Atonement
Authors: J. H. Cardwell
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #New Adult & College
Copyright © 2013 J. H. Cardwell
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
ISBN: 1492722863
ISBN-13: 9781492722861
August 2010
e had finally arrived…college! Elle and I were all moved into our dorm, our décor matched us to a ‘T’. We chose turquoise with a black and white theme. Of course we had fun picking out matching comforters, and we even changed our overhead light to a chandelier…I know, we are girls through and through.
My classes were tightly scheduled. My advisor had me on the course for anesthesiology, so not much room for free time.
Tate and Finn were all settled in as well, their room a stark contrast from ours. They went for loft beds, so they would have room for two larger refrigerators…boys and their food and ‘beverages’. Their dorm, well, actually a house. The Palmer House to be exact, was a pretty good way from ours. They were in with the other baseball players. They even had a different set of rules for curfews and visitors than we did.
The campus was unbelievable and the landscaping immaculate. I could already tell I was going to love sitting in the outside commons area, on the grass, reading my books…hopefully, Tate right at my side.
Elle and I had decided not to pledge for any sorority. We’d be busy enough with classes, and we were perfectly content with it being just the four of us…making new friends would be a bonus, not a requirement. Tate and Finn on the other hand, being in the Palmer House was like being in a Fraternity for the baseball and track teams for Wake Forest. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that yet. I had heard that it keeps them pretty busy when they’re not in class, playing ball, or training. Time would surely tell. There was already a party planned for this coming weekend. Finn and Tate would have to help out with it.
Finn and Elle were tightly connected. They were definitely a strong couple. Elle would be good for Finn, to reign him in a bit, since he was a serious partier. He wasn’t the jealous type (like Tate) unless he had too much to drink. When that happened, he became a different person, and would sometimes even fight. Tate and Finn could be a force to be reckoned with in that case…and dangerous, unfortunately. However, the most important thing was they always had each other’s back.
That went for baseball too. When they played together, the game went oh so smoothly. They knew one another’s thoughts and actions ahead of time. Somehow, the team followed suit. They were the top stars in high school, and I had no doubt they would be here.
“Reese, can I borrow your royal blue tank top?” asked Elle.
“Sure,” I said throwing it to her, “we’re probably going to get burned though, sitting out watching them play today. I’m wearing a tank too and lots of sunscreen.”
It was so exciting watching them play. They would scrimmage for hours. I’m sure Tate and Finn and the team were the ones sweating and getting a sunburn.
“Are we all going to the Palmer House after the scrimmage?” Elle asked.
I wasn’t too keen on that idea. I wasn’t one to party much, even if Tate was around. Partying and I didn’t seem to mesh well…at all. Even though I now knew Carter, my previous boyfriend, had been the one to slip me the date rape drug and steal my virginity, I was still leery. That was some time ago now, but I still carried my transparent, pink water bottle anywhere I went if there was a crowd. I did this even if I was only having Diet Dr. Pepper to drink. Those days of Carter were long behind me now…at least those emotions were sealed up and locked away. I lost a little of who I was when I woke up alone and sore that awful morning. I was hurt and confused for so long. Carter’s death was still a mix of emotions. I had loved him, and he had date raped me out of anger and aggression for the way his life was going. Then he left me, to flee from his ‘cheating mother’ to live with his dad in Kansas.
When he finally came back, a year later, he wanted to pick up where we had left off. I was seeing Tate and falling head over heels in love…finally. Even after we broke up briefly when I found out he was the one that had unfortunately broken up Carter’s parents.
“Reese, are you okay?” Elle asked.
I wasn’t sure how long I had zoned out while we were talking.
“I’m fine” I said, then remembering what she had asked, I said “I know you really want to, and I had promised to loosen up a little, so yeah, let’s go for a little while.”
The look on her face was like a kid at Christmas. “Yay, it will be fun. It will be good to hang out and meet some of the players…you know the guys that will be stealing most of our guys time away from us.”
I laughed, but still wasn’t convinced it was a good idea. There’d be drinking after all, and us, guys, and drinking wasn’t a good combination.
hen they were done for the evening with ball, they came running up to us.
God, Tate was hot! Especially, sweaty and dirty…made him look more masculine, as if that were hardly possible. His thick, brown hair damp at the ends, his shirt and pants stuck to him. Those gorgeous hazel eyes staring only at me. I couldn’t see his backside right now, but I knew it was round, and perfectly squeezed into his baseball pants. Since he had been lifting weights at Wake, his biceps, chest and back muscles were bulging. This was my man…Tate Justice.
“Hey you,” he pecked me on the lips and smacked me on the rear. “How’d we look out there?”
“Mighty fine Mr. Justice” I said pulling him close, as I wacked his butt back. The other players were running to the locker rooms.
“Hey dude, how’d you hook up so quickly? You’ve only been here a little over a week…and with such a hottie too.” One of the other payers had yelled out to Tate, the guy then turned to me. “Hey good looking, I’m on the team too. Forget about him, I’m the real star.” He said smiling and holding his arms out.
“Watch yourself Turner.” Tate shouted back. “This is
my
girl.” Then he kissed me again, longer and harder this time and whispered, “Only mine”. Tate was shaking his head as we were walking out, his hand stuffed in my back pocket.