your dreams a reality?"
She felt her heart stop. Did she? Was that what the dream was all about? Did she really want him, or did she just have that dream because Ashton had been there for her so much since the assault, and she was just grateful to him?
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Kaylee took a deep breath.
"Get over yourself. You're so delusional." She started to walk away, only to be stopped by his hand around her wrist. She looked back into his eyes, feeling the fire within and not knowing what to do about it.
"When you're ready to admit it, come find me." He released the grasp he had on her wrist and watched her walk away.
Just before she got to the door joining their rooms, Noah came barging in, closing the door quickly behind him. "There you are!" he yelled at her. "I've been looking for you all over. I have a little surprise for you."
Kaylee groaned. She wasn't really in the mood for his games at this point, not after dealing with Ashton and his ego. "What now?"
"Cheer up Buttercup. You'll like this," he promised. He went back to the door and opened it up.
Kaylee saw a vision that made her breath catch in her throat. There stood a petite woman with bright red hair, pale skin with freckles, and crystal-clear green eyes. "Ryver?"
"Kaylee!" The little redhead yelled back.
The two girls ran to each other, laughing, and embraced hard. They rocked each other back and forth. The rest of the world was completely forgotten. "Oh my God! What are you doing here?" Kaylee asked.
"Your brother invited me to stay with you while you're here. He said you're never in one place for long, so this was the perfect opportunity to get together," Ryver explained.
Kaylee looked at her brother, so much joy in her eyes, and hugged him. Noah hadn't seen that kind of happiness in a long time. He was suddenly very, very glad he had taken the time to get in touch with Kaylee's dear friend.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome." He hugged her tighter before releasing her.
"Come over here and sit down so we can catch up," Kaylee said, dragging Ryver to Noah's bed. "How have you been?"
Ryver's eyes wandered to the nearly naked man who was lying in the next bed, watching the two girls curiously. Kaylee followed her eyes and groaned again.
"That's Ashton. Ashton this is my best friend and pledge sister, Ryver," Kaylee introduced grudgingly.
"Nice to meet you," Ryver said with a wink.
"And you." He gave his patented smirk. "So, I'd love to hear some stories of the wild college days. How did you two meet?"
Kaylee wasn't speaking up, so Ryver did. "Kaylee and I met at a sorority rush. We were both looking at all the sororities, and got to know each other going back and forth to all the rush parties. When we were both invited to pledge Zeta, we instantly clicked. We went through a semester of hell together, and even though we had other pledge sisters, we had this bond that no one else could match. We really leaned on each other through the whole thing, and after that, our friendship was cemented."
"Ah, how nice," Ashton said with fake sentiment. "So, give me the dirt. I want to hear all about the little partier that we all know and love."
"Well, there was this one time that Kaylee..." Ryver started but couldn't finish because Kaylee had her hand covering her mouth. Ashton laughed.
"Come on Ryver, let's go to my room. I'm sure the guys want to get ready to go out," Kaylee said, dragging her friend to the door.
"Are we going out too?" Ryver asked.
Kaylee looked at her brother, wanting to go out, but unsure of her safety. Noah nodded his reassurance, effectively making up Kaylee's mind. "Why the hell not. It'll be good to let off some steam," she glared at Ashton.
In return Ashton waved, his smile growing by the minute. "See you soon, lover."
Kaylee flipped him off, and disappeared through the door with Ryver.
"So, what's with him? He's kind of cute," Ryver said, raising her perfectly curved eyebrows at Kaylee.
"Ugh, just a thorn in my ass," Kaylee rolled her eyes.
"So, what's the man situation? Who's available, who's single, who's hot?" Ryver was always looking for a good time.
"Well, Jayden and Colton really cool; both are available. Um, don't go near my brother, he's off limits, and Brandon is too...I think."
"What about Ashton?" she