Chapter 4

On the first day of school, Chris met up with Zagan at the front door of Bernhard College’s main building.

“My dick still aches from all the fucking we did,” Chris said as he gave his best friend a fist bump.

“Prissy doesn’t seem to hate me anymore, and I was surprised that Teddy was good with all of it,” Zagan said.

“He finally got her ass, so he took it as a win,” Chris said.

“I know, but damn. We fucked the shit out of his girl,” Zagan said.

“She never complained, so we’re all good.”

Zagan had gone to Bernhard College on Friday to register. It was located in Bloomfield Hills, a northern suburb of Detroit. It was only twenty minutes from Keego Harbor, where he lived ... well, only ten if you drove like Zagan had this morning.

Something that bothered him about his first day was that Lucy, Briana, and Kate told him they wanted to keep their knowing him on the down-low for now. He was obviously good enough to fuck—not counting Briana—but not good enough to be friends with. It might be time to find new ‘friends.’

As he and Chris walked into the campus, Zagan couldn’t help comparing it to his boarding school in Switzerland. He envied Teddy because he was going back to Switzerland later this week with Prissy. Now that was a target-rich environment if you liked gorgeous, blond, big-breasted Valkyries. For some reason, wealthy Scandinavians chose to send their daughters to that school.

Chris about got run over when he stopped and pointed.

“Hottie alert.”

Zagan looked and spotted a cute girl who looked a bit slutty. Her blouse was too small, and her skirt was short for her long legs. She was at least five-eleven, making her one of the tallest girls in the hall. She also looked foreign because of her black hair and slightly darker skin tones. Zagan got an Indian vibe.

“I think we should be the welcome wagon and show her around,” Zagan said.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

Fatima Preet was new to Bernhard College, and she hated it. She had to leave all her friends to move to a new town, a new country, and a new college. It was her first day, and she had no new friends. She sighed as she found her way to math class. She pulled out her map to be sure she didn’t go in the wrong direction.

Something else that annoyed her was her school outfit. Bernhard didn’t require uniforms, but Fatima was in the habit of wearing one from her previous school. When she got dressed in the morning, she realized she’d grown more than she thought. Fatima’s blouse was a size or two too small, and her skirt was almost indecent. But there was no time for clothes shopping that morning.

Fatima felt stares from some of the boys as she checked her map. She hugged her books to her chest, but their gazes just dropped down to her legs. This wasn’t the type of attention she was looking for. Fatima wanted female friends, but the other girls just frowned at her, thinking her a slut for showing off her body. They were resentful of the attention she received from the boys.

She noted that two guys seemed to break from the pack and head her way. The lead boy had long hair and looked like someone you would see on the cover of a romance novel. The other was Chris Dudley, featured in the school handout she’d received.

Chris was expected to be one of their football stars. The handout said he’d been recruited by several universities but had decided to go to Bernhard. The blurb on him said he got good grades, and she assumed he was rich as well. He was obviously good-looking. Chris played some important position on the football team, but not knowing the American version of the game, she wasn’t sure what that was.

“Hey, you’re new here, right?” the model-looking one asked.

Fatima looked up at his utterly charming smile and guessed he was a player. His wavy brown hair and blue eyes were simply gorgeous. She felt her pulse quicken as he leaned close to see her schedule.

“Yes, I’m Fatima,” she said shyly.

“Hi. I’m Zagan, and this is my best bud, Chris. It looks like we’re all in math together first thing. We’ll walk you to class.”

As they walked, she learned that Zagan was also new, having gone to school overseas the last couple of years. She explained that until last week, her family had lived in England, and she’d gone to an all-girls Catholic college called St. Rita. Zagan told her about the local hangouts and where to go to have fun.

“You should come to a party at my house. We live on a lake, so we can go boating or swimming. I haven’t had a party yet, but if you said you’d come, I would throw one,” Zagan said.

“That sounds like fun, but I’ll have to ask my mom,” Fatima said.

Her parents were strict, and that was why the all-girls college. That meant she had almost no experience with boys besides some hand-holding and chaste kisses. Her father would probably have to have a word with Zagan’s father before she would be allowed to go to his house.

“I’d love to.”

She was a bit afraid that he’d made the invitation just to be polite. He had to have a girlfriend who would soon appear and make her life a living hell.

They reached their first class, but Zagan stopped her from going in so they could talk.

“I’ll save us seats,” Chris said as he left them alone.

“Fatima, I just wanted to tell you that I want us to become close. I think we have a lot in common—coming from schools outside the country—and we should stick together.”

Then he leaned down and kissed her in front of God and everyone. Fatima felt her whole world shift under her feet. A boy she didn’t know had kissed her ... in the hall ... while everyone watched.

“How about I give you a ride home after classes?” Zagan asked.

“I take the bus,” Fatima stammered.

“We can’t have that. Meet me out front after your last class.”

All she could do was nod as he smiled at her. The bell rang, so they had to hurry to their seats.

Tom Hartfield and Kelly Lane walked hand in hand towards the front door of the main building at Bernhard. They’d dated since middle school. They only had one more year before they graduated and went off to a university. Tom was destined to be valedictorian, while Kelly was the head cheerleader. It was somewhat of an unlikely combination because Tom was a confirmed nerd.

“Are we hanging out after school today?” Kelly asked.

Tom rolled his eyes because that meant that she wanted him to drive her home after cheerleading practice.

“Sometimes I think you like my car more than me,” Tom teased.

Kelly gave him a playful hip bump, knowing she had her ride. She kissed his cheek before walking into her first class. She spotted Kate, one of her fellow cheerleaders, and sat next to her.

“How was your summer?” Kate asked.

“Boring,” Kelly frowned. “I did get to visit some universities. I’m thinking of getting my MBA at Michigan.”

Kate leaned close.

“Did Tom finally relieve you of your V-card?”

Kelly hissed and gave her a dirty look, but Kate gave her a knowing grin.

“I lost mine.”

“Kate!” she shouted, making others turn and look their way. She quickly turned and faced the front when their professor walked in. He went around the room, asking the students to introduce themselves as he checked them off his class roster.

He finally made his way around to Zagan and Fatima, sitting next to each other near the back. The boy was good-looking with an easy way about him. The girl looked nervous being singled out.

“I’m Zagan Rothchild. My first name is somewhat unusual, but I’m told it means ‘fallen angel.’ I’m from this area, but I’ve been going to school in Switzerland. Next to me is Fatima Preet, who just moved here from England. We’d love to get to know everyone, so please make an effort to say hello,” Zagan said.

As he finished his little speech, Kelly turned and offered him her hand.

“If either of you needs anything, come find me.”

“That would be great,” Zagan said.

Fatima mumbled her thanks.

When class was over, Kelly thought she would get another chance to talk to the boy, but he cut over an aisle so he could walk out with Chris.

Kate gave her a knowing look.

“Remember that you have a boyfriend.”

“He’s not my type anyway.”

“Tall, dark, and handsome with charisma is bad?” Kate asked in mock dismay.

“Bite me,” Kelly said to make them both giggle.

“He actually lives next door to me,” Kate said.

“Girlfriend, spill.”

“Not right now. Maybe at lunch,” Kate said and then hurried to her next class.

Kelly didn’t think about the new guy until after lunch, when she had chemistry. It was set up with two-person lab tables, and she was daydreaming when a male voice asked, “Is this seat taken?”

“Nope, no problem,” Kelly said, then tried to ignore him.

“For being the cutest girl at Bernhard College, you sure don’t look happy? Boyfriend troubles?” Zagan asked.

“Excuse me?” Kelly asked, starting to look mad.

Zagan chuckled because he knew she’d heard him. He looked down at her lab book where she’d written her name.

“I’m guessing we’ll be lab partners. I’m Zagan, if you’ve forgotten.”

He held out his hand, and they shook.

“Kelly.”

Luckily, class started, and she tried to focus on what the professor was saying, but she couldn’t help checking out the guy next to her. There was something mysterious, maybe even dangerous, about him. That was the polar opposite of her boyfriend, Tom.

As the class finished, Zagan asked, “How do you want to do this? I want to get a good grade, so I thought we could get together and compare notes and the like.”

“You mean like in study hall?”

Bernhard College was a bit like high school on steroids. It was structured so the students didn’t leave the grounds during the day as they would at a typical college. It was a private institution and catered to the elite of the Detroit area.

Part of its appeal to parents was that their children would be safe.

“That works, or I could buy you a coffee after school. That is, unless that pesky boyfriend is the jealous type.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know if he’s the jealous type, or you don’t know if you want to be seen in public with me?” Zagan asked.

“Both, I guess.”

“How about this? Your boyfriend can come with us to study. Maybe we could order a pizza and everyone get to know each other,” Zagan suggested.

“I can’t tonight,” Kelly said.

“That’s okay, I can’t tonight, either. I promised a girl I would give her a ride home tonight,” Zagan said.

“How about tomorrow?” Kelly asked.

“It’s a date. Do you need a ride?” Zagan asked.

“Can I tell you tomorrow?”

“No problem,” Zagan said, leaning over so no one could overhear. “I can be very discreet if you don’t want your boyfriend to know.”

He got up and left her befuddled. Why did this guy affect her like that?

The rest of the day passed by in a haze for Fatima. All she could think of was why would a boy as hot as Zagan be interested in her. Then her thoughts turned to fantasies of him taking her on romantic dates and going dancing. And the kiss! What did that mean?

Finally, her last class of the day ended. She collected her stuff to head home. She went out to the parking area, looking for Zagan, but didn’t know what kind of car he drove. By the time he appeared with Chris, she was starting to think she needed to run to catch the bus.

“You ready?” Zagan asked.

She was somewhat disappointed that they wouldn’t be alone, but this might be better.

“I asked Chris to drive us because I brought my motorcycle today. I wouldn’t want your mother to be nervous if she saw us pull up on that.”

“My mom and dad work, but my little sister would tell,” Fatima said.

He had her get into the front seat of a large SUV between him and Chris. It was a tight fit with the two boys. Chris was a big, muscular guy, and Zagan wasn’t tiny. Chris was just as good-looking close up as his picture had been. She suspected that he and Zagan must date a lot of girls.