Hers From The Start: A Collection of First In Series Reverse Harem

by Laura Greenwood

“You?” she sneers. “You didn’t even know what a prank was a week ago.”

  I glare at her wondering what the hell her problem is. She’s not wrong though, it is unlike me to volunteer for such a thing, but after the craziness of my life the last few days I just want to feel normal. I want to be a nineteen-year-old girl at college doing college-type things.

  “Terra,” Amalia whispers, ignoring Jesse’s dig. “Maybe it’s not such a go—”

  “I’m doing it,” I say, louder this time. Claire and Mischa beam with pride, and another girl gives me two thumbs up. But I can tell the girl beside me is worried. She doesn’t need to be though, I’m fine. In fact, I feel good. Like a shift is happening inside me.

  When I narrow my eyes at her, pleading for her to roll with it she lets out a small breath. “Fine. If we need a small team, we’ll figure out the rest after we vote.”

  Amalia hands out some slips of paper with the eight pranks printed on and begins to work her way down each one. Hands fly up as we vote for three each in the first instance, narrowing the list to four, and then our favorite in the second round.

  When Amalia announces the winning prank and that it’ll be a one-woman job, I smile quietly to myself. I’ve got this. It’s exactly what I need to forget about everything.

  Just for a little while.

  Landing with a soft thud, I suck in a sharp breath and hold it. My body is tense and still, as I strain to hear any signs of life. Met only with the sound of silence, I rummage in my hoodie pocket for the piece of paper and hit the flashlight switch. It illuminates the crude map Amalia drew for me of Allender dorm. According to her handiwork, I’m the black dot which means I need to take a left out of the utility room, follow the hallway to the end, hit a right and then another right until I come to their communal kitchen. All without raising the alarm.

  Extending a foot, I tap it against the floor. When it makes barely a sound, I take off, moving in quick, quiet steps. The main hallway connecting the living room, games room, and kitchen is pitched in darkness. My heart thrums wildly in my chest and I know if I slipped off my black gloves my palms would be clammy. Adrenaline courses through my blood. It’s exhilarating and terrifying and for the first time in forever, I feel alive. My senses are sharp; I can hear the drip drip of a nearby faucet. The gentle hum of the refrigerator. I’m pretty sure I can even hear the rumbling of one of the guys snoring upstairs. Reaching the end of the hallway, I go right. Moonlight pours in through a long window, shadows dancing along the wall, but I’m focused only on the task at hand: get to the kitchen.

  After hitting another right, I finally reach the door and slip inside. It’s just as Amalia said it would be, vast, empty, and ours for the taking, and my lips lift in a devious smirk as I get started.

  Slipping the bag off my shoulders, I unpack the supplies and get to work. Quick and methodically, keeping one eye on my wristwatch.

  “Got you,” a hand slides over my mouth while another slips around my waist, holding me still and rendering me silent as panic fills my chest. “You seriously need to work on your stealth skills,” Cael’s voice drips with amusement as I wriggle against his hold on me, unsure whether to be annoyed or relieved he caught me.

  “Now, I’m going to let go if you promise not to scream.” His warm breath brushes my ear and a shiver rolls up my spine, dancing into every nerve ending in my skin until I feel tingles all over.

  I focus on his words instead of the rush of sensations coursing through me. Promise not to scream. Like that’s going to help me.

  “Terra, promise?” he asks again, and I nod against his hand. Slowly, his fingers uncurl. Once he backs up, I spin around to face him. “You’re supposed to be sleeping.”

  “What can I say, I’m a light sleeper,” he retorts, eyeing the supplies over my shoulder. I move two spaces to the left to block his view. “Something you want to tell me?”

  Mashing my lips together, I shake my head, and he studies me, his eyes darkening with something I can’t place. “You know, I didn’t expect to find you in here. Usually they send a junior or a senior. Someone with a little more… experience.”

  “What can I say.” I raise a brow and smirk, “I’m full of surprises.”

  Something flashes in his expression and he lets out a smooth chuckle, folding his arms over his chest. “Indeed, you are, Terra Materson, indeed you are. Now are you going to tell me what Earhart have planned for us or am I going to rat you out to the rest of the house?”

  “How about a deal?” The words fall from my lips before I can stop them. And when his lips curve up in a wide smile, I know I’ve lost. Because I didn’t come to negotiate, and I have nothing to deal.

  Cael tilts his head and rubs his jaw, eyes narrowing slightly. The stream of moonlight illuminates his face, making him look handsome and devilish all at the same time. But I’m not expecting it when he closes the space between us. “And what exactly is it you come offering?”

  He’s right there, in front of me, staring at me, and there’s so much suggestion in his voice, my skin turns to gooseflesh underneath my hoodie. “I—” my reply hangs on the tip of my tongue because he’s looking at me like he’s starving and I'm the only thing on the menu.

  Holy crap.

  I can’t think. Or swallow. And I don’t have any words as he leans down, putting us eye-to-eye, his breath fanning my face as he whispers, “What is my silence worth to you, Terra?”

  He’s playing with me and I know this is all part of the game, but I’m so lost in his eyes, in the way they shimmer under the moonlight, I can’t for the life of me remember the spiel Amalia had prepped me with in the event I got caught.

  “Terra, time’s ticking.” Cael’s words caress me, fluttering over my face and I gulp, the sound piercing the beat of silence. “Maybe I should just take it and we can call it even?”

  Take it?

  Take what?

  But when his lips hover over mine, I have my answer. He doesn’t kiss me. Just holds his mouth there, waiting. Not taking. Not giving, and God do I want him to give me something. Anything to ease the strange ache in my stomach, under my skin, filling my chest.

  “Cael?” I croak, finally ripped from my reverie.

  “A deal’s a deal,” he says touching his lips to mine. And I’m so shocked, so lost in the new sensations: the minty warmth of his breath, the softness of his lips against mine, the way they mold together like two pieces of a puzzle, that I almost don’t hear the commotion above us. But Cael hears it, the tension sagging from his body as he breaks our connection and steps away. Scrubbing a hand over his face he looks at me with such intensity, I’m not sure I can move. “You better go before anyone else comes down here,” his voice is soft. Pained.

  “You’re letting me go?” I ask, touching a finger to my lips. It was only a second, but I can still feel it, the lingering pressure of his mouth on mine. And I know now this is what a first kiss is supposed to feel like.

  Toe-curling.

  Breathtaking.

  Heart pounding.

  “You didn’t technically do anything yet.” He flicks the bag with the supplies behind me. “So there’s nothing to tell. Go now.”

  “Okay.” I grab the things and stuff them into my backpack, rushing to the door. “And thanks.”

  He nods, his jaw clenched tight. I’m about to leave when his voice anchors me back to him. “But Terra,” he says with unspoken promise. “Next time, I will collect.”

  I disappear into the darkened hallway only one thought penetrating my mind.

  What the hell just happened?

  “Did you do it?” Amalia whispers, excitement lingering in her voice, as I join them behind the bushes opposite Allender dorm.

  “Yeah,” I grin mischievously, leaving out the part where Cael found me. What he didn’t know, though, was that I’d already exacted my prank and come morning, when he and his dorm mates went to eat their breakfast they’d have a not-so-tasty surprise with their cereal.

  “Awesom
e,” Amalia squeals and a couple of the other girls nod in approval. Jesse, however, mutters something under her breath. But I don’t let her bad mood dampen the thrill I feel.

  “You look all flushed, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. For a second, I thought someone was still awake, but getting in and out was a breeze just like you said it would be.”

  We make our way to Earhart in the cover of darkness. Amalia and the girls discuss likely retaliation from Allender but I’m still replaying the moment with Cael over in my head.

  He kissed me.

  Cael kissed me.

  It was only a brief touching of lips, but I’d felt it all the way down to my toes, and more surprisingly, I wanted more.

  And from the intensity I’d seen in his eyes, I wanted to believe so did he.

  News of 'milkgate' spreads around campus like wildfire. Earhart had, according to Amalia, taken a huge gamble launching the first offensive action against Allender but the girls were convinced it would give us the edge we needed. I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. If what they said about Sol and Cael was true, I had a feeling we’d pay.

  “Something you want to fess up to?” Cael asks from his usual seat in Beans, and I smirk across at him, keeping my lips firmly together.

  “Well played, Materson, well played indeed.” He leans forward, glancing around before whispering, “but I’ve got to know, whose idea was it to trade our milk for cornstarch slurry?”

  “You’re looking at her.” I’d seen the prank on TV once, and when Amalia put me on the spot at the meeting, it was the first and only thought I had. I never imagined the girls would agree it was our best shot at going after Allender.

  “Devious and cunning. I need to keep a close eye on you.” Cael lowers his eyes but keeps them fixed on my face. With the way he’s looking at me, I know my cheeks are a deep shade of pink. But last night, in the kitchen, he made me feel so desired. Not that I have anything to compare it with. But I couldn’t mistake the way my heart fluttered in my chest, the strange tingles that had spread through my body like electrical currents.

  “So, I was wondering.” Cael stretches his arm above his head and I catch a sliver of his stomach, of his tanned smooth skin. My cheeks turn three shades darker.

  “Yes?” I clear my throat, dragging my eyes back to his face. If he notices, he doesn’t let on.

  “Do you remember Omar and Duke? My track buddies.” I nod and he continues, “Well, we have our first meet of the season. It’s not competitive, but I wondered if you’d like to come and watch?”

  “You want me to come and watch you run?”

  His easy smile slips. “It’s totally lame, I know. You’re probably more of a football girl.”

  “Cael,” I say sitting a little straighter. “I would love to come and watch you.”

  “Really? Well, okay then.” He scratches his jaw. “We meet on Tuesday’s at six on the track behind the library.”

  “Perfect.”

  “Perfect,” he repeats.

  And it is.

  It really is.

  12.

  “Terra, you look... wow.” Amalia’s eyes dance with excitement as I offer her a curtesy. “You said I had to dress up, so here I am.”

  The fitted black skirt, pale green mohair sweater and tan ankle boots are nothing special, but it’s the nicest outfit I own.

  She nods her approval and gushes, “And your hair, it’s so pretty.”

  I touch the loose chignon at the nape of my neck. Wavy bangs frame my face and I’ve exchanged my usual stud earrings for the little silver moons my gran gave me for a birthday present the day I turned fourteen. It was my first birthday with her and she’d wanted to get me something special.

  “Terra?” Amalia is staring at me and I force a smile trying to fight back the deep ache in my chest.

  “I’m fine. Are we meeting the others downstairs?”

  “Actually,” she says. “They already left. I wanted to talk to you, in private.”

  My brows furrow. I hoped tonight would be drama-free. My first college party. But from the serious expression gracing Amalia’s face, that dream is quickly dashed.

  “Let me grab my purse and then we can head out.”

  We make our way out of the building and follow the main path through the center of campus. Amalia is quiet, and I feel the tension radiating from her.

  “You wanted to talk?” I prompt, wanting to get whatever it is she has to say over with.

  She lets out a soft sigh. “So, okay there’s this thing tonight.” Her eyes dart around me and I frown.

  “I thought the party was the thing?” The party she invited me to.

  “It is. Canfield-Fisher throw the best parties. You’re going to love it.”

  I very much doubt that, but maybe Endo will be there and we can hang out.

  “But afterwards, we…” She clears her throat and won’t meet my eyes. “I mean… me, Harry, and the others...”

  “No,” I snap, annoyed that she’s pushing it again. Especially tonight. When we’re supposed to be doing normal college things.

  “Come on, Terra, you didn’t even hear me out.”

  My feet grind to a halt and she spins around to meet my narrowed gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

  “Yeah, you are. I already told you I’m not ready.”

  “I know, and I get it, I do.” Her expression softens. “But they’re all going to be at the party and they’re curious about you.”

  “Har—” I quickly right myself. “They’re going to be there?”

  “Well, yeah. Harry lives in Canfield so we all got invited.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hey, Harry’s a good guy, Terra. Sure, he’s a little rough around the edges until you get to know him. But he’s a good friend. And he can help, I’m sure of it.”

  I still can’t imagine Amalia—the warm and welcoming dorm rep—being friends with someone like Harry. All thunder clouds and dark skies, he’s the complete opposite to her.

  “You should have told me.” The air cools around us and at first, I think it’s the awkwardness between us but then I tilt my face skyward feeling a ripple of energy. “Was it forecast to—”

  A huge raindrop lands on my forehead and I blink away the moisture surprised the weather caught me off guard … again. Amalia shrieks, “Run.” Just as another falls. And another. Until we’re running through a sheet of water, and thunder cracks across the sky followed by a bolt of lightning.

  “Come on, come on,” she shouts, her voice barely audible against the rain hitting the asphalt. Canfield-Fisher comes into view and I push my legs harder, thankful I opted for boots and tights.

  We skid up to the door and Amalia all but throws herself at it, rain flinging off her. Breathless and drenched, we rush inside to a chorus of cheers. My cheeks heat as I scan the gathered crowd, disappointment filling my chest when I can’t see a flash of red anywhere.

  “Here, looks like you need this.” Harry bursts through the crowd holding two beers and all I can think is, ‘I need a towel, not a beer’.

  Weird.

  Amalia wrings out her hair before snatching a bottle from him.

  “Terra.” He offers me the other and I stare at it. I don’t know whether it’s the fact I look like a drowned rat or that everyone’s still watching me, but I take the beer and force out, “Thanks.”

  “I need to get out of these clothes. Harry, do you think Violet will mind if I borrow something out of her closet?”

  He shrugs, and I wonder who Violet is.

  “Terra.” Amalia turns her attention on me. “Do you want to borrow something?”

  I peek up at Harry who is watching me intently. The icy, invasive feeling doesn’t come this time, but a different sensation takes root. Like a stomach ache before an important test.

  “Terra?”

  My eyes snap to Amalia and I rush out, “I’m good. I think I’ll just find the bathroom and try to dry out a
little.”

  “You’re sure? Violet won’t mind—”

  “I’m sure. Go. I’ll find you in a bit.”

  “Okay.” She smiles. “The rest of the girls should be around here somewhere.”

  I don’t wait around, moving deeper into the building. Our welcoming committee has dissipated now, breaking off into small groups, and music filters through the hallway. I don’t know what I expected, but it all seems very tame.

  “Terra?” A familiar voice stands out over the noise and I spin around to meet Endo’s amused expression. But before he can ask, I grind out, “Don’t. Ask.”

  He tilts his head to one side, scratching his jaw. “Trying out a new look?”

  “The universe hates me,” I murmur under my breath feeling the stain of embarrassment color my cheeks. He’s standing there in his dark wash jeans and a navy polo shirt looking like he just got back from a photoshoot and I’m a complete mess.

  “I should probably go back to my dorm and—”

  “Hey.” He’s in front of me in a second, gliding his finger under my jaw and tilting my face to his. “You look fine. More than fine, you look beautiful.”

  I make a disapproving click in my throat.

  “Come on.” He takes my hand. “Let’s get you dry.”

  Endo pulls me toward the back of the building only stopping when we reach a door marked Utility Room.

  “You don’t have to do this,” I sigh as he pushes open the door. “I can just go—”

  “And lock yourself in your room for the rest of the night over-analyzing how much of a fool you made of yourself?”

  I stifle a groan and follow him inside. It’s a laundry room, not too dissimilar to the one in my dorm building. “Okay, how do you want to do this?” Endo turns around, his eyes grazing my body. Heat rushes through me and I no longer feel cold underneath my damp clothes.

  “Do what?” I stutter, barely able to think with him looking at me with fire in his eyes. They’re burning so bright I can feel the heat lick my skin as his gaze lingers on my face.

  “Well usually to dry clothes one has to strip out of them first...” he leaves the words hanging.