I rushed out of bed, careful not to wake Nadia up. I considered waking her up, but she looked so peaceful sleeping, and it was my fault that I left the list at Fiona's, not hers.

After shoving my feet into my shoes, I skipped tying the laces. I rushed out the door, down the stairs, and pushed open the dorm building entrance.

This could very well become the worst thing that has ever happened to me if someone found that list. They could spread it around the school, and everybody would know what a loser I was.

I hurried through campus until I got to the Cafe, only to find it was closed.

"No, no," I muttered to myself, pressing my face against the cold window and fogging up the glass. I tried my hardest to see inside, but all I could see was darkness and my reflection.

"Looking for this?" A deep voice said from behind me.

I was startled as I spun around and slapped whoever it was in the face.

"Ouch! What the hell!" The guy said, rubbing his cheek.

"Sorry!" I yelled when I noticed it was only a student.

As I studied him more, I noticed that he wasn't just any student. He was River Cohen, and he was holding my notebook in his hands. I was praying to God that he hadn't looked through it.

"That's mine!" I said, reaching for my notebook. He moved it out of the way. I went for it again. He moved it once more.

"Give that back!" I screamed as he raised the notebook above his head so I couldn't reach it. He was pretty tall, probably 6'4, and I was only 5'4, so I had trouble getting the notebook once it was up so high.

He shook the notebook, taunting me as I clawed at him, trying to capture it. Usually, I wouldn't touch a guy I just met like this, but all I cared about at that moment was getting my list back. I tried jumping, but I couldn't get high enough. As a last resort, I took a step back, ran up to him, and pounced on his body, nearly knocking him over. With myself latched around his body, it was like it didn't even phase him. He probably had girls do this to him all the time under different circumstances. The thought made me scramble right off of him.

"What's it going to take for you to give that back?" I asked, standing in front of him with my hands on my hips.

"I don't know. Are you Alani Davis?" He retorted, reading the name on the notebook.

I considered lying and saying that I wasn't Alani Davis, but it was pretty obvious that I was considering I basically mauled him to get the notebook back.

"Yes, I am. Now give it back!" I whined like a three-year-old who had lost her toys.

"I don't know," He said, flipping through the pages, "This stuff is pretty interesting."

"What are you even doing here? The Cafe is closed."

"Waiting for you," He said, surprising me. Why on earth would he be waiting for me?

"Why?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Because," He paused, "I wanted to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal?" I asked, confused out of my mind.

"Hear me out. If you let me help you with your little college bucket list, I'll be sure to give you the best experiences possible for each activity."

"Why would you want to do that?" I questioned, shocked at his offer.

"Because I'm bored," He shrugged.

"You're bored?" I asked, wondering what kind of answer that was.

"Yeah."

"Bored with what?"

"Life."

"I doubt your life is boring." He was the hottest guy at this college and could get any girl he wanted. I didn't think he had any problems having fun.

"You'd be surprised," He said.

"Let me get this straight. You want to help me complete all the activities on my list?"

"Yeah. Do we have a deal?"

"We barely know each other!" I exclaimed.

"So?"

"What if you were some crazy serial killer?"

"Don't you know who I am?" He asked.

"Cocky much? And what if I was a serial killer? Why are you trusting me?" I questioned as he shrugged.

"You don't look like a serial killer," He said, examining me and making me uncomfortable.

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Whatever. Do we have a deal or not?"

"Not."

"Come on, please?" He said, pleading with me. I watched him as he pouted, noticing he was even more attractive up close.

"Why should I agree to this?" I asked.

"I'm popular. I can take you to the best parties and hook you up with the best-looking guys. Plus, I'm awesome."

I cracked a smile. I couldn't believe that I was seriously considering this. Nadia did say that he was jerkish, and he was proving her right at the moment, but he did have connections and could help me complete my list to the fullest extent.

I needed this to happen. Nadia was great, but as River had said, she didn't have the same connections.

"Okay," I found myself saying.

"Okay?" He smiled.

"Yeah," I said, knowing I was going to regret this in the morning, but at the moment, I didn't care. I was working on being more spontaneous, and this was my first chance.

"Yes!" He said, fist-pumping the air. "What's your number?"

"145-555-367."

"Thanks. I'll text you when I want to do something on the list."

"Okay," I answered, finally snatching my notebook back from his hands.

"Let me walk you back to your dorm."

I considered his offer. It was late, and I didn't feel like walking back alone. Plus, a serial killer could find me and murder me.

"Okay," I agreed.

We walked for about five seconds in silence before he talked again.

"You've really never been bowling?"

"Never," I sighed.

"Why?"

"I guess I was too busy with school."

"Well, when I take you, you're going to get crushed."

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

"I don't think so."

"We'll see," He said as we got closer to my dorm building, which wasn't that far away.

"Are you some kind of bowling expert?"

"Pretty much."

"I don't believe you."

"You should."

"Why?" My mom had taught me never to trust strangers, and that was who River was.

"Because I'm a very trustworthy person."

"You don't look like it."

"As you said, looks can be deceiving," He said, throwing my own words back in my face.

"So, what year of college are you in?" I asked.

"I'm a junior. You?"

"Freshman."

"Aw, a little freshman."

"Shut it," I demanded.

"What's your major?" He asked.

"Psychology. You?"

"Education."

"You want to be a teacher?" I had considered becoming a teacher. Working with kids was something that I knew I wanted to do, whether as a therapist or a teacher. Ultimately, I chose to be a therapist, mostly because I had always been curious about how the human mind worked.

"Yeah," River said.

"That's surprising."

"Why?" He asked as we approached my building.

"You don't seem like the teacher type."

"You don't know me."

"I guess. This is my dorm," I said when we got to the front door.

"Okay, see you soon," He said before walking away.

I walked in and tumbled up the stairs before opening the entrance to my dorm.

"Where on earth have you been?" Nadia asked the second I walked into the room. She was standing in the middle of our beds, looking distraught.

"I left my notebook at the Cafe. I just went back to get it."

"Tell me next time. I was worried that something had happened to you, or you were requesting to change dorms."

"I would never do that," I reassured her as her shoulders relaxed.

"Did you find your notebook?"

"Yep, and I have a story."

"Tell me all about it," Nadia said, snuggling back into her blankets.

I told her what had just happened to me, and she was silent the entire time, listening. When I finished, she looked at me like I was crazy.

"Are you crazy?" She yelled, probably waking up our neighbors.

"I know that it's a little bit crazy, but he made some excellent points," I retorted.

"Well, that sure was spontaneous. I'm only slightly proud of you," Nadia said.

"Thank you."

"I'll be supportive of this decision, but if he hurts you, he's going to have to deal with me."

"Sounds like the perfect plan."