The Rules We Defy

Chapter 8

The next morning, I sleep until 10, then go to the bathroom to shower and dress. As I’m walking back to my room, I notice a girl moving in. She has a natural, outdoorsy look with long blond hair pulled into a ponytail and a toned, athletic body. She has no makeup on but she doesn’t need it. She has perfect skin.

“Hi, I’m Harper,” she says, stopping me in the hall. I set my basket of shower supplies down and shake her hand. “I’m Jessica. I live at the end of the hall.”

“You’re the first person I’ve seen here other than the RA. People must still be asleep or something. So where are you from?”

“Iowa. And you?”

“California. Malibu.”

“And you wanted to come here to school? Seems like California would be a lot better than Connecticut. At least weather-wise.” “I’m here on a tennis scholarship," she says.

“I’m here on scholarship, too. Otherwise I’d never be able to go here.”

“Oh, I don’t need the money. I just wanted to be on the team. Plus I do like that I’m paying for part of this myself, you know? It’s not a full scholarship, but it’s something. At least I earned it.”

“You must be really good at tennis.”

“I’m okay. At least good enough for this school’s team. Hey, do you want to grab lunch? I just brought in the last of my boxes and I’m starving.”

“Sure, but I need to take my stuff back to my room.”

“Just come down whenever you’re ready.” She smiles and gives me a quick wave as she goes back in her room. Even though we just met, I like Harper. She seems friendly and easy to talk to—way better than Sierra and Ava. I drop my shower supplies in my room and grab some money. I’m hoping she likes fast food because that’s all I can afford.

When I stop by her room she’s putting her clothes away. Her room looks like a wad of bubble gum exploded in it. It’s piled high with everything pink; her comforter, sheets, towels, pillows—all pink.

“You really like pink,” I comment.

“Yeah, since I was little. It’s my favorite color. I have two sisters and we all love pink. Do you have any sisters?”

“Nope. It’s just me.”

“I have to use the bathroom quick. Watch TV if you want.” She tosses the remote at me. She has a huge flat screen TV on her dresser. I turn it on and the picture is almost 3D.

I’m used to watching Nate’s old TV which doesn’t have cable. I always had to adjust the antenna whenever I wanted to watch something. I start flipping through the channels. It’s Sunday so there isn’t much to watch but I stop when I see the skyline of Des Moines on one of the news channels.

If they’re in Des Moines, it must be a show about politics. My hometown is the center of the political universe this time of year. Next year is an election year and Iowa is the first state to vote on who should be the presidential nominee. They call the actual voting event a caucus. Since it’s the first big event in the nominating process, it gets a ton of press in the months leading up to the vote, which is usually in January. Journalists from all over the world descend on Des Moines and other towns in Iowa, following rich old men and the occasional woman as they make speeches and try to convince the public to vote for them.

“It’s a beautiful day in downtown Des Moines,” the show host says. “Later this afternoon, Fisk Callaway, the current frontrunner, will host a barbecue at a park just south of the capital for 300 of his supporters. The event will feature—”

“You ready to go?” Harper is standing by the door, car keys in her hand.

I turn off the TV and follow her out to her car, a white Lexus SUV.

“Do you think we could get fast food?” I ask. “Like maybe some tacos or a burger?”

“Sure, I don’t care, but you’ll have to tell me where to go.”

“There’s a taco place a couple miles from here.”

“I’ve actually been craving tacos, so that’s perfect.”

When we get to the taco place, which is just a roadside stand, Harper seems to really like it, which surprises me. Most people would think this was place was a dump. After lunch we go back to her room and I help her unpack. She tells me that her dad is some bigwig director at a movie studio in LA and her mom does charity work. Her two sisters are older than her. One is a model and the other one is an actress who’s had a few minor movie roles. Harper wants to study communications and hopes to be a sportscaster some day.

Turns out she really likes sports; not just tennis, but all sports.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” I ask as I unpack her box of hair products. She has enough hair products to open a salon and they’re all expensive brands.

“I did, but we broke up last year. He played basketball at UCLA and got drafted by the NBA. As soon as that happened, he dumped me. I don’t really like to talk about him. How about you?”

“Nope. I’m single and I’d like to keep it that way. I want to focus on school. I can date later when I’ve got the rest of my life figured out.”

We hang out and talk until 4, when she has to meet up with her tennis team for a welcome dinner. As I head back to my room, I run into Dominic. Literally. As in I’m walking down the hall with my head down and I bump right into him. His muscular chest feels like a brick wall hitting my head. I feel his hand on my back. “Whoa. You okay there, Jessica?”

“Sorry. I was just . . . I don’t know what I was. Out of it, I guess.”

“What have you been up to all day? I came by your room a few times and you weren’t here.” “I met this new girl from California and we hung out all afternoon.”

“I was just heading out for a run. You want to join me?”

My eyes do a quick scan of him. Freaking gorgeous even in workout clothes. It’s annoying and yet so damn appealing. Add in that perfect smile and those beautiful blue eyes and I find it impossible to turn him down.

“Do you mean like a real run or one of your lame 2 mile runs that swimmers do?”

“I’ll ignore that. How far do you want to go?” “Let’s see. If I’m going easy on you I’ll say 5 miles.”

“Five miles, huh? I told you how much I hate running, right?”

“Five miles isn’t that far. Are you afraid you can’t make it 5 miles?”

A cocky grin crosses his face. “I can make it 5 miles. Get changed. And I get to pick the route.”

“Let me guess. No hills, right?”

“Real funny, Jessica. Now get in there and change.”

I put on my running shorts and tank, then we head outside and run a loop around the campus. After that he takes off toward a path that leads into the woods.

“Wait.” I grab his t-shirt. “I don’t think I want to go in there.”

“There’s a trail the whole way. A lot of people run on this trail.”

He takes my hand. “Come on, let’s go.”