2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lou

You have got to be kidding me.

When I told my mother I’d go get the rest of my stuff, and no I didn’t need any help, I didn’t realize how much was left to be carried in. An oversight on my part? Absolutely. But I had been managing just fine until some guy came along to “help” and now lies on top of me. Sure, it was nice of him to grab some of my boxes, and yes maybe I was struggling the teensiest bit before he came along, but at least I hadn’t been flat on my back with my underwear and God knows what else blowing around Taber’s manicured lawns.

I try to squirm out from under this stranger, but my limbs won’t move. He has successfully trapped me with his rock-hard body, which would be exciting except for the fact my lungs are slowly being crushed.

“Can you… get off?” Wheezing, I send up a prayer that the bodybuilder on top of me isn’t unconscious. Based on the burning sensation in my chest, I’ve got two minutes, tops. Mind you, to suffocate under a muscular man is not the worst way to go and at least now I won’t have to sleep on that dorm mattress.

The pros are starting to outweigh the cons here.

A breathless eternity goes by until finally the heavy-weight champion flops to the ground beside me with a groan. Now we’re like two kids making snow angels with my fallen clothes. On the front lawn of the residence building. For all my neighbours to see.

Killing it already, Lou.

Having successfully restored oxygen to my diaphragm, I scramble to my feet and begin wildly snatching the items closest to me. Good news is none of the boxes broke in the tackle; bad news is my lacy thongs and granny panties are casually lying in a halo around the guy still on the ground. Not sure if his immobilization or his proximity to my cheek-covering knickers is more concerning. Arguably the latter.

“Whoa,” the stranger slowly sits up and looks around, blinking at my hasty clothing retrieval. Taking a quick look at him, I stifle a groan at his tussled midnight-coloured hair. Guys might be able to pull off the rumpled, just-took-a-quick-tumble-and-landed-flat-on-my-ass look, but there’s no way I came out of this looking half as good. Especially considering I was the one plastered against the ground.

Consciously reaching up to touch what’s left of my ponytail, I sigh as I feel half of it hanging loose. Oh, and now there’s grass falling out.

Have I ever said how much I love first days?

“Do you think anyone got a video of that? We just ate shit.” My attention snaps back to the laughing stranger who’d nearly been the cause of my untimely asphyxiation and is currently the cause of my social destruction. Somewhere during my hasty snatch-and-grab system, Mr. Helpful got up from the ground and now stands directly in front of me, his shadow throwing shade over my face as I glare up at him.

“I was a little busy being tackled to the ground to notice.” I huff, trying not to drop the bundle in my arms as I register the level of hotness standing before me. The darkness of his hair and thick eyebrows offset sparkling green eyes (nope, didn’t know eyes could sparkle either), while the boyish grin taking up his face only gets cuter when dimples pop out on either side. Cursing my generation for its obsession with straight teeth, I also note the perfect, glistening white alignment of his smile.

From what I can tell, the only indication of our fall are the few strands of dark hair sticking a little too far out for the casual messy look. Otherwise, this six-foot bodybuilder looks untouched. I’m annoyed at this walking toothpaste commercial already, and that’s beforehe opens his mouth.

“I think the words you’re looking for are thank you,” he smirks in my direction, bending to grab the lacy thong that fell from my grasp.

I stare at him in disbelief, words spluttering out before I have a chance to think. “I’m supposed to thank you for… bodychecking me? Dumping all my clothes on the ground? No, wait. I got it. Thank you for the full body suffocation. I really appreciate it.” I snatch the thong from his hands and dump my bundle into a now-empty box.

“Hey, if you didn’t decide to become the world’s worst pack mule we could have easily made it to your dorm, which would have been entirely thanks to me swooping in to save the day. I can’t remember, did I or didn’t I grab two boxes off your initial load?” He taps his chin in mock consideration, then uses his finger to shoot me with an imaginary gun. “That’s right, I did. Guess that means it’s 1 point for me and none for Miss One Trip.”

Logic has never been so lacking.

Pulling my brows into a scowl, I open my mouth to list all the ways that argument made no sense when a voice rings out over the crowd.

“Lou! There you are, I was starting to get worried. Did you have problems finding the car?” Saved from answering the idiot in front of me, I turn to see my mother heading our way. The guy follows my turn and lets out a low whistle.

“Now there’s a woman who only gets better with age.” Dimples flash at me as he hastily scoops the box from my arms and saunters over to introduce himself.

I would say I’m disgusted, but I really can’t blame the guy. Even from a familial perspective, I am well aware my mother is an attractive woman. Her chestnut-coloured hair hangs in loose ringlets around a heart shaped face, and even though she’s put on a few pounds over the years, she wears them well. I got a bit of my mother’s curves, though not enough to hit the curvy status. And other than the average five-six height, my misty grey eyes are the only thing I inherited from my bombshell of a mother. Not to say my father is any less attractive, the two of my parents make a striking pair for sure, but his towering six-two frame and pin straight blond hair leave me with genetic features that don’t seem to fit any category. Not blonde but not brunette either. Not tall but not short. Eyes that aren’t blue, green, orbrown.

The sad fact of the matter is I am the embodiment of an in-between line: the surface area that is always there but doesn’t truly belong anywhere.

“You must be Lou’s older sister. Wes Williams, at your service.” I snap back to the present as Wes gives my mother a shit-eating grin and shakes the box he stole from me.

An attempt to prove his helpfulness, perhaps?

My mother laughs and slaps his box-carrying arms good-naturally. “Your charms won’t work on me, young man. However, thank you for helping my daughter with her things. She hates doing more than one trip to unload.” Wes shakes his head at the revelation.

“Well ma’am, I guess it was a good thing I happened to be walking by.” He shoots me a wink and my scowl grows deeper.

I will never admit it out loud, but Wes ended up being a lot of help. The extra set of hands made it so the three of us emptied the car without difficulty. And as much as it pains me to admit, Wes distracting my mother with his charms definitely worked in my favour. He single-handily brought her stress levels down from a tense twelve to an easier eight.

Setting the last box down on my questionable sleeping arrangements, Wes gives me a nod and bends to kiss the back of my mother’s hand with a flourish.

“It has been an honour making your acquaintance, Mrs. Mackenzie. Have a safe drive home and I will make sure Lou settles in nicely here at Taber. Speaking of which,” he whirls around and thrusts his phone towards me. “Put your number in. The lacrosse team is throwing a party tonight, I will text you the details.”

Being careful not to accidentally brush his fingers, I gingerly take the phone from his hand and type my number in. After tucking it back into his pocket, Wes bids us a farewell, and with one last flash of his dimples, he heads out.

I exhale a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. My mother, meanwhile, cannot contain her excitement. She flits around the room, folding clothes and putting them in drawers while talking nonstop about her new best friend.

“Oh, Lou. Wasn’t that boy lovely?! It was so sweet of him to help us carry in your boxes. My goodness, did you see those dimples? And to think he’s also a varsity athlete. What a dedicated boy! Imagine trying to juggle all that training and classes…” I tune her out, turning my attention to unpacking and doing my best to ignore the knot growing in my stomach.

The discomfort isn’t from the interaction with Wes, funny enough he made me feel comfortable for the first time today, but rather it’s the knowledge that in a few short hours my mother will leave and I will be left to fend for myself. Thanks to the confident rookie, I already feel more welcome at Taber than I ever did at Brooks Academy, but a sole acquaintance isn’t enough to set the tone for my university experience. It’s time to put myself out there, face my insecurities, and plunge into the deep end.

Let’s hope this time I come up swimming.