shrugged. "Sure, why not? Sounds like fun."

When they arrived at Thomas's room in Ketlar Hall, Thomas opened his door and invited Cheyenne inside. Cheyenne sat down on Thomas's bed while Thomas pulled a six-pack of Sam Adams out from under the bed. He twisted the top off one of the bottles and handed it to Cheyenne. Cheyenne took a sip and decided she liked it.

As they drank their beer, Cheyenne and Thomas chatted about their lives at Easton. Thomas confessed with a certain pride that he had started buying drugs from a townie guy named Rick and reselling them to his friends at Easton. This was not news to Cheyenne, who had heard this story yesterday through the school rumor mill. Cheyenne did not tell Thomas she was in love with Damian.

By eight o'clock, Cheyenne and Thomas had each finished two bottles of Sam Adams and started on a third. Thomas set his bottle down on the floor and turned toward Cheyenne. "Hey, Shy," he whispered, his voice low and seductive.

Cheyenne turned to face him, and Thomas kissed her. Cheyenne considered pushing him away, but then she remembered Ivy's hand on Damian's arm. Forcing this unpleasant image out of her mind, Cheyenne kissed Thomas back every bit as passionately as he was kissing her.

After a few minutes of making out, Thomas's hand slid down the front of Cheyenne's slacks. At this point, Cheyenne did push him away. "I can't," Cheyenne said breathlessly. "I'm a virgin…"

Thomas laughed, a soft, gentle laugh. "Don't worry, Shy. There are plenty of things we can do without endangering your virginity." His hand slipped down Cheyenne's slacks again. This time, Cheyenne let him.

When they were finished, Cheyenne stretched out along the bed and looked at Thomas. "So…was this just a hookup, or are we like a couple now?" she ventured.

Thomas yawned. "Let me think about it overnight, babe. I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Okay," Cheyenne agreed. That was fine with her. Even though Thomas was definitely cute, Cheyenne didn't love him even one-tenth of the way she loved Damian.

As Cheyenne fixed her clothes, an idea struck her. If she could just get Damian to sleep with her, surely he would fall in love with her the same way she had with him…

Cheyenne smiled to herself, gave Thomas a quick kiss goodbye and hurried off into the cool evening air.