Page 2 of Gracefully Yours

I darted out into the hallway, heading for the stairs to head back down to find my mom and get my bedding and the other stuff I’d left in the car.

By the time I’d come back with my mom, and I emptied all the stuff from the car, I closed my door, looking at the little name tags the RA had made for me and Noelle.

Maybe it was the excitement that distracted me from my surroundings, the anticipation of all of it, but I was lost in my own world until a hard body ran into mine.

“Oh!” I gasped, startled by the contact as the guy turned to look at me.

He was tall—over six foot, compared to my five foot four stature, with dark, almost black hair and a pair of brown eyes that seemed to take all of me in.

“Shit. Sorry.” He smoothed a hand over his face, messing with his hair. “I should have been looking where I was going.”

“Are you okay?” I watched him try to rub at his shoulders. “I was just… staring at my door. It’s all sort of surreal still.” I pointed at my dorm room.

He gave me a small smile, probably just placating the silly freshman who was just standing in the hallway. “I get it.”

I wondered why he was in our hallway—if he’d helped someone move in, who were they to him? The dorm was co-ed, but our floor was girls-only. The question slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. “Are you helping your girlfriend move in?” I asked.

Why?It wasn’t like I was asking because I wanted to date him.

The guy blinked at me. “What? No. Just my sister. Angelina.” He looked at the door behind me.

“Oh.” I tried to suppress a blush at my embarrassment. “That… makes sense.”

“So are you Charlotte?” He looked at my door. “Or Noelle?”

“Charlotte. But my friends call me Char.” I felt my cheeks pink. Because it was my first time offering someone my nickname, the one I’d chosen for myself, and that felt… good. “Noelle’s my roommate.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Charlotte. I’m Daniel.” He grinned.

Daniel. That was a nice name. He seemed nice, too. Considering he was standing here and talking with me, even when he didn’t have to.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Daniel. I guess we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other?”

He raised an eyebrow, and I was about to kick myself for not explaining why, because it wasn’t like I was trying to be some weird creepy stalker. But then—“Right. Because you live right across from my sister.”

“Yep.” I nodded, a small smile spreading across my face.

I’d met his sister, Angelina, and her roommate Gabbi—earlier, and I was pretty sure that it was the closest thing to love at first sight for me. It might have been cliche, but I could already tell I was going to be friends with them and Noelle. We’d already made plans to walk over to the first Orientation activity together, and then to eat dinner together.

I didn’t have a brother, but I kind of liked that he was close with his sister. Me and my sister weren’t close, and I wished I had one that cared enough about me to help move me into college. “I promise I’m not normally this much of a klutz.” Of course, I’d almost topple onto someone on my very first day on campus.

He chuckled, a sound that I found was calming. “Hey, I go running every morning, and I still trip over my own two feet sometimes.”

When I’d decided on moving to a new city for college by myself, I’d resolved myself of two things. One was that I was going to make friends. Besides my roommate Noelle and the girls across the hall, he seemed like a good option, even if I’d only just met him. Plus, he’d been polite enough to check on me instead of just glaring and walking away.

Plus, I liked to run too, to keep in shape because of dance, and if I could have a running buddy, well… “Oh, you like to run? I have to figure out a route myself around here… I moved up from California, so I’m not too familiar with the area, honestly.”

“I ran track in high school. So I can probably show you a few routes. You know. Give you some pointers.” He stretched his arms behind his head, flexing his muscles, and I tried hard not to show how affected I was. I didn’t come to college to date, but to get an education and find my path in life. No matter what happened, I wasn’t entertaining those thoughts. Not now, at least.

“I’d like that. I’m a dancer. Running helps me stay in shape.” I couldn’t keep my grin off my face.

Daniel extended out a hand. “Friends?”

“I’d like that.” Placing mine in his, we shook on it, and that was that.

From then on, Daniel Bradford was one of the biggest constants in my life.

And my best friend.

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