Chapter 2

The trio entered the restaurant, with the conversation long shifted to lighter topics- upcoming weekend plans and the latest gossip.

"Smell's divine in here!" Vanessa groaned the moment they walked into the small Ethiopian restaurant., "I always get reminded of home every time we come here," she added in a mock teary voice.

Jemima rolled her eyes at her best friend's dramatics, "girl, you know damn well your ass has never been to Ethiopia."

"It's right here," she argued, pointing at the place in her chest where her heart was.

"My aunt went to Ethiopia once, that's where she cheated on her ex husband with some hot native and then had my baby cousin Michael."

"Nobody care's Zoe!" Jemima and Vanessa both silenced a stunned Zoe at the same time.

"Oop here comes your boy toy," Vanessa said in a heads-up manner, then her and Zoe began giggling like some boy crazy preteens.

Shaking her head at her friends, Jemima turned to her boyfriend with a dashing smile when he got to where they stood, "baby!" She purred, throwing her arms around him, the height difference giving her butterflies. It was one of her favourite things about him, she loved her a tall man.

"Hey sweetness," he pecked her lips, wrapping his strong arms around her waist, then turned his head to her friends with a dashing smile of his own, "hey ladies."

The two girls burst into a fit of giggles as if it was their first time interacting with a boy, "hey Kaden," they both giggled in unison.

Kaden Solomon was every girl's wet dream. With charming blue eyes that just seemed to pull you in, an enchanting dimpled smile that always had Jemima's heart racing, and blonde hair that laid messily on his head in short waves, perfect for Jemima to mindlessly run her fingers through. He towered over most people with his height, and on top of that he had a lean build, decent muscles and hard abs, which all worked perfectly in his favour since he played Point Guard for the BPU Basketball team.

"Everyone's already seated, and Shila will take our orders in a minute," he nodded over to their special table, where the whole group always sat whenever they visited the restaurant.

It was a wide round table in the centre of the dinning hall with eight seats, specially reserved for their group.

"We're right on time then," Jemima beamed as they all followed Kaden to their table.

"And I'm starving, I could eat for a family of five!" Vanessa exaggerated as they took their seats next to their other friends.

"Wouldn't make a difference darling, you already look like you do."

Jemima and Zoe exchanged amused glances, preparing for another argument from the two which was bound to happen.

As laid back and carefree as Vanessa was, there was only one person on the entire campus, who managed to get on Vanessa Yohannes very last nerve. And that was the charming Andrew Solomon.

He was your stereotypical surfer boy, fun and outgoing with blonde hair, bright blue eyes that always twinkled with mischief, and a smile so charming that he had girls dropping their panties faster than you could say 'Casanova'.

He had a jokester type personality that made him fun to be around, and along with his older brother Kaden and their other friends who they were on the basketball team with, he was one of the most popular boys on campus, he played Centre for the team.

Everybody loved him and enjoyed being in his presence, everyone except Vanessa.

It was not her fault either, it wasn't like she hated him for absolutely no reason. The boy was a menace to her, he would always go out of his way to get on her nerves just so that he could get a reaction out of her, which would always be verbal abuse from her end, or the occasional smack on the head when her buttons got really pushed.

It was clear to the entire friend group that he had the biggest crush on her, and she was either to naïve to notice, or she did and just didn’t give a damn.

"Andrew Solomon did you just call me fat!?" Vanessa nearly shrieked, her cheeks puffing up with anger as she stared daggers at the blue eyed boy who had an an amused expression on his face. Of course he enjoyed her outbursts, especially when her attention was on him.

"Not my words exactly, but if the shoe fits," he shrugged, leaning back in his seat.

"You know what? I'm not going to entertain you today, go ahead and say whatever you want. You're not getting a reaction out of me." Vanessa took a deep breath through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, her eyes shut as she turned her head away from him, choosing peace for once.

Jemima slightly nodded in approval, a proud smirk on her face at her friend choosing to be the bigger person at least once in her life.

"Exactly, I don't even know why you would take me seriously anyway," Andrew shook his head, his eyes slightly softening just a bit as the next words came out of his mouth, "no matter what you weigh, you'd still be the most beautiful girl here, everywhere."

Jemima heard Vanessa subtly inhale next to her, and she felt the girl's body go rigid. Clearly, he still got a reaction out of her.

"Hey, I'm right here!" Another friend of the group, Maggie exclaimed, hanging off the arm of her boyfriend, Benj- who was on the basketball team with Kaden and Andrew and played Power Forward- the only reason she was included in the friend group.

"It's okay baby, I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world," her boyfriend comforted her, and then proceeded to stick his entire tongue down her throat, not caring that the rest of the table was watching them.

Besides Kaden, Benj was the only other loved up boy in the group and if you asked him, he would tell you that he wouldn't have it any other way. He was the definition of tall dark and handsome (the black kind), with his hair that was always in his signature style of braids that fell past his ears with the ends beaded, dark chocolate skin and a smile so charming it had girls on campus envying his girlfriend.

"Ew, get a room ya freaks!" Zoe made a face at the couple, who didn't pay her any mind or didn't even hear her at all as they continued to suck each other's faces.

"In the universe," Jemima heard next to her, she turned her attention to see Kaden staring at her with a loving expression on his face.

"What?" She asked, with her eyebrows slightly creased in confusion.

"You're the most gorgeous girl in all of the universe," he softly said as he pecked her nose.

Jemima felt a swarm of butterflies attack her stomach, she melted into his arms when he wrapped his arms around her.

"You're so cheesy," she giggled with her face pressed against his hard chest, her voice coming out muffled.

There was no doubt in her mind and heart that Kaden was the one for her. They were just perfect for each other.

They were two of the most popular people on campus. Hot college basketball player with his hot cheerleader girlfriend, they were basically written in the stars for each other. Both their parents were old time friends, so they grew up together. From childhood friends, high school sweethearts and then finally college lovers, they just made sense. He made sense.

"Hey," another friend of theirs, Nathan who was also on the basketball team, spoke up, "did you guys here about the new girl joining campus?"

"We have new people joining campus all the time Nate," Kaden rolled his eyes, saying what everyone else was already thinking.

It wasn't new or weird for new students to join campus during the most odd times of the semesters. There was a rumour that went around about how the dean charged an extra fee to those students joining the campus late, no matter how late, and then pocketed the money. That was how he could afford a new car every school year.

So the rumours went.

"Yes but this one is from out of state, and apparently, the deans newest step-daughter. Rumour has it she's hot," Nathan smirked, earning eye rolls from everyone.

Besides the other two boys in the group who were in committed relationships, between Andrew and Nathan, the latter was the biggest whore of the group. He would stick his business in whatever hole that was willing to open their legs for him.

His voluminous ginger hair that was always in a man bun to hide the fact that it fell a little past his shoulders and his hazel eyes definitely made the job easier for him, all he had to do was bat his pretty eyes, and flash his dimpled smile and he'd have girls on their knees.

Like the rest of the boys in their friend group, he was tall and lean, and also on the basketball team, he played Shooting Guard.

"The dean has a new step child every semester, and like every single one of them, this one won't last either," Zoe pointed out with a shake of her head.

Vanessa nodded in agreement, "if I were him, I would've given up on love by the third marriage."

"I don't think love is what he wants from those poor ladies he marries," Andrew scoffed, sliding low on his seat out of boredom as he ran a hand through his brunette curls.

"Guys, we're here to enjoy each other's company and forget about academic stress for a bit, not discuss our dean and his step-child of the season," Jemima waved a hand around as if dismissing the topic, a bored expression matching Andrew's one on her face.

"My girlfriend's right, there's better things to talk about other than some girl and our whore of a dean- like how absolutely gorgeous your eyes are," Kaden whispered the last part before capturing Jemima's lips with his own, causing her whole body to heat up and the butterflies in her stomach to flutter around even more violently.

"Like, get a fucking room!" Vanessa made a face.

"When is Shila coming to take our orders? I'm starving," Nathan groaned.

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