The Bet of My Four Boys

As a girl who had only ever had one boyfriend, I never expected to wind up with four boys at once. But, well, here I was. And they were determined to win my heart. I only hoped they didn’t break it in the process….

On move-in day, I stepped out of the taxi with my luggage in hand and surveyed the bustling campus. Brighton-Eller University was one of the most prestigious universities in the country, and I had gotten a full academic scholarship.

The university was enormous, with great, steepled buildings made of weathered stone and elaborate pathways dotted with fountains and trees. To the left were the dorms. That was where I was headed.

My suitcase got caught on the lip of the curb, and the bag in my hand fell, spilling my textbooks. “Dang it!”

“Here, beautiful, let me help you,” came a confident male voice, and strong arms entered into view in front of me. Glancing up, I froze at the sight of the boy—no, the man—who had come to my aid. He was tall and handsome, with sandy-brown hair and green eyes. Those eyes crinkled in a warm smile as he picked up a few of my textbooks, his hands brushing mine in the process. A jolt went through me at the contact. “You new here?”

I nodded mutely as he handed me my calculus and statistics textbooks.

“I’m Jax, the student council president,” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. His grip was firm but gentle, and he held my hand for longer than a handshake should have been. When I didn’t speak, he continued. “Do you have a name?”

I blinked, shaking myself out of the embarrassing silence. “Yeah. I’m Emma,” I said, brushing my auburn hair back behind my ear nervously.

“You a freshman?” he asked, and I nodded. “Well, this is my junior year, so I’m well-acclimated to the campus. I’d be happy to show you around.” There was that charming smile of his again as he winked at me. A flutter went straight to my core.

Dang, he was hot. Were all the guys on campus this good-looking? It must have been a big city thing because all the boys back home didn’t even come close.

Jax wore designer clothes, which indicated he came from money, and his hair was styled in messy waves that fell to the tips of his ears.

“That would be great,” I said, attempting not to sound breathless and star-struck. I managed what I hoped was a friendly smile as he began walking toward the dorms.

“Which dorm are you staying in?” Jax asked, taking my luggage from me with ease.

“Uh, I think Oakwood Hall.”

“Nice. That’s for the elite admissions. You must be really smart, huh?” Jax grinned over his shoulder at me.

“Smart enough,” I conceded.

“Quit being modest,” he teased. “You’ve got to be a practical genius to get into Oakwood.”

“Okay,” I admitted, grinning. “I’m smart.”

“See?” He nudged my shoulder. “I bet all the guys back home don’t know what to do with you.”

The way he said that told me he had something in mind he’d like to do to me, and I blushed.

Since we were wandering into dangerous territory, I decided to quickly change the subject. “So, what is Brighton-Eller like? It’s one of the top schools in the country, but what are its culture and faculty like?”

“Oh, you know,” he said evasively. “It’s like any other school. It has its moments.” He chuckled, as if remembering some joke I wasn’t in on. “You’ll find out, I guess.”

Well, that answered absolutely nothing. It only made me more curious, which was aggravating.

We walked further down the path, and I noticed a group of students gathered in front of an old, secluded brick building. They all wore the same black uniforms with no adornments, just simple T-shirts, blazers, and slacks. On each of their left breast pockets was a golden pin in the shape of some flower I couldn’t identify.

“Who are they?” I asked, pointing to the strange group.

“Oh, they’re nobody. Just a bunch of people who have nothing better to do than hang around,” Jax answered. “Come on. Oakwood Hall is this next building.” He placed a hand on the small of my back and led me away.

A strange sense of unease crept over me, but it was probably just nerves. I didn’t like the look of that group, but if Jax said there was nothing to worry about, he was probably right. So, I allowed him to guide me toward the tall stone building labeled “Oakwood Hall.”

“Which floor are you on?” Jax asked, his eyes both warm and intense. I could get lost in those depths. His gaze dropped to my lips for a long moment before quickly turning to the dorm. “I’ll, uh, carry these up for you,” he said.

“Actually, I’m on the first floor. There’s no need.” I hoped he didn’t hear the squeak in my voice. After my ex cheated on me with my best friend, I got nervous when men showed any interest in me.

“Nonsense. You could get lost on the way there.” He cleared his throat.

I doubted I would get lost on the first floor, but he seemed insistent. Arguing would probably only make me sound crazy. So, I agreed. “Okay. I’m in room 112.”

He beamed. “That’s close to Bane’s room! He’s great, but he’s slow to warm up to people.”

“This is a co-ed dorm?” I didn’t know how I felt about that.

“They all are, beautiful. Brighton-Eller doesn’t discriminate. Although, most of us just call it Brighton.” He began moving again. “Let me show you to your room, then I have to get to a council meeting.”

“Okay.”

We walked into the building, and Jax led me down the hall and to the left, where we stopped outside a room labeled 112.

Setting my stuff down, Jax bowed. “It was a pleasure to meet you, gorgeous,” he said, and when he rose, his eyes twinkled with mirth. “I hope I’ll see you again.”

I laughed. Did he really just bow? How adorable. “I’m sure you will.”

Then he left, and I took a deep breath, using the key to my room to enter. Inside, a blonde girl was sitting on one of the two beds, her laptop open as she typed furiously. She glanced up when I entered.

“Oh, hey! You must be my new roommate! I’m Amber,” she said, setting her laptop down and rising to help with my bags. Was everyone at this place so helpful?

“I’m Emma. Nice to meet you,” I replied.

“Are you a freshman?” she asked.

Why was that everyone’s first question? I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Welcome to Brighton.” She smiled. “It’s a lot to get used to, but if you keep your nose down and don’t mess with the status quo, you’ll be fine.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I pretended to understand. “Thanks.”

“There are a lot of unwritten rules here, but you’ll get used to them. It’s my sophomore year, and I survived year one, so I guess that makes me an expert. But there will be time for that later. Let’s get you settled, so you can get ready for classes tomorrow.” Amber set my bags down near the unclaimed bed. “What’s your first class?” she asked.

“Intro to French,” I said. They required that we take a language elective at Brighton, so I wanted to get it out of the way.

“Madame Marceau is a great professor. You’ll love her class,” Amber gushed. “I’ll walk you there tomorrow. But first, tell me about you!”

Amber sure was cheery. I immediately felt better in her presence, and I was sure I would get along with her fine. I was determined to succeed here … and maybe to see a certain student council president again. Jax was going to haunt me; I was sure of it.

As I drifted off to sleep, though, my thoughts circled back to the strange group of students in the dark clothes and their secret meeting. Something about them unsettled me and made me question whether there was something more going on.

My alarm blared from beside the twin bed I slept on, startling me from a dream. The fuzziness of sleep had me squinting to find the off button. Amber groaned across the room. “Sorry!” I whispered once I got the alarm turned off.

She mumbled a little and rolled over to go back to sleep, but it was time for me to get up. I needed to find the cafeteria and get some coffee before class. Maybe a muffin.

Once showered, I quickly put my hair in a braid to dry and got dressed, grabbing my phone and heading out the door. I guessed I looked okay.

In the end, I did find the cafeteria. Too tired and cranky to socialize with new people, I grabbed the first blueberry muffin I saw, poured a hot cappuccino, and headed back to my dorm. When I opened the red door, I walked straight into a huge chest, spilling my coffee all over it. Then I looked up … and up.

Scowling down at me was the hottest guy I had ever seen. Tall didn’t begin to describe him. He had dark hair, olive skin, and blue eyes that seemed to see right through me. His face was twisted in disgust, although that probably had more to do with the coffee I’d spilled on him than anything else.

“Do you even look where you’re going, Miller?” he growled.

“I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, using the tiny napkin I had the muffin wrapped in to dab at his shirt. It did little to clean him up, but it did let me feel the hard planes of his chest beneath the shirt that barely fit over them. Unintentionally, of course.

He his hand closed around mine, trapping mine against his chest. Why were all the men here so hot? Was there something in the water?

I only had a moment to wonder how he’d known my last name. But the thought was quickly forgotten as his intense gaze bored into my soul. There was more than distaste in his eyes. There was recognition, too, and something that sent heat pooling low in my stomach. Neither of us moved as his nostrils flared and his eyes trailed down my body, making me warm.

“Leave it,” he gritted out after the palpable silence stretched on between us. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Hey, Bane! Are you coming?” called a voice from behind me in the courtyard.

“Yeah. Just leaving,” he muttered before stepping around me like I had the plague. What was that about?

So, this was Bane. And I’d made a downright lovely first impression. He would never like me now if what Jax said about him held any merit. I sighed in defeat as I gazed into my now nearly empty cappuccino and smashed muffin. So much for breakfast.

At least one good thing came of this, though. I was mortified enough by that to wake me up out of my stupor. So, when I walked into my room, I was ready to forget the encounter and see if Amber was awake. Perhaps classes would be better than this rough start.

“Hey! I wondered where you went,” my roommate said when I entered.

I held up my meager meal. “Breakfast.”

“That muffin has seen better days. Did you pick the worst one of the batch?” She laughed.

“Long story,” I muttered. My shoes were now splattered with coffee, and my only other pair was for dress occasions. Oh well.

“Are you ready for your first class? Intro to French is always at nine, so we’d better leave now if you want to make it.” She was already dressed.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

I followed her across campus to a squat building with the words “Arts and Language Center” written in block letters on the front. She led me to room 304, where I took a seat in the front. I took my textbook and notebook out of my bag and prepared to learn.

It wasn’t long before the room filled with students, and a tall brunette woman in a black cardigan, a blue blouse, and slacks strode in with an air of confidence. “Bonjour,” she greeted us.

Then she proceeded to speak in French, which I was wholly unprepared for. Immediately, my heart sank. This class was going to be a struggle if she expected me to know French right off the bat. It was supposed to be Intro to French, right?

I checked my syllabus, and yep, it was. I hunched my shoulders in my seat in the hopes I wouldn’t be called on. Why did I have to pick the front row?

“Monsieur Howell?” Madame Marceau called on a lean, muscular Black student in a gray polo shirt and khakis. Without hesitation, he responded to her question in what sounded like perfect French. “Très bien!” the professor exclaimed.

I was so lost. By the time the class was over, my anxiety was through the roof. But thankfully, it ended without me being called on. I made a note to ask Amber about where to go for tutoring because it looked like—for the first time in my life—I would need it.

The second class of the day was Intro to Shakespeare, which I was excited about. But my excitement quickly turned to dread as the professor, a middle-aged Hispanic man named Professor Garvey, gave certain students extremely easy questions like, “Where was Shakespeare believed to be from?” and “Name one of Shakespeare’s works.” When it came to me and the other scholarship students, he asked things nobody could know the answer to.

As I sat in the cafeteria for lunch after the morning classes, I worried whether all the classes would be like those ones.

“I’m telling you,” a student nearby whispered harshly, “they control everything on this campus, especially the lives of the elites.” I strained my ears to hear his words as he continued. “The society is up to something, and I guarantee it won’t be good. Just last week, Jason disappeared for three days, and when he came back, he wouldn’t speak to anyone about what happened. He just went ghostly pale whenever someone asked him anything about where he was.”

“You sound like a conspiracy theorist, Dylan,” a girl at the table with him teased. “That’s some next-level stuff. Are you on drugs?”

The rest of the table laughed, but as I examined the boy who spoke, I noticed how scared he looked. Dylan’s hands were shaking, and he glared at the girl like she was responsible for all the troubles in the world. “It could be any of us next,” he whispered, so low I almost didn’t hear him. “And when it is, I’d like to see you laugh then.”

Their table quieted, but my mind screamed thoughts of warning. Something was definitely going on at this school, but I couldn’t quite figure out what. I racked my brain on who could be involved in something like this. My mind immediately went to Bane, with his cold, distant demeanor. It was usually those types you had to worry about.

But then there was the group of students in black who were near that secluded building yesterday.

There was no use speculating. The only way I’d know for sure was if I investigated.

I ate another bite of spaghetti, chewing it slowly as I mulled everything over. I almost didn’t notice Jax walk up.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, settling into the seat across from me with a grin on his face. “How are you liking the school so far? Made any friends?” He stretched his arm across the back of the seat beside him, his eyes dancing.

“Uh, not exactly,” I admitted.

“Then I have the perfect solution. We’re having an exclusive party over at the upperclassman apartments tonight. You should come. It will be a great opportunity to make connections. And I’d love to see you there.” He gave me a pleading look. “So, will you come?”

“A party?” I mused. I’d been to plenty of parties in my hometown, but I doubted they were as crazy as a college party. Still, it could be an opportunity to investigate these rumors, and he was right. I needed friends in a cutthroat place like this. “What time?”

Jax’s eyes lit up. “You’ll come? Great! Be at the apartments at nine tonight. You can’t miss them. It’ll be where the music is. See ya around, beautiful.”

With that, Jax got up and strode across the cafeteria with confident, purposeful steps.

My heart warmed with excitement. I was going to my first college party. But I had one issue: I had nothing suitable to wear. Well, two issues … because if I accepted Jax’s invitation, I had a feeling it would mean Bane would be there, too. And now I was unsure how to handle either man.