The Freshman

by Monica Murphy

  She drags me out of Strummers, and I am dying to ask her what happened, but maybe she doesn’t want to discuss it in front of Tony and Caleb.

  Once we’re outside, Gracie lets me go, wrapping her arms around herself since the air is so shockingly cold. “I went backstage to congratulate him and there was a girl kneeling before him with her hand around his hard dick! Can you believe it? He’s letting some gross groupie give him head that he doesn’t even know! I came to watch him tonight and everything! God, what an ungrateful prick. He doesn’t even appreciate my support!”

  “Wait a minute. Some chick is willingly sucking his dick right now?” Caleb sounds shocked.

  “Yes.” Gracie blows out a harsh breath, glaring at the building.

  “Did he see you when you walked in on them?” I ask her.

  “Of course he did! He chased after me too, his dick flapping in the breeze as he ran down the hall, trying to talk me out of leaving. He swore to me it meant nothing.” Gracie snorts. “I’ve heard that before.”

  Caleb laughs and Tony slaps him in the chest, silencing him.

  “Did he say anything else?” I ask.

  “When I refused to go back into his dressing room with him, he accused me of being on a date with this guy.” She jerks her thumb in Caleb’s direction. “Ridiculous.”

  Caleb grins. “I’m honored.”

  “You would be,” Gracie mutters. Her eyes still ablaze with anger, but her lower lip is trembling. She’s close to losing it. “He’s such a dick.”

  “Yeah, he is,” I agree, rubbing her upper arm. Her skin is like ice. “We should go home.”

  I send Tony a pleading look, noticing the disappointment on his face. I was going to suggest I ride home with Tony and Caleb, but I can’t leave Gracie alone now. Not like this. She’s hurting. Thanks to a dude named Robin who’s in a really shitty band.

  Gracie sniffs loudly. “Okay. Do we have any liquor in the house? I need to get drunk.”

  “I don’t know,” I say, my brain cataloging everything we have in the apartment. Maybe a couple of beers in the fridge? I don’t remember. I’m not a huge drinker, especially at home.

  “We’ve got liquor,” Caleb says. “Come over to our place and hang out.”

  Gracie sniffs again. “Okay.” She meets my gaze. “Let’s go.”

  Well. I certainly didn’t expect her to say that.

  Seventeen

  Tony

  Twenty minutes later and all four of us are walking into the condo to find Diego, Jocelyn, their baby girl Gigi, Eli and Ava all crowded into the living room, the girls chatting away. Diego holds his baby girl above his head, baby talking to her while she coos and smiles, her lower lip shiny with drool.

  He’s gonna get drool on his face if he doesn’t watch it.

  Gracie comes to an abrupt stop, a smile breaking out across her face. “Aw, a baby.”

  “You get to meet a Callahan right now,” I murmur close to Hayden’s ear. I raise my voice. “Ava. What the hell are you doing here on a school night?”

  Ava glances over her shoulder to smile at me. “Did you forget? It’s October break. We don’t have school this week.”

  I only graduated in June, yet I’m forgetting all about our October break. A break we’ve had since I was in kindergarten. “Oh right.”

  “How easy they forget,” she teases before she leans in and drops a lingering kiss on her boyfriend’s lips. “I’ve been spending as much time with this guy as possible.”

  Eli waves at us.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask, my question for Diego. Yes, he technically lives at the condo, but he rarely comes over anymore. He’s pretty much moved in with Jocelyn, which makes sense.

  “We were bored. I thought you guys would be here, but when I showed up, the place was empty. Then Eli texted me saying he couldn’t find Jackson anywhere, and Ava and Ellie were with him, so we all decided to hang out here,” Diego says with a shrug. Jocelyn walks over to pluck the baby from his hands, snuggling her close. “But Jackson wasn’t here either.”

  “Ha! I can tell you where Jackson was tonight.” Caleb rubs his hands together, and I know he’s relishing this moment.

  I glance around, not spotting Ellie anywhere. Then I hear a toilet flush and water start to run. “Hold on,” I tell Caleb. “Ellie should hear this too. Maybe she already knows and can give us information.”

  “Ellie is Ava’s best friend and she’s got a thing for Jackson,” I explain to Hayden.

  “Who are your friends?” Ava asks curiously.

  “I’m Hayden.” She waves at Ava, who waves in return. “And this is my best friend, Gracie.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Ava.”

  “Callahan?” Hayden asks.

  Ava nods. “Yeah.”

  Hayden smiles. “Tony was just telling us about you.”

  “All nice things, I hope,” Ava says with a laugh.

  Ellie walks out of the bathroom, stopping short when she sees us standing in the living room. “Hey guys. Is, uh, Jackson with you?”

  “Nope, but we saw him earlier.” Caleb launches into the story of going to Strummers. The crowd of teenage girls waiting in line outside. The guy coming out on stage. The shock we felt when we realized it was Jackson. How he performed and the girls went crazy for him the entire time.

  “Where is he now?” Diego asks when Caleb finishes.

  “I don’t know. I texted him asking where he went, but he never responded,” Caleb says. His gaze swings to Ellie. “Did you know about this?”

  Ellie slowly shakes her head, obvious shock written all over her face. “No, I didn’t.”

  That’s weird. I always thought Jackson kind of led her on, considering he talks to her so much. But it’s always through social media and rarely in person, especially lately. Sometimes they hang out, but in public he always treats her like a friend. It’s confusing. I’m sure Ellie is confused by his behavior too. I do know this though. Ellie is truly his number one fan when it comes to his music.

  So why wouldn’t Jackson tell her about his performing at Strummers?

  “We should go back to my place,” Eli says, his gaze swinging from Ava to Ellie. “Maybe he’s there.”

  Jackson and Eli live together.

  “Good idea,” Ellie says with a nod, before whipping her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “I’ll text him.”

  Ava leaps to her feet and approaches us, giving me a big hug before she turns to Hayden. “So nice to meet you. Sorry we have to leave.”

  “It’s okay.” Hayden smiles and the girls hug. “We’ll all have to hang out sometime.”

  “Sure,” Ava says with a smile.

  The three of them leave within seconds, Diego and Jocelyn and the baby following behind them. Until it’s just the four of us.

  “Let’s check out our liquor stash,” Caleb says to Gracie as he leads her into the kitchen.

  I turn to Hayden once they’re gone. “You do realize Ava is still in high school.”

  Hayden frowns. “Seriously? God, why are you all so young?”

  I chuckle. “She’s a senior. She started dating Eli last year, when we were seniors,” I explain. “Ellie is a senior, too.”

  “They’re just babies,” Hayden murmurs, her gaze thoughtful. “Long distance relationship, hmm? I could never do it.”

  “My hometown is, like, an hour away. No big deal. They’re making it work,” I say.

  “Still. He’s a year older, away at college. And what is she doing when she graduates? Going here?” Hayden lifts her brows.

  I can’t imagine Ava going here, though she might, just for Eli.

  “I don’t know,” I say with a shrug, not really caring.

  All I can think about is getting this girl in my room so we can be alone.

  “Age difference in a relationship when we’re this young matters,” she says, as if she’s a wise, old person.

  Compared to all of us, she sort of is.

  “Says the twen
ty-year-old,” I tease her, and she mock scowls at me.

  “Whatever,” she says, her voice full of attitude. “You’ll see what I mean when you’re twenty and I’m—”

  She stops talking, a sheepish expression on her face. I think I know what she’s referring to, though. She’s talking like we’ll still be together in two years, which is very un-Hayden like. Does that kind of talk scare me?

  It probably should.

  “Let’s go to my room,” I suggest, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to me. Her warm body fits perfectly next to mine, and my hands are itching to explore every single inch of her.

  “You don’t want to hang out with Gracie and Caleb? Have a couple of drinks?” she asks, sounding a little nervous.

  Surprising. This girl seems to grab life by the balls and not let go. So what’s up?

  “Nah. Your friend will be okay with my friend, right?” I slip my arm around her waist, pulling her in even closer. She’s warm. She smells fuckin’ good.

  Hayden nods. Rests her hand against my chest, her gaze on mine. “She’s a big girl. She can handle Caleb. Hopefully.”

  “He’s not so bad.” I steal a kiss, quick and fleeting, and I immediately want more. “Though I’m more worried for Caleb.”

  Hayden laughs. Rolls her eyes. Rises up on tiptoe and brushes her mouth against mine. “Let’s drink something and then we’ll go up to your room,” she murmurs.

  I rest my hand on her perfectly shaped ass. “Promise?”

  Her smile is naughty. “Oh yeah.”

  The moment we enter the kitchen, I spot Gracie with her fingers wrapped around the neck of a vodka bottle, chugging. Caleb is throwing back a beer, making a smacking noise with his lips when he’s finished.

  “Look at you,” Caleb says to Gracie when she sets the bottle on the counter with a loud thump. She wipes any excess vodka from her lips with the back of her hand. “I hope you know how to hold your liquor.”

  “I can handle it. Been doing this for a while now,” Gracie says with confidence. She holds the bottle out to Hayden. “Want some?”

  “No thanks,” Hayden says, shaking her head. “But I’ll take a beer.”

  Caleb hands her one, and then gives me one as well. I crack it up open and take a sip. I plan on nursing it. I want to be relatively sober when I get Hayden Channing all alone and naked in my room.

  Because that’s the plan. It’s happening. There will be no holding back tonight. I want it. Pretty sure she wants it too. She keeps looking at me, a secretive little smile curving her perfect lips. I’d grab her and haul her up into my room right now if I could, but I guess we have to make nice for a while.

  We drink. We chat. Jackson never responds to Caleb, though he keeps texting him. Gracie’s phone starts blowing up, and she ignores it at first. So do we. Until Caleb can’t take it any longer.

  “I’m sure it’s your cheating ass boyfriend,” Caleb says to her. “Check your phone.”

  “No.” Gracie shakes her head.

  Caleb glances at her butt, then whips her phone out from the back pocket, handing it to her. “Come on.”

  “Fine,” she says with a sigh as she opens it up and checks her messages. “Oh God. He’s begging.” She frowns as she reads each message. “He claims he’s sad and he needs me.”

  Hayden shakes her head. “Talk to him tomorrow. He’s awful, Gracie. He doesn’t deserve you.”

  The phone rings, and Gracie answers it immediately, her expression drawn in concern. “Yes. No, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear my texts come through. What happened? The exec barely talked to you guys? Oh no…”

  She walks away with the phone clutched to her ear, murmuring consoling words to the jerk who had another chick’s fingers wrapped around his dick not even an hour ago.

  “She’s not one to tolerate a cheater normally,” Hayden says to the both of us.

  “He’s an asshole,” Caleb says vehemently, slamming back the rest of his beer before he grabs another one. “Who can’t sing for shit.”

  Facts. All of it.

  We drink quietly, all of us straining to hear Gracie talking to Robin in the other room. But her voice is too low, and she’s not saying much.

  I sling my arm around Hayden’s shoulders, pulling her in so I can drop a sloppy kiss on her forehead. She tilts her head back, smiling up at me. “Ready to go up to my room?” I ask her.

  She nods, sneaking her arms around my waist and holding me tight. “Definitely.”

  Gracie barges back into the kitchen, grabbing the vodka bottle and taking another long swig from it before she finally speaks.

  “The record exec wasn’t interested in them,” she announces. “Robin’s devastated.”

  Caleb looks ready to make a smartass remark, but I give a quick shake of my head, and he clamps his lips shut. Thank God.

  “Where is he?” Hayden asks, leaning her head against my chest.

  “Driving around the Tower District, crying as he talks to me. He wants to come pick me up.” She bites her lower lip, and I can feel the faint shame emanating off her. “He says he needs me.”

  “What about the other girl?” Caleb asks.

  “What other—oh.” Gracie waves her hand. “That was nothing.”

  “Gracie…” Hayden starts.

  “It’s okay. He just wants comfort. I won’t fuck him. Promise.” The smile on her face is small. Even a little sad. “Please don’t give me shit. I feel terrible about what happened. We made fun of him the entire night, and he sounded so defeated just now. I feel guilty.”

  I’m about to point out that she never made fun of him the entire night. Not once. That was on the rest of us, even Hayden a little bit. And the last thing Gracie should feel is guilty.

  But whatever. That isn’t my problem, it’s Gracie’s. I just don’t understand people who forgive cheaters so easily. Like my parents. Why did they string each other along like that? People who can’t be loyal bug the shit out of me. I’m loyal to the bitter end to my friends. Some might say I’m loyal to a fucking fault, but I will never stand for someone who cheats on me.

  That is some straight-up bullshit.

  Witnessing the ups and downs of Gracie and Robin is reminding me why I’m not interested in a relationship. Gracie going to that asshole right now during his supposed, ‘time of need’ is borderline pathetic.

  Keeping it casual with Hayden is the way to go. Relationships are too messy.

  “I’m going to talk to her,” Hayden murmurs to me before she lets go of me and steers Gracie out of the kitchen and into the living room.

  Caleb shakes his head, disgust written all over his face. “She shouldn’t let him get away with it.”

  “I agree,” I say quietly.

  “He manipulated her into thinking she’s the one who should feel guilty,” Caleb continues.

  “You’re right,” I say with a nod. “This is why relationships suck. You just end up hurting the one you supposedly love, or you end up getting hurt.”

  “What do you mean, relationships suck?” Caleb appears confused. “I always thought you were looking for the perfect girl, and it looks like you just found her.”

  “What are you talking about?” I ask.

  “You and Hayden have been all over each other tonight. Not that I think it’s a bad thing. Just don’t go around saying you don’t want something when you act like you do,” he says with a shrug.

  “Hayden and I –we’re just hanging out,” I say, knowing it sounds lame. “I don’t need the perfect girl. I already figured out there’s no such thing, thanks to Sophie.”

  At one point, I definitely thought she was perfect. Until our relationship turned into a complete disaster and she left.

  “Uh huh. But you realized quick high school relationships are meaningless,” Caleb says.

  “Don’t say that to Ava and Eli. Or Jake and Hannah. Asher and Autumn. Diego and Jocelyn.” I frown. Damn, the list is long.

  “Exceptions.”

  “All of our friend
s’ relationships are exceptions?” I raise my brows. “The odds aren’t in their favor. Someone from that group is going to break up. I’m calling it now.”

  “Who do you think will?” Caleb asks.

  “Not Diego and Jos. They’ve been through enough, and they already broke up once. Ash and Autumn have been together a long time. They’re making it work despite being long distance for the last three years, so I doubt they will either. Jake’s going to cling to Hannah as his life becomes crazier and crazier…”

  “Eli and Ava then,” Caleb suggests, though I can tell it pains him to do so.

  “Yep.” I nod. “Maybe we should make a bet on it.”

  That is probably a terrible idea.

  “No way. That’s fucked up,” Caleb says with a shake of his head.

  “Yeah, it is fucked up. But come on. It’s life, man. As a wise woman I know once said, relationships are for pussies,” I say.

  Caleb grins. “Who said that?”

  “Hayden.”

  “No shit?” He rubs his jaw, looking thoughtful. “She’s smart. I agree with her. I know I called her a ball buster, and I kind of still think she is one, but she’s cool. So is Gracie. When she’s not chasing after a loser.”

  “Right, but we’re just keeping it casual, Hayden and me.” I am completely lying to myself. When I dragged Hayden out of the crowd earlier and kissed her against the wall, I was feeling anything but casual. I want her. I want her naked in my bed tonight. Will she stay the night with me? Or will she somehow convince Gracie not to leave with that asshole and they’ll both end up going back to their place, leaving me high and dry.

  A shitty way for me to think, but I can’t help it. Our interactions have been leading up to this moment, and I’m ready for it to happen. Beyond ready. This has the potential to be a monumental night for me. And I will be totally disappointed if she bails.

  I’ll get over it and move on, but still disappointed.

  “Please. Like I just said, you were all over her tonight,” Caleb says.

  “You were all over Gracie,” I point out.

  “That was just for fun. It’s not like I had my tongue down her throat.” He shrugs one shoulder. “She’s cool. I’d be down to fuck her. But she’d get hung up on me and my big dick, fall madly in love with me, and chase me all over campus. I don’t want to have to file a restraining order against her.”