Lust or Mate?

Chapter 2 - Crushes

...................

Crestwood

...................

......................................................

Alafia Whitlock (Arlo's daughter)

......................................................

A rush of excitement coursed through me as I stepped off the jet at Crestwood Airport. I couldn't believe I was finally here, ready to start my varsity journey and embark on this new chapter of my life.

Maleeka and I quickly made our way to the curb, where our ride was waiting for us. As we got in the car, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the same time as the excitement. This was the first time I was so far away from my parents and the familiar comforts of home, but the thrill of all the new experiences that lay ahead quickly snapped me out of it.

As we began driving through the city, I realized that the city was even more beautiful than I had imagined, and there was this free aura in the air. Maleeka was in her fourth and final year, and she told me that life was very fast here. I used to listen to her stories of this place for hours.

"Wow!" I whispered, looking at how the city sparkled at night. It was one of its most striking features and it also made me understand why Maleeka almost failed her first year. Crestwood was synonymous with glitz and glam, and its beauty extended beyond just its physical appearance. It was a hub for the entertainment industry and home to some of the richest people in the world.

I had plans to be a billionaire in my own right one day, so it was only fitting that my journey to adulthood began here. I smiled at that, recalling how Lex said this was where we were going to have our first stories to tell our grandchildren. Lex is Uncle Lazlo and Aunt Layla's daughter, and she and I are best friends. Uncle Lazlo is like a grandfather to me. He saved my mother's life and has been close to my family since.

Thinking of Lex, I pulled out my phone and turned it on to see three messages from her, all of them asking if I was here yet.

"How long before we get to the Academy?" I asked Maleeka, and she said we were about fifteen minutes away. I relayed that to Lex, and she lost it and blew up my phone. I answered, and she started going off at me about how I said I'd get here before her, and I told her we were delayed at the airport.

The last time I spoke to her, I was at the airport, and she and her brothers were already in the sky. She started going on about how beautiful our room is, and I got even more pumped up. But I froze when she told me I had better get my wallet ready to pay.

"No, you didn't," my voice came out in a whisper, causing Maleeka to look at me with a raised brow as my feet started stomping on their own accord on the floor mat. I looked outside the window, my eyes wide when Lex told me she did, so I owe her 500 Quills. I can't believe she really did it, and I can't wait to hear all the details.

Lex and I made a bet that we were going to lose our virginity before we got here. We are wolves and, at some point, we were going to meet our mates, and then our lives were going to be over. There would be no time for experimenting or anything like that—we would be as good as married, and that wasn't what we wanted for our lives. We were eighteen, and soon we were going to lock eyes with someone and never be able to look away again, and we wanted to live a little before that happened.

We knew it wasn't the wolf way, but we also had a right to how we felt. We had a right to choose how we wanted to live our lives. Plus, we had crushes. She was crushing on Avery, and I was crushing on someone much older and way hotter, and before we knew it, we made a bet to make a move on our crushes once we turned eighteen and lose our virginity before we started at varsity.

But six months before my birthday, my crush found his mate, and I was devastated. Lex also just could not work up the courage to tell Avery how she felt, so I automatically assumed the bet was off until she spoke to me on the plane and told me that she was finally going to do it. I didn't see how she was going to pull it off with her brothers around, but it seemed I clearly underestimated her.

I sighed, sliding down the window, and heard Maleeka speak, saying we were almost there before asking what I thought of the city.

I told her it was beautiful, my heart pounding with anticipation as I stared out the window in awe, barely able to contain my excitement as I watched the bright lights of the city. I took a deep breath, taking in the magical atmosphere as we drove past the billboards and marquees advertising the latest blockbuster movies and upcoming events. Just then, a huge sign with Crestwood Academy displayed on it came into my view, and my eyes widened, looking at the biggest and most beautiful university I had ever seen.

I saw it in the pictures, and I saw its beauty, but it was nothing like seeing it in person. Our transport came to a stop at the entrance, and we were welcomed by guides dressed in clothes with the university emblem while reporters buzzed around us, blinding us with their cameras. We were led through the halls, and Maleeka explained that she wasn't staying on this side as she wasn't a first-timer, but wanted to see me to my room first.

The guides didn't have a problem with that, and we headed to the elevator that took us to the floor where my room is at. We arrived, and they showed me the code but didn't press it and rang the bell instead since someone was already inside. The door opened after a moment, and Lex lost it when she saw me.

We jumped into each other's arms, screaming as my heart accelerated even more at the sight of her. My luggage was brought in, and I introduced her to Maleeka again. She had met her before, but I wasn't sure if she still remembered her. Maleeka and her family were staying in Otria. Both she and Lex were from Otria, but they didn't know each other from there. She said she remembered her, and they shared a hug.

Maleeka was Uncle Hudson's daughter, and she was three years older than us. She was doing her fourth and final year, so she wasn't staying on this side. The first years were staying on one side, and the second and third years, etc., were staying on the other side. So, if someone was here, it meant they were new.

Maleeka left us after seeing that we were sorted, and she said she would check on us later. Lex said she wanted to take a shower, but I grabbed her hand and told her not so fast. "Not before you tell me what went down on the plane," I added, trailing my eyes to the hickeys on her neck, and she became beet-red, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, the door opened, causing her to stop as we both snapped our heads toward Elly and Ford.

“Have you ever heard of knocking?” she asked, getting to her feet. They said they were sorry before asking if we heard about the party. We shared hugs, exchanged pleasantries, and then I asked them what party. Lex went to the closet, took out a gift bag, and gave it to me, saying it was a first-year student party and it was starting in two hours.

I knew they held one, but I didn’t know it was going to be tonight. It was normally held after the formal orientation. In the bag, there was an invitation, a T-shirt with my name branded on it, and a keychain. The guys asked again if we were going or not, and we said we were. We were never going to miss this. I wanted to shower too, so we asked them if they were going, and they said they were, but they were checking the place out first. They said they didn’t want to be the first ones there, but we had no problem with that. In fact, it’s what we wanted. We wanted to see everything and everyone.

“Are you going to go first?” Lex asked, and I said she can shower first. I still needed to choose what to wear.

“This is going to be epic,” I muttered while heading to my closet.

.

.

.

“Wow,” Lex and I both whispered in amazement as we took in the pulsing lights and thumping beat of the music as we arrived at the club.

The air was thick with excitement as students danced and mingled around, their energy infectious. The club enveloped us in its vibrant atmosphere as we made our way inside. The music was loud and lively, reverberating through our bodies as we spoke over it before moving toward the bar.

We were both dressed in cute, identical cut-out mesh bodycon dresses and pumps. We threw the shirts over them, knotted them on each side, and left them open so they wouldn’t mess up our vibe. We didn’t want to wear them, but we had to because it was a rule.

At the bar, we ordered ourselves a drink, the cool glasses sweating in our palms as we settled into our chairs and took in the surrounding scene.

“You still haven’t told me what happened on the jet,” I said to Lex over the music, while watching the lights flash and flicker in time with the beat, casting the crowd in a kaleidoscope of colors.

“Really? You want to do this here?” she said, causing me to smirk while telling her I was paying for the scoop. She laughed, her face turning beet red as she muttered, “Well,” and I placed my glass down, turning a bit in my chair so that I was facing her. But just then, I felt this magnetic pull toward the entrance, like someone was watching us. When I turned to look, there, standing in the doorway, was the hottest guy I’d ever seen.

“Oh, Goddess.”

“What? What is it?”

“I think I just found him.”

“Who?”

“The guy I’m losing my virginity to.”