by Jason Letts
“Oh my God, you smoke?” she cringed, completely grossed out.
“Yeah,” he said.
Cammie kept her lips sealed for two seconds before the dam broke and a deluge of words came pouring out.
“Do you have any idea how bad that is for you? All the carcinogens, the tar, the nicotine, you’re basically killing yourself. Plus it’s the most terrible, disgusting habit anyone could have.”
“Whoa, when did my mom get here?” he said, a little taken aback.
“Yeah, I think it’s time for me to leave,” Cammie stated, starting off down the strip mall for the subway terminal.
“Let me at least walk you there. Wait!”
Not slowing at all, Cammie twisted to look back as he came up to her side.
“No matter how I dress or what I say or do, I still want to be a doctor and that means encouraging people to make healthy choices. No one with any self-respect would smoke, and that’s something I can’t tolerate.”
“I thought you were cool,” Garrett scowled, and the sting of it drove straight into Cammie’s heart.
She stalked forward and squelched the urge to cry. Keeping it all inside, she refused to even look at the boy she liked who still followed at her heels. The entrance to the subway was coming up, and then she’d be able to get back to her books.
A tall, gangly man in a hooded jacket was about to cross their path. His face was unshaven and his hands were stuffed in his pockets, probably from the cold. As they were about to pass each other, the tall man jumped in front of them, threw out his elbows, and shoved Cammie and Garrett into the mouth of a dark alley.
“Hey!” Garrett growled, having little time to react.
“Time to break open the piggy bank, kids,” the man threatened. He hadn’t had his hands on his pockets from the cold, instead revealing a silver pistol that shined as it caught a ray of light. Cammie’s face went pale, her eyes strained, and it looked like she was going to hyperventilate. The man pointed the gun directly at them, demanding they fork over any money they had.
“I don’t have all day!” he shouted, trying to snap them out of their petrified state.
Garrett stared at the mugger, pulling his wallet out and inching closer to hand it over. The sound of a car echoed behind them, catching the jumpy gunman’s attention. Taking advantage of the distraction, Garrett kicked the side of the man’s knee and rammed him to knock him over. The gun fired and Cammie screamed, but the bullet ricocheted off the pavement.
The mugger collapsed, groaning, and dropped the gun on the ground. Cammie gasped, still unable to move a muscle. Flailing, Garrett picked it up and pointed it at their attacker. A sudden look of terror marring his face, he scrambled back to the street and started to run away.
Both Garrett and Cammie were breathing hard for a moment.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” Cammie stammered. “It was incredible.”
“Yeah, I know,” Garrett huffed.
He still had the gun in his hand, and he stared at it for a moment. After catching his breath, he put the barrel into his pocket and returned his attention to Cammie.
“You’re going to keep that?” she asked, the alarm constant on her face. A slick smile revealed Garrett’s bright white teeth.
“Why not? Much better I have it than him, right?” Garrett noted, and Cammie reluctantly nodded. She took a halting step closer to him and the mouth of the alley.
“Are you ok, Cam?” he asked, touching her arm and making her gasp. He entranced her, preventing her from looking away no matter how badly she might want to.
“I think I’m fine. What about you?”
Garrett breathed deeply, puffing out his chest and clenching the muscles in his thin arms. A daring glimmer came into his young eyes.
“I feel like I can do anything,” he said, gazing at her.
“Anything?”
Cammie looked like she wanted to reach out and touch him, and that was all the permission he needed. Garrett stepped closer to her, reaching for the side of her head to position her mouth and pressing his lips hard against her. He continued forward until he’d pinned her to the wall. She bumped into it, but the only sound she made was a moan.
Tearing her lips away to come up for air, Cammie looked completely blown away. Her eyelids hung lazily until she shut them and dove in for another kiss.
Her eyes closed and her lips in rapture, she surrendered to the adrenaline and the passion. Garrett’s arms wrapped tight around her middle, and she had hers hanging over his shoulders. The kissing made her legs give out, but she didn’t slide to the ground because of how hard Garrett pressed her against the wall.
Chapter 8
Walking down Water St. on Thursday night, it wasn’t hard to tell which house was the soccer house. Cars were parked haphazardly on the lawn and in the street around a decently large two-story house that practically glowed for all the light escaping from it.
I stumbled closer, trying to keep my distance from others heading to the same destination. A night in the library had left me exhausted, and a day spent sneaking around and loitering in other campus facilities had me on edge. I’d perfected the art of pretending I didn’t have my college I.D. card, but that didn’t mean I felt like I belonged. On the contrary, I was an outsider to this entire world.
The only way to get back to my Nathan was to find Cammie, and to do that I had to go through Nate. I felt like he could’ve told me where Cammie was in two seconds while we were near the academic buildings on campus, but he’d chosen instead to lure me into his den for a night of drinking and horseplay.
He was braggy and conceded, but he was confident and forceful too, and those were always the things I’d found sexiest in Nathan. That was the worst part about it. I was under no illusions about what Nate wanted me for tonight, but I couldn’t escape from the inkling in my heart that I wanted him for the same thing too.
The door to the soccer house had been propped open, allowing absolutely anybody to enter. As I approached, I could see a healthy crowd inside and hear the music pumping. I didn’t know how long it would take for him to find me, but I would need every second of it to prepare myself to resist him.
Someone walked past the door just as I headed in, and I was surprised to realize I’d seen this guy before. It was Nathan’s friend Steven, a short, rich guy who didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He glanced at me and for a moment I thought he recognized me too. Stopping in his tracks, he grappled the doorframe and leaned out toward me.
“No, you’re supposed to be dressed like a nurse!” he shouted. It wasn’t that late, but he was well on his way to being hammered.
“What?”
“A nurse. How are you supposed to pop out of a cake dressed like that?”
A number of people inside turned their heads to see the cause of Steven’s shouting, and Nate was among them. I took a deep breath as he locked eyes with me from across the room.
“No, that’s not her!” Nate shouted to his friend, who apologized and unblocked the doorway. I took a step into the kitchen as Nate crossed the living room to meet me. He pushed aside a couple who were making out to get to me, careful not to spill the beer in his hand.
“Sarah, let me get you a drink!” he said, reaching into one of the cases stacked against the wall. He used his thumb to flick away the cap as easily as one might flip a coin.
“Sure,” I said, more concerned about acting naturally with my new name and not really realizing what I’d agreed to. Taking the beer, he said “cheers,” and we touched the bottles together. I took a small sip, knowing having my wits about me was going to be more important than anything.
“You’re not a lightweight, are you?” he said, shaking his head as he inspected the amount of liquid still in the bottle. “Why don’t you polish that one off and loosen up a little?”
I gave him a hard look for his suggestion that I finish the entire bottle.
“What, are you trying to get my drunk?” I asked, making him scof
f at me.
“No, you’re trying to get you drunk. Isn’t that why you’re here? That’s why everybody else is here. Who wants to get drunk?” he hollered into the living room, and the ensuing roar of approval almost caused an earthquake. I just cleared my throat though and set the bottle on the table.
“Actually, I’m here to interview you about your experience on the soccer team, your life, remember?” I’d found a pad and a pen in the library, and I took it out of my back pocket to drive home the point that I was here to gather information, not put myself in compromising situations in which I’d be taken advantage of.
“Fire away then,” Nate said, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Alright, can you tell me a little bit about what it’s like for you to play on the State College men’s soccer team?” I asked. I’d decided earlier that I couldn’t just start off asking the questions I needed to know because it would seem too suspicious. I had to make it sound like a real interview.
“Oh, it’s been great,” Nate rambled. “I’m just out there on the field, doing my thing, you know. And it’s a wonderful feeling being in a game, having the ball, and everybody has their eyes directly on you. You’ve got to make the play or else you let the whole team down that day. That’s what I do it for. That, and the groupies.”
“Groupies?” I shuddered, pretending to write down his answer.
“Ok, the fans. Sometimes we call them groupies, but they do get a little freaky from time to time. It’s not a bad thing though. Everybody’s got to have their passions, and I sure can’t blame anybody if they choose to get passionate about me. It’s a beautiful thing.”
At this point I was basically drawing circles on my notepad. Every word that came out of his mouth seemed to repulse me a little more, creating a deep conflict with the intoxicating smile on his face and the alluring look in his eyes that made it hard for me to breathe.
“Moving on, what are your goals in life? What does Nate Wheeler want to accomplish after college?” I asked, and Nate chuckled uneasily. He brought his hand up to scratch the back of his head, and one look at his bicep rippling under his t-shirt made me want to faint.
“I’m just focused on doing the best I can here at State College. The classes I take are going good. I’m a business major, and that’s supposed to lead to, you know, a job down the road. So hopefully I’ll be doing something I like. I’d hate to have a job that blows.”
“Well said,” I nodded, scribbling into my notepad. It was a little hard to hear him because of all the music and talking around us, but I had a feeling I wasn’t losing anything important. I had to pay close attention now as I started to bend the interview closer to what I needed to know.
“And how does your family feel about all your success on the soccer team?” I asked.
“What?” Nate shouted, unable to hear me. He craned his neck, but then realized his beer was empty and he had to grab another. I repeated myself, raising my voice, but he still didn’t seem to be able to hear me. The music had gotten louder, and more people were crowding around us now. Nate shrugged, helpless.
“I mean, we can head up to my room and do it there,” he suggested, and somehow that got through to me crystal clear.
The nerves almost did make me want to take another drink. I had to find out about Cammie, and I had a feeling it was something he kept secret and wouldn’t just broadcast to everybody around us. Still, going up to his room was a dangerous proposition because I didn’t want anything to happen between us, but going might give him the wrong idea.
“Ok,” I agreed, finally deciding it was worth pissing him off if I left as soon as I got what I needed as long as it meant my Nathan would be ok.
Nate led me through the living room, which was surprisingly warm because of all the people and commotion. A few people were dancing, some were camped out on the couch, and several guys were playing flip cup at a table. When they saw him leading me through the room, they whistled and shouted his name. I blushed and hid my face, never having been in such an embarrassing situation in my life.
As we climbed the stairs, the steps creaked under our feet.
“Don’t worry, the bed is quieter,” Nate said. It sounded like a joke, but I had a feeling it wasn’t.
On the second floor, there were posters of soccer players from various professional teams all over the walls between rooms. Pages torn out of magazines depicting scantily clad women accompanied the posters, and altogether it just felt like there were so many eyes on me. I stuck close to Nate, finally slipping into his room. The door snapped shut behind us.
The first thing that hit me was the smell. He must have had some kind of air-freshener going because his room smelt powerfully…nice. The room in general wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected. There were a few textbooks tossed against a chair, and some dirty clothes on the floor near the hamper, but the bed was actually made and most everything else was neat.
I stuck as close to the door as possible, clutching my notepad to my chest, while Nathan kicked off his shoes and reclined against the edge of his large bed.
“Come on in and make yourself at home,” he urged.
“I’m fine, thanks,” I said, trying to keep myself calm. A part of me hoped his shoes were just the beginning and he’d just strip the rest of his clothes right off, and my desire for that scared me and kept me pinned to the wall more than anything else.
“Can I keep asking you questions now that it’s quieter?” I asked, flipping the page in my notebook and swallowing.
Nate chuckled and shook his head. He lurched off of the bed and approached me forcefully. I watched him as he came up next to me and leaned an arm against the door over my head.
“Can we cut the bullshit here?” he grinned from just inches away, and I wasn’t sure but I thought I heard the door lock.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my mouth gone dry.
“We both know you’re not a reporter,” he said, and the implication that he was onto me made my heart stop.
“No, I’m here for the college newspaper. I want to be a journalist,” I stammered, knowing I was about as easy to see through as glass. Nate swallowed and rolled his eyes.
“I checked the website. There’s no one named Sarah there, no picture of you, no articles, nothing.”
“I’m new,” I muttered, but the look in his eyes told me he knew he’d caught me red-handed. I had no idea what this meant or what he was going to do now that he’d exposed me for lying to him, but I felt more uncomfortable and more drawn to him than ever. My breathing was labored, and I just stared into his eyes and waited for him to do what he wanted.
“I know why you’re here,” he said at last. He took my hand and led me over to the bed. I didn’t resist, finally letting him sit me down. I noticed a bottle of vodka on the floor by the nightstand. He grabbed it, took a sip, and offered it to me. Things didn’t seem like they could get any tenser, and so I took a tiny sip from the bottle. The liquor burned as it slid down my throat.
“And why’s that?” It felt like there was a weight on my chest that made it hard to breathe.
“It’s because you find me attractive,” he said, his strangely invasive eyes taking me in. Even though he was absolutely right about that, it wasn’t why I was here, and I shook my head hoping he’d believe me.
“I could say the same thing about you.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I knew I’d even said them. His hungry gaze told me he wasn’t at all ashamed about it.
“You look like a fairy tale wrapped in a dream,” he whispered, and I was strangely flattered. I fought to suppress a smile, but I think he caught it and it only encouraged him more. “You’re like an angel who’s lost her wings.”
He was so close I thought he would kiss me, and I was so wrapped up in him I don’t think I’d be able to push him away, but then something strange danced inside his mind, making him pause.
“You remind me of someone I’ve seen before. Or just glimpsed really, but I could’ve sworn it
was you glancing at me and giggling, always just out of reach.”
He immediately made me think of the face that I’d seen. Who was it that looked just like me? Nate overcame his brief moment of contemplation and returned to pursuing me. His eyes dancing across my body felt like a hot light shining upon me.
“Let me blow your mind tonight,” Nate said. I hadn’t even realized that his hands were near my neck peeling away my jacket. My mind was swimming, and I couldn’t think straight. I had to find a way to resist or I’d never get what I needed to know. Swallowing, I rose, stalked out to the middle of the room, and crossed my arms in front of my waist as I turned to him.
“You would, wouldn’t you?” I growled, trying to use anger to regain control of myself. “How could you cheat on Sasha like that? She obviously loves you!”
I’d hoped the accusation would do more to ward him off, but Nate barely even flinched. He set his arms against the bed to lean back, his strong torso stretching out seductively.
“How do you know her name?” he wondered, shaking his head and changing gears. “It’s nothing…nothing you need to worry about. She’s cool with it as long as she’s the one I care about most.”
“And you really expect me to believe that?” I cringed. “I don’t know what’s worse, that you think it’s a good way to treat her or me!”
Nate got off of the bed and came over to me. Just having him near took my breath away, and I was afraid my eyes were betraying how I wanted to lose myself in him. If only this were my Nathan and I could rain kisses upon him until he was completely covered. Nate put his hands on my crossed arms, and I felt a warm flush sweep through my body.
“This doesn’t have to be an issue. Tomorrow it’ll be like this never happened,” he said, definitely thinking this was comforting when it only made the prospect of sex more repulsive. But I pushed my index finger into the center of his chest and lightly pressed him back against the bed.
Nate tipped backward, lying across the bed and grinning. After closing my eyes for a moment, I set my knees on each side of him and crawled past his hips and his chest until my body was over him and I was staring down at his face. My hair hung down, enclosing our minds in this tiny space.
