Chapter 1

"Don't you dare fucking touch me," Cole spat angrily. Josh quickly reached for his arm, in an attempt to calm him down, to subdue him. Josh didn't want him to go. He knew he hadn't been the best guy as of late, but he hoped he could at least attempt to make it up to Cole.

"Cole," Josh said sternly, his voice hard and serious. Cole tried to jerk his arm away, but he wasn't nearly as strong as Joshua was. It would be unlikely that Cole, the lanky freshman who was 160 pounds soaking wet, could pull himself from Josh's ironclad grip. Josh was president of the university's weightlifting club, and it most certainly looked like he had to have some sort of strength behind his massive body. His arms were large and muscled and he easily held his ground with his bulky thighs.

"Let me go," Cole insisted, still trying to pull his arm free.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he asked. Cole Roberson's face noticeably contorted in disbelief. Joshua had a pretty good idea what Cole's problem was and regretted asking. He was the one being a total dick.

"You--you are my problem," Cole stuttered. "You're my fucking problem, Josh. How is it that you expect me to make out with you when your girlfriend is in the room right next to this one?" Cole, more commonly known as Cricket, asked angrily as he finally got his arm out from Joshua's hold. "Everyone thinks I sell sex for money because of you. You won't even break up with your girlfriend. You--you won't even talk to me in public anymore."

Jessica, affectionately called "Jess" by her BF Josh, was, simply put, a bitch. She was a popularity hungry, status craving sorority girl. Nobody could have known how mean she could actually be. "You can play sexually confused jock all by yourself. I'm leaving." Cole left, leaving Mr. Sexually-Confused-Jock all by himself.

Josh sat slowly on his bed. They were in his house, at the party his girlfriend convinced him to throw. He hadn't noticed Cole three months ago. Cole was a freshman in a general education Psychology class. Josh was a junior who had failed Psych his freshman year, finally adding it back to his schedule to get it out of the way. If it weren't for that assignment in their Psychology course, they never would have gotten to know one another.

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" Uh, hey Josh, I was just wondering when you think we could maybe work on the project for Psych," Cole asked softly, his accent undetectable. Being from New York, the way he sounded was rather noticeable among his Southern peers.

"Whenever you're free, as long as it's after seven," he replied. Cole smiled. Who wouldn't have some sort of attraction to Joshua Williams? He was tall, ruggedly handsome, and not a complete moron.

"Okay, the sooner we start, the better the project will be," Cole said enthusiastically. Josh paid him no mind. "Well, I'll meet you tonight on the second floor of the library whenever you're free after seven."

"Yeah, whatever man," Josh said, dismissing Cole with his disinterest. He would come off as a jerk if he weren't careful. He may have been a popular upperclassman, but he didn't enjoy talking to other people. Jess wore the pants in their relationship.

Cole walked away silently. He knew he'd never fit in here--at this small, close-knit university. He had moved from New York right before his freshman year. "A southern school?" his father asked him, unsure of what it would be like for his only child to move hundreds of miles away. Cole had been admitted to plenty of schools in the New York area, but none were offering a full ride like RU.

He had noticed Josh the first day in their Psychology class. He was quiet and large. He was larger now, of course, but larger then Cole would ever be even then. He stood at 6'4" and weighed a solid 262 pounds. He had the slight curve to his stomach that most large men had, but was by no means fat. Jess would never be seen with a fat boyfriend. In her opinion, those were the worst kind--all sloppy and gigantic.

Joshua walked heavily and with great confidence. He was a corn-fed, muscle man-boy. He was what made Cole's heart go pitter patter. Cole would never tell anyone he thought Josh was cute. It'd circulate throughout the campus and then it would be the end of Cole's life of normalcy and blending in. Cole knew that it'd likely be no big deal where he was from, but things were different here. He had to assimilate seamlessly.

But that was so much easier said than done, since Joshua had the most beautiful brown eyes Cole had ever seen. The way they were shaped made Josh look almost sad, like a puppy who had gotten into a little bit of trouble and had been scolded. Josh's lips were full and his jaw angular and masculine. When he did smile, he looked incredibly sexy. He had grown out of his quiet shy demeanor over time. Being a junior, he had greater confidence in himself, often bordering on arrogance. How could Cole not swoon?

Cole was 5'10" and about 160 pounds. A boy grown meek over his first few weeks at RU, Cole had usually been very opinionated. He knew what was right and he knew what was wrong. He didn't speak those opinions anymore for fear of persecution, but he had them. They were well thought out and organized. They were solid in their own merits and he held them close to his heart.