Cross Check (Marriage Contract #1)

by Colleen Masters

"Thanks!"

  "Holy shit! You got a Lawn Room? Are you, like, a genius or something?" her friend Rachel asks, her jaw dropping.

  "I wish! Then all those papers would have taken me way less time," I reply with a laugh.

  "Cara says you've never been to a crew party?" Marie, the knockout of the group, asks.

  "Nope…just never made my way over here I guess," I reply, downplaying the situation.

  "Well, they have the best parties," she assures me. "And the hottest guys."

  "Lacrosse guys are hotter," Rachel argues.

  "Of course, if you can get a combination of the two…" Marie murmurs, and they burst into laughter. My ears prick up – were they talking about Nate?

  "Hey, you look great, by the way," Cara says to me as we walk up the front steps of the house. "Love that top."

  "Thanks," I say, trying not to glow. A couple guys chilling on the front porch greet the other girls by name, and I blush as I feel their eyes glance over me. I tug my hair self-consciously as one of them grins at me. Two girls hurry past us in the opposite direction. One leans over the railing as her friend barely manages to pull her hair back before she retches into the bushes.

  Sweat and the scent of beer greets us as we walk inside. The lights are dim, barely illuminating the mass of people crowded into the main room, and I feel my heels sticking to the sticky floor.

  "Cara, the love of my life!" a tall, brawny guy says, sweeping her up into a hug. I recognize him from the crew team. Not that I've studied their roster photos or anything…

  "Oh, ha, ha," Cara says, rolling her eyes, though something about the gleam in her eyes tells me she likes the guy.

  "Can I get you ladies a beer?" he asks, nodding to the keg behind him.

  "Yes, please," Cara says. "Hey, Foster, this is my good friend Brynn. This is her first Crew party so treat her nice."

  "I'm always nice!" Foster says indignantly, then bows in front of me and offers his hand. "M'lady," he says as I place my hand in his and raises it to his lips. Marie and Rachel giggle and then head over to another group as Foster hands them their beers. Cara and I follow Foster over to an old, mysteriously stained, couch in the corner. We weave around other scantily clad co-eds, and for the first time in my life, I feel like one of the cool kids.

  I perch nervously on the far left cushion as Cara sits next to me, with Foster on her other side. I slowly sip my beer as he whispers in her ear. I've had beer before, even gotten tipsy a few times with Allison and Miriam when we first turned twenty-one and tried out some wine bars. I just want to make sure I don't overdo it tonight and end up like that girl we passed on the way inside.

  "Where's Nate tonight?" My head whips around as I hear Cara ask Foster the question. My heart stops for a second. I have to admit I'll feel crushed if he's not even here.

  "He's somewhere around, probably getting crushed under a pile of women," Foster replies, rolling his eyes, and Cara laughs. I down half my beer. I can't believe that actually makes me feel jealous. I've never even met him!

  Cara and Foster keep chatting, and though Cara makes an effort to include me, I'm feeling too nervous to contribute much to the conversation. By the time I finish my beer, I really have to pee.

  "Be right back," I murmur to Cara, and go looking for the bathroom. I weave through the sweaty throng to a hallway along the stairs. I see a line of five girls outside of what I assume is the bathroom, and with a sigh, I step behind the last one. The door opens and a guy darts in front of the front girl.

  "Hey!" she protests.

  "Sorry! Emergency!" he cries, and shuts the door behind him. I lean back a little and glance up the stairs. There are several people hanging out on the landing, but it's definitely quieter up there, and I'm sure there's more than one bathroom in this place. Holding my legs close together, I turn around and hurry up the stairs.

  I bypass the first couple rooms with open doors and come to a couple closed ones. I can see a room at the end of the hall that looks like a lounge, with a pool table in the middle of the room. One of these two rooms must be the bathroom. I lean toward the nearest one and press my ear against it. I can't hear anything. I knock softly and wait for a reply, and when I don’t hear one, I slowly turn the knob and open the door. I gasp as it's pulled open and out of my grasp.

  My eyes fly up and into the eyes of Nate Thornhill.

  "I…I…" I stammer. His pupils dilate as he stares at me in amusement. I let my gaze fall down his body. He's naked but for a pair of pale blue boxers. Good lord, his body is ridiculous. The line down between his six-pack abs looks like it was etched in stone. It's suddenly very difficult to breathe.

  "See anything you like?" he asks drily. I snap my gaze back up. A brown curl of hair hangs just over one of his eyes. I clear my throat as I try to think of something to say. I feel his gaze travel over my body in return and desire pools in my stomach.

  "Oh, no, I was—"

  "You wanna join us?" he says, pulling the door open a little more. I glance over his shoulder and see a naked girl in bed covered in rumpled sheets.

  "Nate!" the girl says with a giggle, and pulls a sheet up over her breasts.

  "Come on. If I weren't already naked, I'd say you were undressing me with your eyes," he says smugly to me. I feel my cheeks turn scarlet.

  "No, sorry," I murmur, and rush down the hall and back down the stairs as I hear the girl dissolve into laughter behind me. I run straight out of the front door and down the front steps before I stop on the sidewalk.

  Ugh, I'm such an idiot. I raise my hand to my mouth and wipe the back of my palm across my lips, smearing off my lip gloss. I don't belong at parties like this, and I certainly don't belong with Nate Thornhill. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. And his arrogance! Asking me to join him and that girl as though I actually would!

  Hot tears build up behind my eyes and threaten to spill over. I had such high hopes for tonight, such high hopes for him. And he ended up being so crude.

  I pull my phone out of my wristlet and shoot off a quick text to Cara: Hey, just got a terrible headache. Headed back to my dorm. See you later!

  I head back across campus and to the safety of my dorm room. My phone buzzes and I pull it back out to see her response: Feel better!

  I envy Cara. Everything seems to come so easy to her. She can fit in anywhere, make friends with anyone. I guess I'm just not that kind of person, much as I'd like to be.

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