In the Arms of the Elite (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #4) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,120

I make a decision, it’s swift and immovable.”

“I know,” I choke out as Zack scowls and Windsor’s shoulders stiffen. Creed and Zayd exchange a look, glancing back at their fellow Idol like they are more than willing to kick his ass.

“So when I decided that I was in love with you, and that you were mine, I chiseled that decision on my heart in stone.” He steps forward and puts his fingers under my chin, lifting my face up to meet his. “You’re mine, Marnye, and I’m not letting go. Not even if I have to share your heart. The way you love, it’s infinite. That’s more than enough for me.”

I throw my arms around his neck, and Zayd exhales with relief.

“Group hug, everybody? Yeah, yeah, group hug.” He throws his arms around us next, and even though Tristan makes a growling sound, he accepts it. Creed is next, when Windsor. Zack wraps us all in his huge arms before Miranda comes bouncing around the corner, dragging Andrew with her.

We embrace right there in the graveyard, with Charlie Reed watching over us.

And the warmth of the sun … it feels just like his smile.

Bornstead University has one of the biggest and most beautiful campuses in the country, situated in the picturesque mountain air of Colorado.

I carry a box of personal effects up the steps of the girls’ dorm, Miranda on my heels. She’s got Good Charlotte’s California (The Way I Say I Love You) playing on her phone, humming the lyrics as we climb the stairs. I don’t tell her, but the lyrics are making me cry.

If only Charlie were here, I think as I step into the empty dorm room, opening up the window and closing my eyes against the cool, fresh breeze of autumn. A few weeks ago, I turned nineteen, and the boys and I went to have waffles (covered in peanut butter and syrup, of course) at the Railroad Station. We saved a seat for Charlie, and I put his picture on the table across from me.

Isabella and Jennifer joined us, and I enjoyed their company more than I expected. Of course, neither of them understands how I can possibly be dating five guys, possibly be in love five times over, but … that’s okay. They don’t have to understand. The only people that have to understand how it works … are us.

“Babe, my dorm is so far away from yours,” Zayd groans as he slinks in and collapse on my bare mattress. I've got some cute new sheets with little harps all over them. I think they’re supposed to be Christmas sheets or something, but hey, a harp’s a harp. “And the second floor? How cruel. I’ll need to bring a ladder, so I can sneak into your room.”

“You don’t have to sneak, you goofball,” I murmur, moving over to the bed and flicking him in the forehead. He pulls me down on the bed next to him as Miranda rolls her eyes and starts to put her pale pink sheets on her own bed, pausing only when a text comes in from Andrew, all the way down in Stanford. I wonder if his relationship with that Ross guy will work, this far apart?

Only time will tell.

“Andrew and Ross both say hi,” Miranda tells us as Zack comes up, carrying the heaviest of my boxes under his arm. Creed is yawning and carrying … a pillow, how appropriate. That, and a stack of manga under his other arm. He tosses a few boys’ love volumes down on my bed, all of them with embarrassingly explicit covers, and I snatch them up in my arms, giving him a look.

Tristan and Windsor are last, each holding a medium-sized box.

“That should do it,” Wind says, putting his hands on his hips and looking around. “Not bad, for a commoner’s dorm, that is.”

“Hah,” I say, standing up and moving around the bed to shelve my new manga books. “You’re all in commoner’s dorms, too, don’t forget.”

“So we are,” Windsor agrees as Tristan reaches down and takes the photo of Charlie out of my box. He looks at it for a moment before passing it over to me. I take it, our fingers brushing, fire shooting through my arm and straight to my chest.

“Let’s hit the cafeteria, and see what they’ve got to eat around here,” he says, his voice low and smooth, just like cognac. Miranda lets the song on her phone play on repeat, so it starts all