The Unexpected You

by Emily N. Kay

  “What’s this?” I point at the drink.

  “See for yourself.”

  I take a sip, holding his gaze. “It’s just Coke…”

  “Yes,” he says, grinning.

  I chuckle. I honestly thought he’s trying to drug me with something and take advantage of me. It’s so exhausting being around him, having to always be careful.

  “You smile.”

  My smile is gone just as fast. “Well, smiling is a very natural response a person can make in a conversation.”

  “You smile at me. I swear it’s a first.”

  I merely shrug and take another sip.

  “Hey, can we talk?” He stares at me without a hint of his usual playfulness.

  I tense. And out of instinct, I look for my friends.

  “They’re gone,” he says. “Probably go… do their thing in my bedroom. It happens.”

  I make a face.

  Carter sighs again. “Come with me.” He nods his head toward the balcony.

  “Um, okay…” I utter, still suspicious. “Though you should probably put on some clothes first.”

  His lips tug upward. “Right.”

  It will be okay, I tell myself. It’s not like he will push me off the balcony if I say something wrong, right?

  After he puts on a hoodie, I follow him to the vast balcony. The space feels larger now that we’re outside. The noises inside are totally blocked out. The air is biting cold, and I hug myself, trying super hard to hide that I’m shivering.

  “So what’s your deal?”

  I fold my arms. “Excuse me?”

  “Why do you keep avoiding me?” He pointedly looks at me. “I thought we had something.”

  I let out a choking sound. “When exactly did we ever have something?”

  Hurt flashes in his eyes before he replies, “There’s this one time. I was looking at you across the front lawn, and I saw you looking right back at me. There was something there. And I dare you to tell me you didn’t feel it too.”

  I inhale deeply. What he’s saying––I can remember it too––so clearly. That moment when I was having a crush on him. A long time ago.

  But I tell him, “I don’t remember any of that, Carter. Maybe it’s all in your head.”

  “No, there was something between us, and you know it,” he says confidently, holding my gaze. “Why are you shutting me out now?”

  I sigh. “Look, Carter, you’re a very attractive guy––”

  He scoffs. “But what?”

  “But, I don’t like you… like that. Well, maybe I did…” At that, he snaps his gaze to me, hope written across his face. “But that’s not how I feel now. I’m sorry if I’ve given you any wrong idea…”

  He stares at me, his face hard to read. “But you did feel something…”

  “I guess,” I say quietly, lowering my gaze. This is the first time I’ve admitted to ever liking him. Then I look up. “But what about Maria?”

  “This is not about her.”

  “I’m just saying…”

  “I do like Maria. But I’m not like, in love with her or anything. In fact, I’ve made myself very clear from the start. It’s not like I deceived her.”

  I hold my stance. “Well, she’s hopeful because she really likes you.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? That’s why I had to end it with her!” he yells.

  I blink at the sudden outburst. “You broke up with Maria––because you didn’t want to lead her on?”

  “Yeah, basically,” he says, more quietly.

  “And you kept flirting with me in front of her––”

  “Because I want to send her a message,” Carter finishes. “But also because I want to get closer to you,” he adds.

  I can’t believe this. Carter broke up with Maria because he wants to spare her the pain. Does that mean he is right to break up with her? Does that mean he is not the bad guy?

  “I mean, I wanted to see if there’s anything, like, I don’t know––sparks, chemistry, shit like that. But things just didn’t work out, okay! What was I supposed to do? Lead her on and lie that I felt the same way?” He lets out an irritated sound. “And it’s not just Maria I’m talking about here––it’s with everyone I’ve been with.”

  His words cut me deep. Carter sees dating as his own experiment. He gets on with every girl coming his way to see if it could lead to something more. Me, on the other hand, I never wanted to try with anyone. That’s the difference between us. Was Carter right to give them all equal chances when I never did?

  Then my thought shifts to Nick. He said the same thing about Hannah. He was trying to make it work with her just like Carter had tried with Maria. The difference here is that Nick proposed to Hannah, but Carter broke it off before it went any further. Does that make Carter a better man than Nick? I don’t even want to think more on that…

  “Are you sure you’re not making excuses for your actions,” I retort, not letting my guard down.

  “You treat me like I’m the bad guy here, but you don’t even know me.”

  “Oh, I know enough. I’ve seen enough.”

  His brow raises, and I swallow. I shouldn’t have said that. I really hate when people judge me without getting to know me first, but now I’m doing the exact same thing to him.

  I add, “And you don’t know me, Carter. I’m not the kind of girl you think I am.”

  Carter’s expression changes. He sneers. “I know exactly who you are, Alice Anderson.” The way he says it sends a shiver down my spine.

  I hold his gaze, refusing to be intimidated by him. “What are you talking about…”

  I can see his lips curl up, like he’s winning, like he knows he has the upper hand.

  “Well, for one,” he starts, holding up a finger, “I know you’re fucking gorgeous.”

  I narrow my eyes.

  “For two,” he continues, putting up two fingers, “I know you have a secret.”

  A secret… There are only two secrets that I struggle to keep everyday: one that I was an escort, and two… that I’m dating my teacher.

  Okay. I need to calm myself. Don’t think too much. Don’t fret. Maybe Carter is just bluffing. Like that time with Jacob’s friend. I won’t make the same mistake again.

  With a breath caught in my throat, I make myself say, “What secret?”

  And it’s like he can see right through me. He can see how my thoughts are racing inside my head, and he enjoys playing with me.

  Carter whistles. “You tell me.”

  Chapter 31

  Okay. Carter claims he knows my secret.

  But which one…?

  His grin widens. “Come on, I want to hear you say it.”

  “Stop playing with me, Carter,” I say through my teeth. “Just tell me what you know.”

  He can’t possibly know about Nick…

  Carter steps closer, then he puts his face next to mine and whispers, “Mr. Chase.”

  One word. All it takes is his name––and the world is crashing right in front of me.

  “Wh-what are you talking about?” I’m playing it cool. Maybe he’s just suspecting. He doesn’t have any evidence, does he? He couldn’t have…

  Carter smirks. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t play dumb.”

  “What do you want?” I say sharply, hugging myself to keep from shaking.

  “I want what I’ve always wanted.”

  “You want to fuck me? Is that it?” I spit.

  “Whoa…” He backs away, holding up his hands. “I didn’t say that… Although if you want to––”

  “You’re a fucking asshole.”

  He snickers, not flinching at my insult, not even a little bit. “You’re a very interesting one, you know that?”

  “How did you know…”

  He shrugs, playing with his hoodie strings. “I was in the locker room, getting my spare jersey, and when I was about to leave, I saw you and him…” He pauses to see my reaction. “Kissing,” he f
inishes.

  Fuck. I close my eyes.

  “Anyway,” he continues, “I slipped out after you went back inside, and before Mr. Chase could see me.”

  “What do you want, Carter?”

  He ignores my question, shaking his head. “I mean, wow… Mr. Chase? He teaches your class, right? So I guess––”

  “Shut up, Carter,” I snap, cutting him off. My blood is boiling, and all I want to do now is to push him off the balcony.

  “I didn’t expect that from you. At all. You put on the mask of this pretty, quiet girl…” he drags out. “Who would’ve thought…”

  “Please…” I breathe. “It’s not his fault, and he’ll get in trouble for this if you tell.” I will myself not to cry in front of him. But it’s not working, hot tears start streaming down my face.

  Carter’s smile fades, replacing by a frown. “What, you really care about him?”

  “I love him!” The words came out like a shriek.

  He blinks, as if he didn’t expect me to actually admit it.

  “I’ll do anything…” I quickly wipe my tears away with the back of my hands. “I will… I don’t know. I’ll do whatever you want.”

  This is it… Carter is going to blackmail me into sleeping with him. I have to be an escort again. And this time it won’t be for money or anything else. I’ll do it to protect Nick.

  Carter’s face is horror-stricken right now. He glances back inside the party, and he leads me away from the window, away from sight.

  “Why are you crying!” he hisses under his breath.

  I gape at him. “You’re going to blackmail us and you ask me why I’m crying?”

  “Who said anything about blackmail?” He shakes his head. “What the fuck, Alice? How big of a jerk do you think I am?”

  I blink at him, his face blurry behind the veil of tears. “Aren’t you going to make me sleep with you or something?”

  “What? No!” he cries out, staring at me in disbelief. “You think I’d ever do that…?”

  “Then what do you want!”

  “I want to talk to you!” he says with exasperation. “And I was just fucking with you, Alice. I never thought that you and him are serious! I thought you’re just––I don’t know––playing around with him for your grades or something.” He pauses. “Look, I won’t say anything, okay? Just… stop crying.”

  What? Now my head hurts. Carter knows my biggest secret, but he’s not going to use it to his advantage? How can that be…

  “How can I trust that you won’t?” I manage to say.

  He sighs while taking out his phone. Then he shows me the photo—of me and Nick in the hallway. Although it’s dark in the picture and it’s hard to make out what we’re doing, there’s no mistake that it’s us, and we’re standing too close to each other to pass for a normal student and teacher conversation.

  “You took a picture?” I yell.

  He rolls his eyes and deletes the photo. “There. You trust me now?”

  I don’t say anything as I blink away my tears and wipe my face dry. “I have to go.”

  “Alice, wait…”

  I rush back inside the party. The crowd has gotten a lot bigger. Some of them don’t even go to our school. Heads start to turn as I appear from the balcony. It probably looks to them like I just did some drugs with Carter. I’m sure my eyes are red and swollen as hell. I turn to see if Carter follows me. He doesn’t.

  I shift through the crowd to look for my friends, but Leo and Zoe are nowhere to be seen. Where the hell are they?

  Ignoring every stare that I’m now getting used to, I huff and leave this place as fast as my legs could take me.

  I need to see Nick. I find his number in my contact list when I’m outside of Carter’s building. Being careful be damned. It’s freaking too late for that now.

  I press a call to R. C., which is short for Regula Client.

  It rings a couple of times before his voice chimes in, “Hello.” He is being cautious not to say my name.

  “Nick…” My voice trembles.

  “Alice… are you alright?” I can hear the concern in his voice, and I just want him here with me so badly.

  “I know it’s late, but… can I come see you?”

  “Now?” His voice is raised against the back noises of people talking, and there is also a loud hum of music coming through. “I’m at a bar with some of my friends. What’s going on? Do you want me to come get you?”

  “Oh… No. Don’t worry about it,” I force myself to say. “I––we can talk later.”

  “No, Alice. I want you here.”

  “But you’re with your friends.”

  “Sorry, what did you say?” he shouts into his phone, struggling to hear me.

  “You’re with your friends.” I raise my voice. “We can do this later.”

  “No. Please come. I’ll text you the place.”

  Chapter 32

  In the cab, I begin fixing my makeup. I put on some concealer under my eyes, cleaning any leftover smudges, and apply some lipstick. I don’t know what kind of bar Nick is at, but I don’t want to go in looking like a mess.

  When I arrive, I see Nick waiting for me in front of the bar. It’s in the back corner of the street, but I can see from the outside that the place is filled.

  I pay the driver and get out. Nick looks over and when our eyes meet, his brow creases.

  “Are you okay?” he asks as soon as I put my arms around him, taking in his warmth.

  “Why, do I look bad?” I get my pocket mirror out to check on my face. Maybe the light in the cab was too dark to see.

  “You look great.” He lets out a chuckle. “I’m just worried about you. You sounded… I don’t know… like you were crying on the phone.” He brushes my cheek with the back of his hand, worry etched in his gaze.

  I look at him, and I don’t want to talk about Carter right now.

  Maybe later.

  “It’s nothing. I just want to see you tonight.”

  Nick looks at me, unconvinced, but he doesn’t press. “All right. Let’s go inside then.”

  “Wait, are you sure about this?”

  “About what?”

  “Letting me meet your friends.”

  “Why else would I tell you to come.” Nick gives me an amused look. “And what makes you think I don’t want you to meet them?”

  “Because I’m your student, for one. And also, I’m eighteen in case you’ve forgotten.”

  His face shifts instantly. “Shit! They won’t let you in.”

  I grin. “Nick, I have my fake ID.” I reach into my purse and wave the ID in front of him. Lacey gave one to me and another to Zoe when we’re posing as escorts.

  Nick’s eyes widen at the card.

  I laugh. “Don’t worry about the ID. It works. Every time.”

  “Oh, so it’s not your first time, huh?” he says, looking at me with disbelief.

  We make our way to the bar, and the hairy guy at the front door immediately holds out his hand. “ID.”

  I give him my fake ID. He checks it, looks up at my face, and waves me in without a second look. Nick heaves a sigh of relief. I flash him a grin that says, I told you so.

  Nick brings me inside the dim-lit bar, his hand never leaving mine. As soon as I step in, I know that I’m way underdressed for the place. It’s not that classy or anything. The walls are all bricks and the tables are made out of wood. But the girls here are wearing nice and revealing outfits with perfect hair and thick makeup.

  I’ve never felt so out of my element. And here I am, about to meet Nick’s friends. What kind of a first impression will I leave them?

  Tyler is the first one I see. His face lights up as he sees us approaching. “There you are!”

  “Hi.” I smile at him, then at everyone––four of them in total including Tyler.

  Tyler is sitting at the head of the table, then beside him on the left is the guy I met at Nick’s door the other day. His long, chestnut hair is now styled i
nto a man-bun. He sends me a nod, implying that he recognizes me. Next to him sits a woman. Asian. She’s uniquely pretty with a thick, straight bang that frames her face nicely. The woman gives me a taut smile as she takes me in, and I can tell that she’s trying very hard to not stare as her eyelids keep fluttering while she looks away. The bald guy with brown skin opposite of the woman is not so discreet. He carefully looks me up and down with his sharp eyes. But he is nice enough to move to the other end of the table to make room for me and Nick.

  “Thank you,” I say to him.

  “So, this is the girlfriend you’ve been tucking away from us,” the door guy speaks first, still eyeing me.

  Nick and I glance at each other.

  Then Nick replies, “Yes. This is Alice.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I say to no one in particular, suddenly becoming anxious. This is Nick’s friends, and they’re freaking adults.

  “I’m Blake.” Finally, the door guy gets a name. He stretches out his hand, and I take it with a smile.

  “Hello.”

  “I’m Jisoo,” the woman says, now with a smile, “but these guys call me Je-zus.” She scowls. “Douches.”

  I chuckle. “Nice to meet you, Jisoo.”

  At that, she finally gives me an approving smile.

  “And that guy over there––” Tyler jumps in, pointing at the bald guy, “is my manager, Raul. My partner in crime.”

  Raul looks at Tyler wearily. “I’m Raul. Nice to meet you.” He tilts his head forward.

  I smile at him. “You too.”

  And it seems to me like Raul is the one who is most difficult to win over. He has that calm and collected energy that honestly intimidates me. I mean, he is the only one here wearing a suit!

  “You want anything to drink?” Jisoo offers.

  “No, she won’t be drinking tonight,” Nick answers for me.

  Jisoo raises an eyebrow at him, but she says no more. Tyler’s lips are pressed together as if he’s trying not to crack up. Blake is enjoying looking between me and Nick, while Raul is burying his face behind a big jug of beer.

  An awkward silence ensues.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt your night…” I start.