A man wearing only the bottom half of a Star Wars stormtrooper outfit streaked past Felicity Hart. She ducked out of the way as the half-naked frat boy whooped and bounced to the music, heading straight for a group of girls wearing white bunny ears who were gathered by the kitchen bar.
So this is what grad student parties are like.
Drinking, dancing, and insanity. Felicity shook her head, trying not to laugh. After growing up in a small town in Nebraska, she hadn't been prepared for college life in Chicago. Talk about culture shock. She was used to everyone in town knowing not just her name, but far too much about her personal life. Even after six years of living here, being surrounded by thousands of strangers who knew absolutely nothing about her, it was still both completely unsettling and oddly liberating.
For the first four years of college and the past two years of her master's, she'd hidden in her little shell. But a few months ago she'd met Layla Russo, a graduate student just like her, and they'd hit it off. Layla was the only reason Felicity had pulled a Cinderella and come to the ball. She would have laughed at the thought, but she was dead tired and stifled a yawn instead. At this rate, she'd turn into a pumpkin before midnight.
Happy Birthday to me, she thought and fisted her hands in the voluminous skirts of her Tudor gown. She stood out too much at this partywhich happened when you skipped over the sexy cat costumes and zeroed in on the classy Anne Boleyn Tudor ball gown. Felicity should have worn some cheap costume, but she just couldn't do it. Halloween was her favorite holiday. She'd scrimped and saved to buy a good costume, one that meant something to her. She'd been lucky enough to find this gown on a deep-discount rack at a costume warehouse. Hence the beautiful, elegant, yet still sexy gown she wore at that moment. At least it had been sexy in the sixteenth century.
I am such a nerd.
She had gotten her share of raised eyebrows and smothered laughs when she'd entered the apartment with her friends, but she didn't care. She was ready to celebrate her entrance into adulthood at a normal party. Even if it had taken her until graduate school to be brave enough to attend a social gathering like this.
And why shouldn't she? She'd worked hardlate-night study sessions, endless art exhibit submissionsall in the hope of attaining grades that would be good enough to take her from a small Nebraska town to the hip art communities of Chicago. She deserved a party. And going to one at Layla's boyfriend's fancy apartment was safe enough since it was close to the school and the gallery where she worked.
Several laughing girls bumped into her, plastic cups brimming with alcohol. She danced back a step, narrowly avoiding drenching her gown in cheap beer as one of the girls stumbled in her heels, sending her cup flying through the air.
"Shit!" the girl hissed, then started giggling with her friends as she bent over to clean up the mess.
The entire night had been one near miss after another. The last thing Felicity needed was her costume smelling like beer.
She glanced at the group of pretty girls in the bunny ears and the gathering of boys around them.
Why didn't I think of wearing something like that? She glanced at the girls with their perfect bikini bodies, and she blushed. There was no way she could run around in something skimpy like that and feel confident. She just didn't look good in tight clothesor revealing clothes. She was a size twelve, which was just a little too plump to look good in a skintight costume. She shuddered at the thought of being so exposed.
The crowd of people thinned out as she headed toward the room she sought. She took a moment to pause, one hand resting on the wall as she tried to suck in a breath. Maybe the corset was a bad idea.
"Hey!" A familiar feminine voice cut through the noise, and Felicity looked over her shoulder.
Layla was the official hostess of the party even though the apartment belonged to her boyfriend, Tanner, and she certainly acted like it as she strode toward her. She was a sightfive foot, curvy, and completely rocking her zombie stripper costume. Amazingly, Layla managed to look both scary and cute as she crossed the room in her four-inch stilettos. Felicity knew without a doubt that she'd break her neck in shoes like that, which was why she'd opted for red silk slippers that matched her gown.
"Hey, you okay?" Layla reached her and linked her arm through Felicity's. "I saw you yawning from across the room."
Felicity wrinkled her nose. "Just tired. Been up since dawn, have a midterm tomorrow, and I feel every minute of a year older." Felicity wrinkled her nose. "Is it still all right to crash in Tanner's brother's bedroom?"
"Of course! I don't want you having to travel across half the city tonight to get back to that little hole in the wall you live in." Layla linked her arm through Felicity's. "I really wish you'd just move in with me." Her friend pouted dramatically, but Felicity stiffened her spine in an attempt resist Layla's begging.
"As much as I love your apartment, Layla, it's out my budget at the moment." It was double what her tiny place was, and Felicity's budget was already stretched thin. "You sure Tanner's brother won't mind?" It still felt weird to be sleeping in a guy's bed whether he was there or not.
"Yeah. Jared won't be back till Sunday night, so you're welcome to stay the whole weekend," Layla said. "Besides, even if he wasn't spending the entire weekend working, he'd never be caught dead anywhere near a party like this. That workaholic wouldn't know fun if it bit him in the ass." She snorted as though picturing just that. "Are you sure you're just tired, birthday girl?"
With her classes and her part-time job, Felicity was grateful for early nights where she could find themand the prospect of staying up into the wee hours and endangering her beloved dress didn't hold much appeal. No, the sweet song of a comfy bed and a few hours of oblivion was calling to her.
"I'm good!" she insisted. "Go have more fun and don't worry about me. Go find Tanner before he realizes you've ditched him." Felicity pointed to Layla's boyfriend, who was politely escaping the group of bunnies and searching about for Layla.
Tanner Redmond and Layla had hooked up the first day of classes five years ago and had been together ever since. He was hot, smart, and totally nice, not at all like some of the entitled jerks she had to deal with when she handled rich clients at the gallery where she worked, which was a shocker given that he was a rich kid. He and his older brother, Jared, shared this beautiful apartment. She'd never met Jared. Even though she'd spent the last three months around Tanner and Layla, the mysterious older brother had never once shown up.
Layla's dark eyes ran up and down Felicity with concern. "You sure you don't want to stay out here? You don't have to crash now. Unless you're not feeling well?" Layla cocked one hip, her hand perched there as she continued to study Felicity. Felicity swallowed down the flutter of nerves that always came whenever her friend tried to make her participate more in the student culture, but she shook her head. She wasn't good at being fun and spontaneous or wild. Graduate student life seemed to be built on those three things when one wasn't studying or writing papers. It was just her luck that she was too shy to be bold in life like Layla.
It never ceased to amaze Felicity how much of a mother hen her friend could be.
"I'm good," she answered Layla, her voice firm. Sometimes she had to use a "parent voice" in order to get Layla to stop mothering her. "Go and have fun. You said the bedroom is the last on the left?"
"Yup. And seriously, stay the weekend. Just come back here after your midterm, and we can hang out." Layla's offer was tempting, and Felicity found herself more than considering it. It sure would be nice to crash here for a few days. "I still can't believe you have a term paper due the Monday after Halloween," Layla muttered. "Ugh." Layla wrinkled her nose. "Some teachers are jerks. I'd be happy to make a voodoo doll of him, and we can shove pins in him." Her friend was grinning wickedly as she suggested this.
Felicity bit back a laugh. "If I didn't like Professor Willoughby as much as I do, I might take you up on that."
Layla escorted her all the way to the door and then curved her arms around Felicity in a hug. Her throat tightened as she fought off the fierce happiness that came over her whenever her friend hugged her.
Layla didn't hug by halvesshe gripped you hard, squeezed the air out of your lungs, and made you feel loved.
Felicity just wasn't used to thatunlike Layla with her sprawling and loud family that found it natural to hug and kiss constantly, Felicity's parents were not overtly affectionate. They were sweet, and she knew they loved her, but they didn't put their affection on display like Laylaunbridled and consuming.
"Just do me a favor. Get some rest and kick butt on your research tomorrow."
"Yes, Mom." Felicity stuck her tongue out, and they both giggled.
As Layla turned back to the party, Felicity slipped into the sanctuary and relative quiet of the dark bedroom. Her breath caught as she took in the view of the city through the tall windows. The skyline of downtown Chicago was a man-made mountain range of lights twinkling in a sea of black. The sky behind the buildings was a soft purple, cutting a contrast against the silhouettes of the buildings. It was one amazing view, and it always made her breathless when she caught a glimpse of the monolithic buildings. Her hands ached to sketch the sight, but she hadn't brought her pad with her.
Fifteen stories up, none of the city sounds that kept her up at night could be heard from Jared's bedroom. She liked that. She wandered over to the window, wanting to sate herself on the sight of glittering lights and an endless glowing horizon. When she'd had her fill of the view, she turned back to investigate just what sort of room she would be spending the night in.
A massive bed against one wall with a cherrywood headboard and a deep crimson comforter looked soft and inviting. The scent of aftershave and an enticing masculine aroma made her all too aware again that this was a man's domain. She scanned the rest of the room. A large desk was laden with files and paperwork. If he was such a workaholic, why didn't he spend more time at this desk and enjoy the view? If she had this to look at all day, she could see the appeal of working from home. But as a lawyer, maybe he didn't get that option, and had to be in the office all day.
