by Cari Quinn
“I don’t know… I was walking and I, um…”
“I saw it.” Collin’s younger brother, Shane, hovered over me, checking out the scene. “She wasn’t paying attention and missed the step. She was too busy talking to my mom.”
“Thanks, Shane, for that report,” I grunted as Collin stood me to my feet.
“You didn’t break anything, did you?” Mom asked in a curt tone.
“No.” I dusted my hands and picked up my purse.
“But she’ll have a big bruise in the morning.” Luke flicked his cigarette and then pulled his keys from his pocket. “Let’s go, I need to get back so I can study.”
Mom’s mouth fell open. “Why are you smoking? You know that will impair your abilities on the field!”
“So.” Luke walked off and Mom scurried after him.
Mom didn’t stop her lecture. “And why weren’t you watching over your sister? I thought I told you—”
“I’m not her babysitter!” Luke got into the car and slammed the door shut.
Collin helped me to the car and I crawled into the back, pressing my face against the cold seat. It felt so good that my eyes fluttered closed on their own accord. I knew I had embarrassed my family and Collin, but it was unintentional. The drinks slid down effortlessly and they seemed to wash away all the worries about the wedding. No wonder people became alcoholics. The feeling was sort of addicting and I found that I liked it too much.
“Collin, can I talk to you for a moment?” Pastor Clifton stuck his head in the car.
“I’ll be back,” Collin said, before walking off with his dad.
“Damn, Sis. I can’t believe you’re drunk… and in front of your in-laws,” Luke chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ve got balls girl. I’ll give you that. Mom and Dad are going to rip you apart once you’re sober.”
“Don’t remind me,” I said, curling my body into a ball.
“Lexi?” Collin interrupted my dozing off.
“Yes?”
“I’m going home with my parents.” He reached in the backseat and grabbed his backpack. Luckily for him, he never went anywhere without it. “They’ll take me to my apartment later.”
I sat up and my stomach turned. This couldn’t be good. “Oh, okay.”
“I’ll text you later. We need to have a talk.”
I thought about telling him that I had a tutoring session with Raven, but I didn’t. The door slammed and he walked off.
Reason number seven: I’m keeping information from my fiancé.
Σ
Chapter Seven
My phone rang and I covered my head with a pillow. A minute later, it chimed again, alerting me I had a message.
“Are you going to get that? It’s gone off three times in the last ten minutes.”
“Huh?” I peeked out from behind the pillow. My head throbbed with a vengeance, an obvious indication that I had too much to drink. Slowly, my vision cleared. I was on the couch at the apartment my brother and Collin shared with two other guys. I hesitated to look at my phone, figuring it was either my parents or Collin calling me. Neither of which I wanted to talk to.
I fished for my phone, finally pulling it from the bottom of my purse. I had three missed calls and five text messages. All from Raven.
“Crap!” It was fifteen minutes after five o’clock.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked, opening the refrigerator. “Mom’s already calling?”
“No,” I muttered as I quickly texted Raven that I was running late but would be there ASAP. “I…um, what happened?” I rushed to the bathroom in the hallway, praying that no one else was there.
“You passed out so I brought you here,” Luke yelled. “And damn, you might be small, but you have one heavy ass.”
“What? No, I don’t.” I slammed the bathroom door. After relieving my bladder, I took out a brush and combed my matted hair. I wiped the black from under my eyes, applied some lip-gloss, and then opened the door.
“Uh, you try carrying one-hundred and twenty-five pounds of dead weight up the stairs.” Luke handed me a glass of water and an aspirin.
“Thanks. How did you know I needed that?” I swallowed the pill with a sip of water and then popped a piece of gum into my mouth.
He raised a brow. “I’ve been there before.” Although I’d never seen my brother drunk, I knew that he wasn’t as innocent as I was.
“Well, thanks for taking care of me. Is Collin here?”
“No. He hasn’t made it back yet.”
Thank God!
“Can you take me to the library?” I slipped my shoes on and straightened my wrinkled clothing.
“Right now?” He looked at his watch.
“Yes, I have a tutoring appointment and I’m late.”
Tracking down the hall, he said, “All right. Come on.”
The ride to the library was a few blocks away, but it would have taken me at least fifteen minutes to get there. We didn’t say much and Luke didn’t ask me any questions or give me an earful of his two cents. I guess he figured the lecture from my parents would be enough not to mention the chat Collin wanted to have with me.
“Thanks, Bro. Catch you later.” I hopped out of the car.
“Later, Sis.”
I hurried across the lawn and was surprised to see Raven sitting on a bench in front of the library. He glanced up from his phone and flashed a smile. My stomach flip-flopped. I had to admit; he looked super sexy in a leather jacket and faded jeans that had a big tear across the knee.
“Sorry, I’m late. I, uh…” I didn’t know what to tell him. That I got drunk at brunch and had to sleep it off? Sadly, I’m sure he would’ve understood.
“Lexi?” His eyes narrowed in confusion.
“Yes?” I took a deep breath, unsure of why I was breathing so hard.
“Sorry, I didn’t recognize you. You didn’t have to get all dressed up for me.”
Tilting my head to the side, I giggled. “Oh, I went to church this morning. I didn’t have a chance to change.”
“Oh, darn. I was hoping you were trying to impress me, you know, since you think I’m sexy.” He winked at me.
A flash of heat burned my cheeks as his teasing captured every bit of my body’s attention.
“Who doesn’t think you’re sexy?” The words escaped my mouth and I bit my lip, knowing I walked a fine line between flirting and being friendly. I knew what the fine print said about what was acceptable between friends of the opposite sex, but I was choosing to ignore it.
Reason number eight: I liked how Raven flirted with me and that was wrong.
His lips spread in a wide grin that revealed perfect white teeth. “Okay, now you’re embarrassing me.”
“Me?” I pressed a hand to my chest. “I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Oh it is, believe me.” He stood and towered over my five-foot-five frame. “Well, you’re thirty minutes late, so you owe me.”
“Sorry. We’ll work until we get the paper finished, even if it takes until midnight.”
He inclined his head and we traded glances that yelled, ‘Warning! Danger ahead!’ but neither of us looked away. Instead, he held my gaze until I slipped deeper into dangerous territory. I tried to reel myself back in, but I couldn’t seem to catch hold of anything. I was falling, emotions first, into The Raven’s trap. And I didn’t try to stop myself.
“Great, but first, let’s grab a bite to eat. I’m starving and since we’re going to be up late, I need some food.”
“Sure,” I agreed, knowing damn well that was the worst thing I could have done.
We walked to a taco shop on the opposite side of campus. My feet ached from the shoes I wore, screaming for me to take them off, but I managed to ignore it. Between the pain in my head and feet, not to mention, my heart, I hoped I wouldn’t pass out again. I felt horrible knowing that I was probably ruining everything between Collin and me, but I was tired of being ignored. I needed someone who wasn’t afraid to show me they loved me and
I was tired of trying to please my parents. It was my life to live and I had to make sure I was making the right decisions.
“What would you like?” Raven stepped aside, allowing me to order first. I told the girl at the register what I wanted and took out my wallet.
“I’ll get it this time. Next time, you pay,” he said, pulling a wad of money from his pocket.
“Okay, thanks.” Since Collin always paid, I kind of liked the idea of buying a guy lunch or dinner. Raven thumbed through several twenty and ten dollar bills. I thought about the stories I had read in the campus newspaper and wondered if they were true.
We got our drinks and sat in the center of the restaurant at a table. It felt weird not being with Collin, but I tried to relax and strike up a conversation.
“So, what’s your major?”
“Business.”
Oh no. Did he have any classes with Collin? “What year are you?”
“Sophomore, but I’ll be a junior after this semester.”
“Oh.” I searched for something else to say but nothing came to mind. After a few moments of silence, Raven spoke up.
“I had to sit out a semester,” he explained.
“It happens,” I replied, acting like I knew other people that had to do the same.
“Hey, you want a beer?” He reached into his pocket and removed his ID. Curious to know his age, I slid it from his fingers.
Raven Renee Davenport
3029 Lubbock Street
Fort Worth, TX 76133
“Twenty-one. You just celebrated your birthday on September twenty-ninth?” I handed it back to him.
“Yeah.” He shucked off his jacket and spirals of tattooed branches crawled up his right arm. His short sleeve shirt hid the rest of it and I found myself wanting to trace my finger along the curves to see where it led me. “Hey, you want a beer or a margarita?” He stood up.
“No, that’s okay. I drank enough earlier.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” I bowed my head, keeping my eyes glued to the table.
“That’s not why you were late, is it?” He leaned against the table, hovering close to me. His wonderful scent surrounded me and my knees weakened.
I played with the saltshaker, avoiding eye contact. “Yes.”
He sat down. “I gotta hear this.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I love to hear drunk stories,” he clasped his hand together, “especially when they effect me.”
I laughed, but he kept a straight face. “Waiting.”
“You really want to know?”
He nodded.
“After church, I went with my family to Blue Mesa for brunch and—”
“The one off of University Drive?”
“No, the one off of Northwest Highway in Dallas.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, I had too many Mimosas and had to sleep it off at my brother’s apartment.”
He started laughing. “You got drunk off of Mimosas?”
I felt my height shrink about five inches. “Yes. They were really strong.”
“So you’re a light weight?” He turned when he heard our ticket number called.
“A light weight?”
“Yeah, you know… someone who gets drunk easily.” He eased up from his seat.
“Well, I—”
“Hold that thought, I’ll be right back.” He pointed a finger at me while walking backwards to the counter. I laughed when his elbow collided with the back of a booth and he bellowed a cuss word. That was Raven, the bad boy that could charm the panties off any girl. But why had he resorted to drugs and drinking? He seemed like he enjoyed life too much. Maybe that was it. Maybe he didn’t know when to stop or how to say no.
He placed my basket of tacos in front of me. “Thanks. They look delicious.”
“Sure.” He sat down and began eating his food. With a mouth full, he said, “So, if you get drunk off drinking Mimosas what does beer or tequila do to you?”
I shrugged and then wiped my mouth. “I don’t know. Never tried them.”
He took a drink of his soda. “You’ve never drank a beer or taken a shot of tequila?”
“Nope. Never have. I’ve only had wine and the champagne that’s in a Mimosa.”
“What year are you?”
“Senior.”
He coughed, nearly choking on his food. “You’re a senior?”
“Uh-huh,” I said in between bites.
“Have you been at PHU all four years?”
“Yes.” I smiled and then gulped down my water. Water had never tasted so good.
“So, you mean to tell me, you’ve been here for four years and you’ve never had a beer or a shot of tequila?”
I nodded while chewing my food.
“Wow. Do you live with your parents or something?”
“Nope. I live in Charter Hall with my friend, Delaney. My parents are really strict. They preached endlessly to me and my brother about never drinking, partying, having…” I stopped, not wanting to admit to the sex god that I was a virgin. That piece of information was vital to me. One mention of that and he’d probably have me on my back, right there on the table in the restaurant, in less than a second flat. The Raven would not be deflowering this girl. No way.
“Sounds like you were homeschooled.”
“I was.”
Raven’s eyes widened and his light-brown skin turned a shade lighter. “My bad.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
His rough hand melted my skin, rendering my arm useless. “It’s okay. No offense taken.” His hand lingered on mine a little too long, but I didn’t mind. “It sucked. Believe me. And my parents still try to run my life.”
“I see. Well, Lexi, sounds like you’re a good person who’s been brought up the right way.” He finished off the last bite of his taco.
“Maybe. But I’m dying to experience life. I’ll be graduating next year and I don’t want to leave with all these regrets. It’d be nice to attend one party before I…” I trailed off, refraining from mentioning the word marriage.
Reason number nine: I’m totally avoiding the fact that I’m engaged.
He wiped his hands on a paper towel, wadded it in a ball, and tossed it into the empty food basket. “You’ve never been to a party either?”
I shook my head.
He pounded his fist on the table. “Damn, you are a good girl.”
I crossed my arms and leaned back against the chair. “But I’m tired of being a good girl. I want to have some fun. I’ll be twenty-one in March and I haven’t experienced anything.”
A big smile formed across his face. “That’s spring break, baby. I may be—”
“The Raven’s in the house!” A large husky guy hollered and hooted as several more guys trailed in behind him. They had to be part of PHU’s football team based on their size.
“Hey, man, what’s up?” Raven clasped hands with the guy and they exchanged a manly handshake.
They crowded around the table, some of them shooting a quick glance in my direction while the others didn’t even notice me. I recoiled further into the chair, feeling the rise of testosterone in the air within the small restaurant. Never had I been surrounded by so much muscle, sweat, and eye candy.
I may need another drink to cool down.
Raven spoke with a few of the guys before they slowly dispersed, sitting in various booths. “Sorry about that, what were we talking about?”
I thought it was best not to re-enter the previous conversation, so I asked, “Are you from Fort Worth?”
“No. I’m originally from New Orleans. We moved here after Hurricane Katrina and decided to stay. You?”
“I’m from Dallas. I’ve lived in the metroplex my whole life.” I scooped up the remains of my taco with a chip. “Alongside my sister and twin brother.”
“You’re a twin?”
“Yes. We’re not identical, though.” I shoved the chip in my mouth.
“No, shit.” He crossed his arms and rested them against his chest. “I have two younger brothers. One’s in high school and the other is in middle school.”
“Three boys. Wow! I bet that kept your mom and dad busy.”
“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged and his eyes wondered off. “Oh, hell,” he muttered.
Before I had a chance to ask what was wrong, a tall girl with blonde, stick-straight hair appeared at our table. “Trying to hide from me, Raven?”
Raven rolled his eyes. “Marcie, I told you—”
“My name is not Marcie, its Macy.” She hiked her leg up in the air and using the heel of her shoe, she pushed him back in his chair and straddled him. Her butt scrunched against the edge of the table as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Luke thought I had balls? This girl had balls and a vagina. And she was using both of them to her advantage.
Using both hands, Raven tried to peel her long slender arms from him, but she held on tight. “You never called me last night.”
“Macy, can’t you see I’m busy?”
“But you’re never too busy for this.” I leaned slightly to the right, trying to catch a better view of what she was talking about. She traced her pointed, black fingernail down his chest and then wiggled her pelvis, as though trying to turn him on.
Raven chuckled low in his throat as he shook his head. “You’re too much for The Raven, you know that.”
A low whimper coupled with a giggle sounded from her. “Call me later tonight?”
Placing two hands around her waist, Raven lifted her and placed her on her feet. “I don’t know. I have a paper to write.”
“Yeah, right.” Macy crossed her arms. “Since when did you write your own papers?”
“Since a few weeks ago. Now, will you please leave us alone? We have work to do.”
Macy turned in my direction and gave me a once over. She smirked and said, “Well, I’d be happy to join you two.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Placing her hands on the table, Macy leaned forward, squeezing her breasts together to the point where they nearly popped out of her shirt. “Oh, come on. You know how much I love threesomes.”
