Page 6 of Vacancy

“I know! And I’m sorry,” I whined. “Trust me, I’m just as sick of encroaching on your and Scarlett’s love nest as you are of mebeingthere.”

Jaylani blinked her extended eyelashes drolly. “I highly doubt that. Scar wouldn’t even go down on me last night, worried you might hear us through the walls.”

“Really?” I lifted my brows in surprise. “That didn’t seem to bother her the nightbefore.”

Jaylani’s gaze narrowed. “Because she didn’t know you could hear us until you justhadto go and mention it at breakfast the next morning.”

“Whoops.” I winced and cleared my throat. “Sorry about that. But…” I shrugged.

If they didn’t want commentary, they should’ve been way less loud.

I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I swore, “If I’d known rent in this town was going to be so astronomical, I would’ve applied for a dorm room much earlier. Now I’m stuck on a waitlist, and it’ll probably be next semester before something opens for me.”

“What?No…” Jaylani groaned. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

I scoffed and uncapped the bottle of water I was carrying. “I wish.” After taking a long drink, I dropped the water back to my side and lifted my eyebrows in interest at the guy who came jogging toward us down the trail that Jaylani and I were currently power walking. “Well, hello, handsome.”

He didn’t hear me, of course, since he hadn’t reached us yet. But he did skim his gaze down my black shorts, over my legs, then back up again to settle on my sports bra that zipped up the front, checking me out just as hard as I was checking him out. I winked when we made eye contact, and we kept looking at each other until he passed, where I turned to walk backward beside Jaylani so I could keep ogling.

Because, mmm, that tight ass…

Yes, please.

Okay, so the city of Westport, Texas might’ve ended up being a little costlier than I’d been prepared for, but the sights here were definitely worth the price of admission.

Haverick University housed some grade-A hotties.

“Damn, Jay,” I said, shaking my head to clear all the stirred-up hormones from it before I spun around to continue walking forward again. “I thought we werefriends.Yet you never once mentioned you had allthatwalking around campus. I mean… Have you ever seen so many beautiful men in one town before?”

Jaylani glanced back at the disappearing runner and shrugged out an uninterested, “Meh. Too penis-y for me. Besides…” Sending me a stern glance, she added, “Ain’t you supposed to lay off the guys this year?”

Ugh. She was right. I’d gotten overly boy-crazy during my last half of high school and let them—plus a lot of parties—distract me too much, landing me in this situation in the first place because,apparently, when your grades slip, you don’t immediately get accepted into your dream college.

So I’d finally sworn myself off men, focused solely on my community college classes, and vowed to stay away from the party life until I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in hand.

But still…

“I was justlooking,” I defended.

A girl could still enjoy the scenery, couldn’t she? I mean, Jay and I had gone to the beach just yesterday to take in the natural beauty of the Gulf. This was basically no different.

Except I hadn’t dropped three-fourths of a grade point average from sleeping with too many pretty sunsets.

“But I’ll stop looking and behave.” I lifted a hand solemnly. “I swear.”

Because I was here forschool, setting up my entire future, and beginning the rest of my life. I didn’t have time for fun this semester.

Screwing my priorities on straight, I glanced over at Jaylani as she snorted, letting me know how little faith she had in me.

“Hey, I don’t mind you looking,” she assured. “Just as long as it’s for a new place to live.”

“Oh…snap.” I laughed at her evil humor, only to moan pathetically a moment later. “I just wish I knewwhereto look. I only wantoneplace that’s under five hundred a month, in a neighborhood that doesn’t make me fear for my life, and is alsonota million miles from campus. Is that too much to ask for?”

“Uh…yeah.” Jaylani patted my shoulder dolefully. “Because you’re dreaming if you think anything within ten miles of here is going to be that cheap.”

“No…” I sobbed imitation tears. “But I can’t afford any more than that.”

“I know, baby doll.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I know. And I’d tell you that you could keep staying on my couch for as long as you like, but…well…you can’t.”

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