Allan followed behind, also dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, and just as nicely muscled as his brother. He smiled when he reached us, and his steel gray eyes studied me and Victoria as if gauging our reactions to their presence.
"Sofia, Victoria, hi. We wanted to introduce you to a friend of ours," Edgar said. His sky-blue eyes were soft and welcoming despite the wildness that lurked just below the surface. He held out his hand, just seeming to think I would take it.
Not seeing a reason not to, I put my hand in his. His skin was almost shockingly hot. If he didn't otherwise look to be in peak health, I would have worried he was running a fever. He tugged me after him, and I followed. Something on his wrist caught my attention. It looked like he had three paw prints tattooed on the inside of his right wrist. Interesting.
I glanced over my shoulder. Victoria and Allan followed. Victoria winked when she saw me look at her with wide eyes.
Why she had all of a sudden decided she was in charge of my dating life was beyond me. Besides, I couldn't imagine that Alex, Ed, or Allan were single, considering how attractive they all were.
Ed dragged me through a crowd of students and teachers until we reached the other side near the drink table. A couple of men stood talking to each other, and Ed pulled me that way.
"Doc," he called.
One of the men turned, glanced at us, then excused himself from the other. At second glance, he didn't appear to be much older than Ed. He wore his black hair long in a ponytail down his back. His skin was olive toned, and his high cheekbones made me wonder if he was at least partially native. His eyes were so brown, they were almost black.
He smiled. "Ed, how are you doing?"
"Doc, this is Sofia, and her roommate Victoria," he added the last as the other two caught up to us. He held out my hand as if presenting it to Doc.
He tilted his head slightly at Ed but accepted my hand, though he looked a little confused.
"It's nice to meet you," Doc said.
Ed looked extremely pleased with himself. I had the mental image of a puppy bringing his master a stick or some other treasure.
Doc's hand was almost cool in contrast with Ed's. He held mine firmly for a moment, and released my hand before it became awkward.
"It's nice to meet you, too." I tried not to blush. Being the focus of so many hot guys was a little unnerving.
Doc's smile widened, and I couldn't help smiling back. Unlike Ed and Allan, he was slender, although the casual strength in his grip made me think he was far from weak. I almost wondered if he was stronger than the brothers, though I had nothing to base that off of, nor was I even sure why the thought had crossed my mind. He was dressed slightly less casually than I was in tan slacks and a blue polo shirt.
"Victoria, a pleasure," Doc continued. He didn't reach for her hand as she stood a little farther back, instead, he bowed ever so slightly. He had an accent that I would normally associate with cowboys in westerns.
I thought I caught a hint of a blush from my roommate, but I wasn't sure.
"They're freshmen as well," Allan said. "We helped them move in earlier."
"Ahh. Perhaps you should take them over to the refreshment table and get them something to drink," Doc suggested. "I won't go anywhere."
Ed lit up with joy at being given a task. Allan opened his mouth to say something, when Ed grabbed my hand and gently but firmly tugged me in the direction of the food.
Victoria laughed, but I was already amongst the crowd and couldn't hear if she said anything else. Ed didn't drop my hand when we got to the table, instead, he watched me while I looked at the selections. I had barely decided on a ginger ale, when he tugged me toward it and asked the student pouring drinks for a ginger ale for me.
"How did you know what I wanted?"
"Your expression changed when you looked at the ginger ale. It was what you wanted. Do you know what Victoria likes?"
"Um, cola."
He ordered one of those, handed me the ginger ale, took the cola, and led me back to my roommate, all without dropping my hand.
It was a little strange, since his actions weren't really normal for someone who had just met me. However, I could tell with every fiber of my being, that he meant nothing malicious by it. I couldn't figure out what he did mean. Maybe it was just Ed being Ed. I just decided to go with it for now.
Of course, when we got back to the others, he held my hand out to a very perplexed looking Doc, who accepted it, probably for the same reason I was letting Ed drag me around. Ed handed the cola to Victoria with a pleased smile on his face.
Doc squeezed my hand gently before releasing me. He tilted an eyebrow at me, and I shrugged, trying to convey with my expression that I had no idea what Ed was up to.
He smiled and shrugged back.
I didn't think Ed noticed the exchange, though Allan may have. Victoria certainly did. She looked just as confused as us.
'Phone number,' she mouthed.
I snorted into my ginger ale, then laughed. So attractive.
"So, um, you three are friends I take it?" I asked before we ended up in an awkward silence.
"Yes. I've known Ed and Allan for several years," Doc replied.
"We're–" Allan elbowed Ed in the stomach. Ed grunted.
"We're like brothers," Allan finished for Ed.
"Oh, great. So you probably know the area really well." Victoria smiled, looking like she had a plan.
"Yes," Doc replied.
"Maybe you can take us all hiking
