by J. L. Ostle
“Hey, Riley.”
“Hi, Dante. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to see how you did on the last pop quiz.” He rubs the back of his neck.
“Oh, I got a ninety-eight.”
“Wow, you really are smart.” I blush. “Well, what are you doing now?”
“I am heading home, it’s my turn to cook for me and Jackson.” I cringe that I told him all that. I could have just said home.
“So, you and Jackson … Are you two, like seeing each other?”
I shake my head. “No, we are just friends.”
He nods and smiles. “Well my fraternity is having an eighties movie thing this weekend, you should come.”
I pause, biting my lip. “I don’t think so. I don’t think I want to go to another fraternity party, to be honest.”
“Oh, no, it’s not a party. It’s just a group thing. There will be beer, but it’s to pig out and to watch movies with people with crazy hairstyles. You can even invite that girl Kendra I see you hang around with.”
I look at the ground and back up. “I will talk to Kendra about it.”
“Okay, if you have any questions about it, just ask.”
“I will.”
He gives me another charming smile and starts to walk backward and turns and heads to the opposite side of campus.
I watch him walk away. He is cute with that boy next door look to him, with his white shirt and jeans. I call Kendra on her phone and she immediately answers.
“Are you okay?” she asks concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“God, you gave me a heart attack. You never call me, it’s always the other way around.”
“I know, but this guy called Dante invited me to a movie thing at his fraternity, and I want to know if you wanted to go.”
“Dante, as in Dante McKibben?”
“Yeah.” I have to pull my phone away as she goes all high-pitched.
“He asked you out on a date?”
“No, he asked me if I wanted to come. He was being nice and he said I could invite you, so it’s not a date if he said to bring a friend.”
“He probably knows about what happened at your last party so doesn’t want to scare you off. I like him already. We are so going.”
I wish I had waited to call her when I get home as she goes on to talk nonstop about it.
Chapter Nine
Jackson and I are sitting on the couch watching another episode of American Horror Story, when the door bangs open and I watch Kendra and Jayce walking in with bags. Jackson and I look at one another in confusion.
“You have no idea the hell I just went through,” Kendra says as she sits on the couch between us.
“What is happening?” Jackson asks.
“You have gained another two roommates,” Kendra says casually and Jackson stands.
“What?” He stands in front of her.
“There was a small fire at the dorms and a few people need to find some place to stay or sleep on the floor in someone else’s room,” Jayce explains.
“Like hell, I am sleeping on the floor until my room is sorted.”
“Oh, my God, are you okay?” I hold her hand.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Some girl was so stupid to light candles and have carnage sex. The candle was knocked over and the guy grabbed a bottle, thinking it was water but nope, it was alcohol and the fire spread. And so, here we are.” She opens her arms.
“Why is Jayce staying here then? Why can’t you stay at his dorm room?” Jackson asks.
“Like hell, I would let her stay here with you and your band hanging around without me. Leo my roommate has his girl staying.” He sits on the arm of the couch.
Jackson looks at us all sitting and groans. “How long are you planning on living here?”
“Until my room is ready, shouldn’t be any longer than a month,” Kendra says, shrugging.
“A whole month?” he asks incredulously.
“Yup,” she says, popping the P.
“Great,” he mumbles and heads to the kitchen, and after a moment I follow him.
“Are you okay?”
He turns when he sees me. “Yeah. Guess it’s going to be a full house for a while,” he tries to joke.
“Seems like it. It will be fun.” He gives me a pointed look. “Well, most of the time.” We both laugh.
“What are the sleeping arrangements going to be?” Kendra walks in asking.
“Well, it’s my house and I’m having a bed and I’m not sharing with Jayce. No offense.”
“Thanks, bro, feel the love.” Jayce wipes away an imaginary tear.
“Kendra can share with me or I can sleep on the couch,” I offer.
“You are not sleeping on the couch,” Kendra says.
“So, I guess I am giving up my room in the dorms to sleep on the couch.” Jayce’s body slumps.
“I will make it worth it, baby.” Kendra kisses his cheek but Jayce still doesn’t look happy.
We all head back to the couch and continue watching American Horror Story but Kendra and Jayce keep whispering to one another or making out and I quickly stand as I am not concentrating on the show.
“Kendra, do you want to unpack?”
She stops kissing Jayce and nods. “Sure.”
We grab her things and damn, it's heavy. “Did you bring the bathroom sink with you?” I grumble.
“It’s just my essentials. I am not going to be in my room for four weeks, people may take my shit.” We go through her things and by the time we put her things in my room, it’s full of stuff. “I am exhausted now.” She falls back onto the bed.
“Yeah, because you have so many clothes that you could open your own shop.”
“You are such a drama queen. I think I’m going to go get a good night kiss.” She winks at me and leaves the room and I hope for the next four weeks I am not going to be seeing them swap spit all the time.
I grab a towel and my sleepwear and head to the bathroom when I hear music being played in Jackson’s room. He’s playing his guitar and it’s so slow and it sounds a little sad. I bite my lip and raise my hand to knock. I pause, but I take in a deep breath and tap on the door.
“Come in.” The music stops and I poke my head in and I see him sitting on his bed. I have never been in his room, well he hasn’t been in mine either. He is sitting in the middle of his bed with his legs crossed. I can’t help but look around and it’s just like mine. It's bare. There are no pictures or photos.
His bed is opposite the large window that just like mine, takes up nearly the whole wall. He has a desk with his laptop and books on it and I see notebooks scattered everywhere.
“I didn’t mean to pry. I heard you playing, it was good.” I pull my things to my chest as I sit at the end of his bed.
“You know you can knock anytime.” He smiles at me.
“What were you playing?”
He looks down at his guitar and strums a few strings. “Something I’m working on. Want to hear it?”
I nod, putting my things on the floor and I sit opposite him, copying his position by crossing my legs. He looks at me and then back to his guitar and I listen to him play.
I feel mesmerized as I listen. It’s slow and soft. I can’t look away from him. I feel like I can’t even blink in case I miss something. I feel the music flowing through me, touching my soul. I hear him start to hum and something inside me starts to change. I can’t explain it but I close my eyes for a second to just feel the music and when I open them again, they connect with his.
Something changed in that moment that I can’t explain. Something has shifted. He stops playing and neither of us moves. We both just stare at one another. I feel the atmosphere change, I can feel my heart beating faster. His eyes stare at me intensely and it all shatters when there’s a knock on the door, breaking whatever bubble we were in. I quickly stand, picking up my things and when I stand straight, Jackson is standing in front of me.
“Did you like
it?” he whispers.
“It changed my life.” It did. That one song will haunt me until the day I die. I open the door and Kendra is standing there.
“Sorry, I couldn’t find you and I heard Jackson playing. Want to do facials?”
From the smile on her face, I can tell that she wants to. “Yeah, let me grab a quick shower first.” I nod to my towel.
“Okay, I will go set the stuff up.” She skips to our room.
“Hey, man, you want to watch some TV?” Jayce asks Jackson.
“Sure, man, I’ll come down now.” Jayce leaves us and Jackson and I stand in the hallway alone and we both look at one another.
“I guess I better go get showered. Got a facial to look forward to,” I chuckle.
“Yeah, guess Jayce wants to do some male bonding.” We both laugh.
I have a quick shower and get into my yoga pants and a long T-shirt. I head to my room and Kendra is in her PJ top and shorts and I see her mixing a bowl of gloop, which I guess is our facial.
“Hey, I have some clothes for you as well, I put them in your draw earlier. I didn’t want to say until close to bedtime.”
I open my drawer and see a couple of sets of PJ tops and shorts like what she’s wearing now. “I can’t wear this. It’s too short.” I lift the shorts, inspecting them and Kendra stands and models them.
“Look, the shorts cover your ass and the top goes past the waist. They are there if you change your mind.” I see a couple of pairs of jeans and tops and I feel my eyes brim with tears. “You aren’t meant to cry, silly.” She comes over and hugs me.
“I am so thankful and these look amazing.” I am so happy I have more clothes to wear now.
“I know you don’t like charity but it’s not, you’ve seen my collection. I have too many clothes.”
I know if I would let her, she would give me half her stuff, but I would never accept it. “I love you.”
“Love you too. I hope you still love me after you hear me snore.”
“I’ve heard you snore. I’m used to it.”
Her mouth hangs open as she smiles and hits me with a pillow and we laugh. For the rest of the night, we have a pamper session and I listen to her talk about her and Jayce.
Chapter Ten
The next morning, I wake up and Kendra is still sleeping away, so I get dressed and washed and head downstairs. I grab myself a cup of tea and sit on the couch, tucking my legs underneath me as I enjoy the quiet. I am almost finished drinking when I watch the door to the stairs open and I see Jackson appear in his PJ pants and nothing else. I avert my eyes so I don’t check out his body again.
“Morning, kitten.”
“Morning. Where’s Jayce?”
He huffs and heads to the kitchen so I follow him. “He complained about the couch so we ended up topping and tailing on my bed.”
I don’t mean to, but my head falls back as I laugh.
“Glad you find this funny.”
“Sorry, I wish I saw that. Did you sleep okay, though?”
He nods. “Yeah, thanks.” He makes himself a coffee and I watch him as he makes me another cup of tea and I beam when he passes it to me. “Do you want some breakfast?”
I shake my head. “I’m not really hungry this morning. I’m just going to grab my things and head to class.”
“Do you want a lift?”
“Kendra is going to take me as we have first class together. Thank you, though.”
He gives me a warm smile. “Anytime.” He grabs my hand and guides me to the couch. “Just sit with me. I don’t know how long until the two lovebirds make their presence.”
I giggle and we sit in comfortable silence drinking our cuppas.
Ten minutes later Kendra and Jayce join us, fully dressed and they each grab a coffee and sit on the opposite couch.
“Jayce, you don’t need to go. Riley and I will be okay going on our own,” she grumbles.
“Like hell, I’m not going.”
Kendra rolls her eyes.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“To that movie party.”
I nod.
“It’s a fraternity party. Even if it’s just to watch movies, those guys will do anything to try to bag a girl.”
“Then come, but you’re the one complaining about watching old movies.”
“You’re going to a fraternity party?” Jackson asks me.
“Well—”
Kendra interrupts me. “Dante invited her. How amazing is that?” Kendra beams but Jackson doesn’t look pleased.
“And you’re going?”
I shrug. “I love movies, and Kendra is coming with.”
“Yes, and hopefully you leave with a date. I think he likes you.”
“I am not after a date.”
“Well, if he asks you out, what will you say?”
I have to pause and think. What would I say if he did ask me out? “If he asked, I would say yes.”
Kendra squeals and Jackson raises an eyebrow. “I knew it. You like him.” She points at me.
“I don’t know him.”
“But you like him.”
“I’m going to class, come on.” I stand, getting my backpack.
I am sitting on the bench in front of campus waiting for Kendra, when I see Jackson and when he sees me he smiles and kisses my forehead when he reaches me.
“Hey, kitten, I’m here to take you home.” A few girls walk by and their eyes bug out when they hear him say that.
“I’m waiting for Kendra,” I tell him.
“Oh, she saw me and asked if I could give you a lift. Her and Jayce are going to umm …” He pauses and I see him rub his neck. “Hang out.”
I know what he is implying. “Ah, okay. Let’s go then.”
He wraps his arm around my shoulders as he guides me to his car.
“No motorcycle today?” I tease.
“Afraid not.” We smile and climb in.
“Is it okay if we head to a convenience store? I need to grab a few things.” I applied for some financial aid and luckily, I got paid today. I’ve already headed to the bank and put some money in an envelope to give to Jackson later to go towards rent. It’s not much, but it’s something.
When we arrive, I tell him he can wander around but he refuses and follows me. I am a little embarrassed as I need to get some girly stuff. I am looking at razors when he lifts one and puts it in the basket he’s carrying. I noticed he picked the name brand.
“I normally get the cheaper ones.” I take it back out and try to put it back, but he grabs it again and puts it in the basket.
“It’s on me.”
I shake my head at him. “Jackson, you can’t keep paying for everything. I got a little money today, so I can get a few things.
“Kitten, I don’t mind. If I didn’t do this, the money would go on shit, so please just take my generosity.” He pouts at me.
“Only if you take the money I would spend on this.” He is about to argue when I stop him. “Or no deal.”
“Fine.” I pass him the money and I watch him put it in his pocket. We walk around, and everything I pick, he gets the better version. “Do you need … umm … monthly stuff?” I see him go red as we walk past the tampons.
“Nope, I’m on the implant. I don’t get periods.”
He looks at me and his eyes go dark for a moment before he shakes his head. “Okay,” he says softly. We pay up and I walk out with more than what I came in for.
“Thank you for all this,” I say when we get in the car and head home. We are talking about season three of American Horror Story when Jackson’s phone starts to ring and he presses something in the car and the person calling is on speaker phone.
“Hello,” Jackson answers.
“Hey, man. We are going to Club Nero tonight, are you coming?” Jackson pauses. “Come on, man, you need a night out and I’m sure there will be plenty of girls to pick from.” I recognize Devon’s voice.
“You’re on speaker phone and Riley is
here.”
“Riley, beautiful, how are you gorgeous?”
“I’m good, Devon.”
“Bet you are.” I hear him chuckle.
“I don’t think I’m up to tonight,” Jackson jumps in.
“Oh, come on, man, don’t be boring. Riley, tell him he needs to go.” Jackson looks at me for a second.
“You should go.”
“See, even she says so. Riley, why don’t you join us?”
“I’m sure you don’t want boring old me to go,” I laugh.
“You know what happened last time she was out, man.” I notice Jackson's hands go white on the steering wheel.
“That was a one-off, you over it, Riley?”
“I guess so.”
“See? So, Riley, how about it? I know he will come if you go.”
I feel like I’m on the spot. “Sure, why not?”
“Good girl. So, how about it, Jackson? If not, I’m sure I could look after her.” I know he is saying that just to get a rise out of Jackson.
“Fine, I will catch you later.”
“Later, bro.” They hang up.
“You don’t need to go. I can tell him he’s an ass and we aren’t going.”
“It's fine, really. I have never been to a club so I’m sure it will be fun and with you and the band I’m sure I will be safe.”
“You have never been to a club before?”
I shake my head. “My father was very strict growing up, so no, I’ve never been.”
“Well, in that case, how could I deny you, your first time?” He pauses and I feel my face turn bright red. The rest of the ride is very quiet.
When we get home, we have gone back to talking about tonight when I interrupt him and pass him the envelope with the rent money in it.
“What is this?”
“It’s my keep. I know it’s not much but ...” I trail off as I watch him open it and look at the money.
“I can’t take this.” He tries to pass it back.
“You have to. I feel like all I’m doing is spending your money, you pay the rent, the bills, the food—you need to let me do this. Please.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t. Keep hold of it, if you ever need it you’ll know it’s there. I was always paying the rent and bills on my own before you and you eat what I eat. So, stop being stubborn and keep it.” He hands it back.
