"I don't want better...I want you."

- The Best of Me, coming to theaters October 17

Chapter 1

The dull scheme of grey surrounded me. I stood in the middle of half emptied boxes with my hands resting on my hips. The sweat ran down my face from moving in all day. I cocked my head to the side and stared at the new artwork that hung on the wall. I squinted my eyes, and then opened them wide. I had no clue what I was looking at.

“You love it, don’t you, Josie!”

I turned my head to study my best friend and roommate. I looked her a little longer than normal because I hadn’t seen her all summer. She went to California while I stayed in the south to attend the summer semester before our second year of college. She left with her slightly auburn, mostly brown long hair. It was now short and black, spiking in every single direction on her head. Some of the tips were hot pink. A profile picture change throughout social media would have been a nice warning. When I opened the door to our new college apartment, I turned around, figuring I had the wrong place. Nope. It was the right place. After five years of being best friends, I would have to adjust to this.

I lifted my hand and motioned toward that … that … whatever that was, and said, “What the hell is that?”

“It’s the hip art in California!”

She walked over to the no longer blank wall and adjusted the frame of that … that … “Sara, is that a penis?”

Sara snatched her hand away from the frame and ran over next to me. She slowly tilted her head to the side and gasped. “Oh, my God!”

She ran back to the painting and yanked it off of the wall. “This won’t work.”

I bit my lip to keep in my laughter as she stormed to the front door of our apartment.

“I’m just gonna go hide this in my car before any men see it,” she said as she opened the door and ran right into someone with their hand raised to knock. I peeked around her and noticed it was a guy with intricate tattoos scrolling up his arm. Sara’s voice in my head proclaimed dibs. I just smiled and watched her do her magic. The painting fell out of her hands and the hot tatted guy grabbed it before it hit the ground. It probably should have hit the ground.

“Whoa, I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to run into you there.” He smiled, and Sara swayed. She was a goner, and from the look in his eyes, he might have been too.

“Um, I ... uh …” He stuck his hand out, dropping the painting to the ground. They both looked down at it and laughed. “The name’s Wes.”

“Sara,” she answered as she shook his hand. We weren’t even in this apartment for two hours and she was already picking up dudes.

“I just wanted to come by and offer some help if y’all needed it.”

“Oh, that would be great. The television is a little bulky for us to carry up the stairs.”

I smiled as I headed off into the direction of my room as I heard Wes ask, “What exactly is this painting?”

The door slammed as I watched them head down the stairwell from the window above my desk. I was relatively done with everything outside my bedroom. Just had to hang up a few clothes and assemble my printer to my laptop. As I began wiping off my desk, the music blared from outside as people moved up the stairs. There were only four units to one complex, which meant only eight people lived in one building. From the sounds of the herd of cattle running up the stairs, I had a feeling that this might be the party complex. A smile eased up my face. If I would have known that living in an apartment would be much more fun than living in a dorm, I wouldn’t have forced Sara into it last year. I glanced out the window again, and that funny cliché happened. The one where people say time collides or earth stands still, whichever one it was, I was consumed by a sweaty country boy who continued to walk up the stairs and followed the cattle down the breezeway.

I didn’t know what it was about him. He wasn’t overly built. He was in need of facial trim, but something caught my eye. I would like to see what it was all about.

• • •

“It’s an excellent idea, Josie!”

My roommate had been stuck on Wes ever since he knocked on our door yesterday. I should have gone out last night with her and gotten to know Wes better, but I had a sorority thing. It wasn’t feasible. I turned around and glanced down at my attire of gym shorts and one of my fifty sorority T-shirts and looked back up to her. “I don’t think I’m really dressed.”

“It’s pizza and beer. That’s it.”

I made a face at my roommate as I placed my hands on my hips. “And how do we get the beer?”

Sara put down the menu in front of her, taking in an annoyed breath at my constant questions, and said, “One of the first floor guys is 21.”

“Well that’s awesome and convenient. Okay, I’m in. You order and I’ll go grab some money.”

I did owe her after all. If anything, her spiky hair, batting eyelashes, and penis picture got our big flat screen up the stairs. I took out forty dollars from my wallet, hoping that was enough and met her back in our living room. I handed her the money and asked, “So, now, what’s the plan?”

“I’m gonna go meet the pizza guy downstairs because that’s where the guys are and will invite them up here.”

“All of the guys?”

“Every single one of them.” She beamed while turning toward the door. I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics of going to the lengths of actually buying six guys’ dinner for the night. I turned toward the sofa to claim a seat and stopped. Wait, I bought dinner. I shook my head as I grabbed for the remote. Damn, she’s good.

I flipped through the sports channels and found a Braves game playing. I was more of a football kind of girl, but I figured if the testosterone level was going to surge in here, then I needed to have some sort of sports on.

The herd ran up the stairs, and in that moment, I didn’t know I if should take aim or dive for cover. It was too late. Sara walked in and winked, balancing five pizzas on her hand. Guy number one walked in holding two cases of beer and sporting the hugest grin. He shuffled one case of beer under his arm and extended his hand toward me. “Hi, I’m Philip.”

I smiled back and shook his hand. “Josie.”

“Awesome name. I’m just gonna put these in the fridge for y’all.”

Sweet! We just scored ourselves some leftover beer.

Wes followed behind Philip. “Hey, Josie.”

“Hi, Wes.”

He leaned down to kiss my cheek in greeting and he whispered, “I think you’re gonna be seeing a lot of me now.”

I looked at him as his eyes flashed over to Sara, who was helping Philip with the beer. I patted him on the arm and said, “Good. I hope I do.”

He headed over toward Sara and gently brushed her hip with his fingertips. Good thing her room was all the way on the other side of the apartment from mine.

“So this is what chicks do to one of these places.”

I turned around and found a rocker standing in my living room with the standard attire of tight jeans, black T-shirt partially covering up his sleeves of tats, and a trimmed goatee.

“Hey. I’m Ron. Thanks for the pizza,” he said as he casually continued on to the kitchen. I only saw four guys here, but I figured the rest would follow eventually. I turned to the open kitchen as Philip popped me open a beer, still holding that grin on his face.

“Oh, awesome! Y’all have the game on!”

I turned back as guy number four made himself comfortable on the sofa as he cracked down on sunflower seeds with almost a twitch. I watched him for a moment, finally understanding his twitch given his Atlanta Braves shirt, and he threw up his hand in a half wave. “The name is Brenan.”

I nodded and replied, “Josie.”

Guy number five walked in wearing a New Orleans Saints T-shirt and carrying a mug of beer. “Thanks for the food. My name is Chad if you ever need anything.”

He grabbed his pizza and filled up the sofa with Brenan and Ron. Philip stayed at the table with Wes and Sara. This turned into being an eventful evening. I grabbed my pizza and beer and headed back to my chair, which thankfully wasn’t claimed.

A commercial came on and Brenan hopped up toward the kitchen. “So Josie, what year are you?”

He owned a voice, something besides a nervous twitch. Shocking. “I’m in my second year along with Sara. What about y’all?”

Brenan shoved half of a slice of pizza into his mouth, and then replied “We’re all in our third year.”

“Except me.” I turned my head to Philip who said, “I am in my fourth year.”

“He’s in his fourth year, but he’s not graduating just yet.” Brenan laughed as he messed up Philip’s hair when he passed buy with a plate full of pizza. I laughed to play it off. The door flew open and then shut. That cliché thing happened again where the world stopped turning.

Guy number six.

He balked over to the pizza and instantly started eating it. Why was my world stopping for this guy who was clearly rude?

“Help yourself.” I eyed him.

He met my gaze and the damned world stopped again.

“Thanks.”

I turned away, knowing well and good when something would just bring on disaster.

“Josie, which side of the apartment is your room?” I turned to Ron and motioned my head to the front of the apartment. “Is your bed long ways against the wall?” I nodded at his odd question. “Just so you know, we sleep 6 inches apart every night, and I tend to snore.”

I roared in laughter with everyone else, until my eyes met nameless guy number six. This was going to be an interesting year.