The Blythe College Complete Series Box Set

by Rochelle Paige

  Now, here I was, stuck hanging out with Drake instead of watching Kaylie at the bar because Aubrey and Lex had convinced us that we should do a guys’ night while they did a girls’ one. I’d thought I’d been so smart when I’d told them yes but that it needed to be a weeknight. If I’d had any fucking clue what was going to happen last night, no way would I have agreed to this when my sister asked me. I would have taken Kaylie to dinner and dropped her off at work. After finally getting inside her, I just wanted to have her to myself so we could do it all over again. And again and again. I was so damn horny for her that I didn’t know when I’d ever get my fill. For the first time in my life, this ‘being away from each other all day’ shit didn’t fly with me. And wasn’t that a fucking surprise considering how I’d never wanted another girl to be even be there in the morning let alone all fucking day after we’d had sex.

  One night with Kaylie and I’d turned into a pussy-whipped idiot. Knowing that didn’t stop me from being one though. Or from walking around campus with a shit-eating grin on my face all day, catching strange looks from my friends who couldn’t figure out why I was in such a damn good mood. And there was no fucking way I was going to talk to most of the guys about sex with Kaylie. What was going on between her and me was different from the usual locker-room bullshit we’d toss around about the girls we’d banged. If one of them told me he’d do her or some shit like that, I’d probably kick his ass when I would have just told him to go for it with any other chick.

  “You doing okay there, Jackson?” I heard Drake ask, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I didn’t realize you were so into commercials.”

  Drake had talked me into hitting a sports bar to drink some beers, eat some wings, and watch football. The game must have hit halftime, and I hadn’t even realized it because I’d been so stuck in my head. Totally pussy-whipped.

  Not that Drake had room to judge me with how he was about Lex. If anyone had told me three months ago that I’d be hanging out with him, I would have told them they were a fucking idiot since he and Lex were together. It was a huge relief to realize that with everything that had been going on with Kaylie and me, I hadn’t given their relationship much thought at all. Now he was just the guy who was dating my childhood friend and would get his ass kicked if he hurt her because I wanted her to be happy. Not because I wanted her for myself.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I finally answered. “Just got some stuff on my mind.”

  “Anything I can help with?” he asked before popping a fry into his mouth.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  Drake put down the beer he was about to take a drink of and gave me a serious look. “Hey, man. We never really talked about it, but I know I owe you one. So if there’s something you need—anything at all—just ask. You’ve got a problem that I can help you with and I’m there. Okay?”

  “Dude, you don’t owe me anything,” I said as I shook my head.

  “I’m serious, Jackson. If you hadn’t made me see how badly I fucked up with Lex and then got her to talk to me again right away, I don’t know that I would have been able to get her back.”

  “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for Lex because she was happy with you.”

  Drake looked down at the table before lifting his gaze to hold mine again. He cleared his throat before saying more. “Don’t think I didn’t realize the sacrifice you were making. What you were giving up by helping me out. We never talked about it then, and we don’t have to talk about it now. Just know that you earned my gratitude and respect that day. Big time.”

  “Shit, Drake. I hate having talks like this.”

  “Fuck, you think I like them?” he asked. “Like I said, we don’t have to say anything more.”

  I leaned closer to him and lowered my voice. “No, man. I don’t want you to go around thinking that I still have feelings like that for Lex. Or that I’m settling by dating Kaylie. ‘Cause that’s not the case at all.”

  “That’s good to hear, because it was damn awkward being grateful to the guy who was in love with my girlfriend,” he half-joked

  “I’m sure that’s an understatement. I honestly don’t know how you were able to handle having me around Lex back then. If it were some guy friend of Kaylie’s and I was in the same situation? I don’t think I would have handled it as well as you did.”

  “It’s not like I had much of a choice,” Drake replied. “You guys had been friends for fucking ever. If I had told her she couldn’t hang around with you anymore, she would have told me to fuck off. And it’s not like she had any clue how you felt about her.”

  “That’s the thing, man. My dad said something to me when I was home for Christmas break that didn’t really hit me until I started dating Kaylie. Things with Lex were complicated. I was the one who introduced her to that douchebag. I was the one who partied with him our freshmen year here. Who walked into that room and found him cheating on her. And then had to tell her what happened. I felt so damn guilty about it all, and then when things went further to shit, I wanted to protect her so badly,” I tried to explain.

  “I get that, Jackson. And I appreciate that you were there for her back then.”

  I interrupted Drake before he could say anything else. “You’re missing the point. I got so wrapped up in the situation, and it was the first time I realized how grown up she was. That she was hot. And with all those feelings hitting me for the first time, I figured I was in love with her,” I admitted. Drake shifted in his seat, starting to look uncomfortable with where I was taking this conversation. “Chill out, man. I said ‘I figured.’ Not that I am in love with her. Because my dad was right. If I had really loved Lex like that, I would have done something about it. No way I would have waited two years, fucking around the whole time, and then stood on the sidelines and watched her fall for you without doing anything about it.”

  Drake heaved a deep sigh. “That’s the part I never understood. Why you waited so long. But it’s not like I could have asked you about it back then.”

  “Because I had it all fucked up in my head. And it took my relationship with Kaylie for me to realize how wrong I was back then. If the same situation happened with her, there’s no way I’d be able to stand aside without fighting to make her mine.”

  “Damn, Jackson. You have no idea how much of a fucking relief it is to hear you say that,” Drake admitted.

  “Does that mean you aren’t sitting over there thinking about how much you’d like to punch me in the face anymore?” I joked, relieved to have cleared the air with him since Lex would always be a part of my life and it didn’t look like he was going anywhere anytime soon.

  “Maybe not right now, but I’m sure you can still be a major pain in the ass. So don’t rule it out for the future. Besides, you got to pop me one, so don’t I still owe you?”

  “Dude, you can’t owe me a huge fucking favor and a punch to the face,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Sure I can,” he replied before looking down at his phone, a big-ass grin spreading across his face. “Fuck.”

  “What?”

  “Lex just sent me a few photos.” He was scrolling through the messages he’d just received. “Looks like the girls are having a blast at The Rooster.”

  Fuck! I couldn’t have just heard him right. “Hold up! Did you just say that the girls are at The Rooster tonight?”

  “Yeah, dude.”

  “The Rooster? As in the campus bar where my girlfriend works?”

  “Don’t know of any other place that’s got the same name, so that would be a yes. Kaylie told Aubrey that she should stop by sometime during one of her Thursday-night shifts, and they decided it would be perfect for their girls night because then they could include Kaylie and Char in their fun instead of it just being the two of them or some shit like that. Chill out, man. Why are you freaking out about this?”

  Shit. Fuck. Damn. Not being able to hang out with your girl the day after you had sex for the first time wasn’t good. Finding out that your sister
and the girl you thought you had been in love with for two years were spending time with her instead? Well that was just bound to be a major clusterfuck of epic proportions.

  Chapter 13

  Kaylie

  “I’m so glad you told Aubrey to stop by so we could hang out while we’re working,” Char told me. “You were totally right when you said that she and I would get along really well. She’s so fucking hilarious.”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t know that she was going to bring Lex with her,” I said, glancing down the bar at both of them. I didn’t know Lex that well. She seemed nice enough, and I was trying not to act all weird. It was kind of awkward to be hanging out with her knowing that Jackson once had feelings for her. We hadn’t really talked about it, and we hadn’t even really defined our relationship. But after last night, I guess I was feeling a little sensitive about where things stood. This was horrible timing.

  Char came closer so that she could whisper without anyone overhearing our conversation. “You know that Jackson is totally into you, right?”

  “Yes,” I replied before shooting a look Lex’s way again.

  “No, Kaylie. Like head-over-heels into you. I might not know the whole story, but I can see the wheels turning in your head tonight. Don’t second-guess yourself or your relationship with Jackson. If you have questions about Lex, ask him.”

  “I know I am probably just being silly, but every once in a while I have that little voice in the back of my head that wonders if the only reason he’s with me is because he can’t be with her instead. But what if I don’t like the answer?” I worried aloud.

  “Then it’s better that you know where you stand now before you get in any deeper. I’ve heard the same rumors as you about her being the reason he never dated and just did the whole one-night stand thing. But they are just rumors. And even if they are true, he sure didn’t hesitate to throw that rule out the window for you. That’s gotta mean something, Kaylie.”

  Char was right—as usual. I’d never actually heard Jackson say that he loved Lex. He hadn’t really talked about her that much except when he was telling childhood stories or talking about stuff she did with his sister. And when he had mentioned her, he hadn’t seemed any different than when we talked about anything else. Surely if there were something for me to worry about, then I’d have noticed it before now.

  You could tell that Lex and Aubrey had known each other forever. It was hard to feel threatened by her when she had no problem making it completely obvious that she was totally in love with her boyfriend with the way she talked about him and kept sending him messages throughout the night. And when Aubrey introduced us, she’d seemed thrilled to meet me because she’d heard lots of great things about me and excited that Jackson was dating someone. It was pretty damn clear she had no interest in him as boyfriend material and acted like she was just his other sister. But that still didn’t stop the questions from popping into my head as the evening wore on.

  I walked over to where Aubrey and Lex were sitting at the other end of the bar. “You girls ready for another round?

  “Hmmm,” Aubrey said as she thought about. “Sure! Bartender’s choice, but make it a crazy one this time around.”

  Lex giggled in response to Aubrey’s request. “Yeah, pick something dirty. Gimme something good to text Drake and drive him a little more crazy.”

  “Dirty I can do,” I assured them as I mixed their next round. I poured in a shot each of spiced rum and coconut rum with peach schnapps and pineapple juice. “Okay, spread ‘em,” I said, sliding their drinks in front of them.

  “Spread what?” Aubrey asked.

  “Your legs. That’s what this drink is supposed to get you to do. It’s called A Leg Spreader,” I explained.

  “Oh, I’m sure I will be spreading my legs tonight,” Lex joked as she tossed the drink back. “No help needed from a drink for that to happen.”

  “Damn, I haven’t spread my legs in so long that I don’t know if I even remember how,” Aubrey complained before drinking hers.

  I blushed, thinking that I could have said the same thing before my time with her brother last night. But there was no way in hell I was going to say that. Way too awkward.

  “Bit of a dry spell?” Char asked as she came up behind me.

  “She gets tons of offers,” Lex threw in.

  “Yeah, it’s a self-imposed one,” Aubrey explained. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss it.”

  “I totally get that,” Char said. “With me here and Shane back home, my vibrator gets a major workout in the time between when we get to see each other.”

  “Ohmigod, I so know what you mean!” Aubrey agreed.

  “She’s not joking,” I said dryly. “I’ve thought about buying stock in LELO with how much Char raves about hers. I’m just surprised that Shane isn’t jealous of how attached she is to her vibrator.”

  “Nah. He knows that, as much as I enjoy the hell out of it when he’s not here, it’s still only a substitute for the real thing. And besides, he likes to see how crazy he can make me with it sometimes, too.”

  “Jesus, Char. TMI!” I shrieked, looking at Lex and Aubrey, who didn’t really know her well enough to understand that she didn’t have the same boundaries as other people. “Geesh, maybe you could share a little less with the new people?”

  “No way,” Lex interjected. “She’s giving me ideas to use for later.”

  “Yeah! She can be our sexpert,” Aubrey offered. “For, you know, when I decide to have sex again or something.”

  We all busted up laughing as we glanced around to make sure nobody was paying much attention to us with all the sex talk. Luckily, Thursday nights weren’t too busy. Char and I still worked them because there were enough customers to make decent tips, but it usually died down earlier than Friday or Saturdays, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves right now except for a handful of tables, the waiter, and our boss, who was hiding out in back doing God knows what.

  “You know, taking a break from the dating scene was a good idea, right?” Lex asked Aubrey.

  “I do. It’s just nights like these when I’m feeling a little frisky that it gets hard to stick to my guns.”

  “Well, you can always change your mind. Or drink enough to get past the frisky stage and make it to the falling-down-drunk one instead,” Char chimed in.

  “I like the sound of the falling-down-drunk option,” Aubrey replied. “Let’s go that route. How about another round of drinks for my bestie and me?”

  “I think I’ll pass this time,” Lex said. “Someone has to be ready to hold your hair back if you’re going that route. Plus, I don’t want to rule out the possibility of sex tonight by getting so drunk that I pass out.”

  “Damn. I don’t want to drink alone,” Aubrey complained.

  “I don’t think that will be a problem,” I said as I watched Jackson walk into the bar with Drake at his side. “For either of you, since your boyfriend just showed up, Lex. And I’m pretty sure we can convince your brother to have a lemon drop shot with you, Aubrey.”

  I smiled at Jackson and poured two shots as they approached us, getting a third ready to go in case Drake was interested in having one also. Jackson had a worried look on his face as he watched me the entire time. I gave him a questioning look, trying to figure out what was bothering him. Maybe he hadn’t had fun on his guys’ night and that was why they were here instead of out doing something.

  I had the drinks ready when they made it to the bar. “You guys have perfect timing. I’m working hard to get Aubrey trashed and Lex just bailed on the drinking portion of tonight’s entertainment. Which one of you will do a shot with her instead?”

  Jackson glanced at Aubrey and shook his head when he realized she was already well on her way to drunk. He flashed a quick grin at Lex and then Char before turning his attention back to me. His grin turned into a full-out smile when I gestured at the shot glasses and nodded my head in his sister’s direction, trying to hint that he should h
ave one with her.

  “Sure. I think I can handle a shot with my sis. Not sure she can handle another one though,” he teased her.

  “Hey, I’ve got a head start on you is all,” Aubrey answered. “You wouldn’t believe the crazy-ass drinks your girlfriend has been serving me all night. We started out pretty tame with some Sex on the Beach but she made us Leg Spreaders the last time around. You better watch out for her, Jackson. She’s a naughty one.”

  “Naughty, huh,” he murmured under his breath, his gaze heating up. I’d bet just about anything that he was thinking about last night.

  “Oh, stop eye-fucking her already and take the shot,” Char taunted him. “You guys are bound to melt my panties off if you keep that up, and I’m wearing my favorite pair!”

  “Hurry up and take the shots,” I pleaded with them. “Before my roommate says something inappropriate. Oh, wait! Sorry. She already did.”

  Char punched me lightly on the shoulder before walking away to start breaking down for the night. We’d already announced last call, and she wanted to get a jump on cleaning tonight so she wouldn’t feel guilty leaving it all for me while she raced home to have some sexy Skype time with Shane tonight. With Jackson here, she could even take my car instead of riding back with the girls.

  “Hey, Jackson?” I asked to get his attention. “Do you think you could wait around and give me a ride back to campus?”

  “Oh, he’ll give you a ride alright,” Aubrey slurred. It looked like that last shot had been enough to push her well past her limit.

  I laughed at her joke, thinking that it would be great if she were right even though I was still a little sore from the last ride he gave me before pouring her a glass of ice water and pushing it across the bar to her.