Page 4

Kota

I usually hated moving. Typically, it was a pain in the ass to me.

But today, I was freaking ecstatic to move.

If I’d been in our previous apartment for a fraction of a second longer, one of our roommates was bound to end up strangled.

Bridget and I agreed that it would be quickest to bring everything into the apartment first and then move them into our individual rooms afterward, so that we could just grab and go.

We’d already brought a few boxes of kitchen stuff inside and were on our third trip back up to the apartment.

One of my favorite things about this apartment? It was right across the street from Stallions and only a ten-minute walk from campus. I loved walking to class in the fall when the leaves were changing to an assortment of colors, or in the spring when everything was coming back to life. Winter was a whole other beast, but since we were so close, our drive to class wouldn’t be as far or treacherous as it was from our old apartment, which was more than twice the distance.

The apartment building had no affiliation with Cedar U, but we knew it was going to be full of students anyway, which brought a sense of comfort and community.

“My arms already feel like they’re about to fall off and we just started,” B said, huffing and puffing.

“I know,” I agreed. “We need to go down to the office and get one of those rolling cart things.”

“Let’s do it on the way down?”

“Please.”

I spotted two guys down the far end of the hall by our apartment. They were too far away to tell who it was, but as we got closer, my idiot radar started going off.

“Oh no,” I muttered.

“What?” B asked.

“I hope that’s not who I think it is.”

The closer we got, the more identifiable they were, and the clearer it was to see that they were standing at our apartment door. When the curly haired asshole looked over, mirroring the disgust in my expression, I shouted. “Hey, dickwads! Why the hell are you trying to get into our apartment?”

“ Your apartment?” Crew challenged.

“Yeah,” I nodded as we came to a stop in front of them. “ Our apartment.”

Bridget readjusted her box in her hands, her voice coming out civilly. “We’ve already brought some boxes in there.”

Lane’s eyes bounced back and forth between Bridget and me, his mouth set in a hard line. “Okay... Maybe they gave us the wrong apartment number or something?”

With a tiny shrug, Bridget said, “Maybe.”

“Just try the key,” Crew said.

Lane shot him an aggravated side eye, and it was satisfying to know that even he got annoyed by his friend sometimes.

When he shoved his key into the lock, my mouth nearly hit the floor as the door opened. How could the leasing office give them keys to our apartment? Wasn’t that like, highly illegal?

“Um, why the fuck did they give you keys to our apartment?” I said aloud.

“Because it’s our apartment,” Crew hissed as we all wandered inside.

“No, it’s not,” I said firmly.

“Have you guys walked around yet?” Lane asked over his shoulder, strolling through the kitchen.

“No,” B said. “We just brought a few boxes in so far.”

The kitchen area was right as you walked in, and the living room was straight ahead. A hallway spanned out from each side of the living room, but B and I hadn’t decided yet which room we’d each have.

Lane wandered around as we set our boxes down, and I let out a small huff of repulsion as I looked over at Crew. He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, seemingly doing everything possible not to look at us. I hated that he was standing in our apartment right now, contaminating it.

Reappearing with a crease in his forehead, Lane eyed Crew as if to say Uh, oh.

“What?” Crew asked.

“This is a four-bedroom.”

I turned my ear towards him, convinced I’d heard him wrong. “Excusez-moi?”

“That can’t be right,” B said with a light shake of her head. I followed her as she walked down the side halls.

I could admit, Lane knew how to count. There were definitely four bedrooms and two bathrooms.

Which was not what we signed a lease for.

What the hell was happening here?

“We’re gonna have to go down to the leasing office and see what’s going on,” B said, and Lane nodded in agreement, taking a stressed breath.

Crew sighed. “Alright, let’s go now then. Cause I’d rather not bring all my shit in here and then have to move it somewhere else.”

Shooting him a grin of animosity, I said, “Wow! Your first good idea!”

Crew’s jaw shifted beneath his skin, eyes narrowing at me.

But to my surprise, he kept his pretty little mouth shut.