by Ruby Madden
Chicago
Day and Amy got ready for a party that was going on off campus. Amy’s long, fiery red curls were flat-ironed and pulled back into a swinging ponytail. She put on a super short denim skirt that showed off her long legs. A cute blue baby-tee that made her gray eyes slightly blue. And she paired it all with blue heels. Day opted for black, bootcut dress pants that hugged her ass, hips, and thighs like sin. She paired them with black, chunky heeled ankle boots and a deep maroon halter top that contoured her large breasts and flared out slightly. The top hid her round tummy, where her ‘freshman fifteen’ had seemed to migrate.
Amy did both their makeup. She gave Day a dramatically lined eye and enhanced her already long curling lashes with mascara. And finished the look with a dark maroon lip that matched her top. She pinched Day’s already big rosy cheeks and nodded with satisfaction.
“Perfect! Now let’s get outta here. I’m ready to get wasted!” Amy exclaimed.
“Please, don’t embarrass me.” Daylen cringed. “And aren’t you gonna freeze in that little skirt and t-shirt?”
“Pssh! We’re cabbing it over there and when I get some liquor in me, I won’t feel a thing.” Amy waved off Day’s concern.
“Whatever you say.” Day gave her a doubtful look.
They locked up their dorm room and walked to the elevator, heading down to a night of debauchery. The phone ringing in their room went unheard.
Champaign
Against the express orders of their coach because of their upcoming Thanksgiving Day game, many of the guys from the football team were going out. Chase included. The six of them were headed to a frat party. Chase had thrown on an army green, thrift shop Beatles t-shirt that fit tightly around his growing biceps and wide chest. With it he wore relaxed fit jeans and black Converse. His hair in messy blond spikes.
Chase had tried to call Day again before they all headed out, but as usual there was no answer. He sighed, shrugged on his leather jacket, and left his dorm room to meet up with his teammates. They were in rare form, ready for a night of tomfoolery.
Chicago
The party was at one of the brownstone apartments in Wicker Park. The apartment was filled with people that Day and Amy saw on a daily basis. This time, though, everyone was feeling good with some drinks in them. The music that they normally listened to and studied, day in and day out, was on hiatus. Pumping through the speakers now was Top 40, hip-hop, rock, and house music. The front room had turned into a dance floor.
They’d been to a few parties since they’d started school. The first couple, Day had been her normal nervous, wallflower self. But once she realized that she was at a school filled with kids similar to her, she’d relaxed. Plus, she’d quickly learned that alcohol helped as well.
Amy pulled Day through the throng of dancers, gyrating against each other, to the kitchen…to the alcohol. They had two options, a cooler filled to the brim with a mysterious jungle juice or a keg of beer. Amy grabbed two red cups and handed one to Day.
“So where should we start first?” Amy asked.
“Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear.” Day rattled off the drinking rules passed on from generation to generation. “So…I’d say unless you plan on just sticking to beer, we should start with the jungle juice.” Day suggested.
“Right.” Amy agreed and then pushed the spout on the cooler.
Sweet red liquid filled her cup and Day watched as she tasted it.
“Good?” Day asked.
“Mmhmm…too good. You can’t even taste the alcohol. We’re gonna get shitfaced!” Amy announced.
Daylen filled her cup and took a sip. She realized that Amy was absolutely right. She was going to have to take it easy. At least one of them needed to be slightly coherent so that they’d make it home safely.
Champaign
The six massive and popular football players walking into the frat party started a celebration of epic proportions. The frat brothers converged on them and immediately passed out red cups to the teammates and toasted their upcoming game. Then girls circled them, like a pack of female lions looking for their king.
Chase tried his best to avoid the girls. He opted to continue talking to the frat brothers about the game he’d be playing as the starting quarterback though his eyes kept going to a light-skinned black girl that reminded him of Day. Well, if Day lost all her sweetness and was replaced by a predatory sexiness. The girl watched him like a hawk as she danced with her friends. Chase turned away and chugged down the rest of his beer. The frat boys cheered him on, and then clapped him on the back as they led him over to the keg. Chase knew he was in for a long night.
Chicago
Day was on her knees with the end of a thick clear tube in her mouth as beer was funneled down it. She opened up her throat, as instructed by the crowd that had gathered, and the beer passed down it within seconds. Day pulled the tube from her mouth and gasped deeply to raucous cheers. She’d just finished her very first beer bong like a seasoned champ. So much for taking it easy, she thought to herself. Her mind was quickly becoming fuzzy.
A strong hand grasped her arm to help her up off the floor. Day looked up to see a familiar face. It was Drew, the boy who’d accompanied her cello with the piano at the Christmas concert the year before.
He was shy, but also very cute in a subtle way. He had mousey brown hair that had unruly curls going in every direction. Drew stood an inch or two taller than Day, in her three-inch heeled boots, and had a slim frame. He had a somewhat long face and full lips, but what stood out was his eyes. He had the prettiest shocking blue eyes, Day had ever seen. In her current, drunken stupor, she was mesmerized by the baby blues.
“Hey, Daylen. Do you remember me?” Drew asked, as he self-consciously shoved his hands in his pockets. A move that reminded Day of Chase when he was unsure of himself.
“Yeah, Drew. Of course I remember you!” Day slurred slightly.
“Would you like for me to get you another drink?” He asked politely.
“Yeah. Another beer, please. Now that I switched to beer, I have to stay there. Don’t wanna puke, you know?” Daylen rambled.
“Yeah. Hold tight and I’ll get you one.” Drew said before he disappeared.
Day felt a little wobbly, so she sat on the arm of the couch in the front room, waiting for Drew to return. Her mind swirled with thoughts of Chase and his warm brown eyes with green flecks. Then pretty blue eyes came unbidden to her thoughts, clouding her vision of Chase.
Day shook her head to clear it when she heard the first beats of her new favorite song. Aaliyah’s Try Again blared through the speakers and Day hopped up and started dancing with the other partiers. Drew walked up and smiled shyly as he handed her a red cup filled with foamy beer. Day drank some down, grabbed his cup, and then placed both their cups on an end table before pulling him out on the dance floor.
Day hadn’t seen Chase since she’d visited him in July. They barely even got a chance to speak to each other on the phone. She missed him to pieces but was tired of missing him all at the same time. So when the soft, full lips of the boy she was swaying with to the music, touched hers, Daylen didn’t pull away.
Champaign
“Drink muthafucker! Drink muthafucker! Drink!” The crowd chanted as Chase’s teammates held his legs up and he gripped the top of the keg.
The keg spout was in his mouth and shooting beer straight up his throat as he did a keg stand. After several seconds longer than the last guy, beating the record, Chase pulled the spout out of his mouth with a gasp. His buddies let him down and the crowd cheered at his record-breaking run. Chase smirked his sexy sideways smile and took a bow. He wobbled a bit and realized that he was way more buzzed than he had realized.
“Hey, dude.” His buddy Brandon, a massive linebacker, loudly whispered to him to be heard over the music. “That girl has been eyeing your jock all night. I know you have a girl up north that you n
ever see or talk to, but fuck it, man. You should hit that!” Brandon suggested as he shoved something in Chase’s pocket.
Chase reached into the pocket and his fingers wrapped around the square foil wrapper of a couple of condoms. He looked up at Brandon with a questioning look and Brandon just shrugged.
“I figured since you’ve been celibate for months, that you wouldn’t have any of those on you. Have fun buddy.” Brandon clapped him on the back as he walked away.
The girl in question sashayed over to him, grabbed his hand, and pulled him out onto the makeshift dance floor. The pulsing beats of Try Again vibrated against the walls of the frat house. The pretty girl ground her ass against Chase’s crotch as they moved to the music. And for the first time since everything had started with Day nearly a year ago, Chase got hard from another girl.
Chase felt like an asshole, but he also felt lonely. Not only was he missing his lover, but he was missing his best friend. The one person that knew everything about him. For at least one night, he didn’t want to feel alone. So as the girl turned in his arms, Chase leaned down towards her lips.
Chicago
The bright morning sun on Daylen’s face jarred her awake. She sat straight up, looked around an unfamiliar room, and got a head rush from sitting up too fast. Day’s head pounded out an excruciating beat, her stomach turned, and her mouth felt about as dry as the Sahara.
Daylen looked down and breathed a sigh of relief that she was still fully dressed. What the hell happened last night?! She looked to the side of her and lying on his back with an arm flung over his eyes, was a sleeping Drew. Oh my God! I slept in his bed last night?!
Day held her breath as he started to stir. Drew pulled his arm away from his face and scrubbed his hands over his eyes. Finally, he opened his eyes and Day was hit in the stomach, by those beautiful blues.
“Hey,” he said shyly.
“Hey,” she replied just as shy.
“Are you feeling okay?” Drew asked as he sat up next to her.
“Uh, yeah. Well, as okay as to be expected.” Day turned and rubbed her temples.
The room became awkwardly silent.
“So, ah…” Day started, but let the sentence trail off.
“We didn’t…you know. Just k-kissed a lot. You started crying about someone named Chase, and then you passed out.” Drew explained hesitantly.
“Oh…” Day whispered, embarrassed.
“Is Chase your boyfriend?” Drew asked.
“Yeah.” Day looked down at her lap as she picked at his comforter with nervous fingers.
“Look, Daylen. I understand if you’re not interested. B…but I like you. I liked you when we played together a year ago.” Drew confessed.
“You do? You did?” Day asked in shock.
“Yeah. I’ve seen you on campus and that’s why I convinced my roommates to throw the party last night. I had hoped that you’d come.” Drew told her.
“We’re still at the brownstone? It’s your apartment?” Daylen asked in surprise.
“Yeah.”
“Oh God! Where’s Amy?!” Daylen said jumping up from the bed.
“She’s good. She’s still here with my roommate Jake.” Drew reassured her.
Daylen breathed a sigh of relief that she wasn’t a completely horrible friend. Then she stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do next. She wanted to run from Drew’s room and apartment and avoid him and his interest in her for the rest of her college career. But something held her to the spot. Maybe it was his thoughtful blue gaze. It felt like forever since she’d seen adoration in someone’s eyes when they looked at her.
“Are you hungry?” Drew asked her. “There’s a great place around the corner that has really good breakfasts for hangovers,” he suggested.
“O-Okay.”
Champaign
Chase stared up at his dorm room ceiling. His hands behind his head, in what appear to be a relaxed pose, though he couldn’t have been more rigid. The girl from last night, Trish, currently laid her naked torso across his equally bare chest. She planted soft kisses on his chest. Each kiss was a stab to his gut.
Chase felt disgusted with himself. They’d used up the two condoms his buddy had given him, before falling into an alcohol-induced sleep. Even as guilty as he felt, Chase still felt his cock rise to her kisses.
“Mmm…someone looks happy to see me this morning.” Trish smiled against his skin as his sheet tented around his hips.
“Do you have any protection?” Chase asked dispassionately.
“No, but I don’t have any diseases or anything.” Trish coaxed.
“I only have sex with my girlfriend without a condom,” Chase said coldly.
Trish sat up quickly. She looked down at him in shock.
“You have a fucking girlfriend?!” She asked angrily.
“Yes.” Chase continued to stare up at the ceiling.
“You’re an asshole!” Trish growled as she gathered up her clothes and pulled them on.
“Yes, I am,” Chase said, barely able to hide his revulsion with himself as he took it out on the clueless girl. “But it’s not like you asked either. Enjoy your walk of shame.”
“Fuck you!” Trish screamed at him.
Chase’s eyes closed as he heard the door slam behind her. His throat worked tightly in his neck and he blinked back tears of shame. He sat up and reached for the phone. Chase started to dial Day’s number, but he hung up the phone. What could I possibly have to say to her, after what I just did?
He rubbed his hands over his face and got up to take a shower. Chase scrubbed all evidence of the previous night from his skin. A deep melancholy settled over him as he left his dorm to head to football practice.
Chapter 17
The next couple of weeks, Daylen was torn apart with guilt. She’d been spending more and more time with Drew. They studied together. They met up for lunch and dinner together in the student cafeteria. They even practiced together, helping each other perfect the different pieces they were working on. The fact that Amy was now dating his roommate Jake didn’t help the situation either. Often, the four of them would go out together, like two happy double-dating couples.
They hadn’t kissed again, but that didn’t stop Drew from pressing his suit. He was quietly wearing her down, by simply just being there. Something that Chase couldn’t do, though neither she nor Chase, were at fault. It still didn’t relieve Daylen of her guilt. Her stomach was constantly in knots.
“Daylen?” Drew said her name softly.
“Yeah?” Daylen looked up at him as she drummed her fingers on the table.
They were studying after dinner in the student center. Drew looked at her fingers meaningfully. Day quickly stopped her fingers’ tapping rhythm.
“Sorry,” she cringed apologetically.
“It’s okay. Do you wanna talk about it?” Drew asked perceptively.
“N-No. I’m okay.” Daylen avoided. She knew he was becoming impatient. Especially as the holidays neared and the possibility of seeing Chase became more and more real.
About a half hour later, Drew walked Daylen to her dorm.
“Do you want to be with me, Daylen?” Drew finally got up the nerve to ask.
Daylen sighed and squeezed her eyes shut. She had been dreading this particular conversation.
“I really do like you, Drew. But…but it’s complicated.” Daylen started.
“What’s complicated about it? He’s hours away and I’m right here. You never talk to him and you spend time with me every day. Sounds easy to me.” Drew argued his case.
“Yes, you’re right. But there’s more to it than that. There’s history between Chase and me. We aren’t just boyfriend and girlfriend. We’re best friends.” Daylen defended her hesitation to move forward.
“But that doesn’t mean you’re right for each other romantically. And you’ve still got three and a half more years here. He’s got two and a half there and wh
o knows where after that. I’m right here.” Drew pleaded as they stopped outside of her building. “You have to decide because I can’t keep spending time with you but not be able to be with you. Please, just make a decision. Okay?” Drew finished.
“Okay,” Daylen whispered softly.
For the first time since the party before Thanksgiving break, Drew leaned in to kiss her lips. The kiss didn’t give her the customary butterflies, like Chase’s kisses, did. Her sex didn’t flood with wetness. And her heart didn’t nearly pound out of her chest. But she did feel content.
Her body did fill with warmth and comfort. Her clit did tingle when his tongue dipped into her mouth. Her heart did thump with fondness. Maybe that would have to be enough.
~~~
Chase’s hand shook as he dialed Daylen’s number. He knew it was time to talk to her, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. She meant the world to him and he wanted her to be a part of his life forever. But he wanted to be honest.
Chase held the phone up to his ear with his shoulder, as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. He almost prayed that she wouldn’t answer.
“Hello?” She answered, sounding breathless. Like she’d ran to the phone.
“Hey, Pretty Day!” Chase said overly bright.
“Hi, Chase.” Day said. Chase wasn’t sure, but she almost sounded forlorn.
“Did you just get home?”
“Yeah, I was studying at the student center with a f-friend,” she said softly.
Chase missed her stumble over the word, his mind filled with his own torment. Chase took a deep breath and began.
“Day…I need to talk…to tell you something.” Chase faltered.
“Uh…m-me too,” Daylen admitted.
“Oh…” Chase realized that in his guilt and worry, he hadn’t considered that he may not be the only one with secrets. His stomach churned at the thought. “Do you wanna go first?”
