“Idiot,” Ella said, shaking her head.
“What about you, Scott? How’s the boyfriend?”
“Unexciting,” Ella replied before she realized what she said.
“Then why are you with him?”
“You misunderstood.”
“I understood that he’s unexciting.”
“He’s very sweet too. And caring. And a complete gentleman.”
“Yet unexciting.”
Ella rolled her eyes. “Let it go, Adam.”
“Alright,” Adam said, holding up his hands to show defeat. “But if you ever want something a touch more exciting-”
“Adam,” Ella warned.
“What? You didn’t even let complete before your mind jumped to conclusions.”
“Okay, complete.”
“If you ever want something a touch more exciting, I could set you up. There. I wasn’t suggesting anything else. I know I’m extremely irresistible and exciting but I would never suggest you and me to be anything more than what we are. Lucas would kill me.”
“What’s Lucas got to do with this?”
Adam hesitated for a moment and then said, “You’re his best friend. After me, of course.”
“Of course.”
Adam grinned enigmatically. “Well, let’s just leave it there.”
“Who would you set me up with, then?”
Adam only grinned. “Thinking of breaking up with our Prince Charming, are you?”
“No!”
“I won’t judge, Scott.”
“I’m not.”
“Alright, alright. Let me make you some coffee as a thank you for saving me from a terrible date. She wasn’t even a good kisser…” Adam’s voice trailed away as he walked into the kitchen. Ella leaned back on the sofa. Patrick had been her boyfriend for the past month and she had been satisfied with their relationship. He was everything that a 20 year old girls’ 21 year old boyfriend should be. He held open doors for her, complimented her dressing style, listened to her when she needed to talk, kissed her at just the right moments and surprised her with presents. In short, he was a typical boyfriend any girl would dream of. And typical sometimes became synonymous with boring. There was nothing exciting about their relationship. They met every day while at college. He took her out to fancy dinner and movie dates on the weekends. On weekdays, they studied in the library or in one of the lush, green grounds. They made out often and sometimes had sex. Sex was mostly nice but nothing mind-blowing. In short, Ella was satisfied despite feeling unfulfilled at times.
She was still lost in thought when Adam returned with a cup of coffee.
“Aren’t you having coffee, too?” Ella asked.
“Nope. I stay away from caffeine.”
“Why?” Ella asked suspiciously as he handed her the cup.
“Don’t worry, Scott. I haven’t poisoned your coffee.”
“Wouldn’t put it past you,” Ella muttered.
“What do you mean, Scott?” Adam pretended to be traumatized. “I would never do that.”
Ella rolled her eyes.
“You clearly don’t think very highly of me,” Adam commented. “We need to spend more time together, Scott.”
“We could do that.”
“Be warned though, I’m irresistible,” Adam winked.
“Of course you are,” Ella replied back, playfully.
Donna entered the apartment as Adam took a seat next to Ella again. Donna Price was a tall, athletically built, black girl. She was on the basketball team with Adam and Lucas and hence, good friends with the two. Their university was unique in the sense that it had mixed sports teams to promote equality. Donna was the third of the trio. She had angry black eyes and a harsh temper.
“Hello, Don,” Adam said as she slammed the door shut. “You’re in a mood.”
“What are you doing here?” Donna said.
“Erm, making Ella coffee.”
“Oh, how completely ordinary. As if you’ve been coming over for years now.”
“Donna,” Ella spoke up. “What have I told you about not being a bitch to people who don’t understand that you’re always a bitch?”
“Hey, I understand that!” Adam protest. “I’ve had to put up with her for two years on the team.”
“How traumatizing for you,” Donna said as she threw her bag on the floor and started searching through the pile of books lying in the corner of the room.
“What are you looking for?” Ella asked.
“A book,” Donna replied, sarcastically. “I have to study,” she announced before she exited into her room.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Ella headed to open it and found Mary standing arm in arm with Lucas. Her cheeks were flushed with laughter and Lucas was smiling. Their happiness was contagious and Ella couldn’t help but smile too.
“Well, well,” Adam commented. “You two, as well?”
Ella rolled her eyes. “Ignore him, please,” she suggested as Lucas and Mary entered.
“That’s the only way to stand him,” Lucas replied.
Lucas sat down next to Adam while Mary walked up to Ella, throwing her arms around her and taking her by surprise.
“You seem happy,” Ella whispered in a low voice.
“I am,” Mary replied.
Later at night, as the girls sat in Ella’s bedroom, Mary repeated the whole story with Stebbins. Donna and Ella were the perfect audience, listening carefully and commenting at the right moments.
“That asshole!” Ella was furious. “I’m going to kill him.”
“I would have killed him right there,” Donna said. “I wouldn’t have waited for a guy to come and save me.”
“You’re big,” Mary told her. “Have you seen my size?”
“I say we go and murder him right now,” Donna suggested enthusiastically and she seemed ready to do it.
Mary shook her head sadly. “I just want to stay away from him. And I want you two to stay away from him too. He’s dangerous. You should have seen him.”
“I’m not staying away from him. I’m going to kill him when I see him,” Donna replied.
“Thank god Lucas arrived. Or else, I don’t want to imagine how it would have ended.” Ella shuddered.
Mary was quiet. The walk home with Lucas had been something out of a fantasy. He hadn’t wanted something from Mary like most boys do. He was just seeing her home safely. He had made her laugh several times and she had felt safe around him. There had been times in the past that Mary had had passing thoughts of what it would be like to kiss Lucas. These thoughts only occurred when Lucas was present and he was usually immersed in conversations with Ella. He was often with Donna too, considering they were both on the basketball teams. During tournaments, Mary noticed Lucas often because he was perhaps the best player on campus. Mary had never paid him much attention except to notice his incredibly good looks. Somehow, he had always been off limits because of Ella. At first, because he used to like Ella. That had been obvious by the number of times he asked her out in high school. But that was two years ago and he had never approached Ella since they came to college. Mary still thought he was off limits because what he and Ella had wasn’t normal. At times, Mary thought they were just putting off admitting that they had feelings for each other. But now, she was having second thoughts. Even if Lucas had liked Ella at some point, Ella had never reciprocated it. There is nothing wrong in liking Lucas, she tried to tell herself. But did she even like him? Or was it just one of her instincts to land the guy who didn’t seem to want anything from her.
“Mary?”
Mary realized that Ella had been talking.
“Sorry. What?”
“Are you okay?” Ella looked concerned.
“Yes. Yes I’m okay. You were saying?”
Ella looked unconvinced. “I said you should get some sleep. You have classes early in the morning.”
Mary agreed and stood up to leave. She hugged Ella before she exited the room. As a form of apolo
gy of what is to come, or as a thank you for the talk they just had, Mary wasn’t sure.
Chapter 4
“How was your date?” Adam asked as Lucas entered their apartment.
“Alright,” he answered truthfully.
“Did you get lucky?” Adam asked meaningfully.
Lucas shrugged. “We made out a bit,” he said but didn’t elaborate.
“A gentleman,” Adam said. Lucas flung himself on the couch next to Adam and snatched the remote from him.
“Amanda is… unexciting,” he remarked.
“What is it with you and Ella? She used the exact same word to describe her relationship.”
“Did she?”
“Yep.”
“Well, this is different. I’m not in a relationship. It was date.”
“True. Still. Interesting choice of words.”
“Ella said that about Patrick?” Lucas asked in a voice that could pass as casual to someone other than his best friend.
Adam nodded but did not elaborate purposefully.
“Well, why is he unexciting?”
Adam shrugged. “Ella didn’t elaborate.”
Lucas dropped the subject at this point because of the knowing look Adam was giving him.
“What are you doing inside on a Sunday night?” he said instead.
“I’m not, actually. I have to go meet Biology class girl right now. Speaking of which, I should get going.”
“Biology class girl?” Lucas asked as Adam walked to the rack to pull out a jacket.
“Hmm.”
“Maybe you should learn names of your dates before you start sleeping with them.”
Adam shot him an annoyed look over his shoulder. “I know her name. I just forgot. And anyway, I’ll always have you to save me if the date is going too badly.”
“You might not.”
“Then Ella will do it.”
“Ella?”
“She filled in your roll the other day when you were away with that hot friend of hers. Mary, is it? Well, I called Ella and she pretended Dean is ill.”
“Dean?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s Dean?”
Adam shrugged. “Ask Ella. She came up with the name. Did an excellent act to get me out of the date. I could have kissed her right there but I knew you would kill me.”
Lucas rolled his eyes. “Get out already, Adam.”
“Maybe you could try to make Ella’s life more exciting,” Adam winked.
“I told you, I’m over Ella.”
“I know, I know,” Adam said, a smile lingering on his lips. “Well, see you later.”
There was once a time when he had been like Adam; a date every night and a carefree attitude. Something (or someone) had deeply altered that person.
Lucas had settled down for the night and was tying away on his laptop, working on the short story the local newspaper had asked for when he heard a gentle knock on the door. It was Mary, dressed in a short, black dress, complementing her dark black hair. Her hair fell lose around her shoulders. The collars of her dress were low and revealing the outline of her breasts. She looked extremely pretty with the dim moonlight shining on her hair.
“Hey Lucas.” She slipped her thin arms around him, pulling him in an embrace. Lucas reciprocated though he was a little surprised.
“Everything okay? It’s 1am.”
“I was scared to go home,” Mary admitted. “Can you drive me home?”
“Of course. Let me get my keys.”
Mary tagged along with him as he went to fetch his keys, holding his arm the whole time.
“Mary, are you okay?” he asked. “Why are you scared?”
“Stebbins tried to corner me again today.”
“When?”
“At the party I was at. And I didn’t have my car and all my friends were too drunk to drive. When I started to walk back home, I thought someone was following me. So I came here instead.”
“Wasn’t Ella with you?”
“She didn’t come. Donna was there but I couldn’t find her and her phone was switched off.”
“Let’s get you home then,” Lucas said, draping an arm around her.
The car ride was a quiet one. Mary seemed to be lost in thought and Lucas didn’t have much to say. When they reached her apartment, Ella greeted them at the door. She was dressed in an oversized T shirt and pajamas. Mary bid them goodbye as soon as she entered the house and retired to bed.
“Nice shirt,” Lucas commented as he and Ella sat on the couch. He noticed that she had just showered and her hair smelled of almond butter again- the signature smell.
“It’s Patrick’s’,” Ella replied without missing a beat.
“Is it as unexciting as he is?”
Ella rolled her eyes. “I’m going to kill Adam.”
“But really, Scott. I would have thought you’d tell me about your relationship problems. I’m offended.”
Ella sighed. “I haven’t really got the time to tell you.”
“Are you unhappy?” Lucas asked. He wanted to see Ella happy but he knew he would feel a mirthful happiness if Patrick failed to make Ella happy. He reminded himself that he did not like Ella anymore.
Ella sighed again.
“I don’t know. You know how I am, Luke. I have very specific ideas about love and relationships and I feel like… I feel like I’m being somewhat of a hypocrite by not following those ideas because… because I believe in them so, so strongly. Patrick doesn’t fulfill any of those. At times I feel like I’m just waiting for that one fight to happen so I can… I can have an excuse to break up. Because there’s nothing wrong with our relationship. It’s actually perfect. Except that I don’t want such a dull love life. He’s too… proper, if that’s the right word. And I even feel terrible saying this because… because he hasn’t done anything wrong. That’s the worst part. He’s been so good to me. But then… I’m the one who always advocated for happiness in a relationship. And even though he hasn’t done anything wrong, I’m not happy with him. I mean, I’m not unhappy but I’m not happy either. And that’s… that’s just wasted investment in a relationship. But I don’t know how to end it or even if I should end it at all or not. Maybe it won’t be fair to him at all. It’s all so complicated and to be honest, I’m scared of complicated.” She stopped then and breathed, as if she had been holding it all in for days.
And nothing had changed. She was still too good for words and he was still helpless. Months of pretending to not feel a thing for her came crashing around him at that moment. He had always known there was no chance for him and that hadn’t changed either. And she was scared of complicated and she would only be confused by what he had to say. So that took precedent over anything else Lucas wanted.
“Ella, it’s alright to admit you aren’t happy,” Lucas answered at last.
“This is the first time that I did.”
Lucas sighed. “What are you going to do about it then?”
“I was hoping you’d have the answer.”
Lucas shook his head. “I can’t… I can’t exactly give you proper advice about this. I mean, given our history, if I tell you to break up with him, it will just give the wrong meaning and I would hate to do that. But I won’t tell you to stay in a relationship that isn’t fulfilling. I mean, I can’t say much. I’ve never been in a functional relationship. But… but when I do settle down, I would want it to be with someone who can… who can make my life better than what it was without them. And if they aren’t doing that, I would really reconsider my choices. Having said that, Patrick may be too much of a Prince Charming and too lovesick but he’s a nice guy. He’s a genuinely nice guy. So… so the only advice I can give to you is that… think about it, Ella. But put yourself first.”
Ella was quiet for a few seconds before nodding slowly.
“Thank you, Luke,” she replied. She scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her and they sat back, completely comfortable in each ot
her’s company. Mary had often commented on how comfortable the two were with intimate gestures, despite being friends. Ella had always felt at ease with Lucas, knowing he would not take the wrong meaning out of any gesture. She could feel his heartbeat under her ear as they fell into a nice silence.
“How’s Mary?” Ella asked.
“She’s alright. I was going to ask you the same question.”
“She seems fine. Still a little shaken.”
“Hmm, she’ll be fine.” Lucas’s left hand rested on her arm and his thumb made soft circles on the outside of her arm.
“She likes you, you know?” Ella asked softly.
“Mary?”
“Yeah.”
“Nah, she doesn’t. It’s just an instinct because I apparently saved her from the bad guy.”
“You did save her from the bad guy.”
“Yeah, yeah. I was just doing what was right. Would have done the same if it was anyone else.”
“She thinks it was very heroic.”
Lucas chuckled. Ella raised her head to look up at him.
“I think I’ll end things with Patrick.”
Lucas nodded slowly. “Well, that’s up to you. I have no comments to make.”
Pulling herself to sit straight, Ella removed her from his side and brought her legs under her chin.
“I think it’s for the best.”
“Did you draw those?” Lucas asked, nodding towards the new paintings that hung next to the door. Ella noticed the subtle change of subject but did not comment.
“Yes.”
“Is it the last Friday of the month already?” Ella put up new paintings every last Friday of the month.
“Yep.”
The next day, Mary found herself in quite a dilemma. She had found Ella and Lucas asleep on the couch early in the morning. Ella was curled up with her head on his lap while Lucas was leaning on the reclining couch. Mary had been unable to sleep and had come outside for water. It was 4am and she assumed they had fallen asleep while chatting. Gently, she woke Ella up. Realizing what had happened, Ella had seen the time and gasped.
“I have such a long day tomorrow, I should have slept properly. I won’t even be able to function…” Ella started to say but Mary hushed her.
“It’s alright, you still have a couple of hours. Go on, go to sleep. I’ll wake Lucas. He can have the couch.”
Romance: The Bad Boy Affair: A Second Chance Romance Page 47
