Page 4 of The Professor's Possession (Crystal River Billionaire Brothers)

Anyway, something likethatis the last thing I would want now. I certainly can’t spend the next few years tied around some college boy when I’ve got coursework to do and books to read and study. I have spent too long dreaming about this moment: I’m taking college seriously. I don’t want to end up having to go back to my small town with my tail between my legs looking for a crappy job just because I got romantically involved with some boy at university whose brain hasn’t even technically fully formed yet.

Which one’s my room...

I look back down at my note. Room 317. I grip it tight as I stroll down the hallway with my bag tumbling behind me.

I might be nervous, but there is also a fiery spark of determination within me.

I find my room further down the hallway. As I reach it, I hear someone banging around inside. My new roommate, I presume.

I guess I should knock before I enter.

But before I get the chance, the door abruptly swings open, and there stands my new roommate in all her glory.

She’s taller than me and is absolutelystunning. That’s the first thing I notice about her. Simply her...stunningness.

Long platinum-blonde hair. Perfect skin. Full lips with pink gloss. Her eyes attract my attention most of all; one blue and the other green. She’s wearing a light-red flannel shirt over a white tank top with a pair of jeans.

My new roommate takes one look at me and immediately smiles.

And, oh, she’s got such a pretty smile.

“You’re soaking wet!” she exclaims as she spots me.

I chuckle and glance down at the proof of the rain outside. A puddle is already forming around my sneakers. “Yeah, I am.”

Her smile widens. “I’m Ava Matson. And I’m guessing you must be Olivia Weldon.”

“Yep, that’s me,” I reply. “A verywetOlivia Weldon.”

“My new roommate. Woo. I’ve been expecting you for the past hour,” she says, nodding back inside the room. “I was getting so worked up that you hadn’t arrived yet that I was about to ring the police to file a missing person’s report.”

“Sorry, my bus was late and...”

“I’m just joking,” she says, laughing.

“Oh. Yeah. Me too.”

“Don’t worry about the rain,” Ava says with warmth, ignoring my social awkwardness. “We’ll have you dried and ready in no time. Come inside and chill out. First thing’s first is: you need a towel.”

She beckons me into the room and shuts the door after me and my trundling bag.

“You must be cold,” she says. “Freezing, I’d bet, going by the look of you.”

“A little bit,” I reply.

“Okay, let me fix that for you.”

“You don’t have to...”

“No, Iinsist,” she replies with glee. “I won’t dare allow our first meeting to be hijacked by this crap Crystal River weather.”

As Ava darts inside the ensuite searching for a towel, I take the chance to look around my new home. The dorm room is bigger than I expected, which is better than what I was hoping for. One bed is against the wall with a window, and the other is on the other wall. The other wall houses a long wardrobe. The best thing is that we have our own private restroom, I’ve read enough about universities to very much comprehend that a private restroom is a luxury I can’t ever take for granted.

It’s perfect. Exactly what I was looking for in a college room.

Yep. Plenty of space for the two of us.

I notice Ava has her bags neatly pressed against the bed by the window still packed up. It’s obvious she has been waiting for me to arrive before she’s done anything like claim half the room for herself. That thoughtfulness is sweet.

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