“Come on. Most guys would beg for a threesome,” she whined.
“Most guys don’t know how crazy possessive you get over the girls you like. D’ you know what I mean?”
“Who doesn’t?” She asked with a sigh as her shoulders fell.
“I can’t do it.” I moved her back from me, sitting her ass on the dock as I pushed to my feet.
“Why? Am I like hideous or something?”
“You’re beautiful, Laney. You don’t need me to tell you that. And if she doesn’t want to fuck you for you, she isn’t worth it.”
“Ugh... shut up.” she groaned as she shoved to her feet. “Spare me the after-school-special talk. When did you become such a pussy? I’m not looking for a soulmate. I just want to get laid.”
“I’m not in the mood,” I replied with a shrug. Laney let her jaw drop open dramatically before crossing her arms over her chest.
“Not in the mood?” Her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t even think it was possible for you to not be in the mood. It’s that girl, isn’t it?”
“What girl?” I asked, rolling my eyes.
“You know exactly who I’m talking about,” her words came out in a hurried whisper. “What happened to my foreign friend who used to help me get laid all the time?”
“Don’t be so bloody dramatic. I haven’t changed.”
We both glanced up and stopped talking as the sound of Sage’s footsteps drew near.
“Here,” Sage held out a bottle for me and another for Laney before swiping her short blonde streaked hair from her face.
“Thanks,” I replied before my eyes went back to my friend who was smirking at me.
“If you really want to thank me,” She took a step closer, her hand sliding over the crotch of my jeans.
“Fuck.” I slid my hand into Laney’s hair as I pulled back, guiding her to kiss Sage. I needed to get myself out of this situation before it ended with me losing one of my closest friends.
My leg began to vibrate, and it took me a moment to realize my mobile was going off inside of my pocket. I pulled it out, squeezing my eyes closed after reading Henley’s name on the screen.
“All right?” I asked as I turned and walked back the dock toward land.
“Where’d you guys go? I was pulling bottles and when I came out you were gone.”
“You miss me, love?” I laughed, and I knew if I could see her right now, her cheeks would be burning pink. I glanced back at Sage and Laney who were now both topless. “We went to see how the crowd was at Filly’s.”
“Oh...” she fell quiet. “Are you still here?”
“Did you say here?”
“Yeah, I got off early. Some big frat scavenger hunt going on kept the crowd small, so Milo let me go. I don’t see you.”
“Yeah, I had to run with a few people to find clues, but we gave up. I’ll be back in like ten minutes.”
“If you’re busy it’s no big deal.”
“No, no. I’ll come. Just give me a minute, yeah?”
“Okay. See you then,” she replied before the call ended.
“Fuck,” I growled before walking over to Beef and explaining my predicament.
He shook his head, clearly amused. “She calls and you’re just going to run after her?”
“It’s not like that. She’s a friend,” I explained.
“So is Laney, and she has her tits out.” His eyebrow rose.
“Nothing I haven’t seen before, yeah?”
He tossed his keys to me, and I nodded at him before turning toward the vehicle.
“You know this ends with you breaking her heart, right?”
I stopped, glancing over my shoulder at him.
“She isn’t like these other girls, and you don’t plan on staying around long. There is only one outcome to all of this,” he added.
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Does she?” He called after me. This time, I didn’t stop.
Chapter Twenty-Three
HENLEY
I slid my phone back into my pocket as I glanced over at Gigi. “This is so messed up.” We both peered over the row of bushes that ran along the right side of the lake only two blocks from the college. Lucas raked his hand through his hair as he talked to Beef. He took the keys and walked across the grass to his SUV leaving Laney and the mystery chick making out on the dock.
“What did he say?”
I shrugged. “He didn’t lie.”
“I bet his balls are bluer than an old lady’s hair.” She had giggled before I grabbed her, yanking her down as his headlights swiped across the lake. My smile fell as I sank lower.
“Do you think he was going to sleep with them?” I asked, turning to look at her.
She grimaced. “Couldn’t really blame him if he did. That’s kind of what he does, Henley.”
I rolled my eyes as I stood up and began walking toward Filly’s. “Why are we even bothering to mess with him?”
“To teach him a lesson, remember?”
“What lesson is that? Don’t give your phone number to Henley because she’ll cockblock you?”
“He did leave. I’m kind of impressed.”
“He skipped out on an orgy, he didn’t save a kitten from a burning building.”
“Well, he might have given her kitty the clap. Same thing right? Burning and all that...” Gigi giggled, brushing her hair back from her face. “Here,” she pulled a joint from a small container in her bag and lit it with her lighter, taking a long drag before holding it out to me.
“You’re going to get us arrested,” I whisper-yelled before I took it from her fingers and took a small drag, sputtering as I struggled to hold in the hit.
“At least we’ll be too high to care,” she giggled as she took another drag.
***
We slipped into Filly’s, giggling uncontrollably when a hand landed on my shoulder, startling me and causing me to squeal.
“Geez, Lucas. I didn’t see you.”
His eyes narrowed, and a playful grin spread across his lips. “Are you okay?”
“Me? Yeah.” I cleared my throat as I pushed my hair back from my face. “I’m fine.”
“Where have you guys been? I got here like twenty minutes ago.”
“Shit,” Gigi whispered, turning around to hide the fact that she was laughing.
“Um... bathroom,” I lied.
His eyes narrowed, dancing between the two of us as Gigi struggled to keep herself contained. “You just came in the front door.”
“Yeah... right. The bathroom was super crowded so we went outside.” I shook my head. “Gigi peed in the alley.”
“Really?”
Gigi nodded, and Lucas ran his fingers through his hair before shaking his head.
“You want a drink?” he asked.
“Definitely. My mouth is so dry.”
We followed behind Lucas through the crowd to the bar as my phone in my hand began to light up.
“It’s my mom,” I yelled to Gigi, rolling my eyes.
“Ignore it.”
I thought back to the last time she called in the middle of the night, and I was forced to make a trip home to take care of her. Yes, sometimes it was important, but most of the time it was just her wanting someone to listen to her cry. It was incredibly draining.
“You want a beer or shot?” Lucas asked as I shoved my phone into my bag.
“Just a beer. Oh, and some of those dirty peanuts.” I grabbed one and began to peel off the shell before popping the nuts into my mouth.
My phone went off again, and I glanced at Gigi, but she shook her head. Lucas turned around, smiling broadly as he held out our drinks. We clinked the necks of our bottles together before laughing.
“Dance with me,” Lucas whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear and causing an involuntary shiver to snake down my spine.
“I can’t dance.”
“I watched you the first night we met. Trust me, you can dance.”
“My m
oves caused a brawl in the middle of the floor if you remember correctly.”
He slid behind me, his hands on my hip as his other still held his bottle. I continued to protest as he slowly began to move. My eyes fell closed, emboldened by my high and lost in his touch. My hips began to sway with his. Every nerve ending inside of me came alive as his fingers slid over the waist of my skirt, skimming along the sensitive flesh of my hip. His lips were next to my ear, and I listened as his breathing hitched, before his fingers gripped me and released as if tormented.
“Is this so bad?” he asked before brushing my hair back from my neck. I shook my head, still unable to open my eyes, afraid it would snap me from this spell.
“You dance with all of your friends this way?” I asked, and he chuckled quietly, his mouth against the skin just below my ear.
“Yeah, But Beef prefers to lead, and Noah can be a little handsy.”
I smiled, pushing my butt back against him.
His fingers gripped my hip again but this time tighter as his body stilled. “You’re making it hard to keep this friendly.”
***
This became our new routine. Most days Gigi and I would try to come up with ways to trick or prank Lucas and his friends under the guise of teaching him a lesson, and by night we would be wrapped in each other's arms, inebriated, and swaying amongst the masses on the dance floor. Weeks blended together, and slowly our lives became more intertwined, even as I continued to try to keep our friendship strictly platonic. The more time we’d spent together the harder it was becoming.
***
“Beef,” I yelled down the bar, over the music that was so loud I could feel the vibration in my bones.
“How are you going to be the designated driver if you’re falling down drunk?” Beef asked with a grin on his face. He draped his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his muscular side. I groaned at the weight of him as he used me to steady himself.
“You can crash with Gigi.” I laughed again as I remembered the last time they’d hooked up. It ended with Gigi locking him out of her room in a pair of her lace panties. Luckily, he knew where my room was and had no qualms about knocking at four in the morning. That was the night my roommate Addy decided to start staying at her boyfriend Seth’s place full time.
He squeezed my neck with his arm playfully. Sometimes I think he forgot that I was a so much smaller than he was. “Ouch,” I yelped, and he immediately released me.
“What the bloody hell?” Lucas yelled, putting his arm around my waist protectively. “That’s nice. You let her get wasted? How is she supposed to be our designated driver if she’s wasted?” Lucas scolded him, but he had a playful grin on his lips.
“I’m fine,” I groaned, flinging my hair in Lucas’ face.
“I hope you’re not playing matchmaker with Beef again,” he teased, his eyebrow raised. “Gigi wouldn’t speak to you for three days after the last time.”
I rolled my eyes, stumbling as I managed to throw myself off balance. “You didn’t warn me that he was such a pervert. It wasn’t my fault. I’ll prove it. Pick,” I said, trying to decide which blurry image of Lucas to look at. He rolled his eyes and shifted his weight on his feet. “Pick.”
He had scanned the bar for a woman before they landed back on mine. “You.”
I giggled, but his face remained stoic causing the sound to die in my throat. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“That’s because it wasn’t funny,” I slurred. I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes, waiting for him to add a punchline. I did my best to mock his accent, but my words came out slurred, “Are you taking the piss out of me?”
Lucas shook his head, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. “That one,” he pointed to a petite brunette that had golden streaks running through her hair.
“Ugh... really?” I asked, looking up at him in disgust. He sighed loudly like a child who had just been told they could not have their favorite toy. “Whatever. Calm down.” I slinked out from under Lucas’ arm and staggered my way down the bar. “Beer,” I called to the bartender who gave me a sideways grin but set the bottle on the bar. I had become the college student cliché. I was always fighting a hangover and struggling to make it to my classes on time. I grabbed my beer and spun around, nearly losing my balance.
“God he’s hot,” I muttered. The brunette next to me looked my way, then her eyes drifted passed me. “Too bad he’s has been watching you all night.”
“Me?” She asked, surprised. I looked the other way and rolled my eyes while I took a sip from my bottle.
“Yeah. I tried to dance with him earlier, but he just pushed me away.”
“He pushed you?” Her eyes narrowed, and I realized I had said something wrong.
“No, no. Not like, literally. He has been turning down girls left and right. Honestly, I’m so jealous of you right now.” I turned my head away again and pretended to gag. I saw Lucas’ eyes light up in amusement.
“I’m going to go talk to him,” she said, pulling her top down and making sure your boobs were practically falling out of her shirt. “Thanks.” She winked at me, and I winked back, turning around to the bar.
“Well played,” The guy next to me said as he drank back a shot. He had a few tattoos scattered down his arms but none of them as well done as Lucas’, and his hair was a dull brown that was in desperate need of a trim. Why was I comparing him to Lucas as if he was the gold standard?
“It’s a gift,” I replied with a groan.
He turned around to face the floor, and I followed suit. “Those are my friends over there.” He gestured with his head to a guy across the room with black hair that hung down to his ears.
“That’s my guy.” I nodded in the direction of Lucas.
“Your guy, huh? Uh oh,” He muttered.
“What?” I asked.
“Have you guys hooked up yet?” he joked. I playfully hit him on the arm, but my stomach sank.
“It’s not like that,” I said, rolling my eyes and taking a long drink from my bottle. I finished it and turned back around to the bar, waiting for the bartender to get me another.
“So you’re single?” he asked, a grin spread across his face.
“Hey, Henley, how you feeling?” Beef placed his hand protectively on the small of my back.
“Not feeling much of anything anymore,” I slurred. “I think the bartender is ignoring me.” My lower lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout.
“You’re probably right.” He cleared his throat and pushed himself between my new friend and me. “Lucas wants me to take you back to your room,” he said, bracing for an argument. I glanced down the bar at Lucas. He was looking passed the little brunette at me, oblivious to anything around him with his phone to his ear. I glared at him, but his smile only grew broader.
“No way. Where’s Gigi?” I asked, scanning the room, knowing she would defend me. I found her grinding on the dance floor with a person I had set her up with hours ago.
“She wants to stay. I can take her home later,” My new friend said from behind Beef. I nodded and held up my beer while Beef turned around and glared at him. He took his drink and headed out onto the dance floor.
“Why did you do that?” I whined.
“You never would have gone home with him anyway,” he answered holding up two fingers to the bartender as his eyes cut to Lucas. She gave Beef a hard stare but set the bottles in front of us.
“Finally,” I sighed, grabbing the bottle and taking a long drink. Beef looked at me sideways and shook his head.
“When I first met you we could barely get you to have two drinks. Now you drink more than all of us combined.”
I didn’t respond. I liked being more outgoing, having more friends, people who wanted to spend time with me. Plus, it helped take my mind off of life back home. Everything around me was falling apart. I felt the tears begin to prick my eyes and knew it was time to stop for the night, or I would be a blubbe
ring mess.
“Why doesn’t he just take me home if he wants me to leave so badly?” I asked as Beef glanced over his shoulder at his friend.
“I think he’s hoping to go home with her.”
I fought against the corners of my mouth tugging down into a frown.
“You know he is going back home after school, right?”
I nodded as I spun my bottle in my fingers.
“Nothing good will come from getting attached to him. Nothing good comes from getting attached to anyone here. Trust me.” He took a long pull from his bottle.
“You speaking from experience?”
He looked out at the crowd for a long moment before nodding once.
“What happened?”
He cleared his throat, his eyes searching mine. “We got into a fight, and she slept with Lucas.”
“Lucas?” I choked out as my eyes darted behind him. “But he’s your friend. Why would he do that?”
Beef shrugged as he took another drink. “He’s your friend too, right?”
“Let’s go,” I sighed, sitting my bottle on the bar behind me. Beef nodded and looped his arm in mine, weaving me through the crowd that he towered over.
***
I crawled under the covers in my bed, my head thumping as I shoved an earbud into my right ear and let my classical playlist lull me off into a dream-filled night. The room spun around me, and I grabbed at the covers trying to make the world stand still.
An hour later, I awoke to the sound of Lucas banging on the bedroom door and tripping over his own feet as he pulled off his shoes and threw them on the floor.
“Lucas,” I yelled throwing my pillow at him. “You scared me.”
“Sorry. I wanted to make sure you made it back safely,” he mumbled as he fell back onto my roommate's bed who thankfully was sleeping over at her boyfriend Seth’s new apartment thanks to the infamous Beef in panties incident.
“I’d be careful on that bed. Who knows what you may pick up from those sheets after Addy and Seth have been on them.”
He jumped up before he let out a loud laugh. “Addy and Seth?” He asked, shaking his head.
“Yeah, why?”
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