“No, I’m a sophomore. I failed this class the first time,” she said, giggling.
I nod, deciding to leave my book and pencil on my desk. For all I know, she didn’t attend the first day or any day. She taps her fingernails on the counter. The professor burst through the door, carrying a bag. He pulls out a stack of paper, counting the students on each row, he hands the first row the papers to pass back.
“So, you work at Mystic?” She studies me. Her fingernails snake to the corner of her lips, she begins chewing intently.
“Yeah, this was my first weekend,” I said, focusing my attention on the paper in front of me.
“I would work for free to be near Hayze. He used to be in the fraternity I’m a sweetheart for. Just hearing his name, it’s like he was destined to be hot.”
I cut my eyes over to her; her face is flushed as she talks about him. Sure he’s hot, but what is it about him that leaves this girl in a frenzy? She doesn’t get the hint; instead her high pitched voice trails on about her weekend, and I nod and pretend to listen. I shift around, meeting the professor’s eyes; he points his finger at us and goes back to the class.
“I’m professor Dunphy. You should each have the syllabus in front of you. This is your bible for the semester.” He picks up his textbook. “This is the book you should have, by next week. Bring pencils and paper to each class…”
He flips through the syllabus. “Okay, I don’t care what you did over the summer, so that’s it for the day. I will see you all next class,” he said and clapped once to dismiss class. Students holler and rise from their seats. I remain in mine until the group thins out.
“Told ya so,” Shelby grins.
I shove my book in my bag, toss my pencil in and sling the strap over my shoulder. I walk from the building, stopping beside a tree. The shade blocks the fierce Texas sun from scorching my pale skin. Pulling out the map again, I find the math building and set off in that direction.
I’m not so lucky in algebra. The professor didn’t believe in first-day bliss. We finished chapter one and left with homework due next week. The students all seemed to know one another, and I sat at the front, avoiding them. I pull my map out, shielding my eyes and squinting.
“What ya lookin’ for, freshman?”
A deep voice startles me. I jump, sending the map soaring from my grip. Hayze laughs as he picks up the paper and hands it to me.
“The dining hall. I’m meeting my roommate there.”
I attempt to compose myself. I stow my paper in my backpack, and he laughs and murmurs something about the map.
“The dining hall? You sure?” He grimaces.
“Yeah, that’s what she said.”
“Follow me,” he said.
“Uh, you don’t have to take me.”
My feet remain grounded to the sidewalk. He turns with a smug grin that I’m confident girls give into.
“I know I don’t,” he said.
He shoves aviators on his face and walks beside me. His white t-shirt doesn’t leave much to the imagination. I can see the outline of his tattoos; they peek out of each sleeve and stop at his shoulder. Although he’s slim, his arms are defined, his chest sculpted, but naturally. Like he doesn’t give any effort to look the way he does.
“How’s the first day going?” He asked.
“Overwhelming. How’s yours?”
“Same as always,” he said.
I nod my head even though I don’t know what he means. I’m sure it’s easy for him to make friends, with girls anyway. At the same time there’s something about him that’s terrifying. He’s friendly, but there’s something that I can’t place, something that isn’t being said that keeps me two feet away from him right now.
I’ve always studied people and caught onto things that no one else would’ve known. My dad scolded me as if it was a flaw when I was growing up. People have secrets, and they have a right to keep them that way; I know this. But isn’t that why there are people like me, to help them? Everyone needs to be rescued, even if they aren’t aware of it themselves.
My hand comes to my brow, shielding the sun as I glance around. The circular, one-story building nestles between tall, rectangular buildings. Students crowd in the door, while some pack the lawn outside. I pick up my speed when I see a Frisbee whisk by. Hayze chuckles and holds the door open for me.
“Your fine dining experience awaits you. You see your friend anywhere?”
I scan the crowd. When a group of guys crouch at a table, I spot Lea’s blonde hair and point.
“There she is.”
Hayze runs his hand over his face and shakes his head. He mutters something that I didn’t catch. With one hand shoved in his pocket, he motions for me to lead the way.
The dining hall reminds me of my high school cafeteria, with students shoving into one another as they shout above the person beside them. A smile is present on each student's face. The fresh buzz is sure to wear off within a week.
“Lea,” he said as we approach the table.
“Oh my God! Hayze Clarke!”
He slumps in the seat in front of her, and motions for me to the take the place next to him.
“We’re friends,” she reminds me.
“I found this one roaming around campus lost…with a map,” he said, grinning. Lea looks to him then me and laughs.
“There’s no hope for her after all.”
“Very funny,” I said.
He tosses his glasses on the table. I can’t help but notice the dark circles outlining his eyes. He rubs them once, yawning. I catch Lea watching him. Her mouth twists to the side as she thinks. I want to ask what’s wrong but I don’t.
“What’s going on this week? We need to take this one out. She’s sheltered” she said, pointing in my direction.
“You sure you wanna be her friend? She drinks a lot,” he said. He laughs as he steals a fry from her plate.
“I don’t drink a lot! You think I drink too much?”
“I don’t think you drink too little.” He clenches his teeth, pretending to be serious.
I laugh and then look at him in disbelief. “You don’t drink?”
He shakes his head. “Not that much. Drinking isn’t my thing.”
Lea looks at him, and he catches her eyes for a second before dropping his gaze.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
I follow the group of students in front of me and stand in the short line behind them. Windows line the back wall. Sunlight bathes in the dining hall. Beyond the glass, the campus trees dance in the wind, with picnic tables strategically placed beneath them.
As the line moves up, I scan the food before grabbing a burger and going back to the table.
I slow down as I approach the table. Lea is leaned over, whispering. Her face is lined with concern, Hayze’s jaw is clenched. The way they treat each other makes me believe they are downplaying their relationship. I would guess they’re dating, but Hayze hooks up with every girl on campus, so I know that can’t be it. As much as I want to ask them about it, I won’t. I’ll wait until I have a better relationship with them.
“I said I’m fine Lea,” he warns.
I slide my tray on the table and fix my eyes on my food, ignoring their conversation. Lea is the first to look in my direction.
“Bad timing?” I asked.
“Perfect actually,” he said, glaring at Lea.
Lea slaps her hands down on her lap, filling the space with a loud clasp. “I forgot to ask! How’d your first night go?”
“It was fine.”
“That tool you dated tried to hit on her,” Hayze said.
I bite the ketchup packet with my front teeth and rip the side open as I listen to them bicker. Lea’s mouth twists to the side, she taps her chin, thinking.
“You’ll have to be more specific,” she said.
“Corey.’
She shrugs her shoulders as she finishes chewing. “He wasn’t that bad…When he wasn’t drinking.”
“Unfortunately for everyone around him, he drinks all the time,” he said.
“Guess you have a point,” Lea said.
Hayze opens his mouth to say something but rolls his eyes instead. The conversation is light throughout lunch, but I catch Lea watching him with concern.
As the students thin out of the room, we stand and walk toward the trash bins. I toss my food and stay ahead of them. Lea grabs onto my bag, tugging me backward.
“Let’s go out Wednesday!”
I smile, knowing this is the opportunity I need. Lea’s face lights when I nod my head in agreement.
Hayze groans, “Fine.”
Twisting my watch around my arm, I see I’m running late for my last class. “I have to get to class.”
“See you at the room, Tay,” Lea said.
I set out to find the fine arts building. After ducking from a football and bumping into a group of girls, I finally see the building. The front is covered with windows. I walk inside praying that I’ll be released early from my last class of the day. My phone vibrates from my pocket. I glance around the class, but the professor isn’t in sight. Seeing that it’s from Lea, I open the text.
Her text said: Pool party at Hayze’s. Do you want to come?
I respond: Do I have a choice?
No, you don’t. Her response comes through immediately, and I laugh.
A sporadic graying man flies in the lecture hall with seconds to spare. He shuffles the syllabus to each student, speaking excitedly as he works. I sigh as he directs us to flip to chapter one, and I tell Lea that I’ll be late for the party. The lecture hall is packed with students. One more trail in, leaving me boxed between two people. I doodle essential notes in my notebook, half an hour later we are dismissed.
“There you are,” Lea said as I walk in our dorm.
Her dress flips into a whirlwind as she storms around the room, tossing things into her bag. She pushes suntan lotion and two large towels before yanking the resistant zipper in its place.
“Do you have a suit?” She asked, pointing to the straps of her bikini.
I bite my bottom lip. I want to lie and said I don’t, but that will give her a reason to loan me one of her bikinis. And that is the last thing I want.
“Yeah, in the closet,” I said.
“Perfect put it on and let’s go,” she said, smiling.
I step into the closet and change quickly; I tug on a purple cover up before walking out.
“So, what exactly am I getting myself into?”
We walk down the narrow hall, bumping into passing students. Lea kicks the front door open, juggling her bag as she walks. When the humidity fills my lungs, I toss my thick hair in a ponytail.
“Hayze and his roommate have cookouts sometimes. Their apartment has a pretty awesome pool we hang out at,” she said.
I point to my car in the parking lot. She dumps the heavy bag in the back and slides in the passenger seat. She flips the visor in my car, checking her appearance in the mirror.
“The apartment complex is fine with parties?”
I already know the answer before she has time to respond. They aren’t okay with it, but I get the feeling they don’t need permission.
“They’ve never said no. His apartment is the closest one to campus. It’s only students. Everything slides in that place.”
I pull on the packed street, and she points. “Pull on the far lane. You’re about to turn right. Okay, turn there and park in front of the office,”
A gap in the tree line appears, and a complex comes into my view. The complex is huge. Red bricks line the outside, while the face consists of white paneling. Six buildings are scattered around the office. As we get out and approach the office, I hear music and chatter. Lea takes the sidewalk leading to a black iron fence that sits between each building. A pool with dozens of students comes into sight.
My eyes immediately fall on Hayze. He isn’t hard to miss. The group of girls surrounding him makes him an easy target. Although he speaks to them, he looks bored. His leg anxiously jerks up and down on the chair, and a beer rests on his knee. With his chest bare, I take in the dark lines etching across his shoulders. A stray range of Roman numerals sits below his chest on his left side.
“Want a beer?”
A guy taps me on the shoulder with a canned beer. I jerk from the coolness. He looks at me apologetically but holds the beer in place.
“No, thanks,” I said. He shrugs and tosses it to Lea’s willing hands.
Lea pops the top of the beer as she walks around the pool, like a lost puppy, I follow closely behind. She drags a chair next to Hayze’s fan group and motions for me to sit. Hayze spots us for the first time. He sets his beer on the table and walks over.
“You came,” he said, watching me.
He sits between Lea and me. The pool is scattered with loud students. Some are in the pool, but most are at the table, an umbrella shades each table. Lea brings the silver can to her mouth and disposes of the rest of the drink in one gulp.
“How was the first day?” Hayze asked me, and I notice his voice is rushed.
His eyes dart around the group, the pool, and finally land on me. He slips sunglasses on and taps the arm of the chair. When I saw him today, he was so relaxed and easy going, and now he’s erratic.
“Err fine. How was yours?”
“Good. I don’t know why the fuck I’m even drinking that,” he said, distracted. He tosses the almost full beer to the sidewalk, frowning. Lea picks it up and sets it back on the table while scowling.
“Doesn’t have the same effect, does it?” A guy from across the table asked.
“Nah, I need to get out of here man. What else is there to do?” He tugs his hand through his hair and sighs as he looks around the group.
Lea frowns. “You seem a little hopped up on something, you okay?”
“Christ, Lea, said that a little louder, I don’t think the cop across the pool heard you,” he pauses, “I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?”
Pulling off her sunglasses, she matches his glare. “I don’t know, you tell me.”
“Just fucking drop it.”
He runs a hand down his face. He seems distant from their fight, but Lea crosses her arms, apparently mad at the way he’s acting.
A blonde from Hayze’s fan club stands and walks over to us. She makes a show of sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. When she whispers in his ear, he tenses and grips her side.
“Seriously Hayze? Get a room,” Lea said.
“That’s not a bad idea,” the blonde said.
The shrill of her voice makes me cringe. Her thin lips curve into a grin as her hands rub his arms. He pushes her from his lap and stands.
“It’ll get me the fuck out of here.”
Smiling with victory, she grabs her clothes and links her hand with his. “Out of here? I thought you lived here?”
“Darlin’ we’re not going back to my place.”
She frowns. “I live too far. I don’t wanna wait that long.”
He walks off, and she follows. Like a train wreck, I can’t tear my eyes from him. I look behind me. A brunette has joined. Hayze has his arms slung over their shoulders, leading them from the pool.
“Are they…” I look to Lea in horror.
“Yup. Welcome to the “Hayze show.” And thank god Joel isn’t here. They like feed off of each other,” she said, cringing.
“Wow.”
Lea laughs, “This is your first day of college. Just wait.”
Her words slice through me like a dull knife.
“And you’re okay with that?” I asked, daring. I know it’s a huge step to ask, but their relationship is so odd to me. She looks at me and wrinkles her nose.
“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?”
She stares at me as if I grew two heads, so I shrug my shoulders and drop it.
I peek over my shoulder, but the threesome is nowhere to be found. Lea drags her chair in the sun and slings her beer back. As
she reaches for another, I glance around the remaining crowd.
I kick my feet on the cooler in front of me; with my ankles crossed I let out a sigh and get comfortable. Chatter illuminates around me, they hash out the new semester, making promises of nights to come. A girl rises from the pool and saunters by me, flicking drops of water on my dress.
Lea shifts in her seat and pokes my arm. “Speak of the devil.”
I follow her gaze; the bikini-clad girl is leaning into the iron fence, begging for the attention of the guy in front of her. The olive-skinned guy searches the pool, his hands grip the tip of the fence, and with one swift movement, he hops over the fence. As he draws near, he takes one last puff of his cigarette and tosses it behind him. His black hair is buzzed; his deep-set black eyes grow colder with each step. I’m confident if I tried, I could pop the top of a beer on his cheekbones.
“Lea,” he grumbles with disdain as he passes.
She shrugs, I almost asked what that was about, but I decide against it. Lea has unique relationships with everyone aside from me.
“You sure you don’t want a drink?” The guy from before asked.
“Do you have anything that tastes better?”
I look at the beer than to him, grimacing. I’ve only tried a beer once, but it left a lasting impression on me. It was disgusting. Lea chuckles at me.
With a curl of his lips, he pulls a box from under the table. “Slap the tit!”
“Uh, excuse me?”
I watch him, waiting for him to apologize. He gestures to the table, and I cock my eyebrow at him.
“C’mon fish, don’t tell me you have never played! Get your ass up.”
The box unfolds as his knife glides the edges. He dangles a dark bag in front of my face.
“Fish is a high school thing, not college.”
I rise from my seat and ignore his accusation altogether. I don’t want to get into my strict upbringing with a guy that’s wasted in broad daylight.
“You’ve seriously never done this?” Lea asked, and I roll my eyes.
“What do you think?”
“You didn’t sneak off to a party after your parents fell asleep?” She asked with a laugh. The guy looks down at me, amused.
The Lies We Tell Page 15
