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“I have an unhealthy obsession with clothing and shoes,” I joked, knowing he’d most likely write me off for that comment alone.

I’d heard it all—plenty of people labeled me as vapid or shallow because I liked fashion, but those people didn’t have to choose their clothes based on the church’s donations.

After a lifetime of having few choices, I wanted to try every style and figure out what I liked most on my terms. “I like options,” I shrugged.

“Plus, I’m from Massachusetts, so I didn’t know what to expect when I got to Texas. ”

“Damn, you’re a long way from home,” Cam chuckled. “And my mom freaked out about me moving an hour away.”

“My mom wasn’t happy about it either.” Understatement of the century. She hid my car keys the morning I left, and it took me almost three hours to track them down. “But I think she understands why I wanted to come out here.”

“Which is?”

“Escaping the cold winter,” I winked as I started up the first flight of stairs.

Cam laughed below me, and for a moment, I regretted the lie.

The truth about my reasons for moving to Texas sat on the tip of my tongue, but I shoved them back down.

That was not first conversation material.

Keep it light and breezy, Hadley. Talk about the weather, his taste in music—not the complicated interpersonal dynamics of your family.

Besides, when Cam stepped up to my side, I had more pleasant things to fill my mind.

In fact, if Cam kept smiling at me, I’d forget I had a mother at all.

We fell into step as we climbed the stairs, talking about his hometown and some local attractions.

By the time we reached the sixth floor, I had a new restaurant, park, and bookstore to check out.

As we turned down my hall, I smiled back up at him. “Thank you again for your help, Cam.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said. “My dad would have killed me if I left a beautiful girl struggling with her suitcases.”

My cheeks darkened at his words. It wasn’t the first time someone had called me beautiful, but it was the first time the words rang true.

I spent so much of my time picking apart my appearance, hating all the ways my body changed as I grew.

Over the course of two summers, I’d gone from a skinny little thing to a body with curves I didn’t know how to dress or handle.

That was hard enough, but then the comments started.

My mother never prepared me for how to handle people leering at you, or grown men giving you skin-curling “compliments”.

In fact, she only fed into my insecurities, hurling hateful words, as if I’d changed just to spite her.

I tried to ignore them, but there were only so many insults you could take before they were carved deep into your psyche.

I exhaled, shoving those thoughts out of my mind.

When I looked up, Cam continued to watch me.

His appraisal felt different from the others.

When most people stared at me back home, it made me feel raw, like they were looking for some flaw or weakness to prove their internal judgments.

But with Cam’s gaze on me? I felt beautiful, like someone saw me after years of hiding behind a practiced smile.

Emboldened by his words, I took a step closer. “Well, maybe I could buy you a cup of coffee to say thanks?”

Before Cam answered, a door down the hall burst open, and a brunette sauntered into the hallway with a laundry basket. When she got closer, her face broke into a wide smile. “Wait, are you Hadley?”

Cam’s eyes widened as he looked behind me and took a step back. The move was so unexpected, my stomach twisted, and it took everything in me to keep the smile on my face. As I turned to face the new addition to our group, I relaxed a little, recognizing her from social media. “Victoria?”

She nodded, placing her laundry basket at her feet.

“Yes! But you can call me Tori. I’m so excited to finally meet you.

” She raced over and pulled me into a hug.

At first, I didn’t know how to respond. I wasn’t used to hugs.

My arms reached out, and I patted her back, hoping she wouldn’t think I was weird right off the bat.

We were stuck together for the year, and after our conversations online, I had high hopes we’d get along.

After we pulled apart, she moved to my side. Victoria smiled up at Cameron as she nuzzled against him. “Did you help with her suitcases?”

My eyes tracked their closeness, trying not to rush to conclusions.

Still, my stomach already swirled into a sour knot, unable to look away, no matter how hard I tried.

Maybe she was his sister? A close friend from home?

I mentally searched through Victoria’s social media pages, but I hadn’t spent a lot of time on them, knowing they usually only showed what a person wanted to project into the world.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat, no longer meeting my eyes. “The elevator line is still ridiculous. I didn’t know she was your roommate.”

I waited for his eyes to meet mine, to relay on some unspoken message that this was a misunderstanding, that I hadn’t read him completely wrong.

Instead, he leaned down and kissed the top of Victoria’s head as she placed her hand on his chest and looked to me. “Hadley, this is Cam, my boyfriend.”

Angry lashes of guilt and disgust flowed through my veins. How had I been so wrong about this guy? Was my internal barometer so off, I couldn’t see through another fuckboy? My hands clenched at my sides, and all I wanted to do was scream at Victoria to get away from him.

Then again—what had Cam really done? He’d helped me out when I needed it, and sure, maybe our conversation had veered into flirtation territory, but he never made a move on me.

If anything, I made a move on him . That wild anger simmered down to quiet guilt, hating that I’d already messed up with my new roommate.

As Cam turned and finally faced me again, I lowered my head, refusing to meet his eyes.

Hot shame colored my cheeks. It brought me right back to seeing Josh cheating on me, giving new life to the words my mother loved to spew at me.

Of course, Cam wasn’t interested in me. He was the good kid, probably from a stable home, with a planned out future and the right girl at his side.

That moment we shared was all it would ever be—a passing moment, a single glance, nothing more.

When Victoria picked up her laundry basket and headed down the hall with Cam, I made myself a promise. This mistake was a sharp reminder of why I wasn’t cut out for a relationship, at least not right now. I needed to keep my head down and focus on school.

Nothing could get in the way of that.

Especially not my roommate’s boyfriend.