Chapter 1

"You'll never make it!" Wes jeered after me as I sprinted for the door.

My humorously malevolent roommate was probably right, but I'd never admit it. It'd be acknowledging a weakness, making me a chicken in the fraternity henhouse with a spot of blood on my feathers.

I usually rode my bike when I had a class on the opposite side of campus, but while returning for lunch I'd rolled over a shard of broken beer bottle in the frat's parking lot. I didn't have time to repair it, and on foot it would be touch and go to make it to my chemistry class on time.

I was in as good a shape as any healthy nineteen year-old and only had to slow to a walk once. Nevertheless I was panting and sweating when I burst through the door at the back of the lecture hall with a minute to spare.

I moved down a few rows to where the guys from our fraternity usually sat.

"Did you save me a seat?" I called. Pete was the frat brother closest to me, who despite partying with Wes a lot was only mildly self-centered. He was usually easy to spot; he had drawers full of bright orange Tennessee Volunteers t-shirts. He grinned at me and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" he replied.

"So that's a 'no' then?" I asked.

"Yeah ... sorry man."

I shook my head in half-kidding disgust and moved down to the front of the hall. The second row had open seats towards the middle, and I began scrambling towards them, whispering 'excuse-me' whenever I side-swiped someone with my backpack. More late arrivals were following close behind; I passed by open seats so they wouldn't climb over me in turn.

As I neared the last empty seat I realized it was next to the girl my frat brothers had dubbed 'The Ice Princess.'

She got that nickname by rebuffing every fraternity guy brave enough to hit on her; so naturally they concluded she had to be frigid. That didn't stop them from trying. She was drop dead gorgeous, tall with lustrous brown hair, sparkling blue eyes, long firm legs, and a spectacular bust that drew frat rats like bees to honey.

I'd seen her in several 'weed-out' courses for pre-med students the year before as a freshman. Judging by the questions she asked in class, she was really smart. I've always thought smart is sexy, but when combined with her looks I guess I'd been like a lot of guys, too intimidated to approach her.

She typically appeared to ignore those around her, listening intently to the lecture and writing copious notes in a spiral notebook. I'd been close by a few times as the class filed out of the lecture hall, and I could see her occasionally smile at other girls that made accidental eye contact. But they always seemed to look away from her quickly, as if to avoid comparison to her spectacular beauty.

"Hey," I said, dropping into the seat on her left. The brief greeting made it possible to smoother the sound of my out-of-breath wheezing.

I think I surprised her, but I was pleasantly surprised in turn when she politely acknowledged my presence. "Hey," she replied, accompanied by a brief smile.

It must've been the lack of oxygen to the brain from my mad dash. I stuck my hand out to her.

"I'm Randy."

She looked at my hand and then raised an eyebrow at me. After a moment I felt my face heat. I usually say 'my name is Randy, ' when meeting girls for the first time. 'I'm Randy' can come across as a crass double meaning come-on.

She easily read my embarrassment and put a hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle. A couple heads turned in our direction at the sound of it, and unfortunately the professor at his lectern looming over us was one of them.

I pulled my hand back, assuming she'd want to avoid contact with the fool at her side. Seeing my conflicted expression, she instinctively dropped a hand to rest briefly on my forearm in reassurance. My pulse accelerated further at her touch.

Mirth danced in her sparkling blue eyes as she leaned towards me to whisper, "I'm Kendall. It's nice to meet you, Randy."

"If we may begin now," the professor intoned, and we realized he was speaking to the two of us. Kendall's face turned a faint pink, but it was probably a thousand shades lighter than mine.

I opened my notebook and did my best to focus on the lecture.

When class ended we stood and smiled, nodding self consciously at each other. She was even more beautiful when she smiled. I regressed to tongue-tied adolescence and followed her docilely towards the exit.

I didn't intend to leave the lecture hall with her, but the jostling crowd kept us together, and when we broke free we found ourselves walking in the same direction. I guessed she was headed to either the Carrick or Morrill dormitory.