Chapter 7: Cassandra

I stepped from the shower, and the excitement of the fall festival dance made me practically float on air. It had been three weeks since Kyler asked me to go with him and the guys, something they were calling an official date. I decided no girl should have to wait until she was twenty for her first date.

"You're running behind," Ruby said through the closed bathroom door. "We're going to miss all the fun."

"It's okay. We're supposed to meet them there anyway. Guys are always late." I stood in front of the mirror and studied my naked body as I wrapped a towel around my hair. Though I hadn't changed on the outside, the inside was a different story. Dash, Braeden, and then Kyler. What more could a girl ask for? Oliver, that was what I could ask for.

I dried my hair while wondering what the night would be like. Did I dance with them one at a time, or did we create our own little mosh pit? No one had ever shown me their dance moves, and I really doubted any of them had moves. I was kind of guessing Kyler would be the best dancer of the group. There was something about his ties with nature and the universe that made me think he would be free flowing on a dance floor. The other guys would certainly be jealous if he showed them up.

In my bedroom, Ruby was already dressed and waiting, her tight, one-piece outfit meant to draw as many stares as possible. "You're going to kill it tonight," I said. "You're fucking stunning."

"I wouldn't go that far. But I hope so!"

She'd promised to do my hair to make sure the guys would struggle to keep their hands to themselves. I honestly didn't think my hair would make any difference. They never kept their hands to themselves regardless of what I wore or how I did my hair.

"Have a seat, and let's get this done," she said. "Horny guys are waiting for us."

I wrapped a towel around me and sat at the desk while Ruby stood behind me. The mirror on the wall in front of us had been a gift from Oliver a few weeks ago. He told me it was important I see the beauty they saw in me.

"You remember Brett, the guy in the bookstore?" Ruby asked. I watched her through the mirror as she brushed my hair. "What do you think of him? He's kinda cute, right?"

"He's in one of our classes, right?" I asked. "He's a little quiet but hot as hell." I watched her facial expression, trying to figure out why she was asking. Then a smile formed at the corner of her mouth. "What about the other guy and the great long-distance relationship you have?"

"Don't even ask," Ruby interrupted. "He called a few weeks ago and told me the long-distance thing wasn't working out for him. He said he needed a break from our relationship."

"Shit, I'm sorry. I should have known."

Ruby waved me off. "Don't be sorry. I'm good with it. It really wasn't working for me either. I just needed someone to tell me." She chuckled. "I told him a permanent break was in order. It was getting weird anyway. He was sending me pictures of him doing things."

"TMI." I thought about my guys and wondered if they were doing the thing Ruby's ex was doing in the pictures. I supposed as long as they were doing it while thinking of me then that was okay. "So, tell me more about Brett."

"I stopped in the bookstore last week, and out of the blue he asked me if I'd be interested in a dance at the fall festival." She brushed my hair faster, the thought of Brett exciting her. "I think he was trying to ask me out on a date."

"You said yes, right?" I asked. "Of course you did."

Ruby nodded. "But there's something I have to confess," she said. "And don't laugh. It's hard enough telling anyone."

"Okay," I said, a little worrisome. I wasn't exactly the queen of proper relationship etiquette.

"I've only ever been with one guy." Ruby let that hang in the air for a moment.

"Meaning you've only ever had sex with one guy?"

"Meaning I've only ever dated one guy, and he was the only guy I've had sex with." Ruby shrugged and then finished my hair. "Fucking gorgeous," she said.

"You're wondering what to do if he wants more than a dance," I said. "That's what you're worried about."

"Exactly. Because if he does, I don't know what I'll say or do. It's got me a little spooked."

"I've learned with the guys that I have to follow my heart. I know that way of thinking gets people hurt, but I'd rather be hurt than never know." I turned my head left and right. "Amazing job."

"I laid out something sexy on the bed for you," Ruby said. "You need to work on your wardrobe. Not everything in your closet can be for battle."

"Says the girl who doesn't know what to do if Brett makes his move," I said. I held up the dark-purple, skin-tight jeans."

"You have a nice ass," Ruby said. "You should show it off."

I slipped on the white, sleeveless shirt next to the jeans and then shimmied into the pants. "I think my circulation has been stopped."

"What if he wants to do more than dance?" Ruby asked.

"Go with what your heart and gut are telling you," I said. "If you're sexually attracted to him why not do that?"

"I am; that's the problem," she said. "And I definitely want to. Those eyes and big smile make me want to eat him up."

"You've gone down on a guy, right? So, if that's what Brett wants."

"As long as he's willing to reciprocate, then yeah, I'll suck his cock. But it's not going to be a one-lane road. I've got needs too."

"I feel like there's something you're not telling me about Brett." I stared at Ruby and crossed my arms. "That's what I thought. Out with it."

"Okay." Ruby curled her bottom lip inward, nervous. "I stopped by his dorm one evening. His roommate was gone, but the door was unlocked. I knocked, but he didn't answer. He knew I was stopping by to get notes from a class I missed, so I went in."

"Shit, Ruby, what did you do?"

"I heard the shower and then I got curious."

"You didn't?"

"I did. I quietly walked to the bathroom and opened the door. The shower door had yet to mist over." Ruby shook her head. "I don't think it's going to fit."

"Okay, how about this. We need a secret signal in case you're coming back to the room with him." I hooked my arm around Ruby's and led her to the door. "I got it," I said and opened the door. "Pat your ass three times if you're going to use the room, and I'll head to one of the guys' room. Make sure you come here and not his place."

Ruby closed the door behind us. "Sounds like a plan." We headed down the empty hall. "But what if he's too big?"

"Go slow, and it'll be okay. I promise."

We crossed the courtyard and headed toward the forest behind the campus where the dance was taking place. The fall festival committee had kept us all away from the forest while they decorated. They wanted the entire thing to be a surprise. They had gone as far as casting a cloaking spell around the area so the surprise would stay hidden. If you weren't on the committee you weren't getting through.

"Oliver still hasn't made a move?" Ruby asked as we walked between buildings.

I shook my head. "I think I need to let him go at his own pace. It'll happen eventually. Sort of what you have to do with Brett."

Ruby giggled and squeezed my arm. "Four guys and one girl," she said. "How do you even manage?"

"Lots of vitamins," I said jokingly, and then I really thought about an answer. "They aren't really coming at me the way you might think. All of them are respectful. I think they know I wouldn't have it any other way. Like I said before, they're all unique, so every time is a little different than the last, and none of them do it the same way."

It was true. I'd been with Dash the most, and each time had been an adventure. Braeden always made sure my needs were met before his own. Everything with Kyler, whether it was sex or just talking, happened on another plane of existence. Sometimes it was quite strange. I imagined Oliver would fall somewhere in the middle of what the others had to offer.

"With Brett," I said as we approached the path into the forest, "you need to make sure that whatever happens is because it's what you want to happen, not because he forced you to do it. You go at his pace, but make sure his pace is in agreement with yours."

"Point taken," Ruby said, and then we stopped in our tracks.