Chapter 4 - Lily

I was sprawled out on the quad with my face in the sun and music in my ears: the perfect way to spend free time between classes, in my opinion. I wore a pleated skirt and knee socks, the grass tickling the backs of my exposed thighs. There was a chill in the air in spite of the clear sky, but I would never sacrifice a cute outfit no matter the weather. As Cassie always said, “Hoes never get cold.”

A mop of sandy blond hair entered my peripheral vision. In a rush of excitement, I sat up and ripped the earbuds from my ears, the song I was listening to quickly replaced by the rustle of leaves and the faraway chatter of students on the quad.

“Miss Lily, I thought that was you!” Avett drew near, greeting me with his dazzling smile and his familiar, husky voice. Adrian was a few steps behind him. “It’s been far too long, darling,” Avett said.

I blushed. “I saw you two days ago, silly.”

“I rest my case.”

I giggled. Obviously, two whole days had felt like an eternity, during which I kept worrying that I would never see the elusive brothers again, or that Monday had been some odd fever dream and they didn’t even truly exist.

But no, here they both were, in their glorious flesh. With an uncomfortable-sounding thud, Avett dropped to a seat in the grass near me. He winced, briefly, but quickly collected himself to shoot me another award-winning smile. Adrian was standing, his expression unreadable. The sunlight behind him tinged his brown hair with gold. “Hi, Adrian,” I said shyly, looking at his shoes.

Avett looked between us. His face shifted in amused realization. “Aw, Adrian intimidates you, doesn’t he? How cute!” Turning an even deeper shade of pink, I opened my mouth to protest, but Avett cut me off. “Don’t be embarrassed, Lily! He is quite menacing, I know. You just love scaring little girls, don’t you, Adey?”

His words left me more flustered than ever, but they didn’t seem to have an effect on Adrian, who just rolled his eyes and sat down next to me with his legs crossed. “Hi, Lily.” His knee touched mine.

In a swift movement, Avett caught both of my hands in his own and gasped. “Good heavens, Lily! You’re freezing!” He got to work at once, performing his routine of rubbing my hands while warming them with his breath. I laughed. I guess this hoe does get cold, sometimes.

To one-up his friend, no doubt, Adrian slipped out of his flannel button-down. I caught his eye for the first time as he leaned impossibly close and draped it over my shoulders. It was still radiating his body heat, and it smelled like cedar. Good heavens, indeed.

Still studying my face, Adrian sat back. “We’re from Seattle, by the way.”

“What?” I shook my head, confused. “Oh. I-I mean ... How did you...?” I sputtered awkwardly, overwhelmed.

Avett tapped the side of his head knowingly. “A little birdie in my Stats class told me you were asking.”

“Cassie?” I questioned, sweating despite the cold.

“Hmm ... Cassie...” Avett let the name roll around his mouth. It dawned on me that he was intentionally drawing the moment out, that he liked watching me squirm. Ass. “Yes, that sounds right,” he said finally. “This specific birdie had brilliant auburn feathers, I believe?”

“Yeah, that’s Cassie,” I chuckled breezily, trying hard not to let my nerves show. “She’s my roommate.” I swallowed hard and glanced around at the boys. They were still watching me expectantly, their heads tilted in almost exactly the same way. I tried to think of something witty to say, but I was becoming increasingly aware of Adrian’s knee pressed against my exposed skin, separated only by the rough material of his jeans. I started rambling. “So, yeah. Cassie knows everybody, and since I forgot to ask where you were from, and I was curious, I figured I should ask her, you know, to see if she might know.” God, I was a mess.

“Interesting,” Avett said slowly.

“Was there anything else you wanted to know?” Adrian asked gently. His tone was sweet, genuinely curious instead of taunting, which was refreshing.

I relaxed. “No ... I don’t think so.” I glanced at Avett and got worked up all over again. “Why? Did she say something?” Oh God, please tell me she didn’t.

Avett suddenly cracked up like I had told the greatest joke he’d ever heard. “She wouldn’t have to,” he exclaimed, practically cackling. “Your face gives it all away. You’re going to need to learn a better poker face than that, doll.”

Before I could even begin to unpack that statement, Avett was rising, brushing himself off, and reaching for Adrian’s hand. “Come on, Adey. We’re going to be late for class.”

“Later, Lily,” Adrian said. They were gone just as quickly as they had appeared, striding off back towards the school, hand in hand.

“What does that even mean?” I called after them, but it was too late. It wasn’t for another minute that I realized Adrian’s flannel was still draped over my shoulders. Even though I barely knew the boys, I somehow knew that it was exactly like them to pull something like this: to appear out of nowhere, sexually frustrate the hell out of me, and then vanish. Avett was the ringleader, clearly, he was the one that seemed to get some sort of sick amusement out of tormenting me. As much as I hated him for it, it also made me want him that much more. The whole thing was incredibly confusing.