He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

11 Girls and a Guy: Aly

I haven’t been to any college parties since the one during Welcome Weekend, but this upcoming weekend falls right before Halloween and Tyler invited me to a massive costume party kegger one of his friends is throwing. I can tell he really wants to go, so of course I said yes. I think what has him so excited is the costume element of it all because he has been texting me almost nonstop for two weeks now with ideas about couple’s costumes. 

Thursday night he shows up at my dorm room, his arms loaded with several bags. He bursts into the room as soon as I open the door and deposits all his stuff on my bed, then turns to me and wraps his arms around me, leaning down for a kiss.

“I have to hold you tight, so you don’t try to get away when I tell you about my genius idea,” he says. I like how his eyes are sparkling with excitement. It reminds me of when he tells me about his art and his classes with Izzy.

“Uh-oh, what genius idea?” I tease, looking over all the stuff he threw on my bed. It looks like some clothes and I’m not sure what else.

“I figured out our costume. We’re going to be Dr. Frankenstein and her monster. I’m the monster, obviously, and you’re the super hot, super smart, kind of crazy scientist chick,” he explains. He is still holding tight, so he must be waiting for my reaction before he will let me go.

“That sounds fun. We need to make you a pretty monster, though. A real ladies’ monster. That way it won’t be weird when I’m all over you all night.”

He laughs and finally releases me, stepping over to my bed to show me what he has brought. It turns out to be some of his clothes and some paint, plus a wig. Our project for tonight will be to work on ripping and painting the clothes he brought to make them look more monsterish. And then there is a lab coat for me, of course, that we don’t really need to do anything with.

“We just have to pick out some clothes for you to wear that are kind of bookish and smart, plus a little sexy. Leave that to me, though,” he says as he makes his way to my closet.

He pulls out a few of my tops, appraising them for their bookish and sexy value, before ultimately settling on a stretchy powder blue turtleneck that I pretty much never wear. My mom picked it out and packed it for me, otherwise I never would have brought it. I have to hand it to him, though, it probably will look good with a lab coat. He also selects a pleated black skirt and my favorite boots to go with the ensemble.

“Perfect,” he declares as he looks over his selections again.

“I’m skeptical that a nerdy girl in a lab coat is anything like the character Dr. Frankenstein, but I like it. You did good, Mr. Jenkins,” I compliment him, patting his arm.

“Yeah, you might have to give her a name tag so people will know who she is,” Ronnie suggests from across the room.

“I think the monster with her might be a dead giveaway,” Tyler argues. “A nametag isn’t a bad idea, though.” He picks up the lab coat and looks it over, I would assume picturing how the nametag will fit. Then he turns to Ronnie and asks, “Will you be there?”

“At a party? No, thanks,” Ronnie replies. “I don’t do parties, and I don’t really do costumes, either. Not since I was a kid.”

I can just tell by his facial expression that he thinks Ronnie is a spoil-sport who never does anything fun. I don’t entirely disagree with him, the girl is way too serious about school, but I do have to give her credit where it is due. She hasn’t ever missed a Friday night with our dormies.

“She does movie night, though,” I remind him.

“That’s true. And hey, that’s tomorrow isn’t it,” Tyler says, his eyes lighting up with an idea once again. “Do you think your girlfriends would mind if I come? My friends are all busy tomorrow night and I kind of want to watch movies too. Movie night alone is no fun.”

“We can ask the group chat,” Ronnie tells him, and then pulls out her phone and starts typing furiously.

“Let’s get to work on your monster pants while we await the girl council’s decision,” I suggest to Tyler.

He smirks and plops down on the floor, holding out his hand for me to pass him the pants. We work together on creating the perfect monster look, somehow managing to turn his khaki pants and a crisp button-up shirt into an outfit that looks aged, dirty, and well-worn.

This is my first time seeing his artistic skills in action, and it may seem silly for me to be so impressed by him achieving something so simple, yet I can’t help it. I am impressed. That’s even before I see the final product of him with the outfit, wig, and whatever paint and makeup he will use to make himself look like an undead monster.

*************************

The answer from our friends to the question of whether Tyler can join us for movie night is a resounding yes, I think mostly because everyone is still curious about him. Whenever he comes around, we mostly just hang out with Ronnie in our room or I leave with him to go somewhere else. I suppose I have deprived my dormies of actually getting to meet him and see what he is like. Though I’m nervous about how the other girls will act around him, I am also looking forward to showing him off.

Once my final class on Friday is dismissed, I rush home to get ready. I feel a need to look a little extra special, though usually our movie nights take place in our pajamas or yoga pants with our hair tied up in messy buns. No fuss, no makeup. I have a feeling everyone will be spending a little extra time getting ready tonight, though, considering that there will be a special guest, so I don’t want to be the only one showing up looking like a bum.

I take a quick shower and even spend the time to blow-dry my hair. Then I work on putting on some light makeup, just enough to make my skin glow and my cheekbones pop while keeping with the natural beauty approach. For tonight, I have picked out my most flattering sleepwear, a silky violet tank top and pants set that are framed with black lace.

I already told Tyler that we do movie night in our pajamas, so I’m sure he will show up looking totally casual and wonder why I went to such lengths, but I don’t care. I don’t want him to take one look at some of the supermodel goddesses who live in 3-East and question whether he is spending his time on the right girl.

Ronnie seems unphased by the fact that Tyler will be joining us and dons her usual yoga pants and hoodie. I think she notices that I look especially good judging by the quick look she gives me when I emerge from the bathroom, but she doesn’t say anything. Bless that sweet girl. She seems to know when to tease and when to just let me be, and now would definitely be the latter situation.

I don’t know why, but I’m feeling insecure suddenly, even though Tyler and I are usually pretty comfortable with each other and he’s never given me any reason to doubt his attraction to me.

We join the other girls in the common room to help with set-up. That makes it sound like more than it is – really, we just grab a bunch of soft, comfy bedding and pillows and throw them around to make a huge spot on the floor where we all chaotically sit or lie down however is comfortable. I toss down a couple floor pillows and create a sort of cocoon from blankets that will hopefully be large enough for Tyler and me both to fit. Ronnie arranges her sleeping bag right next to that. I kind of like how she always attaches herself to me.

Tyler shows up just as we’re all getting settled in, looking pretty yummy in his gray sweats. I can tell I’m not the only one who notices judging by some of the whispers and giggles going around as he approaches us. He has his overnight bag in tow, since Felicity gave us permission for him to stay the night, and I hop up and go to meet him, knowing he needs to put his stuff in my room.

“Hey, babe,” he greets me as he embraces me with one arm and leans down for a kiss.

“Hey,” I return his greeting, feeling tingly from the kiss and the nervous butterflies.

“You can drop that on my bed,” I tell him as I hand him my keys. “Then come lay down with me over there. I made a cozy spot just for us.”

He grins and takes my keys. “Perfect. Be right back.”

I return to the common area to a chorus of whoops and whistles. Apparently, we had an audience.

“Aly, your man is so sexy,” Chloe comments. “I wish I had someone to kiss me like that.”

“He is pretty amazing,” I agree, settling back into my blankets to wait for him.

He doesn’t make us wait long. I watch him walking over and notice that a blush is creeping across his cheeks. It must be awkward to have eleven girls all staring at him. Well, maybe ten. Ronnie seems more focused on something on her phone.

He drops down next to me and nestles into my cocoon beside me, putting one arm behind my neck and draping the other across me.

“So, guys, this is my boyfriend, Tyler,” I introduce him to the others.

They all greet him and take turns introducing themselves. I notice as they each speak that most of them have put in a little extra effort to look good, and silently applaud myself for seeing that coming. Tyler hasn’t said anything about how I look, but I do notice that his fingers seem happy with my clothing choice.

“What are we watching tonight?” he asks Sarah, somehow realizing that she is the bossy one who takes charge of movie nights.

“Tonight, we have a special treat in honor of Halloween,” she begins to explain. “I was thinking the other night, what says Halloween better than vampires and werewolves? Nothing, that’s what. So, I decided we should have a Twilight marathon.”

I cringe internally. I haven’t seen these movies, and I don’t know how I might react to seeing how werewolves are portrayed in popular fiction. I don’t care too much about the vampires, though, admittedly.

“I actually haven’t seen those, so I am kind of excited,” Tyler tells her. She seems pleased, as though his comment was meant as a compliment for her personally.

As the first movie plays, I find myself taking the role that usually belongs to Tyler. I can’t help but look at his face every now and then to see his reactions to certain parts. I’m very curious to see how he feels about supernatural creatures, even the fictional portrayals of them.

I can’t really tell much, but surprisingly, he seems to be enjoying the movie. I feel him tense up during some of the more suspenseful scenes and it makes me smile. He’s such a fun person to watch movies with. I think it helps me enjoy them more just because he is there.

Part of the way through the second movie, he leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Don’t you think it would be great if we could all have a mate?”

“Maybe, but it seems to be really hard on her when he leaves,” I whisper back. “That pain seems like a really huge drawback.”

I can’t help but be biased by the pain my own mate has caused me. Some days I do wonder if having a mate is more of a curse than a blessing. On the other hand, it is pretty exciting that Tyler is so interested in the idea. This could be a good opening for me to start exploring ideas about werewolves with him and see how receptive he might be.

“Nah,” he says. “He was dumb to leave her. They’re meant to be together. He’ll figure it out,” he predicts. I wish I could still share his ignorant faith in mate bonds.

He kisses me just below my ear and then settles back into the pillows. I find myself smiling like an i***t just from that little bit of affection.

It is not lost on me how much the love-triangle in the movie resembles my own situation. The person I want doesn’t think he can be with me, and then there’s the person I turn to who helps me forget, in a way. I feel you, girl. This is such a sticky spot to be in. I can’t help but wonder who my friends are rooting for her to end up with.

I notice after the second movie finishes that we have lost a few girls. Kailey and Jenny are asleep, and Kara disappeared to somewhere. I decide that since I’m not the first to quit, this would be a good opportunity to steal away with Tyler so we can enjoy some alone time.

“I’m feeling kind of tired,” I whisper to him. “Did you want to go back to my room?”

“Sure,” he agrees with a smile. “We can watch the rest of these some other time, if you want.”

I can tell he does want to and is hoping for me to say yes, and I am happy to oblige.

“Sure,” I say, and then start to sit up and crawl out of our blankets with him following my lead.

Some of the other girls groan and whine about us leaving early, but I don’t care. Ronnie decides to stay behind, perhaps sensing that I wouldn’t mind some privacy with Tyler. She’s such a perfect roommate.

“Be safe,” Felicity calls out with a smirk as Tyler and I begin making our way to my room.

“Yes, Mom,” I turn around and tease back.

I am tempted to add something to the effect of how we’re always safe, but I stop myself when I realize it might be truer than I think. Is Tyler my “safe” choice, the guy who already wants me that I don’t have to work that hard for? Am I keeping him around as a fallback option in case Matt ultimately rejects me?

I feel like at some point I need to find a way to tell Tyler that mates are a real thing, and I have one. Something in me tells me that he will believe me and won’t freak out, though I don’t know how he’ll feel about it all. Regardless, I need him to understand why even after all these weeks we have spent together I still can’t let that other guy go. He has been so good to me and deserves the truth, and I need to borrow some of his faith that it will all work out how it is meant to.