Chapter Text
VIOLET
I break down the last empty box just as the living room door slams open.
"Violet Sorrengail, how in Amari’s sky have you finished unpacking already?"
"Rhi!" I yell, running out of my room to hug my best friend. We couldn't be more different from the outside looking in – petite in every sense of the word vs. tall and fit, reserved and bookish vs. athletic and outgoing. But we're a perfect match in every way that counts, and we've been best friends since we got randomly assigned as freshmen roommates last year. "Cutting it a little close don't you think?"
"You have no idea." She steps out into the hall, quickly returning with a single box for her dorm room, currently void of anything but the unmade bed, empty dresser, and vacant desk. "I didn't even get a chance to drop this off before my first class this morning."
"Why in the world weren't you here yesterday for move-in day?"
"You would not believe the last 48 hours I've had," she throws her long dark braids over her shoulder as she leans down to start emptying her one box. Gods, I’ve missed my best friend and her stories. She’s not quite as animated of a storyteller as Ridoc, but at least I know hers won’t end in dick jokes. My lips twitch, trying to hold back a smile at the thought so as not to further anger an already pissed off Rhi.
"Mom and Dad's shop flooded! The whole downstairs – inches of water! We had to clean and pack everything, and of course the landlord took forever to actually come fix the broken pipe. By the time we got it all cleaned up late last night, I only had time for a small nap before driving through the night to make it to class!
“I only just remembered to grab a box of clothes." She stands up clutching a tube top and a miniskirt. "Somehow, I don't think this is going to work for classes..."
"I mean," I hedge, voice pitching at the end, "it's not the best class outfit, but it's not like people aren't wearing pajamas to class."
She scowls as she holds up a pair of pajamas.... with ‘JUICY’ written across the ass and chest.
"Maybe not those pajamas," I concede, barely holding back a laugh.
Rhiannon screams in frustration, throwing herself backwards on the bare bed. "Gods damn it! I didn't want to turn around and drive back home immediately!"
"Couldn't you just borrow something from Tara?" Her on-again, off-again girlfriend of the last six months matches Rhi's build and style perfectly.
I catch the slightest of grimaces from my best friend. "We're on a break. It was too hard with summer, distance, and starting up a new semester." Read: they had another stupid fight and are both too determined to be independent to compromise.
I bite back the retort I know Rhi thinks is coming. I'm not surprised she didn't tell me, even if it does piss me off. She knows how frustrated I get about the two of them constantly self-sabotaging when they clearly care for one another.
"I see," I answer with the most regal tone I can muster and mostly succeed. "In that case, I'll split the drive with you tomorrow."
Rhi shoots up from the bed. "You would do that?"
I can't help but laugh. "You're my best friend, Rhi, and I haven't seen you in two months! We'll make it a road trip. Let’s get out of here a little before lunch, so we can make it to Montserrat around dinner. We'll do snacks, corny sing-alongs, and get back Sunday night."
Rhi squeals, "You are the best!" She jumps up and pulls me into a hug, picking me straight off the ground just like my sister did before she deployed. It’s an inexplicable comfort, a piece of Mira even though she’s so far away. It feels like home.
We spend the last hour before afternoon classes eating lunch in the quad and re-catching up on everything we did over the summer, as if we didn't text each other every day. Eventually we make our way towards the set of buildings where both of our afternoon classes are held, and I for one feel lighter than I have in ages.
“We should all get together tonight," I say, squinting up at the warm afternoon sun that shines through the massive ancient oaks that line quad along the sidewalks. "Celebrate and have some fun before the semester gets hectic! Especially if we're not leaving until late tomorrow morning."
"Yeah!" Rhi agrees, immediately pulling out her phone, typing away. "We should hit up Chantara again! That place was a blast when we went for Sawyer's birthday."
"That sounds perfect!"
I ignore the buzzing of my phone in my pocket in favor of absorbing the glow of being back.
We follow the split of the sidewalk towards two academic buildings. Each are the same style of tall, grey stone buildings found on the rest of campus. Ivy grows up the walls, latched to the mortar, providing an old world, earthly welcome in contrast to the ancient, imposing walls.
Unlike me, Rhi looks absolutely miserable at the prospect of kicking off classes. She stops at the entrance to her building, facing it with existential dread beyond her years. “Remind me again why classes are starting on a Friday this year?”
I can’t help the involuntary scoff. “Oh please, you’ve met my mom. She’s been power tripping since the moment she was named Dean. Do you honestly expect an answer besides ‘my mom is a masochist’?”
“Guess that’s fair.” She snorts. “I’ll see you back in the room so we can get ready before heading to the bar. Have fun in class!”
At that, we split and go our separate ways into our respective buildings. I have a little time at the moment before class really starts, so I pull out my phone and quickly find the still buzzing text chain labelled “Iron Squad.”
TEXT CHAIN WITH IRON SQUAD
Rhi: And we’re back! Vi had the fantastic idea for a night out after classes today before the semester gets crazy. Who’s in?
Ridoc: Babe, do you even have to ask?
Sawyer: I’m up for coming!
Ridoc: Oh, I bet you are!
Rhi: For fucks sake, Ridoc.
Liam: I’m also in! It was nice to go home for the summer, but I can’t wait to see you guys!
Ridoc: Same, I’ve got so many great stories to tell.
Rhi: How many of them are we actually going to want to hear?
Sawyer: I’m guessing half.
Liam: Less
Ridoc: You wound me!
Me: Gods, I’ve missed you all.
It’s going to be a long grueling semester, but at least I’ll have my friends. I smile, putting my phone away as I approach the classroom for this afternoon’s class and the start of a new semester.
The first day of classes has always been my favorite. The hopeful optimism of a fresh start. The return to my favorite routine of books and friends. The promise of new knowledge to come.
It’s enough to make a girl swoon.
And those are the only things I intend to let swoon me this year. After my high school sweetheart turned out to be sweet on redheads and the world's worst fling with my childhood best friend, I am over men.
This year is about myself, my friends, my schooling, and my future.
That’s it.
It’s not like I’ll have time for anything else with this full of a course load anyway. With eighteen credit hours, I’m not even sure the first two items on that list are going to get the time they deserve.
But today’s class, Public Speaking, is really the one I’m looking forward to most. Of all the stories my father shared from his time at Basgiath University, both as a student and a researcher, the memories when he talked about this class always excited him most. He said it was transformational academically, professionally, and personally.
“All the best research in the world would be for naught if it was ignored due to poor communication.”
Or who could forget…
“There’s no way I would have had the confidence to talk to your mother if it weren’t for that class. Classic speech techniques! Imagine your audience wearing only their—”
The incredibly deep-red tone his face took on never quite erased the conjured image from my mind, but the messages lingered all the same. Their relationship never made sense to me, though there was no doubt that they brought out something special in one another.
And while that’s definitely not what I’m looking for this semester, I won’t deny that an extra dose of confidence wouldn’t go amiss after the year I’ve had.
“Vi!” A voice booms, echoing throughout the stone-faced hall and pulling me out of my reverie. Now that is a voice with no lack of confidence. After a brief pounding of feet, I’m swept up into a warm, strong embrace, my face suddenly full of floppy brown hair. A quick spin later, I’m finally let down and face-to-face with one of my best friends, who’s now a couple shades darker than when I last saw him.
“Ridoc!” I can’t stop my beaming smile as I lay eyes on him for the first time in nearly a month. “How are you? How were the Isles? Were the waters as gorgeous as all the pictures? Tell me everything!”
“Fuck, it was out of control!” His smile tells me everything I need to know that my ADHD friend thrived in said chaos. “There were bonfires every night, some amazing looking panthers at that sanctuary you recommended, and I may or may not have punched a cook.”
My jaw drops at that last sentence, uttered in a casual sing-song tone, but I’m swept into another hug before I can recover enough to ask questions. “But this though… this is good.” He’s far calmer with his chin resting on top of my braided, silver-tipped hair than he was half a second earlier. “This is right.”
Yeah… Yeah, it is.
“Remind me again why I suggested we take this class together?” I joke as I pull away just far enough to lead us back up the hall to the open door he stood by before.
“Because you love me.” Ridoc gifts me another cheeky grin just as we turn to stand in the door. Then he pulls us both to an abrupt stop. “Though I think we’re each going to end up liking this class for very different reasons.”
It doesn’t take me long to realize what’s frozen him in his tracks. The afternoon sun shines through floor to ceiling windows, warming rows of bookshelves that line the front of the room where a white board would normally be mounted. The room is welcoming, arranged in three columns of double seater desks, all facing the front where a small desk, open platform and a simple podium stand. And even though we’re nearly twenty minutes early, we’re not the first to arrive.
Sitting at the far back center desk are the two most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen in my life. They have matching black curls and tawny skin. Both are ridiculously tall, even seated, and clearly strong if the stretching of their respective shirts is anything to go by. While I’m sure from past experience that my best friend is caught up on the one clearly grinning and laughing, I can’t break my eyes away from the one with the confident smirk on his stubbled jawline.
Before I know it, Ridoc has me by the hand, and I can’t help the eyeroll as he stops at the desk beside the other pair, quickly sitting in the chair closest to the more approachable of the two men.
“Well, hello there, fellow dragon riders,” Ridoc drawls, leaning to the side ever so slightly. For fucks sake. Leave it to Ridoc to invoke the school mascot while flirting. “Looks like we’ll be taking this class together. I’m Ridoc. This is my best friend, Violet.”
Ridoc shakes hands with the closest of the two men. I think his name started with a B maybe? I don’t know because my brain stuttered to a complete stop when the other leaned forward, and my eyes locked with his.
And sweet Amari, are those eyes gorgeous. I’m immediately lost in their gold-flecked onyx depths. I only manage to look away long enough to take in the rest of him.
While I had admired him from afar, up close he looks like he was carved by the gods. His high cheekbones and perfectly chiseled jawline are sheer perfection. And when the muscles of his forearms flex as he leans forward another few inches, highlighting the tattoo that runs from his wrist, disappearing beneath his sleeve just to reappear at his jaw… Gods what I wouldn’t do to see the full length of it.
I can’t stop staring. Even as he openly appraises me right back, bringing a burning heat to my cheeks. Even as I vaguely hear the scraping of chairs and rustling of bags. Even as his eyes lock back on mine and that smirk deepens. I can’t look away.
Not until another familiar voice echoes through the room. Professor Devera, a long time friend of my father’s, takes command of the room, like the military captain she would have been in another life. Only then do I finally manage to rip my eyes forward.
“Welcome to Public Speaking 201.” She looks around the room, giving me a small smile and nod of approval when she sees me, but hardly pauses her lecture. “This class has been taught every year since the founding of Basgiath University, centuries ago. It has been molded and perfected over that time to make you into strong leaders and critical thinkers.”
“No pressure,” Ridoc mumbled to my right, and I barely manage to stifle a laugh.
He’s not exactly wrong. Devera is an amazing teacher, in and out of the classroom, able to bolster anyone’s knowledge and confidence, but she can come off a bit uptight when you first meet her.
She tucks a stray lock of purple hair behind her ear before continuing. “You need to understand the temperament of your audience, the strategies to overcome any barriers to your message, and have a thorough knowledge of the topics you wish to speak about if you want to be the most effective communicators.”
She leans back against her desk surveying the room for a moment as her message sinks in, then sweeps up a pile of papers from her desk and starts splitting them into stacks along the front row. “This class, as you know, is normally three hours every Friday afternoon, but today’s class will be short. You’ll each fill out a short survey that we’ll reference throughout the rest of the semester, then we’ll quickly cover your assignment for the next class after everyone completes their forms.”
As soon as the dwindling stack of papers reaches our desk in the back of the room, I dive in, and I can barely hide my immediate excitement.
List the other classes you’re taking this semester.
List two topics about which you are most knowledgeable.
List two of your most fiercely held beliefs.
List a current event you wish to understand better.
List two of your favorite books
I’ve already got half a dozen ideas for how these will be used, and any one of them is going to be amazing.
Despite, or maybe because of, my excitedment, I’m the last to take my form to the front since I wrote nearly a paragraph for each question, extending out and using up most of the margins.
I just couldn’t help myself. Each question was seemingly easy, but managed to spark self-reflection that Devera probably wanted, though maybe didn’t actually expect. Her smile as I turn mine in tells me she isn’t remotely surprised at my speed, or lack thereof.
“Perfect,” she says when I sit back down next to an impatiently bouncing Ridoc. “Now for your first assignment. It’s simple – for the next class you’ll do introductions. Who you are, your major, etc. Don’t over think it. That’s all for today. I’ll see you all at the same time next week.”
Before I can stand, Ridoc’s hand locks briefly on my knee, and it’s the only warning I know I’ll get for the incoming shenanigans.
“We’re going to that bar just off campus tonight, Chantara, with a few friends if you two want to join.” I swear, Ridoc’s thirst could empty a 7-11 of slurpees, and I doubt he’d get a brainfreeze.
But his unusual charms seem to be working since the closest of the two men appears genuinely disappointed. “We’re actually going to meet up with a few of our friends tonight.”
“Bring them along!” Ridoc bounces on the balls of his feet, the risk of others potentially hindering his hookup not slowing him down one bit.
The pair glance at each other in silent communication. When the smoldering one shrugs, I know Ridoc’s won.
“Sure, what time?” The closest one smiles at my best friend.
I’m surprised Ridoc’s feet aren’t clearing the ground by now with how much he’s bouncing. “Around seven!”
“We’ll see you then.”
Gods that voice. It’s the first time I’ve heard him speak all class, and its deep tone nearly sends a shiver down my spine. I look up to find his onyx eyes already locked on mine.
He’s the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. And he looks interested… in me. There’s no denying that spark of interest as his eyes darken. Or the flex of his jaw when those eyes flick down to my lips for a heartbeat.
Damnit, I can already tell I’m going to cave. It’s inevitable. So much for my ‘no swooning this year’ rule – my hormones clearly didn’t get the message.
I can have him, right? Not feelings? Just fun?
I want to say something cool, something clever, but I’m completely speechless. I bite my lip, like that will somehow save me. All that earns me is another smoldering look that makes me shift my weight.
“Let’s go so we can grab some food first.” Oh, thank the gods! I’m saved from any further embarrassment by the one who I’m guessing is a cousin, who’s dragging off the man that turned me into an inarticulate puddle.
“Looking a little flushed, Vi. Already thinking about what you’ll be doing tonight?” Ridoc say a little too loudly. He bounces his hip against mine then catches me before I go sprawling. “Want some ice cream?”
“Gods, Ridoc!” I whip my head around, thankfully spotting no one in the now-empty classroom. “Maybe you should keep the inside thoughts inside.” Then I can’t help but laugh at his sheepish grin. “Fine, let’s go get ice cream.”
The sun is still blazing when we exit the building. I’m immediately thankful for Ridoc’s suggestion, even if he absolutely does not need any sugar. He only seems to be picking up more energy, thriving on the swarm of students streaming out of buildings in every direction, not a care in the world as they finish the first day of classes faced with an immediate weekend.
It doesn’t look like the freshmen have discovered our little summer hideaway yet because the ice cream shop doesn’t look busy from a distance. Just as we reach the door, a blonde-haired blue-eyed man blocks our path.
“You did not try to get ice cream without me!”
“Liam,” I answer with a warm smile.
Sunshine personified pulls each of us into a bear hug, and a few minutes later, all three of us are at a corner booth catching up over piled-high waffle cones.
“Oh! And we invited these two total hotties from class. Cousins apparently, and they are delicious. But Vi and I already have them reserved – you have to bring your own.”
Heat blooms in an instant across my cheeks. I could kill Ridoc. “I do not—”
“Oh, I think you do,” Liam teases with a chuckle. “What are the dream beaus’ names?”
The blush on my cheeks only burns hotter. How the hell do I say I have no fricking clue because I was too busy staring for my ears to function?
“Mr. Hot-and-Broody and Mr. Hot-and-Smoothy,” Ridoc chimes in a heartbeat. Liam and I both wrinkle our noses. “What? It’s a work-in-progress!”
“Gods, neither of us are going to stand a change with you around.” I just shake my head.
Liam beams, taking some of the edge off my secondhand embarrassment. “So you want there to be a chance, huh?” He softens a little, comforting me in the way that only Liam can. “I thought you ‘swore off all men’ that weren’t us and Sawyer after everything with Halden and Dain.”
I shift uncomfortably, still feeling the need to defend the man who used to be my best friend. “Dain’s not a bad guy.”
“I know. But he was bad for you. He couldn’t see your spark.”
That earns him a smile. “Thank you, Liam.” I pull him into a side hug.
“Halden on the otherhand….”
I scoff. “Halden’s lucky I didn’t throw a dagger at his balls.”
Ridoc hugs me from the other side with a bark of laughter nearly knocking the ice cream from my hand. “That’s our girl!”
I continue, voice a little small but safe between two of my best friends. “But I don’t know… it feels too early to be this attracted to someone.”
Any response is interrupted by a buzzing somewhere between us. Liam shifts and pulls his phone from his pocket. He types for a second then curses under his breath.
“Everything alright?” I ask.
Liam drags his free hand through his hair and his brow furrows. “Yeah, just sounds like my foster brother is actually going out tonight for once.”
“You can bail on us if you need to.”
I’ve heard Liam talk about his foster brother several times over the last year. I’ve never met him before but feel like I might as well have. Moody because he cares more than he knows how to handle. So stubborn he makes Liam want to scream. Loyal to the point of being self-sacrificial.
Liam just shakes his head. “I haven’t seen you guys in ages, and I just spent all summer with the asshole.”
But I can tell from the sigh he unsuccessfully tries to hide that he doesn’t really mean it.
In true Ridoc fashion, he bounces straight in. “He sounds hot. Maybe you should bring him out tonight!”
“Fucking hell, Ridoc!”
The two of them go off on their usual circular argument about Ridoc needing meds, but my brain is just as flighty apparently. The moment Ridoc said ‘hot’ my thoughts flew back to tattoos and onyx eyes.
And, gods, do I already know I’m in so much fucking trouble.
So fuck it. Let’s get into trouble.