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“So? Do you like Edinburgh?”

“So far It is weird being so far from home, but it’s a beautiful city”

“How’s Claudia?”

“Enjoying the chocolate”

“It’s not as good as ours”

“That’s what I said!”

“You’re both wrong,” Claudia interjected as she got up to put her chocolate wrappers in the trash “Now can you tell your sister you’ll call her back? If we stay here any longer, I’ to smash your phone”

“I heard,” Andie said I could practically hear her rolling her eyes “I need to get to work anyway It’s early here, re I do is phone -distance call but does she care?”

I laughed “I care I do I just don’t have time to fully appreciate it Claudia has an abnorht her back here for lunch I’ to break out in hives”

“Well, ouldn’t want that Speak soon, Supergirl”

“Later” I switched off the phone and gave Claudia a look “That was rude”

“This,” she gestured to the room, “is not an apartment It’s a common room with a hallway outside that leads to five identical rooms with fire doors that lock”

“There’s also a bathroom that locks I’d call that an improvement upon most student accommodations”

“You’re funny”

“And you’re spoiled”

Claudia narrowed her eyes “I ht and airy We have a balcony Plus, there are only two of us living there”

I’d heard this ever since Claudia laid eyes on the new place, so I ignored it and led her out of the kitchen, stopping at my bedroom door to make sure it was locked

Back home ere juniors at Purdue in Indianapolis, and since Claudia’s parents were loaded, we lived in a nice apartment in West Lafayette, about a ten-minute drive fro like it if it weren’t for Claud I joked that she was spoiled, but I only s but her life was a rich kid’s cliché—absentee parents who couldn’t give a crap what she did They threw rateful Instead of letting it eat away at her, Claudia embraced the people who showed her real affection and offered fierce loyalty in return

We’d met freshman year and hit it off I liked her and not because of her money, and she liked me because she said I was the most honest person she’d evermy family cemented our friendship My mom and dad treated her like their kid and fussed over her (which she secretly loved) Even Andie bestowed overbearing elder sisterly condescension upon her (which Claudia also secretly loved)

I didn’t come from money We lived in a small town called Lanton, just a little over two hours northwest of Indianapolis My dad owned the local garage and my mom owned a florist We did okay The only reason they could afford to send their daughters to good schools and even offer them a chance on a placement abroad was because of my mom’s aunt Cecilia Cecilia had uy and when he died, she got all his money Now, Cecilia liked to spend that money, so by the time she died, she didn’t have a whole lot left She had, however, always doted on Andie and me, and had put some cake away in a trust fund for our education

As to Claudia’s gru it was just a front for her nerves We were excited but a little scared of being in a foreign country by ourselves for the school year, but where I ad to bitch about so she didn’t have to think about her anxiety

Because ere older students but would be taking some freshman classes, ere housed with three British students ere our age but only just starting college Our roommates had met and bonded a full day before we arrived, so Claud and I would have to work a little bit harder to establish a friendship with theet around to that For noere still trying to get organized before classes, deteret to know the city as quickly as possible

“It’ll get better once we’re settled and meet more people,” I promised Claudia as we stepped out of the apart across the courtyard We could get to know them”

“If we didn’t get to know them over there, ould we here?”

“Well, that’s a spiffy attitude”

“Spiffy? Really?”

I laughed to hter cut off abruptly as we hit the second floor Claudia didn’t askIn fact, there was utter silence behindtoo

In the h on the wall, stood a seriously hot guy His shirt had ridden up as he raised his arreat abs The shirt encased the perfect V torso, and his ratty jeans encased the perfect ass A hot tribal tattoo covered one roped forearht of us out of the corner of his eye, I htly crooked, definitely flirtatious, and belly-whoosh-worthy It was a great ray eyes, chiseled jawline covered in sexy scruff, and thick, ers to get a hold of it

“Hey, guys,” he greeted us in a rough voice, his American accent welcome and familiar

Claudia pushed gently passed me and walked casually toward him I smiled at the sway in her hps as she approached hilued to that sway

My friend was gorgeous And gorgeous in that unbelievably classy, this-girl-is-used-to-the-finer-things-in-life way A lot of guys back home were intimidated by her, and if they weren’t, they assu she wasn’t and treated her like a vapid socialite who’d be more impressed with the size of their trust fund than if they couldexceptionally pretty, Claudia was lonely in the romance department

I watched hot, tattooed, rebel-without-a-cause eye her with appreciation Claudia had long dark hair and exotic coloring inherited fros, boobs, and ass She was the kind of girl other girls loved to hate

She wore designer skinny jeans, Lacoste tennis shoes, and a cute white Ralph Lauren blouse with capped sleeves and a nipped-in waist, and looked as though she was on the way to the country club I saw i

Claudia tilted her chin toward his handiwork “There’s a party?”

“Yeah” He sing these for a friend who lives here, next stairwell over You guys should definitely come I’m Beck, by the way”

“Claudia” She nodded at me “This is my friend, Charley”

“Hey, Charley” Beck’s flirtatious grin remained fixed on his face as he perusedclothes that would getskinny jeans with the hole in the knee, the denih the wash a million times, complemented by an oversized vest with “Library Nerd” scrawled across the chest I’d dyed ht itI had it pulled back into as on one hand, two on the other, and a jangle of silver and leather bracelets on both wrists

Claudia wanted to clean e her down

I nodded back at hilea, and I was pretty sure if I licked er and pressed it to his skin, steam would rise with a satisfactory hiss Still, I’d done the whole bad-boy thing in high school and I was definitely over it I shot Claudia a look that o in for the kill

She saze

“U, “does your friend know he misspelled ‘snacks’?”

Beck snorted “Babe, it says ‘FREE BOOZE’ on the poster Do you think anyone else will read the next fking line?”

“He’s got you there,” I murmured