Frat House Confessions--Wes--Frat House Confessions, Book 2

by Bethany Lopez

  Twenty-One

  Trixie

  It was a great week when I was able to turn in two articles that I was proud of in extremely different ways.

  When I left the office for the weekend, I felt an immense satisfaction and elation rushed through me because I knew this was my purpose. I was doing exactly what I was meant to be doing, and if my luck would hold, I’d have the editor job next year and set myself up for the future I wanted after graduation.

  It was late and I’d promised Wes I’d come over for some Thai. I was practically floating across campus in the glow of the street lights when I heard shouting to my left.

  Reaching into my pocket, I felt for my small can of mace and uncapped it, as I tried to discern what was going on. I could tell from the voices that it was a man and a woman, and could hear her pleading with him.

  “Come on, B, please … you need to come home … I can help.”

  “Jesus, Emma, could you just leave me the fuck alone? I’ve got everything under control,” the man replied angrily, and I knew that voice.

  Crush.

  I hurried over to them, bringing my mace out of my pocket and holding the canister in front of me.

  “No you don’t, B. Johnny says you’ve been late to work, and the landlord’s threatening to kick us out if we don’t give him money.”

  Crush let out a roar of anger, and as I got closer and saw his unsteady gait, I knew he was drunk.

  “Step away from her!” I shouted, hoping to diffuse the situation and get the girl away from him.

  Her head swung my way, her long dark hair flying over her shoulder.

  “I’ve got this under control, you can go,” she said quickly, before turning her attention back to Crush and ignoring me.

  “What the fuck?” Crush said, and I knew he recognized me. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. Can’t you just leave me alone? Haven’t you gotten enough with your pound of flesh?”

  He shifted back toward the girl and asked, “What the fuck, Emma, you in cahoots with her now? My own sister?”

  Emma turned to glare at me over her shoulder.

  “Can you please leave? You’re not helping.”

  Feeling a little better about the situation, knowing she was his sister, but still not comfortable leaving her with a large, angry asshole like Crush, I faltered.

  “Are you sure? I can call for help if you want,” I offered.

  “What, you’re gonna call fuckin’ Delta now? Let them be witness to another bullshit situation involving your ass? Haven’t you fucked up my life enough?” he asked.

  I flinched.

  Is that really how he sees things, that I’m the bad guy in our history together?

  “Oh my God, are you that reporter?” Emma asked, her tone conveying this was not a good thing. “You are seriously the last person who could ever help me talk my brother off a ledge. Why don’t you do what we’ve both asked, and leave us alone. I’m going to be fine. My brother would never hurt me.”

  I didn’t feel right leaving, but I could tell she seriously didn’t want me there, and didn’t get the sense that he would hurt her. More that he was trying to get rid of her so he could go drown his sorrows some more.

  “Okay, if you’re sure you’re okay,” I said hesitantly.

  “Seriously, what did I ever do to you?” Crush asked, and rather than engage any further, I spun around and started back in the other direction.

  I walked quickly to Wes’s place, wishing I had my scooter, even though he didn’t live that far from campus. Feeling a bit wary over my encounter with Crush and his sister, I kept my hand wrapped around my can of mace … just in case.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I knocked on Wes’s door, and waited.

  Brody answered with a grin.

  “How’s it going, half-pint?” he asked.

  He’d given me the nickname a couple days ago, and now used it any time he was hoping to get a rise out of me. This time, it didn’t work. I was so grateful be there and see his smiling face that I surprised us both and wrapped my arms around his middle.

  “Better now that I’m here, thanks,” I replied, giving him a tight squeeze before letting him go and looking up into his handsome face.

  Brody’s eyes looked back at me, worried.

  “You okay?”

  “Hey, get your hands off my girl,” Wes said from behind him.

  I nodded at Brody, saying I was okay, and let him go so I could cross the room and give Wes the same greeting.

  “What happened?” Wes asked against the crown of my head.

  “I just had a really crazy day, that’s all,” I replied.

  “Everything good with your story?”

  I looked up at him and placed my hand on his cheek, touched that he asked.

  “Yeah, Stephen loved it. It’s not anything with school or work … I ran into Crush and his sister on the way here,” I explained.

  “What happened? Did he mess with you?”

  I shook my head.

  “No, it was more that I was worried about his sister, but they both made it pretty obvious they didn’t want my help. It just rattled me, that’s all.”

  A knock on the door had us both looking that way as Brody opened it.

  He let out a grunt, then looked back over his shoulder and said, “Well, your day’s about to get a lot worse.”

  I peered around him at the perfectly put-together blonde woman standing on the stoop, her face pinched in disapproval.

  “Really, Brody, how crude,” the woman said, pushing past him to come inside, the distain in her eyes evident when they landed on me.

  “Mom?” Wes said, not looking any happier to see her than Brody did.

  Uh-oh, I thought, this probably isn’t going to go well.

  Twenty-Two

  Wes

  “Mom,” I repeated. “What are you doing here?”

  “Is that any way to greet your mother? I taught you better…”

  With a sigh of resignation, I moved to give my mother a kiss on her offered cheek.

  “Seriously, Mom, what’s going on?” I asked, hoping she wasn’t planning on staying long.

  “You boys don’t call or come home, so I figured I’d take things into my own hands and come to you,” she said, before looking pointedly over my shoulder and asking, “Now who’s this, Brody’s latest…”

  “Mom,” I warned, not wanting her to finish that sentence.

  “Sorry to disappoint, Mother, dear, but I’m single and enjoying every second,” Brody said as he reluctantly shut the door. “Trixie is Wes’s girl.”

  “Yes,” I said, stepping back so I was next to Trixie. I put an arm around her, unsure if I was trying to support her, or myself, and added, “Mother, this is Trixie … Trixie, my mother, Susan Temple.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Trixie said, holding out her hand.

  My mother looked down at her offered hand, then up at me. When I shot her a you’d better fucking shake it look, she gave it a limp shake and let it go quickly.

  “A pleasure, I’m sure,” my mom said, then promptly dismissed Trixie by looking at Brody and I and saying, “Now, I’d like to take my sons to dinner.”

  Brody looked like he was about to say he’d rather eat shit, but before he could I told her, “Mom, we already have dinner. We got Thai and Trixie is eating with us. You are welcome to join us if you’d like.”

  Brody shot me a death glare at that, but what was I supposed to do? As in every situation for my entire life, I felt like the mediator between my mother and everyone else. I always had to be the one to keep the peace, or smooth things over.

  Why should tonight be any different?

  “Thai?” my mother asked, her tone conveying this was not her favorite cuisine, which I already knew, of course.

  Hey, maybe she’d decide to leave…

  “Fine,” she said, smashing that hope to pieces. “But I insist on using the plates I bought you, not paper. We’re not animals.”

 
Brody rolled his eyes so hard I worried he’d have an aneurism, but I simply said, “Of course.”

  Trixie was uncharacteristically quiet during our exchange, but I could tell she was watching and taking it all in. Probably cataloging the information for later use.

  My mother not only made us use the “real” plates, but she took all of the food out of the containers, put it in serving dishes, and set the table like she did every night when we were kids. Trixie offered to help her, but when my mother refused, she just shrugged, got herself some water, and went to the table to wait.

  Once we were all seated around the table, my mother said grace, even though I’d never seen her step foot in a church, and we began passing the serving dishes around and filling our plates.

  The silence was awkward, but I couldn’t bring myself to break it.

  Instead, Brody took care of it by saying, “Oh, I texted Ridge to let him know you were here, so, don’t worry, there’s no way he’ll be coming anywhere near our apartment tonight.”

  “Really, Brody, what is your issue?” my mother asked, shooting him a look of exasperation.

  “Oh, I don’t know, Ma,” he began, grinning at her obvious annoyance of him calling her Ma. “Maybe it’s because you were a complete nightmare to him and Karrie last Thanksgiving, and I know when he said he never wanted to see you again, he meant it. So, I felt it necessary to give my big brother a head’s up, rather than chance him walking in and thinking it was an ambush.”

  Our mother laid her silverware down calmly and countered, “Actually, what he said was he was never coming home again, not that he never wanted to see me.”

  “Believe me, it amounts to the same thing,” Brody shot back.

  “So, Mom,” I said, wading in. “How’s everything at home? How’s the club?”

  “The house is too big and empty … with you boys gone and your father off playing house with his little tart, I’m finding it to be a burden. I’m thinking of downsizing.”

  “That sounds nice, I’m sure you’d have fun house hunting and finding the perfect place for you,” I said amicably.

  I guess it was the wrong thing to say, because my mother huffed and asked, “Really, that’s all you have to say? It wouldn’t bother you at all to lose your childhood home?”

  “Are you kidding? That place was more like a prison than a home,” Brody muttered.

  Our mother looked hurt by his response, but rather than discussing it further, she turned her attention to Trixie. Uh-oh…

  “Trixie,” she began, her tone deceptively even. “What an unusual nickname … What’s your proper name?”

  “Beatrice.”

  “It is?” I asked, and she nodded.

  Funny, I always thought her full name was Trixie.

  “Hmmm, a bit old-fashioned, but suitable. Where’s your family from?”

  “What do you mean?” Trixie asked.

  “I mean, who are your people? What’s your family name?”

  “If you’re trying to find out whether or not I come from money, or my family is rich, the answer is no. And, if you’re worried I’m after Wes because you guys are loaded, that answer is also no.”

  “How did you meet my son?”

  “Actually, we met a year ago when he was pledging Delta. He was looking for a girl to make over and I was writing an investigative piece for the school paper. We didn’t talk after for about a year, but we’ve recently reconnected.”

  “And what about your past boyfriends, were they all loaded, too, or did you just get lucky with Wesley?” my mother asked, and I didn’t like the direction this conversation was going.

  “Mother, that’s enough,” I said.

  “That’s okay, Wes, I don’t mind answering her questions,” Trixie said sweetly. Too sweetly. “Actually, Susan … may I call you Susan?”

  “No.”

  “Actually, Susan,” Trixie continued as if my mother hadn’t said a thing. “My last relationship was with a woman. And, sadly, she was broke. Looking back, I think all of my past boyfriends and girlfriends have been more on par with me, monetarily speaking, than Wes.”

  Having heard enough, my mother threw her napkin on the table and stood up. “You cannot be serious, Wesley, dating a girl like this. I understand boys need to sow their oats and all that, but to introduce a sexual deviant to your mother, well, it doesn’t bear thinking. I’m disappointed in you.”

  Unable to contain myself any longer, I pushed back from the table and stood as well.

  “First of all, Mother, Trixie is not a sexual deviant, she’s an open-hearted and open-minded woman who loves people for who they are, unlike you … Second, you’re here uninvited crashing our dinner, and being rude to my girlfriend. I’m the one who’s disappointed. Your behavior is unacceptable, and I hate to say it, but, Mom, you’ve already lost one son, are you determined to lose Brody and I as well?”

  “Wesley,” she gasped. I’d never talked back or raised my voice to her before, and I knew she was shocked, but as the person who’d always taken her back, I was appalled at the way she was acting.

  “I’m sorry, but you need to leave. I won’t stand for you treating Trixie, or Karrie, or anyone the way I’ve seen. I’m embarrassed. Embarrassed by your actions, and I’m done.”

  I held out my hand and breathed a sigh of relief when Trixie took it. I led her out of the room and into my bedroom, but left the door slightly open so I could hear what was happening outside.

  “I can’t believe he just spoke to me in that manner. This is your doing, you and Ridge. I knew sending you all to college together was a terrible idea,” I heard my mother say.

  “Actually, it’s probably the only thing you ever did for the three of us that was right. We’re doing great, and our relationship has never been stronger. I’m sorry that you’re hurt, Mom, but, honestly, you’ve brought it all on yourself. Now, you need to honor Wes’s request and leave.”

  I waited until I heard the front door click, before I closed the door behind us.

  Twenty-Three

  Trixie

  “That was intense,” I said softly, after a few seconds of us standing in Wes’s room in silence.

  He’d been staring at the door since he shut it, and swung his gaze to me. He looked miserable.

  “Hey,” I murmured, moving to wrap my arms around him. “I’m sorry.”

  Wes pulled me tight and held on.

  “No, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to put up with that.”

  “Is she always so…” I wasn’t sure what word to use. She was his mother, after all, so I couldn’t say what I was really thinking.

  “Awful? Yes, pretty much. Although she’s gotten worse since we got older and our dad left her for another woman, she’s always been pretty rigid and rude to people who aren’t in her clique.”

  “That’s tough. Do you have a good relationship with your dad?”

  “No, I never have. Him leaving was more like … good riddance. And, with my mom, I was always the favorite, so she never really turned that side on me. I got used to trying to keep her happy and off of Ridge and Brody’s backs. It became a vicious cycle that I couldn’t see until I left and was out of her clutches. I think a lot of the reason I’ve always been quiet and less assertive, rather than going after what I wanted, was because of her.”

  “You’ve definitely been assertive with me.”

  “That was by design,” Wes said, surprising me.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, I knew you didn’t really see me as anything other than a friend … a good guy, and I wanted to show you that I could be more. That I could be the kind of guy you’d go for and who’d hold your interest.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked, stepping back so I could see his face. “You thought you had to change in order to be with me?”

  Sure, I had speculated, but to find out Wes really thought he this was kind of baffling. He was great.

  “Uh, no not exactly, I mean I know we got along before, but I’ve never been g
ood with women and, as you know, am pretty inexperienced … I just thought changing the way I approached you and being more confident, would be more attractive to you than being the more laid-back forgettable me.”

  “Jesus, Wes, you’re not forgettable, or less than anyone else because you’re not some alpha player jerk. Did your mother make you feel this way about yourself, because if so, let me out … I think we need to have a little talk,” I said, honestly getting pissed off.

  Wes chuckled and held me back when I moved for the door.

  “You don’t have to do that,” he said. “It worked, didn’t it? I have you here, now.”

  “Wes, I hope you can believe this, even though it’s obvious there was some shady shit going down in your childhood home. I’ve always been attracted to you. Of course, last year I was seeing someone, and I knew I was using you to get my story, but if neither of those things were holding me back, I totally would have been all over you.”

  “Yeah?” Wes asked, looking unconvinced.

  “Come on … you’re hot! You’ve got those sweet and sexy bedroom eyes, perfectly tousled hair, and a body that just won’t quit,” I assured him with a laugh. “But, more than that, you are a great guy. Sweet, sincere, funny. You’re great with people, aren’t afraid to show how much you love your brothers, and you’re loyal.”

  “You kind of make me sound like a puppy, other than the eyes and body part,” Wes joked.

  “Everyone loves puppies, so that’s not a bad thing,” I countered. “What I’m trying to say, is that I saw you … I see you … and I like what I see.”

  “Thanks, I really like what I see in you, too.”

  “Well, I hope so, you did just tell your mother I was your girlfriend, after all,” I teased.

  “Was that okay? I’m sorry if I put a label on us without knowing if you’re ready, she just made me so mad it kinda slipped out.”

  He looked so adorably hopeful, I couldn’t help reaching out and taking his hands in mine.

  “I think of the two of us, you’re the one who’s changing me the most. I’m turning into a big ole softy instead of the tough-as-nails badass I usually am,” I said, squeezing his hands lightly. “And, yes, it’s okay for you to call me your girlfriend. But, I’m gonna need you to make it official.”