Snake Eyes (The Masks Series Book 3) (3 page)

Caitlyn

I shouldered the door open and slumped into my dorm room. It was Monday and I was already tired. We’d only been back at UCLA for one full week. Although I was determined to start this year off better than last year, it didn’t look like the workload would be any easier. I dumped my binder onto my desk, slid the bag off my shoulder and fell face-first onto the bed.

There was no hurry for me to shower or anything. Eric had a late lecture on Mondays and tended to head home straight after that. I’d see him tomorrow night.

I twirled a curl around my finger, wondering how I would spend my evening. I really needed to get on with my readings. If I got behind in the first couple of weeks it’d be a mad catch-up around exam time, and I wasn’t sure I could cope with the pressure. I grimaced; the thought of study didn’t thrill me. I sometimes wondered if I was cut out for college life, because I certainly wasn’t inspired by it.

The door burst open, making me jolt.

“Caitlyn, this is huge.” Nicole, my gorgeous roommate, swung the door shut behind her, throwing her bag on the bed and spinning in a circle before perching on the edge of my bed. “This is epic. This is epically huge.” Her little hands spread wide.

Perching up on my elbows, I looked at her dancing brown eyes. “I take it you have some good news.”

“Yes!” She lightly slapped my leg.

My eyebrows rose in expectation and she did a little happy jiggle. “Matt’s decided to quit college and move back to Utah. I have no idea why, BUT...”

And pause for effect.

“But...?” I pushed my chin forward, waiting for more.

“Hello! Caitlyn!” She slapped my leg again. “There’s now a room available at the guys’ house. A room we can have!”

My head shot back into position, my pulse accelerating as the news sunk in. “You want to move in with Dale and Eric?”

“Ya-huh!” She jumped from the bed and moved to her side of the room, unzipping her bag and pulling out her textbooks. “This is going to be so amazing. I can’t wait!”

Nicole got distracted by her makeup kit, pulling out her gloss and running it over her lips. It was like a habit she couldn’t break. The girl had the world’s shiniest lips, I swear.

I sat up, swinging my legs over the bed. “That’s kind of huge, isn’t it? Moving in with our boyfriends?”

“Why?” She popped the stick back into the tube and twisted it before turning to face me. “I’m going to be living with Dale eventually anyway.”

“You seem pretty certain.”

She shrugged. “Dale wouldn’t sleep with me until he was sure we wanted to marry each other. We’ve already talked about it. I know we’re not officially engaged yet, but we will be one day.” She dropped the gloss back in her makeup purse and zipped it closed.

She glanced back at me, her glowing smile faltering.

“Caitlyn, I can’t believe you’re not all over this.”

“It’s just, you guys are so young.”

Perching on her bed, she leaned towards me, her expression taking on a quality I hadn’t seen before. I was tempted to peel her mask away and see what was behind it, but it was too beautiful. I didn’t want to ruin it. 

She gave me a soft smile. “I may not have decided my major yet. I might have seven different careers before I finally retire, but I
know
no matter what my future holds, I’ll be with Dale. He’s my constant and the only thing I am completely certain of. Why should I hold off moving in with him because of what other people might think? I don’t care. They can say whatever they want.” Her smile grew, her eyes matching Christmas lights as she gazed at me. “I just...I
know
, Caity. I know with every fiber of my being that I’m supposed to be with him. I can’t explain it, but I...” She shrugged. “Dale’s my one. Don’t you feel that way about Eric?” Her head tipped to the side, confusion wiping that pure, love-struck look off her face.

I sat back and thought for a second, not wanting to be flippant and too casual with my answer. Nibbling at my lip, I looked to the ceiling, picturing my boyfriend and unable to stop the smile forming on my lips. 

“I can’t imagine being with anyone else, ever... but it does seem really soon to move in with him.”

“You’re not moving in with him. You’re moving in with me.” Nicole winked. “He’ll just be around.” She waved her hand in the air.

I chuckled at her cheeky grin.

“Oh, come on!” She squeezed my knee. “You have to come with me. Besides, it’s not like you’ll be sharing a room with him.”

I tipped my head, giving her a dry look. “You’ve seen Eric, right?”

She bit her lip with a grin.

“I’d get nothing done. Like study would
never
happen.” I paused, actually loving the sound of that, but knowing better. I pressed my lips together. Oh, man, this proposal was so damn tempting. Move in with Eric. Live with a great bunch of people, off campus. It
would
be epic! But...

“Look, you’ll be fine.” She flicked her hands in the air. “You can study in the library.”

I frowned, still not sure why I wasn’t buying into this.

Would Eric be cool with me moving in?

Would my parents?

I couldn’t imagine it. That conversation would no doubt end up being a big talk about my future and if I was really old enough to settle down with someone.

“I’ll be your sex police.” Nicole’s comment snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, like, you can’t do it until your homework is done.” Nicole laughed then jumped up with a squeal. “Caitlyn, this is going to be so awesome! We can move in next weekend! I’m so excited I can barely stand it.” Spinning around, she reached for her purse, checking that her wallet and phone were inside. “I’m heading to Student Services now to let them know about my plans. Do you want to come?”

“Actually, I just need a minute to think about it.”

Her shoulders dropped, confusion marring her pretty features.

“I want to.” I raised my hands. “Like, it sounds amazing. I just want to check with Eric first.”

“Okay, I get it.” She shrugged and reached for the door handle. “But trust me when I tell you, it’s going to be great. Eric’s in love with you. There’s no way Dale would have asked us to move in if Eric hadn’t been cool with it.”

“Then why hasn’t he said anything?”

“Maybe he was waiting for Taco Tuesday.”

Taco Tuesday. I grinned; my favorite night of the week. The little Mexican place Eric and I discovered over the summer basically knew us by name now. We’d walk in and I could say, “The usual, please,” and they’d totally know what I was talking about. I’d always wanted to go to a place like that. Our discovery back in early June had been a little nugget of gold. We went as many Tuesday nights as we could and I was glad Eric wanted to keep the tradition going, even after college started.

"Think about it, Caity. This could be the start of our best year ever." Nicole winked and swept out the door, her enthusiastic flurry of movements a testament to her pure excitement.

I fell back onto the mattress, running my fingers into my hair.

Did I like the idea of living with Eric?

YES!

Did I feel too young for something so monumental?

Kind of.

But was that really a big deal? I’d practically been living with Eric all summer anyway.

So what was I so afraid of?

I had no idea, but I knew I had to have an honest answer ready before I spoke to Eric.

Eric

As per usual, the tacos had been delicious. I couldn’t get enough of those things. Rubbing my over-stuffed belly, I hid my grimace. I really needed to control myself better. I felt near sick from stuffing my face so full, but I’d been a little edgy tonight. Caity had been quiet since I picked her up and I could only guess why.

Because my guess was no doubt spot-on, I’d chickened out and not raised it, instead filling meal conversation with talk of school and the idea of a night surf on Thursday.

Caity nodded sweetly at my chatter and filled me in on her own, but we’d danced around the big topic of conversation like two idiots. The worst thing was, we both knew we were doing it.

The restaurant door eased shut behind us and we stepped into the night air. I gathered her fingers within mine and gave them a little squeeze, a chuckle escaping my lips before I could stop it.

“What?” Caity glanced up at me, her blue eyes luminous under the street lamp.

“We’re being idiots.” I stopped, pulling her against me and grinning down at that perfect face.

“I know.” Her nose wrinkled. “I’m sorry. I guess I was waiting for you to bring it up. To be honest, I was kind of surprised Nicole told me before you did.”

“Yeah, well, Nicole wasn’t supposed to say anything.” I sighed, letting her go and capturing her hand again. I gently pulled her along and we ambled towards my jeep. “I hadn’t told her not to; I just assumed she would leave it up to me.”

“You assumed? With Nicole?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” I rolled my eyes with a snicker.

“So, you like the idea then?”

“Of you guys moving in? Of course.” I nodded.

Caity’s eyes narrowed at the corners and she stopped me under the next street lamp, holding my face and peering into it. My eyebrows rose and I stayed still as she read me, her expression melting to putty then washing with uncertainty.

“Wow, you’re way cooler with this than I thought you’d be.” She bit the edge of her lip and let me go, stepping back and shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans.

I frowned, assessing her and trying not to let my fears hinder the steadiness of my voice. “You don’t seem certain at all.”

“I’m not.” She shrugged.

Ouch. Okay, that hurt. I thought she’d be as excited as Nicole. Damn, I wished that didn’t sting so bad.

I lifted my chin and nodded, trying to be stoic.

Dale and I had chatted about it after I got home last night, imagining how it would all play out. I’d been so pumped by the idea that by the time I went to bed, I couldn’t sleep. It took all my willpower not to text Caity at two in the morning and ask her if she was in. When I’d found out this morning that Nicole had already told her and Caity hadn’t even contacted me about it, deflated was the best word to describe my mood.

Determined not to let my buried wounds trample over my common sense, I drew in a breath and stood strong. All I could do was trust she felt the same way about me as I did about her...which meant her deciding to move in or not had nothing to do with me.

“Caity, just say it. Why don’t you want to move in?”

Her sigh was short. “The thing is, I do. I really do, but I’m...” Her nose crinkled as she pursed her lips, fighting for the right words. “The truth is...I love this.” She pulled a hand from her pocket and pointed back and forth between us. “Like, a whole lotta love it, and I don’t want to ruin anything.” Her fingers ran into her hair and she grabbed two handfuls, looking at me with worried eyes. “What if you get sick of me? What if being together all the time makes us fight?”

My lips broke into a grin. “We practically lived in each other’s pockets all summer and we had one small fight over where to eat dinner that night, remember? You weren’t feeling well and I was shitty about...something.”

“It was your dad’s birthday,” she mumbled.

I nodded, looking to the ground with a sheepish grin. “Maybe I should worry about you getting sick of me.”

“That’s not possible.” She stepped into my space, running her hand up my chest and resting it on my collarbone.

“Then how would it ever be possible for me to get sick of you?”

Her face turned crimson, her big eyes looking adorable as she swallowed and shook her head with a shrug.

I caressed her cheek with my thumb, lightly running the tips of my fingers over her soft skin. “I understand your reservations, but this could be really cool.”

“I just don’t want anything to ruin what we have.” She shrugged. “I feel really young to be moving in with my boyfriend and even though you are the only guy I ever want to be with, it just...it feels huge and I can’t even explain why I’m hesitating.”

“It’s okay to be nervous. I am, too, but I just know...you know?”

She grinned.

“I love you, Caity, and nothing is going to come between us. I won’t let it. ”

Her smile was golden as she stretched up towards me. I met her lips with a soft kiss of promise.

“I love you, too.” She pressed her forehead against mine.

“Then move in. I promise we’ll keep the lines of communication open and you can totally read me, so I really don’t know what you’re worried about.”

She giggled, closing her eyes and looking embarrassed by her fears.

I kissed her nose, lightly squeezing her waist.

“Okay,” she finally whispered.

“Okay?” I held her back from me so I could see her face.

“Yeah.” She nodded. “It’s gonna be great.”

I snatched her into my arms and lifted her off the ground, spinning her in a circle. “It’s going to be more than great.” I kissed her neck. “It’s going to be epic.”

Her body shook with laughter as she launched into the story of Nicole’s big announcement. I placed her on the ground and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, leading her towards the jeep.

The tension between us had been decimated and we strode to the car with easy, relaxed steps, our free conversation leading into logistics for the weekend move.

I couldn’t believe how excited I was. This was so not my style, but Caity...she was the one. I had absolutely nothing to doubt or fear. I was certain we’d be together forever and couldn’t imagine anything getting in the way of that.