I turned from staring at the door to Alyssa. She crossed her arms over her chest with a cocky-ass grin on her face.
"It's Elle's favorite. Eat what you want."
"Aw, why the grim, someone-killed-my-puppy look?"
I cringed.
I sat at the bar while Alyssa grabbed a slice of pizza. She offered me one, but I shook my head. With all the shit running through my head, I couldn't eat.
"What's with this guy?"
"What do you mean? Eric and Elle have flirted with each other for like ever. She likes him and he likes her."
Why the fuck did I ask her anything?
"Great." I ran my fingers through my hair, trying not to pull pieces out in the process. "Listen, I've gotta go. Enjoy the free dinner." I turned and headed for the door, ready to escape the hell running through my head.
"I think he's taking her back to the frat house after they eat."
I stopped mid-step. What the hell kind of game was she playing?
"Just thought you might want to know."
"See ya, Amazon." I left and drove straight to the frat house. The usual group of guys were hanging out drinking beer and messing around. I grabbed a cold one and watched TV, attempting to keep calm, at least on the outside, because on the inside I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut, hard.
The hair at the back of my neck rose the second I heard her voice. She walked into view and I stayed still, completely enamored with how beautiful she looked.
Her nose was tinted red from being outside in the cold. Her eyes glowed and her smile…God, her smile did things to me that no other woman could ever do. Just as quick as she made my heart thunder in my chest, she slashed to shreds. Reaching on her tiptoes, I watched her kiss him without inhibitions. Elle was a quiet, reserved person and watching her let go...with another man–
I interrupted their little intimate...shit. I couldn't stomach the thought of her, Green, and intimate in the same sentence. Ever. Anyway, I thought breaking them apart would help, instead I fucked shit up more. They walked upstairs to play a game of pool. Elle fluttered her long lashes, pretending not to know how to play. Fuck, I taught her how to play and knew she could kick his ass any day. I gave them an appropriate amount of time to finish their game before heading up to check on her.
Fury unlike I'd never known coursed through my veins. Suggesting what Green might do was a pretty bold move on my behalf. I also had no right to yell at her, but seeing the asshole’s hands roaming up her back and his tongue down her throat made me lose my shit. Maybe I deserved to watch in misery–Elle with someone else–considering I never fessed up to how I felt, but son of a bitch.
When they left I didn't want my mind to wonder, but it had. The vivid, erotic snippets of them together had my head spinning and created a hollowness in the pit of my stomach. Right now, the only thing I wanted was for Green to show up. Alone. I slammed the empty beer bottle on the coffee table.
"Need another one?" I looked up at Jarred.
"Sure do." I hoped I could drink enough alcohol to destroy the repeated scenes running through my head. "Thanks," I said, grabbing the cold-bottled lifeline.
Mid-drink, the front door opened. I jumped off the couch expecting Green, instead Kellie and Robbie came in. Why they were together I had no idea, considering she supposedly made plans to hang out with her friends.
"Funny seeing you here," I said, obviously surprising Kellie.
She hurried away from Robbie's side, smiling as she walked, or rather swayed, to meet me by the couch.
"Baby. I figured you'd be hanging out with your little Elle." The profound stench of alcohol wafted across my nose, along with the distinct masculine spiced cologne mixed with her too-sweet smelling perfume. Interestingly enough, I didn't give a damn.
"Nope, just chilling here with the guys." I looked over at Robbie. He shoved his hands in his pocket. "Did you and Robbie come here together?" I turned and focused on her face.
"He was at the club tonight. I wanted to leave, but the girls wanted to stay, so Robbie drove me back here." Her voice pitched.
"Lucky for you," I said.
"Hey, I'm gonna run. I'm glad you were here so Kellie doesn't have to go to her dorm alone."
"Yeah, thanks, man," I said. Robbie nodded then left the house.
Kellie pulled me forward, planting a sloppy kiss on my lips, but I pushed her away. I didn't feel like messing around and suspected she wanted to fool around with someone else.
"It's late, Kellie. I'll drive you home." I half expected a fight, but she headed for the door without debate.
Kellie stayed quiet on the way to her dorm. After I dropped her off, I drove around town for a bit to clear my head. It seemed Kellie and Robbie were becoming close pals. I should've been pissed at the possibility of my fiancée screwing around, but nope. The idea seemed fucked up considering how pissed I'd been over Elle being with Green.
Well after two in the morning, I finally crashed on the couch, too tired to make it to my room.
The next morning I went for my usual run and then I headed to field training. Around noon my stomach cramped from lack of hydration and the hot-ass sun. I probably should lay off the beer....nah. Next thing I knew, Coach had us running extra laps. I stayed focused, knowing we had a tough team to beat tomorrow, and he expected nothing less than our best.
After practice, most of us usually ate at a local pizza place not far from campus. Bret asked to ride with me since his sister had his car. I had English in an hour, but didn't feel like going today. I'd be sure to get my notes from Bridget. She always looked for an excuse to study with me, even when I turned her more than willing offers down.
"Hey, let's get out of here before Coach changes his mind and makes us suit up again," I said.
Bret and a few others laughed.
"All right. Let's go," Bret said, grabbing his wallet.
On the drive he asked about Alyssa. "So, Elle's friend, Alyssa, she's hot. Right?"
I glanced over and frowned. Certainly he knew her reputation? Maybe he did and knew he didn't have to worry about commitment issues with her. Either way, I had to find out.
"Hot? Yeah, I guess." I looked back at the road. "You interested?"
"Dunno. Maybe?" It was the slight rise when he said maybe that sparked my interest, and a great idea popped in my head.
If Bret hooked up with Alyssa, even for a short while, he could give me information about Elle being with Green. So, instead of making fun of his stupid ass, I decided to encourage the poor bastard.
"She's not bad. We argue a lot, but she's a good friend to Elle. We've known each other since we were kids." Because I knew he needed reassurance of Alyssa's hotness factor, I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat and finished. "She's pretty hot, great ass." I did my best not to shiver. I felt like I'd just admitted to my sister being hot. I don't even have a sister.
"Yeah? You think so?"
Hooked him.
"Yep, you gonna ask her out?" I pulled into the pizza parking lot and killed the engine.
"Yeah. I asked her to the date night tonight and she agreed." I glanced over and caught his smile.
"Good luck. Let's go get grub. I'm starving." I couldn't bring myself to give him any more encouragement. My stomach needed food, and I didn't want to upchuck the contents later thinking about what I'd said.
"Sounds good."
A large pizza, three Cokes, and several bread sticks later my stomach finally stopped growling. I could pass out from the overload. Most of the guys planned to go to the date night thing tonight and hurried out with me and Bret.
I dropped Bret off at his house and drove back home. I'd completely forgotten about the date night thing and instead of Kellie, Elle's face entered my mind. I imagined her wearing one of her summer dresses. The ones short enough to see her trim, tanned thighs. Her light brown hair draped over her bare shoulder, and her smile. God, I loved her smile. Then my phone rang. Kellie.
"Hello," I answered.
&nb
sp; "Is there something going on at the house tonight?" I knew what she wanted and because I apparently had a thing for torturing myself, I gave in.
"Yeah, I forgot about date night tonight. Wanna go?" I knew her answer before she gave it.
"Yes, I'll meet you there." She surprised me.
"Um, you sure? I mean, I can pick you up?" It was date night after all.
"Nah, I'll meet you there. Some of the girls want to party later."
"Okay, see you around seven."
"Great, bye."
When I got home, I threw my cell on my dresser and jumped in the shower. I needed to break things off with Kellie, but figured I'd wait until later this weekend. I didn't need any stress before my game tomorrow. I also needed to be sure I didn't drink too much tonight, and then it donned on me. Green and I were in the same frat. Green and Elle were dating. They'd probably be there...together. Fuck.
When I got out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my waist and fell on my bed, thinking. Maybe I could clue Bret in. He'd be on my side and help keep Green away, right? No, I'd only look like a pussy. Shit, and Kellie would be there, too.
My phone rang, dragging me from my current list of problems. Getting up, I grabbed it off the dresser. I didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway. "Hello."
"Tristan, hi." The female caller paused. "It's me, Heather."
"Hey, Heather. What's up?" I never thought she'd actually call.
"Oh nothing. I just wanted to say hi." She didn't sound right.
"You sure you're okay, kid?" I waited, worried.
She laughed, all breathy like. "Hey, remember when we used to play hide and seek when we were kids?"
I walked back to my bed and sat down. "Yeah, sure. Fun times."
She sighed into the phone. "I thought I was the best hider. You and Elle would walk around calling out my name, usually close to where I'd be hiding."
"Yeah. We did." I thought back to us playing. Elle and I always knew where she hid but pretended not to.
"Even back then Elle never stopped looking until she found me."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Heather, she'll never stop looking for you. She loves you." I didn't know what to say, but the more she talked, the more I worried about her state of mind.
"Yeah, I know. I've got to go. Don't tell her I called. Um, I'll call you later."
"Wait," I said, but she'd hung up. I thought about calling the number back, but figured I'd only push her away. I saved the number and wasted no time making another call.
“Hello?" Mrs. Richards’s frail voice irritated me.
“Hey, it’s Tristan." I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from yelling. Dealing with Heather, knowing she was fucked up and I couldn’t do a goddamn thing about it, had anger just waiting to find the right target. Unfortunately, Elle would probably never forgive me if that target ended up being her mom.
“Did you find her? Is she all right?"
I knew which daughter she worried about without having to ask. “She–yeah, she’s fine." What I really wanted to tell her was no, the girl is fucked and needs some tough love, but I refrained.
“Oh, thank God." Her relief traveled through the phone line, pissing me off more. She actually believed everything was okay… damn, I wish she’d let me borrow her rose-colored glasses.
“She doesn’t want me to tell Elle. I… I think I should tell her."
“No! Don’t do that. Elle has enough to worry about. Please, as long as Heather’s fine, we don’t want to worry anyone needlessly."
Ah…what? Whatever. Crazy-ass family. The only sane one happened to be the one I loved, who, by the way, didn’t want much to do with me right now. “Fine, sure. But if Heather gets worse–"
“We’ll deal with that if it happens."
After I hung up with Elle's mom, I dressed, grabbed my car keys, and drove to the frat house. I parked my car a bit down the street to keep her safe from drunken idiots. There weren't too many cars parked, but I'd gotten there early.
When I walked in, the house was strangely quiet. I headed to the kitchen. Freshmen were responsible for keeping the fridge and ice chests stocked, music playing, and shots full. I needed a drink, and in the kitchen found some freshmen stocking the fridge, but no shots poured. Rookies needed to get their shit together.
"Boys, let me show you how it's done." Kirk, a freshman on the team tossed me a bottle of tequila. "Nice choice," I said, hunting around in the cabinets for the plastic shot glasses.
"Here," another dude said, handing them to me.
"Thanks. You guys go grab some ice chests and fill ‘em up with ice and beer."
"On it," they said in unison.
Fifteen minutes later, I heard laughter in the living room, and then Jarred walked in.
"Damn, you planning to get fucked up tonight?"
I looked at the three rows of top-full tequila shots. "I know some are."
"I knew you'd fit in," he said, and a few more guys from the team joined us.
"Hell yeah. Daniels, you know how to party," James said, picking up a shot.
"Let's get this party started." Jarred grabbed his shot. Of course I had no choice but to join.
"All right, here's to getting laid," I said, raising my shot in the air. We clanked our plastic cups, sloshing precious liquid down the sides, and then tossed ‘em back. The burn hurt, but in a good way.
"We need some music. What the hell are the freshmen doing?" About then, the speakers came to life.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," James said, bobbing his head off beat.
"Dude, if you want to get laid, don't dance." I paused. "At least get her drunk so she doesn't care that you can't move to a beat."
"Screw you. I've got skills," he said still bobbing his stupid-ass head.
"Whatever you say, man." Jarred and I laughed.
"Don't forget we have a game tomorrow. Keep the drinking under control," Jarred said.
"Will do," James replied, but when Jarred left the kitchen he picked up another shot and downed it. I laughed and headed out to join the crowd in the living room.
An hour later the entire house had people dancing and drinking. When seven rolled around, I kept an eye out for Kellie. The music tempo slowed and people started complaining. I walked over to change the set to something with more of a beat when Bridget walked up. She had a killer body, and her tits looked ready to pop out of the short, tight dress she had on. Damn.
"Hey, cutie. Missed you in class."
"Yeah, I wasn't feeling it today." I smiled, knowing she'd give me any notes I needed. "Other than missing out by seeing you, I'm sure it was boring."
She licked her lips, and then smiled. "You always know what to say." She moved closer. "You didn't miss much, but we do have a paper due next week." She trailed her finger down my arm, still smiling. "I'd be willing to help you go over the details."
"As tempting as your offers always are," I winked, "I'll have to turn you down." She frowned, but I knew she wouldn't give up.
"See ya tomorrow on the field." Bridget waved, leaving me alone with the music. After I changed the slow crap to some upbeat dance tunes, I took out my phone thinking maybe Kellie had called, but I didn't have a missed call. I decided to call her and headed to a quieter area. On my way, off in a corner, I found her talking to Robbie. Go figure. I walked over and interrupted their conversation.
"I didn't know you were here already?"
"Baby, I just got here. The party is great. Everyone is here." She stayed beside Robbie. He grinned back at me.
"I'll see you around, Kellie," the dick said.
"Great, thanks for talking to me." She smiled, dimples and all. She had on a tight dress, one she usually wore for one reason. But I didn't think it was me she wanted taking her out of it later.
"You want something to drink?" When she turned back to me, her smiled faded.
"Sure, a beer or whatever."
"I'll be right back." On my way to get Kellie's drink, the
front door opened. Bret and Alyssa walked in with Elle and Green following behind. I couldn't move. Green whispered something to Elle, and she looked up, smiling. She had on an orange and white dress making her naturally tan skin seem darker. I followed the length of her legs down to the high heels she had on. Damn she looked sexy. Someone called out my name, but I didn't turn right away.
"Daniels," Jarred said, closer now. I turned.
"Yeah?"
"We need to make another beer run, you okay to drive?" I'd only had the one shot from earlier, so I nodded in reply. Not liking the way Elle smiled at Green, I decided to ask if she wanted to drive me. I walked over and smiled.
"Hey, Spud."
"Hey."
Green eyed me carefully and Alyssa cocked her brow, waiting for me to say more.
"I need to make a beer run. You think you can drive me. I've had a few shots already." She'd never know the difference.
"Um, why don't you have Bret drive you? He hasn't had anything to drink yet." Not the answer I hoped for.
Bret joined in. "Yeah, let's hurry."
"Cool." I headed to the front door pretending not to be annoyed when Alyssa smiled like the devil at me.
"Dude, you wasted already?"
I took out my car keys. "Nah, I just–" Fuck. "Yeah, I guess I am." Bret laughed and instead of my car, I followed him to his and got in.
"How are things going with Alyssa?"
Bret roared his car to life and blasted down the street. "Good for now." He turned a corner fast and I buckled my seatbelt.
"I don't want to die, dickhead."
He laughed, again. “Pussy."
When we pulled up to the liquor store I ran in, bought two cases of beer, and headed back out. Bret pulled out of the parking lot squealing his tires like a dumb ass. My phone buzzed and I pulled it out to see who texted me.
Thanks for telling me you were leaving. It doesn't matter, I'm out.
"Shit," I said, just then remembering Kellie.
"Problems in paradise?"
I glared at Bret. "I was supposed to be getting Kellie a drink. I forgot."
"Nice," he said, parking not far from the frat house. The fucker didn't help carry the two cases of beer in and just about ran into the house. Right now, I hoped Alyssa would drop kick his stupid ass to the curb.
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