by Eden French
Calen knew Zev understood what she had done to him. When the wound was fresh, Zev was there to talk him down. And, his friend was never one to bullshit. Calen didn’t know how he would’ve gotten through it without Zev. So, when Zev spoke, Calen knew it was worth listening.
Besides, Calen had known Zev since he arrived at Perrault. They had been assigned as roommates in the freshman dorms. Together, they’d walked onto the lacrosse team, rushed at the same time, and now held office at SAE as seniors. Zev knew Calen better than anyone else on campus, and he was the only person Calen trusted. If Zev felt it necessary to warn Calen about taking it down a few notches in the party intensity department, then Calen would abide.
But, he didn’t have to like it. Calen threw back the rest of the scotch and frowned.
“Fine, I get it,” he said begrudgingly.
Zev smiled and finished his drink, placing it on the delicate glass table in front of him. How it survived last night was a mystery to both men.
“But, that was one hell of a mud wrestling match, am I right?” Zev snickered.
Calen laughed. He had forgotten about the impromptu fight that left two Deltas rolling around in the sticky mud out back by the croquet course in their string bikinis.
Chapter Two
Celeste Wolfe cracked open one eye just enough for her to peer through her eyelashes. The sun cut a golden streak right through the middle of her room and pushed out any indication night was still around. Groaning, she closed it tight and rolled over, taking the blankets over her head, a protective barrier against the day.
“Celeste, you know you’re going to be late, right?” Heather’s voice assaulted Celeste’s desperate attempt to hold on to sleep.
Celeste rolled over again and glared at her roommate as she barged into Celeste’s room walking over to the blinds. Twisting them open, she took hold of the string and gave a sharp tug. The sun poured into the room, filling every crack and crevice.
“My God! Heather!” Celeste cried, covering her face with a pillow. “What the hell? It’s too early!”
Heather laughed. “Early! It’s almost ten o’clock. Don’t you have a photo lab meeting in like half an hour?”
“Oh, shit! Ten already?” Celeste jumped out of bed and stumbled around the room, half-blinded by the sunlight, trying to track down a pair of pants and a shirt clean enough to throw on for class. She could hear her roommate laughing as she ran down the hall and into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.
How could she have slept in so late? She quickly peeled off the old sweats she had passed out in last night and pulled on the skinny jeans she had collected from her floor. She had never been a morning person, and at the age of twenty-two, she reckoned she’d never be. She threw on a black yoga tank over the cami she had slept in. Looking in the mirror, she ran her hands through her hair a few times. Why did she have to be a night owl?
“C’mon Celeste, you can do this,” she cheered herself on as she pulled her wildly thick dark hair back into a bushy ponytail. She turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water before leaning over and patting it dry with the hand towel hanging next to the sink.
She brushed her teeth and applied a simple layer of moisturizer to her dark peach colored skin. It would have to do. She hit the light and headed back to her room. Heather was sitting at her desk flipping through her newest collection of images. Heather’s long legs were propped up on the surface as she held the box in her lap. Celeste took a moment to let the image of her friend sink in.
Heather and Celeste had come from two different worlds. At times, Celeste felt like it was more like two different planets. Heather was the only child from an extremely wealthy family—old money. Her grandfather had been an investor in some sort of military technology during World War II and profited greatly. Every member of her family was a college graduate. They donated regularly to the university. Hell, the library carried her last name on its entrance.
Celeste pursed her lips. Her family was from Philly. Directly from smack dab in the middle of the working class. Though Celeste never went without food or clothing, there was little extra left for anything considered a modern convenience. The eldest of four children, Celeste was the first in her family to attend college, of any kind, and every day she was thankful for it. If it hadn’t been for her high school art teacher, Celeste couldn’t imagine what her life would be like.
Where it was expected Heather would attend college, it was Ms. Allen who convinced Celeste to apply for the scholarship at Perrault. Ms. Allen helped put her portfolio together. She personally contacted the dean of the arts department at Perrault and informed him Celeste was worth every penny of the scholarship. She had insisted a talent like Celeste’s only came around once every fifty years if they were lucky. She even purchased a brand new digital camera for Celeste for graduation. Celeste had never owned anything that expensive before.
Celeste watched Heather a moment longer before she went to her closet and grabbed her camera bag. The past four years had been a dream. The scholarship had covered tuition, room, and board. Celeste had even been able to move off campus with Heather by taking on various side jobs as a photographer for weddings and other events.
She pulled a few extra lenses from the closet and stuffed them into the carrier. Celeste couldn’t believe she had almost missed the lab meeting. She had a glowing reputation at Perrault thus far and didn’t plan on tarnishing it now. This year she hoped to be assigned the more high-profile projects. She couldn’t chance messing up potential opportunities.
“When did you take these?” Heather asked as she flipped through the pile of photographs.
“Not sure,” Celeste replied, her attention focused on taking inventory of the equipment she’d need for the morning’s agenda. After she was satisfied she had everything, she looked up at Heather. “Which stack do you have?”
Heather held up a five-by-seven black and white photo from the box. Celeste nodded as she immediately recognized the image. She had taken it about two weeks ago, in the forest bordering the campus. She thought back to the evening. It had been around dusk when she heard a rustle in the bushes. Since the woods around campus had never had any danger in them, Celeste investigated. She discovered a set of soggy paw prints that looked to be from a large dog of some sort. The light had hit the prints in such a way the shadows made them look twice their size. It was an interesting practice on light.
“Oh, that’s just from a couple weeks ago, near Darmancourt Trail, you know, the one that connects the sororities to the frat houses.”
“What kind of animal print is that?”
Celeste stood and walked over to her friend, taking the photo from her hand. She studied it closely. In all honesty, she had no idea of what animal the print belonged to, but she had a gut feeling it was canine in origin.
“I was thinking it was a dog’s print?”
Heather scrunched her face up as she snatched the photo back from Celeste for a closer look. “Umm, like the largest dog ever. I’ve never seen a print that big come from a pet.”
Celeste shook it off.
“Well, I didn’t include anything to scale it, so it probably looks larger than it is. I only took it to practice light and shadow on water images.”
Heather inspected the photo more closely. “I don’t know, Celeste, that looks pretty big. Maybe you should chill out on the solo sunset hikes in the woods. You never know, there could be wolves.”
A laugh escaped Celeste’s lips.
“Wolves? In the woods around Perrault? Heather, there are no wolves in this area. You’ve been watching too much television. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta haul ass to the lab. This is our first meeting, and I can’t be late.” Celeste grabbed her camera bag and a jacket, and headed out.
“Have fun.” Heather’s voice was already fading into the background as Celeste opened the front door.
As she ran down the stairs of the apartment, Celeste noticed the air was unusually crisp for
mid-September. Classes would start in a few days, and if there was one thing the photography students could count on in the first weeks of school it was that the air in September always proved to be generously warm, stuffing the non-air-conditioned art studios with a stifling heat that almost always took out one undergrad per year with a fainting spell. She would definitely welcome a cooler September.
With a deep breath, Celeste let the cool air into her lungs and hustled down to her jeep. She prayed she’d make it to the meeting on time.
* * * *
Celeste walked into the meeting eight minutes late. Eight minutes. She cringed as she entered the space. Eight minutes could mean the difference between morning lab usage or pulling a graveyard shift. Though both slots were difficult for scheduling her other classes, she hoped for the latter. At least, she’d be able to use it and not sleep through the hours.
Her cohort had already gathered and begun scheduling times. Celeste entered on tiptoes and hoped to sneak into the discussion, but with only seven others in the group, that was a long shot.
“Well, nice of you to join us, C,” James teased as she tried to slip into the circle.
James Hunter was an affable guy with a warm smile. He was one of six males making up the cohort. Celeste and Essie were the only females and final two members of the group. Celeste and James had known each other since they were placed together two years ago, and fell into an easy friendship, though Celeste had always suspected James felt a little bit more than friendship. Though he never showed it, Celeste had always felt a bit of a charge when the two of them were together.
“I slept in,” she mumbled. “What? You guys couldn’t wait for me? You had to attack the schedule first thing like a bunch of ravenous birds?”
“Sorry, babe.” James laughed as he walked over and put his arm around Celeste. “But, don’t worry, we saved the graveyard shift for you.”
Celeste narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? What’s the catch?” She couldn’t believe her luck. Sure, the hours would be rough to manage, but graveyard wouldn’t be so bad. Still, it seemed almost too easy. Celeste eyed the group. “What else did I miss?”
The seven of them suddenly got quiet, their gazes darting from one to the other, each one urging someone else to speak up. A large stone fell deep into the pit of Celeste’s stomach. This was not going to be good.
“What?” she asked in an accusatory tone. “Tell me, what is it?”
Several eyes averted to the floor. It was Essie who spoke up.
“So…there was this message from the campus association—the sports reporting department.”
“Oh, no.” Celeste began shaking her head. “No way, I’m not taking it.”
“But you don’t even know what it is?” Essie whined.
Celeste huffed. “Fine, what is it?”
Essie smiled carefully before she continued.
“They need someone to cover the lacrosse team for the year. Preseason, regular season play, and postseason, work on the program, headshots…the works.”
“Ugh, no. Can’t someone else pick it up? Why does it have to be me?”
There was no way Celeste was going to be stuck in some bunk sports assignment. This was her last year. She only had ten months to complete her senior project. She glanced at her cohorts. Guilt emanated from their faces. Celeste’s stomach wrenched.
“Well, we kind of already discussed it and, well, seeing as you were late, and couldn’t disagree, we chose you,” James chimed in, his voice a sickly-sweet tone.
“Oh, come on guys, that’s not fair. Last semester, you stuck me with the Greek assignment, and now I gotta chase jocks all over campus? Can’t someone else do it this time?”
Celeste’s eyes pleaded with her peers, their shy, crooked smiles revealed no one was going to volunteer. She clenched her jaw. Served her right. She cursed her late-sleeping self.
“Sorry, C. Besides, I knew you wouldn’t say no.” James leaned in and pecked her cheek. “It’s a done deal anyway. We already let them know it would be you.”
“It’s been eight minutes.” Celeste shot daggers at the others. “You discussed it, voted, and called them back in eight minutes?”
A few of the guys couldn’t hold their smiles back as they shrugged their shoulders.
Celeste let out a heavy sigh. It held the air in the room down. She was already up to her eyeballs in portfolio work for her senior project, now she had to play paparazzi to a bunch of boys playing with sticks.
“At least it pays,” Essie offered.
Celeste narrowed her eyes once more, this time in actual irritation.
“It better,” she said. “And well, too. If I’m going to be forced to hang around these meatheads for the year, then they better be ready to pay up. My time is worth way more than their stinkin’ ticket price.”
Celeste placed her bag on the table and slumped onto the nearest stool. She couldn’t believe she’d been stuck with such a bunk assignment. Her head fell into her hand as she pouted. She only half heard the rest of her cohorts meeting agenda.
Chapter Three
Calen ran his fingers through his hair twice more before taking a step back from the mirror to admire his work. Typically, he wouldn’t have spent so much time making sure every hair fell perfect, but today was no typical day.
Today he and the lacrosse team were meeting with the photographer for headshots for the university program, and as it was his senior year, he wanted to make sure he was putting his best face forward. After all, what better way to let everyone know he was over Kimberly and ready to move on than by looking his absolute best?
“Not too shabby, Red,” Calen muttered to himself as he smiled at his reflection, his green eyes sparkling back at him.
“Seriously, dude, you’re spending way too much time admiring yourself,” Zev barked as he pushed his way into the space and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste from the medicine cabinet shelf.
Squeezing a sizable amount of paste on the bristles, Zev put the brush in his mouth and let it hang in there while he nudged Calen aside and adjusted his tie in the mirror.
“Easy for you to say,” Calen spat back. “Not all of us look like an Abercrombie & Fitch model. I’m just trying to give myself every possible advantage.”
Calen watched as Zev re-knotted the bright crimson school tie hanging around his neck. It wasn’t that Calen was homely, quite the opposite, he was very attractive by any girl’s standards. Light-brown hair, green eyes, a strong jawline, and a nice tan gave him that All-American look so popular in movies and television. Additionally, his prowess on the lacrosse field, and in the training room off-season, gave every inch of his six feet in height, the athletic physique capable of putting most models to shame. Calen was a Midwestern dreamboat straight out of the cornfield and into every prom queen’s and sorority girl’s fantasy.
However, where Calen attracted a specific type of girl, Zev attracted them all. It was no secret Zev’s exotic look made the frat house crawl with girls every weekend, not that any of the other brothers were complaining. At just over six feet one, Zev was the embodiment of what it seemed every woman thought a man should look like, rugged and sophisticated, strong and suave. He looked like he just stepped off the runway in Paris, after working all day chopping down trees.
“That’s true,” Zev teased Calen taking the toothbrush from his mouth. “But you know, in all honesty, it’s hard keeping this”—he waved his hand around his face—“up. You should consider yourself lucky, astonishingly good looks are nothing more than a burden.”
“Asshole.” Calen chuckled as he left the bathroom and headed to his room.
Zev could be such a wiseass, but he was definitely worth keeping around, and not only for Calen’s entertainment. He was also the most honest guy Calen knew. He could trust Zev to tell him the brutal, unrefined truth, in the kindest way possible. Not that Calen would ever discuss his feelings for his friend, that wasn’t exactly the type of conversation found in the hallways at Sigm
a Alpha Epsilon.
Calen grabbed his tie from his desk and draped it over his shoulder. With one more glance in the mirror mounted behind the closet door, he headed downstairs. Zev was already waiting in the entryway.
“You ready?” he said, tucking his wallet in his slack’s pocket.
“Let’s go,” Calen responded, pulling his car keys off the hook.
The two made the quick drive to the other side of campus to the student union. As they approached the building, they saw the rest of the lacrosse team gathered at the entrance. Calen and Zev parked and joined them.
“So, what’s up with the photographer? Is he late or something?” Calen asked one of his teammates.
“Yeah, um, apparently they’re running late,” Marc, one of the defenders, replied.
Calen stood with the rest of the team and listened to their conversations about the past weekend. He let the chatter take up the space.
“Dude that was some party you guys threw last week,” Marc said. “SAE knows how to do it!”
“Was that ever a question?” Zev chimed in. “And, you can all thank Red for that event you had such fun at. It was his brain child from conception to birth.”
Zev raised his eyebrows in amusement as praise for Calen from the team avalanched. Calen shrugged off the compliments and shot Zev a glance. He noticed his friend’s gaze was elsewhere. He followed it across the grass to the art building where a girl had emerged carrying bags of equipment. She walked toward them with her head down. Calen’s gaze flicked back to Zev.
His friend’s eyes were dark, clouded, as they zeroed in on the girl. His face had a look Calen had never seen before. His lips slightly parted, his brow furrowed in concentration. It was more than mere interest, it was desire. Calen turned back to the girl and watched as she approached the team.
She was not very tall at five and a half feet, and of medium build. Though she was not overweight by any means, she was definitely curvy. Calen found himself hypnotized by the way her long sweater moved and swayed against her hips with every step. She wore skinny jeans tucked into a pair of clunky black ankle boots. Her long dark hair was pulled back into a low messy bun, and a loose gray beanie sat at the back of her head. She wore a pair of black sunglasses, and large hoop earrings hung from her ears.
