SINFUL TIES

CHAPTER ONE: THE WRONG DOOR

Walking into Crestwood University, I noticed something. It wasn’t the sprawling ivy-covered buildings, or the clock tower that looked like it had been pulled straight from a movie.

It was the smell of the environment. It was soothing. Fresh.

Grass that had just been cut. Coffee from some cart parked near the gates. And that faint whiff of damp wood you only get from old places that have seen too much rain and too many students walking around with messy love lives.

“Fresh start,” I whispered to myself as I hauled my duffel bag higher on my shoulder. “New chapter. Don’t screw this up, Olive.”

I wish.

My hands were sweating. My chest was doing this weird shaky thing, like my heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to sprint or collapse. This was it. My shot. My ticket out of the suffocating small town where everyone knew my mom’s business and whispered about her 'choices.'

Divorced twice, remarried once, and apparently still searching for a man who could keep the bills paid. My mom had always been good at picking love stories that started in fire and ended in ash.

And I was determined not to repeat the cycle.

I was the scholarship girl. I'd aim to be the top of my class. Then graduate program would come next...

No distractions.

That was the plan.

But the thing about plans is that they pretty much crash the moment you even think about them...

★

Crestwood’s campus was buzzing with life. Music drifted out of dorm windows, people were hugging like they hadn’t seen each other in decades, and groups of sorority girls were strutting around like they owned the place. Which, honestly, they probably did.

I, on the other hand, looked like a lost delivery girl carrying her whole life in one bag.

Embarrassing.

The map in my hand wasn’t helping either. Whoever designed this thing was either a sadist or just thought everyone had Google Maps surgically attached to their brains.

“Dormitory Hall C…” I muttered, squinting at the paper. “Should be… here?”

But “here” turned out to be a huge brick house with Greek letters nailed to the front. Music thumped from inside, bass vibrating through the walls, and a couple of guys in backwards caps were laughing on the porch, already tipsy even though it wasn’t even dark yet.

I hesitated.

Okay. Not exactly what I pictured for “Dormitory Hall C,” but maybe Crestwood liked to get… festive?

Clutching my bag strap, I pushed the door open.

The smell of beer, sweat, cologne and too many bodies packed in one place, hit me hard.

What the....

Lights strobed from somewhere deeper in, and voices overlapped in waves of laughter and shouting.

My stomach twisted. This did not look like a dorm.

But maybe? I mean, Crestwood was a party school according to the internet. Maybe all the dorms looked like this.

“Excuse me......” I tried to say, but no one heard me.

A guy brushed past, nearly knocking my bag out of my grip, and shoved a red cup in my hand.

“Welcome, sweetheart!” he yelled over the music, grinning before disappearing into the crowd.

Uh. Okay. Cool. Totally normal. Not weird at all.

I set the cup down on the nearest table, muttering a quiet 'thanks but no thanks,' and tried to weave my way through the bodies. My head was pounding already, and I could feel my nerves unraveling.

All I wanted was a room. A bed. Somewhere quiet to breathe and maybe cry a little about how far away from home I suddenly felt.

Instead, I ended up wandering down a hallway, hoping and praying that there’d be a staircase that led to Dormitory Hall C.

★

The hallway was quieter, shadows curling at the edges, the music muffled but still present like a heartbeat in the walls. I slowed my steps, the old wood creaking under me, and exhaled for the first time since I walked in.

Then I heard it.

Low voices. The first sounded like they were talking, but in a low tone. And the other was....were they even talking?

I froze.

The door at the end of the hall was cracked open, light spilling out in a thin golden line.

I should’ve turned around. I should’ve minded my business.

But curiosity has always been my downfall.

Despite how hard my heart hammered against my chest, I still willed myself to step closer as I held my breath as though it'd help me go invisible.

And then I saw them.

Two guys.

Oh. My. God.

One of them spelt golden perfection. Blond hair, tall, broad shoulders that looked like they’d been carved just to ruin lives. His hands gripped the other guy’s shirt, dragging him closer, lips pressed in a kiss that looked half war, half worship.

The other was more on the darker and tougher edge. He had hair falling into his stormy eyes as he pulled Blondie back in, like he couldn’t stand even an inch of distance.

My mouth went dry.

Heat rushed through me so fast I thought I might faint.

And...at that moment, the only logical thing to do is just...turn away, right? Just back up and pretend you didn't see anything.

But no. I was far from logical. And so, I stayed rooted to the ground, staring at them in awe.

Because I failed to understand how merely witnessing a kiss scene would make me this...affected.

It felt like a damning combination of fire and destruction and hunger wrapped in the shape of two boys who looked like sin.

The blond one broke the kiss first, his voice low and husky. “Someone’s here.”

My stomach dropped. Uh oh.

The dark-haired one turned, and for one terrifying, breathless second, his eyes met mine.

Grey eyes. Could get lost in them.

“Enjoying the show, sweetheart?” he drawled.

I opened my mouth to apologize, to say 'wrong door, sorry, leaving now,' but nothing came out. My face burned hot, my body locked in place.

And then Blondie smirked. “Why don’t you come in?”

I should’ve said no. Should’ve backed away, and ran for my dear life.

But something.....some unseen force kept pulling me towards them.

And before I could overthink, my fingers curled around the edge of the door, pushing it open wider.

The room smelled of cologne and heat. Blondie leaned back against the desk, arms crossed, blue eyes burning. The darker one sat sprawled in a chair, gaze fixed on me like he was dissecting every thought in my head.

I swallowed hard. My bag slipped from my shoulder and hit the floor with a soft thud.

“I'm Ross. He's Hugo. What’s your name?” Blondie asked, voice smooth enough to melt glass.

“O-Olive,” I managed.

“Olive.” Hugo repeated it slowly, like he was tasting it. “Cute.”

I should’ve run. Instead, my feet betrayed me, carrying me further inside. The door clicked shut behind me, and suddenly the world shrank to the three of us and the pounding of my heart.

Ross moved first, closing the distance until I could feel the heat rolling off him. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. My breath stuttered. His touch was feather-light, but it lit sparks down my skin.

“You lost, Olive?” he murmured.

Yes. Absolutely. Completely lost.

But I didn’t answer.

Because Hugo was suddenly behind me, his presence heavy, dangerous. He leaned in close, his breath ghosting over my ear. “She doesn’t look lost to me. She looks curious.”

My knees nearly buckled.

Ross’s hand tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his blue eyes. “You wanna know what it’s like? The thing you just saw?"

The air between us sizzled. I couldn’t nod. Couldn’t speak. My silence was answer enough.

And then his lips were on mine.

It wasn’t soft.

It was messy, desperate, claiming. My back hit the firm wall that was Hugo, as Ross kissed me like he’d been waiting his whole life. My hands fisted in his shirt without thinking, pulling him closer because every part of me screamed more.

And then Hugo’s hands slid along my waist from behind, grounding me as the world tilted. His lips brushed the side of my neck, a sharp contrast to Ross’s mouth devouring mine.

I gasped into Ross’s kiss, the sound swallowed, my body caught between both of them.

It was insane. Reckless. A terrible, wonderful mistake.

And I didn't know why I shoved the little voice of reason into the back of my head.

I felt hands behind me... Hugo.

His hands caressed me moving up and down my arms as he brought his lips to my neck and sucked.

I let out a moan and Ross swallowed it.

Every sense was heightened.

I felt fingers around my waist, slipping into...

... My clothes were gone. When that happened? I didn't know.

Fingers teased my folds as another went to my c**t.

Hugo's? Ross's?

I couldn't tell anymore.

They worked like a well oiled machine. One teased and strummed on my c**t, while the other slipped his fingers into my p***y and f****d me.

My lips parted from Ross's and I placed my head on Hugo's chest to steady myself.

I was so close.

"Please." I begged.

"Look at you pretty girl. Begging two strangers to let you cum." Ross said as he smirked at me.

I felt a pinch in my c**t and then I shattered around Hugo's fingers with a scream.

They rode me through the waves of my orgasm and when I came down from it, I found Ross smiling at me.

"Ready for round two?"

★

Morning came and I ran for dear life.

The room was quiet, their breaths deep in sleep, sunlight cutting across tangled sheets. My heart thundered as I shoved my things back into my bag, careful not to wake them.

One last look at the two bodies sprawled in lazy perfection, like Greek gods who had no idea they’d just set my entire life on fire.

I slipped out the door, my chest aching, my skin still having the tingles.

By the time I stepped into the cool morning air, shame and thrill tangled tight in my stomach.

I hadn’t just walked through the wrong door.

I’d opened the wrong file.

And something told me there was no shutting it again.