The Billionaire Boys Club (Billionaire Romance Series Book 1) (14 page)

“Wow!” Jessica said, as she saw her. “You clean up well!”
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey smiled.
 

“Really, Kels. You look amazing,” Jessica said, putting her packages on her bed.
 

“I’m wondering what I look like ordinarily,” Kelsey teased.
 

“Normal. But now, geez, you look like Kate Upton.”
 

“I was hoping to look like Kelsey North.”
“You do. Sort of. Anyway, you look great,” Jessica replied. “Do you want to borrow my coat? You can’t really wear a fleece with that outfit, and it’s too cold for just a sweater.”
 

“Thanks, that would be great. I’m wearing your blush.”
 

“Are you?” Jessica asked, peering at her cheeks. “I thought it was the blush of love.”
 

“Funny,” Kelsey said. Jessica giggled. She pulled her coat from the box under her bed.

“Here you go, Kels. By the way, I got you brownies. I’ll stick them in the fridge.”
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey said, putting on the coat.
 

“Wow,” Jessica repeated looking at her.
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey replied. There was a knock on the door.

“Ready?” Jessica asked softly. Kelsey nodded, and Jessica walked over and opened the door.
 

“Hi, Ryan,” Kelsey said, as he appeared. Jessica stood with her hand on the door knob.
 

Ryan looked at Kelsey for a moment, then seemed to catch his breath. “Hi,” he finally replied. “Are you ready?”
 

“Yes,” Kelsey said.
 

“Have fun,” Jessica said. She winked as Kelsey passed her and walked out of the door with Ryan.
 

“You look nice,” Ryan said as they walked down the steps. Kelsey didn’t respond. She wasn’t used to heels, so she walked carefully.
 

They walked out of the stairwell and into the dorm common room. Ryan’s friends looked up as they entered.
 

“Bye, boys,” Ryan said, as he and Kelsey walked through.
 

As they walked outside, Kelsey felt the cold air and automatically pulled Jessica’s coat tighter around herself.
 

“You really look great tonight, Kelsey,” Ryan said, as they walked behind the dormitory and toward town.
 

“Thanks, Ryan,” Kelsey replied. “What are we going to see tonight?”
 

“Whatever’s playing on Madison Street. Unless you want to drive downtown,” Ryan replied.

“No, that’s okay,” Kelsey said.
 

“What did you do today?” Ryan asked her.
 

“Studied,” Kelsey replied as they walked.
 

“Property?” Ryan asked.

“Of course,” Kelsey said. “All 80 pages.”
 

“I’ll be studying tomorrow,” Ryan replied. “I cannot believe he assigned so much to us.”
 

“It’s crazy,” Kelsey said. “How about you? What did you do today?”

“I went home. It’s my stepmother’s birthday.”
 

“Oh,” Kelsey said. “Didn’t you want to have dinner with her tonight?”

“I’ve seen enough of her for the day,” Ryan replied.

“I see,” Kelsey said. She was a little surprised. Ryan’s comment didn’t sound like his normal cheerful self.
 

“What kind of food do you like?” Ryan asked, changing the subject. They had reached Madison.
 

“Anything,” Kelsey replied.

“Italian?”
 

“I love Italian,” Kelsey replied. Ryan glanced at her and smiled.
 

They walked to the movie theater, where they discovered a romantic comedy was playing. Ryan bought tickets and snacks, then they walked to the theater and found seats. There were quite a few other students out for the evening, but Kelsey didn’t recognize anyone from the first year. She took off the coat and sat down carefully. She was happy to be sitting, as the heels were killing her feet.
 

“Popcorn?” Ryan asked.
 

“Thanks,” Kelsey said, taking a small handful. She was kind of hungry, having last eaten at noon.

“So what do you think of Darrow?” Ryan asked, taking a sip of his drink.
 

“It’s harder than I expected,” Kelsey replied honestly

“Really?”
 

Kelsey nodded.

“I thought that it would be tough, but I thought I’d understand what was going on by now,” she added. “How about you? What do you think?”

“It’s about what I expected,” Ryan replied.
 

“You went to Princeton?” Kelsey asked.
 

“Brown,” Ryan replied. “Zach went to Princeton. Where did you go?”

“Portland State University,” Kelsey replied.

“Interesting,” Ryan replied as the house lights went down.

As they walked to the Italian restaurant, Ryan walked slowly to match Kelsey’s gait.
 

“That was a great movie, thanks,” Kelsey said to him.
 

“It was. I loved the scene in the park.”

“Yes, that was really funny!” Kelsey said, taking careful steps. They walked up to the restaurant door.
 

“Two for dinner,” Ryan said to the hostess, and they followed her to a small, intimate table in the back. Kelsey sat and draped her coat over the back of the chair.
 

“Wine?” Ryan asked, as they looked at the menus.

“No thanks,” Kelsey replied. She was starving. She had eaten a lot of the popcorn during the movie, but it hadn’t satisfied her hunger.
 

“What looks good?” Ryan asked.

“I’m thinking I’d like the gnocchi,” Kelsey said. Maybe the potato dumplings would fill her up.

“That does sound good,” Ryan said. “I think I’m going to have risotto though.”

The waitress came by and put bread on the table. Kelsey forced herself to wait to take some, as Ryan ordered their meals. When he was finished and the waitress had left, Kelsey took a roll and put it on her plate.
 

“So tell me about Port Townsend, Kelsey. What’s it like to grow up there?”

“It’s a wonderful place to live. Beautiful, with lots of friendly people.”
 

“You never got bored?”
 

“Sometimes,” Kelsey said. “But I usually found things to do.”
 

“Like what?” Ryan asked.
 

“Sports, camping.”

“Yes, you’re quite the nature girl,” Ryan teased. “Is that why you workout every day? To stay in shape for your outdoor activities?”

“I just want to be healthy,” Kelsey said, smearing butter on her roll. “What about you? Why do you work out?”

“To see you,” Ryan said. Kelsey glanced at him and he smiled at her.

“Right,” Kelsey blushed, and looked down at the roll.

“It’s true. Otherwise, I’d stay in bed,” Ryan continued.
 

Kelsey blushed again. Ryan grinned at her.

For the next hour, as they ate and talked, Kelsey felt like she was getting to know Ryan. Although he had obviously grown up wealthy, he made his life seem almost ordinary. He liked school, disliked snow, and got too many traffic tickets. With every topic, Kelsey felt closer to him and she hoped he felt closer to her.
 

“Well?” Jessica asked, as Kelsey walked in that night.
 

“We had fun,” Kelsey said, nonchalantly.

“You aren’t fooling me,” Jessica said, pouting. “Is he the one?”
 

“Maybe. I had a great time,” Kelsey replied. She took off the coat, and handed it to Jessica.
 

“What happened? Did you kiss him?” Jessica asked.
 

“Maybe,” Kelsey replied mischievously. He had kissed her on the cheek at the door. The touch had made her heart soar.
 

“Details, now, Kelsey North!” Jessica cried out.
 

“He’s nice. We went to the movies and had Italian.”

“Are you going out again?”

“We’ll see,” Kelsey replied, removing her heels.
 

“See if I ever tell you anything about a date. Of course, I have to have one first.”

Kelsey giggled.

Tyler was in the gym when Kelsey walked in on Monday morning. Sweat glistened on his arms, and he had clearly been in there for a while.
 

“Did you have a nice date?” Tyler asked between reps. Kelsey glanced at him as she unzipped her jacket.
 

“I did,” she replied, putting the jacket on its usual bench.
 

“I thought you would,” Tyler replied.
 

Kelsey thought she heard a tone in Tyler’s voice, but she couldn’t place it. So she walked over to the treadmill and started running. Tyler set his weights down carefully and stood, as though he was thinking. Then he walked over to Kelsey’s treadmill and hit the emergency stop button. The treadmill jerked off abruptly, and Kelsey had to grab onto the side handles to stop herself from falling.

“Hey!” she shouted.

“You know he just wants to sleep with you, right?” Tyler said to her, as Kelsey glared at him.
 

“What makes you think that?” she challenged him.

“I’ve known Ryan Perkins since he was in diapers. He’s not interested in you, except as a trophy.”
 

“Excuse me?”
 

“Don’t let yourself get hurt, Kelsey,” Tyler said, turning away. “You sleep with him, it’s over.”
 

Kelsey looked at his back. Then she shouted,
 

“You’re just jealous!”
 

Tyler turned and looked at her.
 

“What?”

Kelsey, stood, stunned at her own comment. Tyler hadn’t shown the slightest interest in Kelsey since she had arrived at Darrow, and she knew that. But she decided to plow on to the end.

“You’re jealous because he asked me out and I said yes,” she stammered.
 

Tyler surveyed her with interest. Then he sighed.
 

“Don’t get hurt, Kelsey,” Tyler repeated.
 
Then he picked up his towel and walked out of the gym.

Kelsey stood motionless on the treadmill, sweat dripping down her forehead, trying to understand what had just happened. Was Tyler telling the truth about Ryan? Why was he telling her even if it was true? And why, oh why had she said that Tyler was jealous? Kelsey didn’t believe for a second that he was, but yet….

Kelsey shook her head angrily, and her ponytail brushed her damp neck. Then she restarted the machine and started to run.

At lunch, Kelsey related what had happened at the gym to Jessica.

“So do you think Tyler’s right?” Jessica asked her.

“I have no idea. And why would he tell me? We aren’t friends. He’s friends with Ryan.”

“Yeah, but you said that he helps you in the gym sometimes.”
 

“He just doesn’t want me to get injured.”

Jessica shrugged and took a bite of sandwich. “Maybe he doesn’t want your heart to get injured either. You might have a claim against their company.”
 

Kelsey smiled at the legal joke. “I don’t know what to do, if anything. I mean, what if he’s lying?”

“Why would he lie? You said that you don’t think he’s interested in you.”
 

“Maybe he wants to get back at Ryan for something.”
 

“I think he could find an easier way,” Jessica said, wiping her lips with a napkin. “Look, how about this. Tell Ryan that you won’t sleep with him.”
 

“What?”

“Just tell him you’re saving yourself for marriage.”

“Oh, come on. He’s not going to believe that.”
 

“Why not? Lots of girls do. Anyway, see how he responds. If he dumps you, you know that Tyler’s right.”
 

“And if he doesn’t, I’ve unnecessarily gotten in the way of what could be a nice relationship for me.”
 

“Kels, if Ryan actually cares about you, I don’t think it would matter that much right now. A few months down the road, you could change your mind. I know he seems nice, and he’s adorable, but Tyler has known him for a lot longer than you have.”

Kelsey sighed.
 

“I’ll think about it,” she said.
 

The next day, Tyler arrived at the gym 15 minutes after Kelsey had started running. She had run a good distance on the machine, due to her need to work out her irritation with Tyler’s meddling. Today though, Tyler was absolutely silent. He used the elliptical machine and did his usual series of weights. Then he left without a word.

That afternoon, Kelsey had lunch with Ryan. He had asked her to go with him before class, and they had headed to the small coffee shop in the student center instead of eating in the dining hall. Ryan was his normal, friendly self and Kelsey enjoyed every minute with him. After they finished a long lunch and Kelsey was heading back to her room, she wondered why she had ever listened to Tyler and Jessica. Obviously Ryan wasn’t just after her body. She decided to put aside Jessica’s test and just let things progress on their own.

When she arrived in Property class a half hour later, Ryan waved as Kelsey took her seat. She smiled at him. Tyler walked in and sat next to Zach a few moments later.
 

“Miss North,” Professor Weber said as class began. Kelsey looked up. “I’m confident that you did the reading over the weekend.”
 

“I did, Professor Weber,” Kelsey replied. And she had. Despite all the drama over the weekend over her date, she had studied the cases diligently, knowing that he was going to call on her.
 

“Excellent,” Professor Weber said. “Since I don’t need to quiz you on your knowledge of the cases, I’d like us to have a different discussion.” Kelsey nodded hesitantly. “So, Miss North, let’s discuss John Locke.”

John who? Kelsey knew that John Locke was a philosopher, and that he had some justifications about property and what made one entitled to it, but she had skimmed over the half-page about him and focused on the case law.