Focus

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  I checked my phone out of habit, but I didn’t have any missed calls. “How can you say that so calmly? That’s insane.”

  “Not really. I mean you wouldn’t have been my choice, but evidently Levi wanted you.”

  “So, it doesn’t faze you that I had no say in any of this?”

  “Why should it? You obviously like him; I don’t see why you’re fighting so much.” He dug into his bag without slowing down and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

  I groaned. “Forget it. I don’t know why I asked.”

  “All right, so your next class is all the way in Newcomb. We can head over there now if you want.” He put on his shades. He looked even more intimidating that way.

  “You know where my next class is?”

  “Of course. Owen’s probably already there. Such an overachiever.”

  “Owen’s in my French class?”

  “What? Were you expecting Levi to be in intro French? He’s fluent.”

  I don’t know what I was expecting. “Well, I guess if it’s going to be one of the three of you, I’d rather it be Owen.”

  “Don’t let Levi hear you say that.” He put a hand in the pocket of his cargo shorts.

  “What? That I detest him the least?”

  “That you’d rather spend time with him.” With the sunglasses on, I couldn’t get a good read on Jared’s expression. I wasn’t sure if he was seriously suggesting Levi would be annoyed about that.

  “Why? What would Levi do?”

  “You want me taking Owen’s spot in all your classes? Because that’s what would happen.”

  “Okay, keeping that statement to myself.”

  Jared chuckled. “Fast learner.”

  “But Levi wouldn’t actually get the wrong idea, would he? I mean, obviously, I don’t like Owen.”

  “He knows, but he still wouldn’t like it. Trust me. If you haven’t figured it out yet you’re even dumber than I thought, but Levi is really possessive of what’s his.”

  “Stop.” I grabbed Jared’s arm.

  “Stop what?” He turned toward me as people stepped around us.

  “Referring to me as his. I’m not his. I don’t belong to anyone.”

  Jared picked up my hand, pointing at the ring. “This ring says otherwise. You’re his.”

  I tugged at the ring. “You know I’d take this thing off if I could.”

  “Shh, keep it down.” He looked over his shoulder.

  “What?”

  “Okay, you not living with Levi is one thing, but trying to explain to the underlings that you’re not even with him right now, isn’t cool. Got it?”

  “Underlings?”

  “Yeah, got a problem with the terminology?”

  “Yes. It’s disrespectful. God knows what you say about me when I’m not around.”

  He laughed. “Is that a joke?”

  “No.”

  “I might be Levi’s friend, but that doesn’t mean I’d ever get away with bad mouthing his mate. You don’t get how important you are, do you? Everything will make sense eventually.”

  “That’s real helpful.”

  “I know I am.”

  I groaned.

  “Okay, this is Newcomb, you’re on the second floor.” We’d reached another quad of sorts. I knew my dorm was right on the other side of it.

  “Thanks for the delightful conversation.”

  “Don’t mention it. See you later.”

  “What, no door to door service?”

  “Your next chaperone is right there.”

  I looked over my shoulder to see a smiling Owen. “Chaperone? I thought you were my bodyguards.”

  “Bodyguard, chaperone, take your pick.” He pulled down his sunglasses for a moment so he could catch my eye before replacing them and walking off.

  ***

  My French professor didn’t use a word of English. I’d pulled myself through Spanish in high school, and I thought French would be a nice change of pace. Five minutes into the first class and I regretted my decision. I was done for.

  “You okay?” Owen asked as we filed out of the classroom.

  “I have absolutely no clue what our professor said today.”

  He laughed. “Really? You’ve never taken any French?”

  “No. Have you? Aren’t we in a level one class?” I glanced at my workbook, dreading my first homework assignment.

  “Yeah, but I know some French, just not super well.”

  “Oh. Damn. I’ll have to get some help from Hailey.”

  Owen held open the door for me. “Hailey? Good luck with that.”

  “What?” I looked at him.

  “Hailey’s great and all, but teaching isn’t her strong point. But you know who would be really good at helping you?”

  “Don’t say it.”

  “Levi.” Owen grinned. “He’s the best tutor you could find.”

  “Forget it. I’ll figure it out on my own.” The last thing I needed was to ask for tutoring from Levi.

  “Suit yourself.” He shrugged. “Are you going back to your dorm?”

  “Yeah, I’m done with classes for the day since I don’t have lab this week.”

  “I know.”

  I ignored how smug he was about all of this. Of the three guys, Owen was the most tolerable.

  “It’s only eleven so I have an hour before I meet Hailey for lunch, so yeah I think I’ll go back to my room.”

  “Cool. Have a good one, Allie.”

  “Thanks, you too.”

  “Tell my sister hi.”

  “I will.”

  I looked over my shoulder before I walked into my dorm and saw Owen still standing there watching me. If they were being so careful today, why weren’t they at other times? That’s when it hit me—they probably were. I was probably always being watched. Thank goodness I lived with Hailey. At least they didn’t have to watch me sleep.

  Chapter Four

  Jared hadn’t been exaggerating. I had a Pteron in every class with me. The only break from the guys I got was my Freshman seminar. I’d been able to get into the same one as Hailey. With Jared in econ and Organic Chemistry, and Owen in French, I knew it would be Levi waiting for me in art history on Tuesday morning. He leaned against the outside of the building, holding two cups of coffee. “Good morning, love.”

  “Hi, Levi.” I accepted the coffee, knowing he would have gotten it right, two Splendas and no cream. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. You ready for class?”

  “Sure, let’s go.”

  I followed Levi as he picked two seats in the center of the room. He got the seats right. I hated sitting in the back or front.

  “These okay?” Levi asked as he sat down.

  “Perfect, thanks.” I put my bag down on the floor and took out a new, blue notebook and pen.

  He smiled. “Did you just thank me for the second time this morning?”

  “Yes, but don’t let it go to your head.”

  “Don’t worry. I will.”

  I shook my head.

  Levi sat down next to me, putting an arm around the back of my chair.

  “So how was your first day yesterday? Was it all you wanted it to be?”

  I turned to glare at him. “Don’t you already know? Didn’t your two goons fill you in?”

  “My goons?” He laughed. I hated how much I loved that deep sound. “I can’t wait to tell Jared you called him a goon.”

  “Like he can do anything about it.”

  “True, very true. See, I knew you liked being my fiancé.”

  “Why do you keep calling me that?” I looked over my shoulder, hoping there weren’t too many people listening.

  “Would you rather I call you my mate? Or is it wife you want? I thought fiancé sounded more normal for a college freshman.”

  “Because so many college freshman are engaged?” I tapped my pen, taking out my frustration on an inanimate object. “Why do you need to call it anything?”

  “Do you have a better e
xplanation for the ring on your finger?”

  “Please. Girls wear rings on their left ring finger. I can explain it another way.” I couldn’t resist another peek at the ring. It was beautiful. If it weren’t for the fact that it symbolized the end of my life as I knew it, I might have enjoyed wearing it.

  “But it’s not just any ring. It’s my ring, and plenty of people know that. Don’t forget it.” His expression darkened, his light teasing replaced by something far more serious.

  “So you really expect me to pretend we’re engaged?”

  “We don’t have to pretend. Whenever you get tired of that dorm room, there’s plenty of room in my bed.”

  “This is temporary, Levi. Temporary.” I looked down, unable to meet his eye.

  “I know, years from now we’ll look back and laugh at the games you played.”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

  “Please, Al. I was part of that kiss.”

  I forced myself to meet his gaze. “And it was just a kiss.”

  “It could have been more.” He leaned over, whispering in my ear, “So much more.”

  “Cut that out, or I’m changing seats.”

  “We can talk about this more later.”

  “Later?”

  “Yeah, there’s an event at Commander’s tonight you need to be at.”

  “Commander’s? As in the restaurant?”

  “What else would I mean?”

  “What kind of event is it?” I wouldn’t have admitted it, but he had my interest.

  “A meeting.” I noticed he didn’t have either a notebook or laptop ready to take notes.

  “A meeting? You’re not going to give me more than that?”

  “A meeting you need to be at.” He gave me his usual cocky grin before turning toward the front of the room just as the professor walked in.

  Class was uneventful, other than the professor telling us we had to form small groups for some semester long project.

  “I think we’ll make a great group.” Levi took my books before I could stop him.

  “Please, we are not working together. And I need my books back.”

  “I’m just carrying them for you. You’ll get them back at your dorm.”

  “But we’re practically there already.” Like French, Art History was right next to my dorm.

  “So, it’s really not a big deal.”

  “Fine,” I sighed. It was impossible to shake him off.

  “I’ll be over to get you at seven.”

  “Hailey and I can just take a cab.” One of the annoying parts of being a freshman is that we couldn’t have our cars on campus.

  “What are you talking about? Hailey isn’t coming.”

  I grabbed his arm. “Yes, she is. I’m not going without her.”

  “Are you serious? Do you realize how ridiculous that is?”

  “What’s ridiculous is you expecting me to go to a meeting with you with zero advance warning. What if I had plans?” I released his arm, backing away.

  “Plans? You don’t have plans.”

  “It’s a Thursday night. Everyone goes out on Thursdays. We were going to check out Margarita Night at Vera Cruz.”

  “If we get out early, I’ll take you.” He put a hand on the back of his neck. “Besides, I can get you cheap Margaritas anytime.”

  “That’s not the point of going, and you know it. Anyway, I’m not budging. You want me to come, Hailey’s in too.” I put a hand on my hip.

  “Fine. But I’m driving you both. There is no way we’re showing up separately.”

  “Deal. See you at seven.”

  “It’s a date.”

  “No, it’s a meeting.”

  He ran a hand down my arm, giving me goose bumps. “Remember what I said, one day we’ll be laughing about this.”

  “Keep telling yourself that.” I pulled my books from him and prepared to walk away.

  “Oh, and try to wear something red tonight. If it happens to be short, I won’t mind either.”

  I glared at him. “What’s with you and red?”

  “It’s a family color.”

  “See you later, Levi.”

  ***

  Hailey was highlighting in her anthropology book when I got back to our room. “Hey, how was class?”

  “Levi was in it.”

  She laughed. “So, in other words, it was fantastic.”

  “I think I’d use another word.” I dropped my books on my desk, leaving my tote bag on my desk chair.

  “Yeah, I bet.”

  “But, he did tell me about some meeting at Commander’s Palace. He’s picking us up at seven.” I kicked off my flip flops.

  “What? Did you just say us?” Hailey set her book down.

  “Yeah. I refused to go without you.”

  “Oh my god, I love you, Allie Davis.” She threw her highlighter across the room when she got up to hug me.

  I laughed, detangling myself from her embrace. “I take it you wanted an invite?”

  “This is huge. I never get invited to meetings, let alone one this big. Owen didn’t even get to go until last year. Wow. I can’t believe it.”

  “Owen didn’t go until last year? Why? Was that Levi’s first?”

  “No, Levi’s been going for years, and so has Jared. They didn’t invite Owen until he was twenty-one and only because Levi insisted on it.”

  “So why did Jared get to go?” I kind of assumed Owen and Jared were pretty much equals.

  “Jared gets to go because of his dad. Do you know anything about Jett Florence?”

  “That’s Jared’s dad, I take it. I have no idea who he is.” I sat down on my bed, leaning my back against the wall.

  “I guess you could call him our General. He runs all security and military for The Society.”

  “Oh. So where do you and Owen fit in?”

  Hailey picked up her highlighter from the floor. “My dad’s an engineer. He doesn’t have an official position with The Society. You can’t repeat this, but they’re banking on Levi giving Owen a spot so our family gets more clout.”

  “So they must like that we’re friends and everything.” I had no clue where Hailey and her family fit in the hierarchy. I’d always assumed they were high up.

  “Definitely. I think they’re just scared I’m going to do something to screw things up. I did send you running into the arms of the Cougars.”

  “You did not! That was all Levi. Don’t let anyone blame you.”

  “I just couldn’t lie to my friend, even if it was to help Levi.” She sat back down on her bed.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” Hailey looked nervous.

  “I think I already know the answer, but I need to hear it from you. You’re not just my friend and roommate because it’s a job, right?”

  “No way! I liked you way before any of that. It just works out that I can protect you at the same time, you know?”

  “Yeah, it does.”

  “So, now can we talk about fun things?”

  I laughed. “Fun things?”

  “What are we wearing tonight?”

  “Levi wants me to wear red.”

  She picked up a skirt she had lying out on her bed. “Of course, he does.”

  “What’s all of that about? He just said it’s his family color. It has to do with all the ruby stuff, right?”

  “Yeah. The ruling family chooses a stone to represent them.”

  The pieces started fitting together. “Oh…so my wearing red, like I did at the party at his house this summer, shows that I’m one of them.”

  “Yes. But I think Levi also just thinks you look hot in red.”

  “He also asked me to wear something short, so you’re probably not too far off.”

  “Are you in the mood to torture him?”

  “Torture him?”

  Hailey went over to her closet and pulled out a short, red, halter dress.

  “Are you serious?”

  “It�
��s going to look incredible on you, and technically you’re doing what he asked. It’s red and short, but it’s also going to drive him mad. It’ll probably remind him who really has the power.”

  “Does the fact that I’m totally going to do it make me evil?”

  “No, it makes you normal. You’re mad at him, but you also want him—a sexy dress serves both purposes.”

  I threw a pillow at her. She ducked out of the way. “What? Are you going to deny either of those charges?”

  I wanted to deny the second one, but I couldn’t. “We kissed.” I buried my face in my hands.

  “You kissed? When? Was it on move in day? It was, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of kiss?” She sat forward.

  “The ‘it almost became much more’ kind.”

  “Yeah, you really want him.”

  “I know.” I turned and flopped back on my bed.

  “You do realize that it isn’t a bad thing, right? It makes things easier, and it isn’t something to feel bad about.”

  “Is this friend Hailey speaking, or Pteron Hailey?”

  “Both.” She came to sit on the edge of my bed. “Are you going to tell me about the kiss?”

  “It was just a really good kiss.”

  “As good as before…”

  “Yeah, if not better because I missed kissing him. Oh my god, what’s wrong with me, Hailey? I can’t feel this way after what he did to me.”

  “Why not? I’m not telling you to go jump him or anything, but you can’t just ignore the feelings either—why not have some fun? Wear the dress.”

  “Only if you wear something sexy too. I’m not going to be the only one.”

  “Deal. There are a few boys going I wouldn’t mind catching the eyes of.”

  “You could probably attract them in pajamas.”

  “Just like you could turn on Levi, but if you’re doing it, you might as well do it in style.”

  “All right, let’s do this.”

  Chapter Five

  I checked my reflection in the mirror one more time before grabbing a black clutch and following Hailey out of the room. I’d opted to go with some stilettos, and I hoped my feet wouldn’t hate me by the end of the night.

  If someone’s jaw could actually be on the floor, Levi’s would have been when we walked outside. He was waiting for us impatiently. His face was set in a frown until he noticed us approaching. The frown quickly became something else entirely.