Page 1 of The Swap Masquerade

Chapter 1

ELLIOTT

I breathed in the fresh, spring air as I made my way across campus. Overhead, the sun was shining brightly, and the trees were finally starting to bud. Around me, students were taking advantage of the warmer temperature, choosing to eat, read, and hang out with their friends on the quad instead of spending another minute indoors. I couldn’t blame them. It had been a long winter and cabin fever had begun to take its toll on all of us.

With my favorite song blaring through my AirPods and my mind on other things, I wasn’t paying any attention to the group of guys playing Frisbee, which was why I didn’t see the bright yellow disc flying through the air until it flew right past my face and landed a few feet away. I stumbled sideways, tripping over a couple of girls who were sunbathing before landing on my ass next to their blanket. They looked at me, clearly startled.

I clicked my music off. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to crash into you like that. Are you okay?” I looked over them, checking for any visible injuries.

“We’re fi…” The blonde’s words trailed off as her eyes slowly slid over my face then continued downward. The redhead giggled beside her, lightly elbowing her friend in the ribs. The blonde looked back up at my face, recognition shining in her blue eyes. “Oh, yeah. We are definitely fine, aren’t we?” she said, biting her bottom lip in an obvious attempt at flirting.

I chuckled awkwardly. “Okay. Uh, I’ll let you girls get back to soaking up that Vitamin D then.” I grabbed the Frisbee off the ground as I stood back up.

“You don’t have to rush off,” the blonde pouted.

“Sorry, but I have to go. Gotta get to class.” I sent her a wink so I wouldn’t hurt her feelings. It must have worked because her smile returned.

With a flick of my wrist, I sent the Frisbee flying back to its owners and continued heading toward McClellan Hall but not before I heard the girls whispering about how cute they thought I was. My gut churned and I clenched my jaw. Only one more semester and then I wouldn’t have to play these games anymore. Three more months and I would finally be free to live my life the way I wanted to. The thought should have made me feel better. So then why did it feel like an eternity? Glancing down at my watch, I switched my music back on and quickened my pace so I wouldn’t be late for class.

With ivy climbing up the red brick walls, McClellan Hall was the oldest building on campus, dating back to the early eighteen-hundreds. The college had worked hard to preserve its beauty, but there was no denying it could use a major update. The heating system was so outdated that half of the classrooms froze in the winter while the others left their occupants fanning themselves with their notes. Years’ worth of paint had left the windows sealed tightly shut so they couldn’t be opened even if someone wanted to let some fresh air in, which left the entire place smelling old and musty.

Rushing up the stairs, I pocketed my AirPods as I made my way to the wide double doors of the auditorium and pulled them open. My eyes widened when I saw the sea of people already inside. Unlike most of the classrooms at Bradbury College which seated about thirty people, the lecture hall could hold up to two hundred students at a time and was reserved for the more popular classes. Apparently, the humanities elective I’d chosen was one of those.

I scanned the room, searching for an empty seat when I heard someone shout, “Yo, Stoner! Over here!”

I cringed as several people turned to look in my direction. I’d always hated that nickname. It had been given to me my freshman year when one of the seniors on the baseball team discovered my last name was Stone. The other guys had cracked up, I’d blushed, and the name had stuck. The worst part was the look in other people’s eyes whenever they heard it, like they thought I spent all my time getting high. Little did they know, I’d never even touched the stuff. I couldn’t afford to. Not only could I lose my baseball scholarship if I failed a random drug test, but I was afraid of what might happen if I let down my guard. The risk was simply too great.

My eyes swept over the crowd until they landed on the owner of the voice, Brett Jacoby. He was sitting on one of the ends of the middle section, about six rows up from the bottom with one hand in the air to flag me down. I nodded to let him know I’d seen him then began making way down to where he was. A pretty brunette was staring at him with big doe eyes. I was pretty sure her name was Kelly. I was also pretty sure she wasn’t the same brunette he’d been making out with at the party on Saturday night, but I wasn’t about to get involved in any of that drama.

Brett and I had played ball together all four years of school and he was a nice enough guy, although he could be a bit obnoxious at times. He basked in the limelight, taking full advantage of the special attention he got from being a college athlete. He breathed, ate, and slept baseball and I often wondered what he would do with his life once college was over.

“Hey, man. I saw you walk in. Grab a seat.” He pulled his backpack off the chair next to him and set it between his feet.

I slid mine off my shoulder and settled in next to him on the end seat. “Thanks. I can’t believe how full this class is.” I looked over my shoulder to see even more students filing through the doors.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy. Who knew there were so many bleeding hearts at this school?” Brett said with a snort.

Kelly spoke up. “That’s not why they’re here. Well, at least that’s not why the girls are here.”

“What do you mean?” Brett asked.

“It’s because of Professor Holt.” She gave us a look that said the answer was obvious. Brett and I looked at each other, completely lost.

Kelly rolled her eyes. “He’s only the hottest professor on campus.”

Another girl leaned around her, joining the conversation. “It’s true. He is sex on a stick. I’ve taken three of his classes for the eye candy alone.”

Brett wrinkled his nose. “Dude, he’s a professor. Doesn’t that automatically make him like a hundred years old?”

“No, I heard he was only in his thirties. Besides, they say men get better with age. If that’s true, I can’t even imagine how gorgeous he’ll be when he turns fifty.” Both girls sighed dreamily.

Brett scowled, clearly unhappy with the turn of events. “Whatever. He’s still a professor so he’s off limits.” He slung his arm around Kelly and pulled her into his side.

She giggled and kissed his cheek. “Don’t worry, baby. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t care if it’s against school rules. Professor Holt can teach me anything he wants to,” the other girl added, wagging her eyebrows, and making us laugh.

I was still chuckling as I bent down and unzipped my bookbag, grabbing a pen and a new notebook from it. As I sat up, I noticed the room had gotten much quieter and everyone around me was settling into their seats, signaling that class was about to begin. Curiously, I looked to the front of the room, anxious to see the man I’d just heard about.

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