Acquiring Trouble

 
Prologue
     
    Keeneston, 17 years ago…
     
    Miles Davies leaned against the wall and took a sip of beer out of the red plastic cup he held. He glan ced around at the people dancing in the living room of his best friend's house as the band played. His friend , Josh, was currently shirtless as he pounded away on the drums while playing some Green Day song.
    It seemed as if this memory would live in his mind forever. He couldn't believe he had j ust graduated from high school and soon everyone in the room would be drifting off all over the country. Josh was off to the University of Louisville while he was going dow n to Texas A& M at the end of summer —h opefully not alone.
    Miles looked up from his beer to see the breath takingly beautiful blonde in a tight white dress , pearls around her neck and wearing cowboy boots , sauntering to ward him. Her perk y breast s bounced and drew his attention as a braless St acy Thomas, the captain of the c h eerleading team , approached him.
    He ran his hand over shoulder- length brown hair and pushed a stray lock behind his ear. Stacy stopped in front of him and shot him a smile that went straight to his groin. She reached her slender hand out and took his red cup from him. She wrinkled her nose at the smell, but took a drink anyway.
    "I don't know how you men can drink this stuff."
    "It's an acquired taste, babe ."
    "I know what I have a taste for, but I can't get it here in the middle of a roomful of people," Stacy's perfectly pink bottom lip stuck out slightly as she pouted. Miles felt her eyes roaming his b ody and he responded instantly.
    "I can go see if Josh's room is empty while your girls steal you away from me." Miles kept one eye on a group of cheerleaders making their way to their captain. "It's the last room on the right. Come find me when you're done. There's something I want to ask you about so don't let th em keep you too long." He leaned down and captured her lips in his. He plunged his tongue into her mouth just long enough to have her leaning into him. There. That should hurry her up.
    Miles smiled at the gagg le of girls now surrounding their leader and headed down the hall, past the keg, and into his friend's room. It was quieter down here and gave him the privacy he needed to gather his courage. Stacy had been accepted to Vanderbilt University's pre-med program. It's where her father had gone and where she was expected to go too. She was going to be sp ending the summer shadowing her father at the hospital. Miles was hoping that three years of dating was enough to sway her from that path.
    He took a deep breath and put his hand in his pocket to finger the small thin promise ring he had bought her. He was going to ask Stacy to transfer to Texas A & M so that they wouldn't have to do the long - distance - relationship thing. He'd already looked at apartments for them both and knew she'd say yes if he asked. She had hinted at it many times over the past couple of weeks.
    The knock on the door caused his breath to catch in his throat. He had never been so nervous! He watched as the doorknob turned and a big black boot appeared. He looked up in confusion and saw the pale white skin, in k black hair , and vibrant violet eyes of Morgan Hamilton.  Great, just what he needed. The bad girl of Keeneston was probably trying to sneak a smoke or take a swig of vodka in privacy before vandalizing the room. Who knew what she wanted, but it probably wasn't good.
    He had once thoug ht Morgan was nice, even pretty. B ut that was before freshman year. Morgan's sister had wasted no time in showing everyone how little she thought of Morgan when she started high school. Her sister had been the cheerleader captain then , and between their dislike and Morgan's subsequent behavior it was clear she wasn't the type of girl Miles would ever go for.
    She only wore black and she had dyed a streak of her hair purple. It matched her eyes perfectly, but he doubted she cared. Thick eyeliner coated her eyelid s and drew attention to her eyebrow piercing .
    " Morgan? Do you need something?" Miles asked her. He glanced at the clock ; Stacy would be here soon and he wanted Morgan out before she arrived. Stacy hated Morgan more than any person in the world. "Morgan, what are you doing here?" h e asked again when she just stood there staring for a moment.
    He saw her take a breath and then walk all the way into the room, closing the door gently behind her. She looked up and pinned him with