So Damn Beautiful (A New Adult Romance) (5 page)

I suddenly felt a little sheepish.
Popularity, good looks, and money had never made a terribly big
impression on me—my mom had always taught me to value humility and
hard work, and, as corny as it sounded, I was definitely my
mother’s daughter—but even I had to admit that my palms were
beginning to sweat a little in Harrison Waters’s presence. The fact
that he hadn’t excused himself when Kendra left definitely meant
she knew I was in good hands. Kendra was like a romance psychic
that way.

It was flattering to think that Harrison at
least considered me cute. I’d had only one fairly serious boyfriend
in the past—Peter Hawkins, whom I’d known since elementary school.
He’d been nice enough, and I guess at one point I’d even believed I
was honest-to-goodness in love with him. He was tall, cute, and
gentlemanly and had an unmistakable talent for basketball . . . and
flirting with other girls. I’d broken up with him toward the end of
our senior year of high school, after I’d caught him sexting
Brittany Logan, one of the girls on the cheerleading squad. At
first I’d been heartbroken; after years of writing our names
together in bubbly cursive on the backs of notebooks, how could I
not have been? And while Peter had tried to explain it away—even
resorting to blaming me for being cold, distant, and overly
occupied with studying for the SATs and touring colleges on
weekends—I knew on some deep level it just wasn’t meant to be.
Peter was smart and likable, but he didn’t think about his future
the way I did about mine.

“When we’re old and jaded, we’ll regret not
having made out till our faces hurt . . . ’cause, like, this is the
best it’s gonna be, Annie. These are the best days of our lives!”
he’d lectured me one night, when I’d been more interested in
talking about the top five artists and writers who’d influenced us
than in taking advantage of the fact that my mom was working the
night shift and we had my house all to ourselves. When I looked
back on it, I knew that had been the proverbial straw that broke
the camel’s back. Peter was cute and a reasonably good kisser, but
we had nothing in common. In fact, he was still living in Apple
Creek the last I’d heard, maybe because he’d been too busy making
out with Brittany Logan to remember to apply to colleges.

I frowned slightly, which I think Harrison
misunderstood. Raking his fingers through his perfect Ken hair, he
seemed almost apologetic. “I’m sorry—this is probably your first
frat party, and it’s pretty laughable, huh? NYU’s Greek scene is
kind of pathetic, so I hate to be the one who bursts your bubble if
you were expecting
Animal House
or something.”

If he hadn’t been smiling the whole time, I
would have found his words overly self-deprecating.

I leaned against the wall, since there were
no chairs in sight. “No, it’s totally fine, Harrison. I’m not a
huge party person anyway, so it’s nice to be somewhere that’s
pretty low-key.”

“Oh yeah? I mean, sure, low-key is good and
all, but you’re a beautiful girl and a freshman at that. There’s no
way you’re hitting the books twenty-four-seven. I mean, why else
would you go to school in the biggest big city in the world? You
aren’t looking for a little more excitement?”

I blushed (again) at the “beautiful” remark
but replied like it was no big deal. “Well, yes, excitement would
be nice. But I’m a long-term kind of girl. I want to have a good
time, as long as it doesn’t give me dark circles under my eyes, or
a heroin addiction.”

Harrison laughed at that. “I completely
understand. I got a little burned out after all the ragers I
managed to survive my first year. It’s good to take things step by
step—otherwise, you just end up getting crushed underneath all the
pressure. I mean, NYU isn’t small potatoes, but it’s not Harvard,
either. Seriously, Annie, it might be a good idea to chill a
bit—take in the scenery and enjoy the perks of being in a place
like New York City. I’m not much older than you, but trust me,
these are the best years of your life, and you’re wasting them if
your head’s buried in a book all the time.”

I groaned inwardly. Harrison sounded eerily
like Peter did back when I decided that perhaps marrying the guy
you lost your virginity to wasn’t such a smart idea.

Harrison may have noticed me bristling at his
advice, because he immediately apologized. “Oh shit, Annie. I
didn’t mean anything by that. I honestly think it’s amazing you’re
clearly so inspired by what you’re doing. I just think it’s a good
idea to let loose every now and then—balance out the seriousness
with a little debauchery sometimes.” Harrison gave me a disarming
smile that made my stomach flip slightly, much to my surprise. “I
think Jack Kerouac got it right. Live in the moment, try out
excess, let it bring you back to the middle path no worse for wear
and with a whole lot more experience.”

I cocked my head slightly. There was more to
this guy than met the eye, evidently. He sounded like he knew what
he was talking about. “Yeah, I can respect that, but it doesn’t
really feel like my speed.”

“Where are you from, anyway?”

“Apple Creek, Ohio.” I immediately felt silly
after admitting it. Maybe I should have said Cleveland or somewhere
that would at least be recognizable to the average American.

“Whoa, no kidding! My dad’s mom was from
Apple Creek!”

I raised an eyebrow. Most of the people I’d
met in New York couldn’t locate Ohio on a map. “Are you kidding
me?”

“No way! Dad spent summers in Apple Creek
with Grandma’s family. I’ve been there a couple times, but it’s
been years. Do they still have that funny little water park with
singing bumper cars?”

I laughed delightedly. Finally, someone who
could cringe at some of the same endearing, albeit provincial, shit
I’d grown up with! “MemoLand! That’s so crazy you remember that.
Yeah, it’s still there, but it definitely doesn’t get the love it
used to. And they replaced the singing bumper cars with motorboats
and jet skis, believe it or not.”

“Fancy!” Harrison smiled, and even I had to
admit his brown eyes were pretty melt-worthy.

“I can’t believe you know Apple Creek. Most
people around here seem to be too cool, or at least think they’re
too cool, to have set foot in any of the podunk places of my
childhood nostalgia.”

He waved his hand dismissively, and for a
second, it looked like he was dismissing the gaggle of well-dressed
college students parading through the Parthenon-like interior of
the frat house, beer bottles and plastic cups in hand. “Don’t take
it personally. NYU students are stuck-up as hell, but most of ’em
don’t hail from prep schools. I’d say at least sixty percent of the
kids here are from the same podunk places, but they have just the
right amount of entitlement to act like their shit doesn’t
stink.”

I had to admit I was somewhat impressed.
Harrison was more gorgeous than Ryan Gosling and probably just as
attentive and endearing. And despite how obviously privileged he
was, he seemed to be conscious of not letting it go to his head.
Honestly, he was kind of blowing my mind.

“You pinned the tail on the donkey, Harrison.
I guess I don’t always like to admit it, even if it’s just to
myself, but there’s a big part of me that feels out of place
here.”

“How so? You’re beautiful and smart—you
totally belong here.”

I couldn’t help but return his grin. There he
went with the “beautiful” again. Who
was
this guy?

“Don’t sweat it, Annie. You’re going to be
working in the gallery world, right? Why worry about relating to
others?”

I would have taken his comment as a
deliberate swipe if it hadn’t been accompanied by dimples.
Settle down, Annie—you barely know this guy
, I warned
myself.

“What I mean to say is that you’re doing all
right. You’ll find yours, especially if you’re adventurous enough
to recognize that campus life is kinda lame and look out for what’s
going on in other places—maybe even Brooklyn.”

I raised an eyebrow. “If campus life is so
lame, why are you the president of Sigma Phi Kappa and the captain
of the crew team, Harrison?” I smiled slightly to sugar the
challenge.

“The fraternity thing runs in my family. The
guys are nice enough, and there are a lot of perks as far as
getting connected to people in high places.” He cringed a little.
“I know, I sound like a total corporate bastard, don’t I?”

“No, not at all . . . I just thought you were
more interested in having fun than in getting overly entangled,” I
explained.

“Well, I’m only on the crew team because I
have long arms . . . and you know what they say about guys with
long arms.” His smile grew a little wider, and I blushed more
furiously. Even Harrison’s sexual innuendo felt sweet rather than
predatory, and, as silly as it was, I couldn’t help but feel the
slightest crackle of lightning underneath my skin. Even his awkward
jokes made him seem . . . well, sexy.

“Listen, I’m all about living for the moment,
but I’m also well aware that I have responsibilities that transcend
it. If there’s one thing in life I’m passionate about, it’s my
family. My dad and his dad sacrificed a lot to get me where I am
today, and I feel I owe it to them to curb some of my less
practical appetites and pay my respect to their hard work. So
maintaining the family legacy isn’t a sacrifice to me—it’s an
honor. I guess in some ways, that’s spared me the grief of figuring
out my path—I’ve always known what it was going to be, so, instead
of stressing over it, I try to enjoy life and not get too caught up
in the details. There’s already so much pressure to be awesome and
live up to the family name—why pile more shit on top of that?” He
shrugged and smiled, as if to say that was all there was to it.

Harrison’s clear lack of ambition, despite
his pedigree, was a little bit irksome, but I had to admit I
sometimes wished things were that simple in my own life.

Harrison leaned in a little closer, which
caused me to take a too-large gulp from my bottle. “Has anyone ever
told you that you have incredible eyes? Seriously, I could fall
into them and lose myself.” I was a little embarrassed, and the
line was a bit hokey, but getting attention felt good. I could
sense in my peripheral vision that other people were looking at us,
probably wondering who I was. It was a strange feeling to be so
conspicuous around all these upperclassmen.

Before I could respond, a dark-haired girl in
a vintage chiffon dress sidled over. “Harrison! Where the hell is
the open bar? You know why I never come to your parties? They’re
drier than the Sahara Desert!”

My heart sank when the girl turned her head
to acknowledge me. It was Elsie.

I was both irritated and surprised. When did
she ever let up? Presumably, Elsie should’ve been at home only with
other rich and snooty hipsters, but her social life seemed to run
the gamut from dumb jocks to preppy frat brothers.

“Oh, hey, Elsie. I didn’t recognize you with
all those storm clouds covering your pretty face,” Harrison said
wryly, as he reached out to give her a hug.

From the way the hug lingered just a bit too
long, it was clear that they knew each other more than in passing.
My heart sank a little deeper.

“Oh, have you met Annie Green? She’s a
first-year art buff, just like you, in fact,” he said, apparently
oblivious to the venom in Elsie’s expression.

“Uh, yeah, we’ve met before,” she said
curtly, then turned back to Harrison. “Are you seriously starting
to invite just
any
people off the street to these things?
For real, your parents would be disappointed. Sigma Phi Kappa has a
tradition to uphold, and you want to be mindful of what kind of
elements you’re introducing to the ecosystem.”

Typical Elsie. “Gee, I didn’t know I was in
some kind of endangered rain forest,” I muttered under my
breath.

Harrison frowned but didn’t seem taken aback.
“Jesus, Elsie, don’t be such an elitist bitch. We’re not at a
cotillion or something.”

I was surprised at his language, but Elsie
wasn’t fazed. “Whatevs, Harrison, I’m just being honest.”

Harrison was about to say something to me,
but then another boy—burly, blond, and slurring his words ever so
slightly—came up to us and grabbed Harrison’s shoulders in a bro
squeeze. “Hey, man! I’ve been looking all over for you!” He looked
at Elsie and me and offered a low whistle of appreciation. “Oh, I
see what’s up, bro! Don’t mind me—I won’t spoil your fun.”

Harrison shook his head in mock disgust.
“Ladies, allow me to apologize on behalf of Chip. Introductions not
necessary, because he was just leaving.”

Chip guffawed. “Nah, man, I’m just messing
with you. Some of the trustees are here, and they want to talk to
you. Don’t shoot the messenger!”

University trustees at a frat party? I was
starting to get an idea of just how influential Harrison was on
campus, as modest and blasé as he came across.

Harrison groaned. “Shit, I totally forgot
they’d be coming by.”

Chip leaned over and leered at Elsie and me.
“I’m more than happy to fill in for my man Harrison here. You might
find it’s even better than the real thing, ladies.”

Harrison rolled his eyes, clearly too
accustomed to Chip’s malarkey to take it seriously. “Imitation
Harrison meat you could never be, my dear boy. Besides, you’re vice
president, so you’re coming with me.”

“Ugh, duty calls,” Chip said, visibly
distressed at the fact that getting his drink on was being
interrupted by official frat business (not that I’d ever known
there was such a thing). “Meet me in the blue room?” he said to
Harrison, who nodded in response. Chip ogled us one last time
before walking off.

“Harrison, you really need to do a better job
of ensuring your fraternity isn’t bursting to capacity with
Neanderthals,” Elsie said, as she applied more lip gloss.