Fresh Man

Present

•.•Skylar•.•

“Boys, sex, parties… you should have fun,” Mum said and I stifled a sigh as Dad carried my suitcase out of the car’s trunk while Mum kept talking my ear off.

“I mean it, Sky. You’re in college now, it’s time to get a life. Have fun. Get yourself a boyfriend and have sex.” Mum continued, her voice loud enough that I was sure everyone heard it. I rolled my eyes.

Jesus, this was embarrassing. Not to mention the weird looks people were already casting my way.

It was my first day in college, Jesus. And no, I wasn’t interested in keeping a guy around and tagging him as my boyfriend.

“Your dad won’t appreciate you getting pregnant though. So yeah, condoms and contraceptives,” Mum added, scrunching up her nose as she leaned on the car, brushing a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

“I know about protection and condoms. Can you stop yelling it already?” I pressed my lips together, meeting her blue gaze. Concern and an expression way softer crossed her face.

Dad shut the trunk with a little more force than necessary before he dropped my suitcase in front of me.

“No boys, honey. You have to promise Daddy that,” he muttered, tucking his hands into the pocket of his jeans and giving me that look he always does whenever he wants me to do something.

I gave a small smile, walked closer, and wrapped my arms around him. I’d really miss him.

“Of course Dad,” I mumbled into his chest. He drew in a breath before wrapping his arms around me.

“My baby is so grown,” he whispered, pressing a kiss into my hair. My chest tightened and my eyes stung. Perfect.

Now, they’re about to make me cry.

“Stay safe, baby. Don’t forget to visit on weekends when you’re free.”

If I didn’t know my dad as well as I did, I’d bet he was close to crying. But come on, this was Adrian Voss. No such thing is happening.

I couldn’t say the same for his wife, who had her arms around me the next second, sobbing.

“Mum,” I patted her back. This was socially….awkward.

“I’m so sorry, honey. But I can’t help it,” she muttered, running her fingers through my hair and I exhaled, letting myself relax in her arms. I was going to miss my mum.

We didn’t get along most of the time, but I still loved her—and yeah, I was going to miss her like crazy. Just… not her mood swings.

“I’ll miss you, baby,” she whispered, and my eyes went moist. All this crying was going to make me cry too, and heaven knows that’s the last thing I wanted to do right now.

“I’ll miss you too, Mum,” I whispered, and her arms tightened around me. “You have Aidan though. He’ll be at home for a couple more years.”

“Please don’t remind me he’s going to leave one day too,” she said, and I sighed. Mum was dramatic. Always had been.

“Come on now, we’ve got to let her go,” Dad called. I patted her back a couple more times before she let go and stepped back. Dad handed her a towel, which she used to wipe her eyes before draping his arm around her shoulder.

I watched them. They were one beautiful couple which I was grateful for. I got my looks from them and while I looked more like my mum than dad, I kinda got his personality.

Aidan took mum’s.

“Sky!” Someone called and I perked up immediately, my head whipping towards where the sound came from. I knew who that was.

Mum and dad turned around just in time to see Harper running towards us, dragging her suitcase behind her.

My expression fell.

That was Harper, my childhood best friend. We’d known each other since middle school, and while I was excited we were attending the same college, I hated the fact that she didn’t ask for a ride considering we lived in the same neighborhood.

She stopped a couple of steps away, heaving before straightening up and waving at my parents.

“Hi, Mr. Voss. Ms. Astrid,” she grinned before covering the distance between us. Her gaze met mine.

I gave her a flat look which got me a wide fake smile in return. I knew that smile.

She got into a fight with her mother….again.

Mum gave her a teary smile, while Dad only nodded.

“I can’t believe you both are so grown already,” Mum said, and I raised a brow. She was about to start the waterworks again.

“You were just ten…” she trailed off, and I almost rocked back and forth on my heels while Harper and I exchanged glances.

“We should get going.” Dad announced and I flashed him a smile. Great idea.

Mum nodded, inching closer to Dad, who snuck his arm around her waist. I eyed them. They were so in love it was sickening at times.

“Don’t forget to call every day,” she said.

I nodded. “I will, mum. Just…take care of yourselves,”

Mum sniffed, just as dad let go of her and opened the car door for her. She gave me one last glance before getting in as he shut the door. He gave me a nod, before he walked around the car and got in.

“I love you, baby,” mum called out as the car started and dad pulled away.

“Love you too, mum,” I whispered, watching as their car went down the street and disappeared into a bend.

I turned to Harper, who took her arm off my shoulders almost immediately and dropped her gaze.

“You know damn well, you need to start speaking,” I stated and she sighed as we walked through the school gate with a hundreds of people moving too.

“I didn’t want to be a third wheel, Sky. I knew you’d probably need this time with your parents, that’s why I didn’t ask for a ride,” she muttered and I stared at her. She looked away.

I huffed. “Girl, you know damn well I ain’t talking about no ride.” I paused, watching her carefully. “You got into a fight with your mum,” I said flatly and she glanced at me and yeah — I’m right.

“Can we not talk about it right now?” She asked, her expression turned moody.

I sighed, putting my arm around her. “Yeah, sure. But you can always talk to me whenever you’re ready,”

She nodded and we both fell silent, just pulling our suitcases behind us and following the crowd.

I looked around. Oh boy, Greenville was huge. So fucking big.

And there were so many people too. So many new people from different parts of the world—it never failed to amaze me.

“So, this is it. We’re freshers,” Harper muttered after a while, glancing at me. I nodded, meeting her gaze as we shared a grin.

“Oh, I know this is gonna be fun,” she muttered, and I raised a brow.

“We just started, Harps,” I said, and she rolled her eyes.

“I know, I know,” she mumbled.

“Okay. Time to check the school maps,” Harper announced before pulling out her phone and going through it.

I glanced around again. This school was huge, and the chances of running into someone you knew were slim—and that made me happier than I expected.

And if Mother Nature was kind enough, I’d never run into Jaxon. Surprising that we were at the same school, right? Kudos to my mother.

Jaxon had gotten into school a year or two earlier, so yeah, he already had his circle of friends and would want nothing to do with me.

Not that I wanted anything to do with him either.

The next four years would be fun—if we never crossed paths.

I wish.