Chapter 6: Welcome to Off Campus Living

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Tiffany asked and peered out the windshield.

"This is the address Danny gave me, and according to my GPS, this is it." Carissa pulled her BMW into the driveway and parked behind Danny's beat-up SUV. She shut off the engine and glanced up at the house.

For being off-campus housing, the place was surprisingly nice with brand new white siding with what appeared to be a freshly painted front porch. The house was divided in half with two matching doors on either side that led to two separate apartments. Danny's text had said to use the door on the left.

"Okay, let's go." Tiffany opened the door and climbed out of the car.

Carissa yawned and followed behind her friend, though with a lot less energy and enthusiasm. Not that she wasn't excited to see Danny, she was, but her grand plan to sleep in that morning was thwarted when Mallory had called at 6:00 a.m. to wake them up. They'd spent all morning on post-party clean-up duty. She must've spent a solid four hours picking up trash and collecting empty cans and bottles, all while reciting the Greek alphabet. Loudly.

Her throat was hoarse, and she was bone-weary exhausted. After calling Danny and begging him to understand, she'd taken a shower then a quick nap. She'd promised Danny she'd spend the night with him tonight to make up for not coming over last night, and for not spending the entire day with him.

She grabbed her overnight back from the back of her car and then made her way toward the door, where Tiffany was waiting for her with a look of impatience.

"You okay?"

Carissa yawned again and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Yeah, I'm just tired. I can't believe you're not."

Tiffany laughed. "If this is how wiped out you are after only one night, are you sure pledging TOP is a good idea? You know your father will freak if your grades drop."

"Ugh. Don't remind me." Carissa scrunched up her face. "And yes, we're pledging. Now go." She gently shoved her friend toward the door.

Tiffany knocked, and a second later, Garrett greeted them with a goofy smile. "About time," he said with his lighthearted, contagious laugh. He hugged Tiffany, then Carissa.

She hugged him back, chuckling softly. "Hey, Garrett."

Garrett was her twin brother's best friend, and Carissa's ex-high school sweetheart. They'd dated for four years, and everyone, her included, was convinced they'd be together forever. But then she chose to take a gap year and travel, and Garrett couldn't handle the idea of being so far apart. Carissa refused to give up what she wanted, so they'd ended things.

Then she'd met Danny and never really thought about getting back together with Garrett. At first, things had been awkward between her and Garrett, but they'd eventually managed to fall into an easy friendship.

"I invited Cory," Garrett said as he turned and welcomed her and Tiffany inside.

Carissa groaned. "My brother's coming?" This day couldn't possibly get any worse.

"He's already here." Garrett tossed an apologetic smile over his shoulder, and she stuck her tongue out at him. He laughed.

Carissa followed Garrett inside, and her eyes widened with instant amazement. "Wow, look at this place." Her gaze roamed, taking everything in.

She'd entered into a spacious kitchen, complete with an island and pan rack hanging above it, and fully furnished with shiny, stainless steel appliances. A small, round table sat in front of a window. Opposite the kitchen was the living room, already full of plush furniture and a flatscreen TV. Unpacked boxes were stacked in one corner. From her vantage point, she could easily see three doors, all currently closed, and around the corner from the kitchen was a small flight of stairs.

"Bathroom." Garrett pointed to the door nearest the stairs. "Bedrooms." He nodded at the other two closed doors. "Upstairs is a small office along with my room and Danny's room."

"Impressive," Tiffany said as she wandered around inspecting the place. "I expected something a little more. . .dumpy." She laughed.

"Gee, thanks." Garrett laughed. He leaned against the kitchen island and crossed his arms. "So, how was your first pledge meeting last night?"

"Fun," Tiffany said. "They threw us a party and everything."

Garrett whistled. "Lucky you." He turned his attention to Carissa. "You're being quiet. What's wrong?"

"I'm tired." She yawned yet again. "Sorry. Where's Danny?"

"He ran to the store with Cory. They should be back any minute."

Carissa nodded and fought against another yawn. "Mind showing me his room so I can put my stuff in there?" She held up her bag.

"Sure. Follow me." Garrett led her upstairs, stopped in front of the first room to his right, and opened the door.

Carissa moved around him and into Danny's room. His bed was unmade, the sheets and blankets tangled in a heap in the center of the mattress. But that was the only indication anyone was living in this room. Everything else was still packed away in boxes that were scattered across the floor.

She dropped her bag just inside the door and stepped back out, bumping into Garrett as she did. He reached out to steady her, his blue eyes filled with concern. She knew that look, and she held up her hand before he could say anything else.

"Don't," she warned. "I'm fine. I promise."

He released his hold on her and held up in hands in surrender. "Okay, I get it."

That was the thing about Garrett; he got her. She didn't have to say a lot for him to understand. He knew her expressions, her moods, when to push and when to back off. If only Danny knew her that well, maybe they wouldn't be in such an unsteady place right now.

Downstairs, loud voices sounded, followed by a door swinging shut. "Sounds like they're back," Garrett said.

Carissa took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. Time to face Danny. A big part of her was truly excited to see him again, but she didn't have the energy to argue with him, so she hoped he'd let everything go and just have a good time tonight.

The second she rounded the corner into the kitchen, Danny met her gaze. His deep, chocolate brown eyes warmed, and he rushed toward here. "There's my girl." He wrapped her in a tight hug, his face buried against her neck.

She wrapped her arms around him. His embrace was warm and comforting in a familiar way, but that uncontrollable tingling she'd felt last year, before everything went to hell, was missing. No overwhelming spark, no butterflies, no burning desire to find any excuse to be alone with him.

"I've missed you," he whispered.

"I missed you, too," she said and meant it.

Danny eased back and captured her mouth in a kiss that was both insistent and sweet. Kissing him felt normal, as easy as breathing, but was that a good thing? She didn't find herself moving closer for more. There was no dizzying effect, no fighting to catch her breath, no unsatiable craving to keep going.

"C'mon, you two. No one wants to see that," Cory said, garnering laughs from Garrett and Tiffany.

Carissa used her brother's ill-timed joke to pull away. She flipped him off, and Cory laughed, the sound filling the large space. "I definitely haven't missed you," she said, aiming her jab at her brother.

"Whatever." Cory winked, and Carissa rolled her eyes.

Sometimes, having a twin was the worst.