My eyes are heavy and has me reaching for my coffee. I’ve had about three of these bad boys tonight and they don’t seem to be helping. All I want is to go to bed but I need to get this done. I mean, I know I’m going to pass. I’m confident with what I’ve been learning, but I don’t want to just pass. I want to kill it. I want to blow my professors the fuck away because they’ve never seen anyone like me. I want to be a force to be reckoned with.
Noise sounds down the hall and I groan to myself. Brooke has had her new boyfriend over tonight and all I’ve heard for the past few hours is them going at it like rabbits. I mean, it’s not like hearing Brooke getting screwed within an inch of her life is a new thing to me, but hearing his dirty talk is kind of off-putting. He seems… I don’t know. Off.
I really want to like him for her, but the more I see him the more fake he appears. He’s constantly all over her as though she’s a possession. Brooke loves that about him, but to me, it seems too much too fast. It’s almost like an act that she’s falling for.
I know Nate doesn’t like him. He’s hasn’t come right out and said it but I can tell by the way he closes down around him. It’s a simple ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ followed by watching him closely and that’s about it. I don’t know if he senses what I’m sensing or if he just doesn’t like the fact that it’s another guy getting around our home in the middle of the night. All I do know is that when Nate likes and accepts someone, he’s respectable. He’s welcoming and gives a shit about getting to know them, but this is certainly not that. I wouldn’t be surprised if he clocked the guy next time he saw him and said it was an accident.
Brooke’s bedroom door opens and I listen out as I hear someone walking to the bathroom. The light is flicked and a second later, I hear the sound of someone taking a piss with the door wide open. Huh, I guess there are no surprises who that is. I mean, Brooke is known for being a little wild but no way in hell would she be pissing with the door open for the rest of the house to hear.
Ugh. A chill run up my spine. That’s so gross.
I listen out with a cringe as the toilet is flushed and his hands are washed. Footsteps are heard and I wait anxiously, hoping they lead back to Brooke’s room, but when there’s an extra step, I groan. He’s coming out here.
How freaking lucky am I?
Lukas appears in the entryway for the kitchen and falters when he sees me sitting here, staring back at him. I mean, I have to be happy he at least has pants on, but the button is undone and they’re barely being held up, and I can tell you, there’s certainly no underwear under that. “Shit,” he grunts. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out here. What are you doing?”
I look down at the many books before me. I mean, is it not clear what I‘m doing? “Got an exam tomorrow,” I clarify, hoping that helps the guy just a little.
“Ahhh,” he says with a nod, walking forward and heading deeper into the kitchen. I track his movements as he helps himself to a bottle of water in the fridge. He cracks it open, drinks nearly the whole thing in one go and puts it down on the kitchen table, pushing some of my books aside as he leans over the top of the chair beside me.
I focus my attention back on my textbook, hoping he gets the hint that I’m not in the mood for a little chit chat. It’s past eleven at night and all I want to do is finish this shit so I can get myself to bed.
“So,” he says, trying to draw my attention back to him. “Where’s Nate tonight?”
I put my pen down and lean back in my chair. Maybe if I entertain him for a little while he’ll discover I haven’t got much to talk to him about and grow bored, then he can go back and chat to Brooke all night long, leaving me the hell alone.
“I don’t know,” I say, trying to hold back a yawn. “Probably at home in bed.”
“That’s a shame,” he says, flexing his muscles as though he’s trying to impress me. “So, you guys are pretty serious then?”
I look up at him to find his eyes on my body. They leisurely travel back up to my face and he smirks at being caught out. I push back out of my seat with a heavy scowl and step away from him. I guess I’ll be laying down the law early with this one. “Yeah, we’re solid so you can take your greedy eyes off me,” I tell him. “You don’t get to come over here, screw my best friend and then assume you’re going to get me in bed too. And believe me, after the shit I just heard you spouting to Brooke in there, I’m not interested. Now, please take your dirty little self out of my kitchen so I can finish studying.”
He stands there for a moment, leaning against the table before straightening out. The smirk never once leaves his face. He takes a step into me, making sure to look me up and down. “Come on, baby,” he says. “I’ll make it worth your while. Nate and Brooke never have to find out.”
“Was this your plan all along? To get us both in bed?”
“Well,” he grins. “I was kind of hoping to get you both at the same time.”
My face scrunches up in complete and utter disgust. “You’re a pig,” I tell him. “Get out of my kitchen.”
“Your loss, babe,” he says, grabbing his water bottle and walking away. He looks back over his shoulder and grins before disappearing down the hall. I hear his chuckle following behind him and absolutely hate that a guy like that is about to climb back into bed with my best friend.
“Damn it,” I growl to myself, flopping back down into my chair. I’m going to have to tell her and it’s going to break her heart. She hasn’t shut up about this douchebag, thinking he’s some sort of modern prince charming. Little does she know he’s a dirty swamp turd.
Nate was right not to like him and I was right to be cautious around him. Brooke is going to be devastated but it’s not like I’m going to do anything about it right now. I have to get through this study and Brooke is probably already asleep. I’ll sit her down first thing in the morning and break the news. She’ll have a shitty day but then I’ll get her drunk and all will be right in the world.
Maybe next time she’ll actually agree to let me help her find a guy.
By eleven thirty, I’m finally packing up my shit. About fucking time. I let out a deep sigh and jam the books I need for tomorrow into my bag while stacking the rest into a nice little pile that I can take back to my room in the morning. For now, they’re good to have a sleepover in the kitchen.
My phone starts buzzing against the wooden table and I look down to find Nate’s name scrawled across the screen. “Hey,” I yawn as I answer the phone and jam it between my ear and shoulder so I can keep getting things sorted for tomorrow. “What’s going on? Why are you calling so late?”
“I’m only just finishing work now,” he tells me. “I hadn’t heard from you. I was worried.”
A smile plays on my lips. “Why are you just finishing now?” I question, walking down the hall, not bothering to lower my voice, hoping I wake the fucker out of his peaceful, after sex sleep.
“I had college today,” he explains. “I wanted to get shit done because I have a shipment coming in tomorrow and I wanted to spend the day on that.”
“So, you stayed up all night working? That’s ridiculous.”
“Not as ridiculous as you staying up all night studying.”
“How’d you know?” I grin.
“I know you,” he shoots back. “You haven’t called or texted all night, meaning you were distracted and the only thing holding your attention lately are your books.”
“And you.”
“Don’t you forget it.” His chuckle comes down the line and I laugh as I close the door behind me and flick the lock, you know, just in case. I walk over to my bed and drop down into the welcoming sheets. “Do you want me to come over?” he questions.
“No, it’s ok,” I tell him. “You’re probably exhausted and I’m practically already asleep. Besides, I have an early class and when you’re here, we never sleep.”
“You sure?” he says with a smile in his voice. “I can keep my hands to myself.”
“No, you can
’t,” I laugh, calling him on his bluff.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he says. “I’ll come over tomorrow afternoon.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Hey, Tora?” he murmurs. “I love you.”
My heart races as the butterflies swirl up in my stomach, giving me ‘the feels,’ but those feels are instantly replaced with guilt as I still haven’t told him about Josh, and I know for a fact I’m not going to tell him about Lukas either. “I love you, too, Nate.”
There’s a slight pause and I can practically hear his smile through the phone. “Night, babe.” Not a second later, he ends the call and I scoot down in my bed feeling like a piece of shit.
Nate has been incredible to me and I should be honest with him about Josh and Lukas, but all that’s going to do is cause problems. Punches will be thrown and feelings will be hurt. I can’t be the reason for all that bullshit again. We’ve done the drama and I’m finished with it. I just want to get through college without getting into any trouble and when I’m around other human beings, it seems to be something I can’t help but do.
----------
I wake with a gasp and scramble around for my phone. My alarm never went off, or hell, maybe I forgot to set it after talking to Nate. My fingers curl around the cool metal and I light up the screen for the time. Shit. Nine thirty.
I’m fucked.
I throw myself out of bed and hurry around my room, searching for something to wear. I completely missed my early class and now I’m about to miss the second one.
As I pull on my jeans I try to remember if I even showered last night when I recall that I didn’t. Shit. Shit. Shit. It’s going to have to wait until I get back. I’ll race through a shower after class and shoot straight back out for my exam this afternoon.
I hurry out into the main part of the house, thankful that I packed my bag last night. Now, I just have to remember where the hell I put it.
I find it on the kitchen table and sling it over my shoulder before diving through the fridge and grabbing a muffin.
Shit. I have to brush my teeth.
I drop the bag, hurry down to the bathroom, and get shit done before looking at my hair and deciding it could really use a brush. I fly out of there and scoop my bag back up before realizing that the house seems way too quiet.
Brooke must already be out. I silently hate on her for not waking me up and cringe at the guilt that soars through me. I was supposed to wake up early and tell her about her douche canoe boyfriend, and now she’s going to be left in the dark for even longer. I doubt I’ll even see her before the end of the day, and there’s no way I’m going to do it over the phone. It needs to be in person.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
Today is already shaping up to be a shit day. I should have just let Nate come over last night, that way I would have woken up in his arms and all the shit that followed wouldn’t have bothered me. I would still be able to smell him on me, but noooo, I had to go and adult, choosing sleep over hot sex.
Fuck me. I’m such an idiot.
With that final thought, I find my car keys on the entryway table and haul ass out the door, hoping I can somehow manage to salvage this day.
Chapter 8
I push my way through the door and all I want to do is collapse down onto the couch and fall asleep. My day has been huge and I honestly don’t know how I made it through it. I was able to track down one of the girls from my morning class which I missed and she agreed to email me her notes if I agreed to introduce her to some of my single friends. I agreed, realizing that Tyson and Max are the only single ones and know that both of them would only be interested in sex, but then, maybe that’s what she’s after.
I got to my second class just in time and managed to open my laptop as the professor started talking. Afterward, I raced home, had a shower, grabbed some lunch, and headed straight back to campus for my exam. I got there twenty minutes beforehand to look over my notes once again to realize the battery in my laptop was dead. Luckily, I was confident with everything I had gone over last night and I’m pretty sure I nailed it. But I guess, I’ll know for sure after it gets graded. It’s a waiting game now.
Following my crazy day, the alarm at my parents’ home was going off and I had to go over there to figure out what the hell was going on, only to find the neighbor's dog had escaped and was running around my backyard. I guess I was just lucky it wasn’t some crazy psycho breaking into my home again. Been there, done that.
Being home right now is some kind of miracle. The day just seemed to drag on and on and now my only plan is to collapse onto the couch and sleep there until Nate creeps through the door and carries me off to bed.
Hmmm, yeah, that sounds perfect.
Within seconds of my head hitting the cushion, I’m drifting off to sleep.
I startle awake as a fist pounds into the door. I blink back a few times into the dark room. What the hell is going on?
“Open the door already,” Jackson’s demanding voice comes shouting through the hard wooden door.
“Alright, alright,” Brooke groans from somewhere in the house. I sit up on the couch and look over the top of the of it, watching Brooke come up the hallway. I must have really been out. I didn’t even realize she’d come home. “Oh, look,” Brooke cheers as she sees my head poking over the top of the couch. “You’re awake.”
“Hey,” Jackson demands. “What’s going on in there?”
Brooke ignores him and makes her way around to the couch and drops down beside me. “How was your sleep?”
“Good, I think,” I tell her as Jackson continues knocking on the door. “I was so tired, I just kind of crashed. It feels like I only just walked through the door.”
“Hey,” I hear Jackson whining. I look back over Brooke’s shoulder to see Jackson standing at the window, watching us on the couch. “Let me in.”
Brooke laughs as she takes him in, finally takes pity on the poor guy and gets up. She slinks over to the door and pulls it open.
Jackson barges his way through the door with a wide smile as he bounces on his toes. “You guys up for a party?”
“Hell yeah,” Brooke cheers.
“What?” I grunt. “It’s Tuesday night.”
“It’s college,” Jackson cheers. “Every night is party night. Now, are you in? Or are you going to be a basic bitch and stay home, studying?”
“I’m in,” Brooke squeals, racing down to her room to start getting ready.
“What kind of party?” I question, leaning back against the couch.
“I don’t know. A house party. The football team is putting it on.”
“Oh, geez,” I laugh. “That couldn’t be good.”
“Come on,” Jackson says. “You haven’t had any fun since you started college. You’ve been working your ass off with your face constantly in your textbooks. It’s time to let loose and enjoy the other part of college life. Get a few drinks inside you.”
I let out a groan as I watch the smile slowly creep over his face. “Fine,” I groan, pulling myself off the couch. I mean, Brooke is going to need someone to watch her while she annihilates herself, and no doubt if it’s a football party, Lukas is going to be there and though she doesn’t know it, she’s going to need me to keep her away from him. It’s going to be one hell of a big challenge.
“Yes,” Jackson hollers through the house before he breaks into some ridiculous dance.
I trudge down the hall, still trying to wake myself up with Jackson following behind me. Brooke has already got music blasting from her room and Jackson stops on the way to poke his head in. She squeals out and Jackson hastily pulls his head back out.
“Shit,” he laughs as he makes his way down to my room. “Brooke has a nice ass.”
“Uh huh,” I agree, pulling open my closet. I find my favorite pair of ripped jeans and a white crop before closing the door on Jackson’s face. I quickly change before opening it up again and allowing Jackson into my room as I fix my hair and pull on
my combat boots.
Jackson lays back on my bed and looks around my room as he chats away about how he’s missing seeing Elle every day, but she’s not far and still talks to her every day. I roll my eyes, still a little too tired to truly be taking in a word he says.
Brooke appears in my doorway and practically hauls me out of my room. We walk up the hall, turning off lights and closing up the house as we go. Brooke allows me about two seconds to grab my phone off the edge of the couch before pulling me straight out the door and over to Jackson’s Charger.
We pull up at the party ten minutes later to find the street packed with bodies. There are red cups already littering the front yard and are seen halfway up the street. “Holy shit,” Brooke gasps as we take it all in. “This is huge.”
She’s not wrong. I’ve been to hundreds of parties over the past few years, most of them being over the past little while and none of them compares to this, not even Nate or Jesse’s parties. I mean, this is wild. There are bodies everywhere. Music is turned up. There’s a fight spilling on to the street.
“Welcome to a college party, ladies,” Jackson grins as though he’s just handed us the best night of our lives.
As Brooke hooks her arm around mine, I remember that Nate was planning on coming over tonight so pull my phone out and let him know.
Tora – Gone out with Brooke.
He responds instantly.
Nate – Alright, babe. Be safe.
I tuck my phone back into my pocket and decide I’m going to enjoy tonight. Jackson and Brooke are right, we’re in college and it’s about time I start exploring the other side of college life.
We squeeze our way through the bodies at the door and I instantly start looking around, searching out Lukas. The last thing I want for tonight is to have him coming and sweeping her away. I mean, her heart has already been broken by one player before, it doesn’t need to happen all over again.
Broken Hill Havoc: The Broken Hill High Series (Book 5) Page 7