Player (What Happens on Campus Book 1)

by M L Sparrow

  Chapter Five

  Once again, Chloe found herself dressed up to go somewhere Parker had invited her. Hopefully, this time she got further than her bedroom door. Usually, she was quite a forgiving person, but it still stung that he had stood her up last night and she wouldn’t easily forget it.

  Standing in front of the mirror, Riley turned this way and that, admiring the way she looked in a pretty blue dress that hugged her slender body, stopped halfway down her thighs and exposed her tanned arms. Her long hair had been carefully washed and curled, her makeup applied and the perfect jewellery picked to match her outfit. She had gone about the preparations with a zeal that Chloe didn’t feel, in fact, she felt a little bit like a Barbie doll, since Riley had also insisted on helping her get ready by doing her hair and makeup, as well as lending her a dress.

  The dress was beautiful, she had to admit, but it was a bright, eye-catching shade of purple that she never would have picked for herself and clung to her like a second skin. It probably fit Riley perfectly, but Chloe was quite a bit taller, as well as curvier and she felt as if she was showing off more than a decent amount of flesh. Her one saving grace was that her feet were too big to fit into the killer heels that her roommate tried to pressure her into, so she’d chosen a pair of black heels from her own small collection. They weren’t as high as the ones Riley had given her, but they were still tall enough for her to break an ankle.

  Teetering across the room to grab her purse off the bed, she slipped her phone inside and zipped it up, grumbling, “How come you get to wear flats?”

  “I hurt my leg and I can’t wear heels anymore,” Riley answered, the joy in her eyes dimming.

  “But you have a whole wardrobe full of them.”

  “Just because I can’t wear them doesn’t mean they’re not pretty to look at,” she shrugged, leaning into the mirror to straighten her fringe and better inspect her lip gloss.

  “So you just buy then but never wear them?”

  Again, she shrugged. “Everyone’s got to have a hobby.”

  Unable to help herself, Chloe laughed, linking her arm through Riley’s as they both stepped out into the hall. In her heels, she towered head and shoulders over her roommate and they made quite a pair as they navigated the stairs, with Chloe being forced to use Riley as a crutch and constantly having to wiggle her dress further down her thighs.

  “I feel ridiculous,” she admitted when they reached the bottom of the stairs, “this dress is far too tight.”

  “You look hot,” Riley argued, “Parker is going to be so sorry that he stood you up last night.”

  “I don’t want to make him sorry, I just want to forget that I ever met him.”

  “Well, that’s going to be hard. He’s like a celebrity at this school. The star quarterback and absolutely gorgeous to boot.”

  “Yeah, thanks for reminding me,” she grumbled, once more grappling with her dress.

  Smirking, Riley shrugged, “I’d do him.”

  Laughing, Chloe shook her head as they stepped out into the fresh air, asking a minute late, “Do you know where we’re going?”

  Riley nodded, answering, “Terri text me the directions.” After they’d been walking for a while, she said, “I think that’s the place.”

  Students were streaming in and out of the big, colonial style building; nearly all of them clutched red plastic cups and several were clearly drunk already. To get into the house, they had to skirt around a couple who were making out enthusiastically right in the doorway. Inside, the noise hit her like a physical blow, music pumped out of the speakers and people shouted to be heard over it.

  Everywhere she looked there were students crammed into every available space, a mismatch of dancing, talking and lounging around on the sofas. It was claustrophobic and Chloe immediately felt uncomfortable. Riley, on the other hand, was glowing with excitement, fidgeting on the spot as she peered around with bright eyes, taking everything in.

  “Let’s go get a drink,” she proposed, “then we can search for my sister, she said she’d be here.”

  Nodding, Chloe followed her into the crush of people, sticking close as she wove her way through the crowd. Someone pinched her bum, but when she whipped around she couldn’t pinpoint who. In that moment of distraction, she lost sight of Riley and suddenly found herself all alone in the midst of the heaving mass of students. Instantly, she began to panic. Telling herself to calm down, that there was nothing to worry about, was useless; her heart was racing and it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.

  Pushing through the crowd, she headed back towards the doors and out into the fresh, cool night air. Leaning against the wall, she took long, deep breaths and felt herself calming. A hand on her shoulder made her jump, a small scream escaping as she spun around.

  Quickly stepping back, Parker held up his hands. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I saw you legging it out of there and thought I’d come and check you were okay.”

  That was sweet, she thought, and then had to remind herself that he was a class A jerk. “I’m fine,” she answered, “it’s just really crowded in there and I lost Riley.”

  “I’ll help you find her,” he volunteered quickly.

  “That’s all right. She’s probably in the kitchen getting drinks, I’ll brave it in a minute.”

  “Come on, I know I’m not your favourite person in the world right now, but at least give me the chance to prove that I can be a decent human being.” He flashed her that charming smile and she felt herself responding despite what her mind told her.

  Straightening, she licked her lips and felt his eyes follow the action. “Fine.”

  Pressing his own lips together, clearly trying not to look smug, he held out a hand. When she didn’t take it, he wiggled his fingers and cajoled, “Come on, I wouldn’t want to lose you in the crowd.”

  Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his. Instantly his fingers closed around hers and he pulled her forward. Together, they dove back into the house. It was less of a crush this time; people seemed to instinctively move out of Parker’s way and he easily made a path to the kitchen. Once there, they stopped in front of the kitchen counter, which had been transformed into a bar, and Chloe looked around for Riley. In her heels, she was even taller than usual and it was easy to see over the sea of heads.

  “I don’t see her,” she said anxiously, turning back to Parker to find him with a cup in each hand.

  “She can’t have gone far. Here, have a beer.”

  “I don’t drink.”

  “If you don’t like beer, I can get you something else. They’ve got whisky, vodka, gin…”

  “I don’t drink at all,” she interrupted as he listed the beverages on hand, that familiar sick feeling curdling in her stomach.

  If only she hadn’t drunk that night… If only she hadn’t had that one cider, would it have changed anything? Would she have reacted faster, would she have been able to swerve, to miss the other car, to save her brother’s life? She hadn’t been over the limit, she’d only had the one, the breathalyser had confirmed it. The court had decreed that it had been the other driver at fault, but Chloe still couldn’t help wondering, what if…?

  Clearly surprised, Parker put down one of the cups and shifted forwards slightly, as if to keep their conversation private. “Why?”

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, she lied, “I just don’t like the taste and I don’t see the point in drinking something I don’t like when all it’s going to do is give me a headache in the morning.”

  “Fair enough,” he nodded, though he didn’t look completely convinced, “I woke up with one of them this morning and it wasn’t nice.”

  Crossing her arms, she arched one eyebrow. “What, do you expect sympathy?”

  At least he had the good sense to look embarrassed, ducking his head and adjusting his red baseball cap, a nervous tell she was beginning to recognise. Clearing his throat gruffly, he wisely decided to change the subject, saying, “Why don�
�t we check the other rooms?”

  They found Riley in the main room, laughing among a group of other girls. When she caught sight of Chloe, she bounded over and grabbed her in a tight hug, exclaiming, “There you are! Now you’re here, let’s dance.”

  Without pre-empt, Riley dragged her into the centre of the room, where people were dancing to the loud music pouring from the speakers. It was hard to dance without any liquid courage, but Riley forced her to move and after a few minutes the music seeped into her bones and she began to enjoy it. Once she was in the moment, the movement came easily and, considering most of the people here were drunk already, she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

  She didn’t know how long they danced for, but by the time Parker appeared in front of her once more, she was breathing heavily and sweat tickled the back of her neck. “Here,” he pushed one of the cups he was holding into her hand, “it’s orange juice and I swear I didn’t roofie it because, hey,” he gestured to himself, “why would I need to?”

  Rolling her eyes, she left Riley dancing and moved off to the side of the room, so that she could take a sip without getting jogged. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, but dancing was fun! Setting her drink down on the windowsill, she dug in her bag for her inhaler and took a puff before replacing it.

  Leaning against the wall, close beside her, Parker reached out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” she panted, smiling up at him, “just need to catch my breath.”

  “This might help,” he said, pushing open the window so that fresh air wafted into the clammy room.

  “Thanks.” After a minute of deep breathing, she flashed him another smile, before glancing over her shoulder to see that Riley was still dancing, but now she had some guy’s arms wrapped around her waist and was laughing up at him. Forgetting her earlier grievances, she grabbed Parkers hand, “I want to dance some more.”

  “Shouldn’t you take it easy for a minute?” he protested as she pulled him into the crush of dancers.

  “No, I’m fine.” When he continued to hesitate, she scowled at him, “Come on, this could be the only chance you ever get to put your hands on me.”

  “Well, when you put it like that…” With that cocky grin once more firmly in place, he slid his arms around her and Chloe lifted her own to wrap around his neck. Shivering at the feel of their bodies aligning, she bit her lip and tucked her head beneath his chin, just for a moment. It felt indescribably good to be held like this. New and exciting.

  His hands moved further down and she tensed, waiting to see that he’d do next, but they just settled at her lower back and remained there, big and warm.

  Lifting her head from his chest, she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of Riley, just to check that she was all right and saw that she had been joined by Jet and Terri, looking to all the world like a couple as they danced, her back pasted to his front. Smiling to herself, she looked back up at Parker to catch him grinning down at her.

  “You look stunning. That dress…” he whistled between his teeth and shook his head, leaning back as if to admire her better.

  Blushing, Chloe slapped at his chest. “Stop it.”

  “What, a guy can’t compliment the prettiest girl in the room?”

  “Not when they’re only supposed to be friends. You didn’t want to date me, remember, so you can’t go around spouting stuff like that.”

  “If that’s the case we shouldn’t be dancing like this either.”

  “Dancing’s fine,” she decided, unable to resist pressing against him once more. “Friends can dance without it meaning anything. Look at Jet and Terri.”

  That was a barefaced life, if ever she’d told one.

  By the time people began to leave, Chloe was exhausted. Turning her head to yawn into her shoulder, she sat on the stairs as she waited for Riley to come back from the bathroom so that they could go. Terri and Jet had left a while ago, but Riley had wanted to stay until the party was officially over. Her feet were killing her, so she kicked off her lethal heels and rested her head against the balustrade, letting her eyes drift shut.

  “Long night, hey?” said a deep voice, which was familiar after tonight. Peeling open her eyes, she peered up at Parker, who had been helping his friend Dawson tidy up. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”

  “I’m waiting for Riley,” she replied around a jaw cracking yawn.

  “She’s just coming,” he gestured behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Riley descending the stairs, looking dishevelled after a night of dancing, but happy nonetheless.

  “That was so fun!” she exclaimed when she reached them, flinging her arms around Chloe’s neck and almost causing them both to fall down the last few steps. “Let’s do it again tonight.”

  Laughing, Chloe guided her out of the house. “Let’s see if you’re still saying that when you sober up.”

  Behind them, Parker snorted with amusement, closing the door as Chloe tried to stop Riley from veering into the bushes on either side of the path. Catching up to them, he clasped Riley’s other arm and together they steered her towards Willow building as she chattered to them about everything and nothing.

  When they got to their room, she sat Riley on her bed and went to say goodnight to Parker, who was lingering in the doorway. “Tonight was great,” she conceded, “maybe you will make a decent friend after all.”

  “I told you, I’m fun to be around,” he smirked, pushing his hands deep into his jeans pockets as he leaned his body back slightly. For a moment, they just stood there, neither of them really sure how to end the night. Suddenly he said, “I suppose a goodnight kiss is off the table?”

  Instantly serious, she frowned. “Parker, I’m not interested in being in anything less than a serious relationship. I’ve been straight with you from the start and, since the idea of committing obviously gives you the heebie jeebies, I’m happy to be friends, but nothing more. I want love, Parker. Maybe that’s stupid, but it’s what I want and I won’t settle for anything less.”

  The curse of being a book lover was that she was also a hopeless romantic.

  Nodding slowly, he reached out to brush her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “It’s not stupid and I kinda wish I was the guy who got to love you, but I don’t think I have it in me.” Smiling sadly, he turned and walked away.

  All Chloe could do was watch him go, standing there in a shock like state as his words echoed in her head. How could he say stuff like that, then turn around and act the way he did? It didn’t match up. God, he confused her!

  When he was gone from sight, she shuffled backwards into the room and eased the door shut. Riley was already asleep, sprawled awkwardly across the bed, her legs dangling over the edge. The nights were warm here, she’d already discovered, so instead of putting a cover over her, Chloe just slipped off Riley’s shoes, got changed into her own pyjamas, turned out the light and crawled into her own bed.

  She was exhausted, but as usual she had trouble getting to sleep; her mind just kept spinning and spinning and spinning. Kicking off the covers, she clambered to the end of the bed so that she could reach over on to her desk and lift the lid of her laptop. Selecting her ‘Sleep Playlist’, she lowered the volume so that the dulcet, soothing tones of Katie Melua and Norah Jones were barely audible and then hooked her arm under the bed to retrieve her hot water bottle. It was electric, therefore, didn’t need water, despite the name, and she cuddled it to her chest as she waited for it to warm, concentrating on the music flowing around the room.

  The two combined helped her drift off into an uneasy, restless sleep, which she was awoken from with a jolt a short while later when Riley bolted for the toilet, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

  Sitting up groggily, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. Should she go in and see if Riley was okay? Would Riley mind if she went in there, Chloe knew she sure as hell wouldn’t want anyone seeing her puking her guts up?

  When her friend didn’t
come out after a few minutes though, she went and opened the door a crack, poking her head inside and asking, “You okay?”

  Hunched over the toilet, her hands gripping it on either side, so tight that her knuckles had gone white, Riley shook her head. “No,” she managed to say between retching.

  Going to kneel beside her, Chloe pulled her hair back from her face and rubbed her back soothingly. “Get it all out, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

  “I’m dying,” her friend groaned.

  “Well, next time you’ll know not to drink so much.”

  Turning her head to look at her, Riley wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said stoically, “I regret nothing.”

  The effect was somewhat ruined however by the next wave of vomit that came spewing from her mouth.

  Chapter Six

  Getting up the next morning for practice wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. He was tired, but he’d only had one beer last night, so at least he wasn’t hung-over. Chloe’s friend wouldn’t be so lucky, he thought, wincing in sympathy. She had been throwing them back like a demon – he was actually quite impressed she hadn’t passed out. Chloe didn’t drink though, so at least he didn’t have to worry about her getting drunk and landing herself in trouble. But he did wonder what the real reason for her abstinence was because he was almost certain she’d been lying to him last night.

  For once, Jet wasn’t up before him and Parker left the room quietly so as not to wake him, heading down towards the field at a jog. In the locker room, he found Dawson sitting on the bench with his head in his hands, his usually tanned face looking startlingly pale.

  Turning his head slightly, to watch him walk past with bloodshot eyes, Dawson moaned, “Why do I do this to myself? I should have learnt by now…”

  “Rough night?”

  “I woke up with two girls in my bed and I don’t remember any of it,” he replied mournfully.

  “If you were that drunk, I’m sure there wasn’t much to remember.”

  Groaning, Dawson dropped his head back into his hands, “Thanks, man, way to make me feel even worse.”