by Sky Corgan
“Fuck that guy,” I raised my voice to get Georgina's attention.
“Huh?” She twisted back around to face me, her eyes glazed as if coming out of a dream.
“Drink your beer.” I nodded down at her red Solo cup.
“I don't really feel like it.”
“I don't care if you feel like it. Drink it anyway.”
“Brenna is right.” Leonor stepped in closer to us. “It will help you forget.”
“Was the dick that good?” Holly's eyes widened. “You were only with the guy for two weeks.”
It wasn't the dick, I thought to myself. Bobby was a genuinely enjoyable person to be around. He had a smoothness about him that sucked you in, that made you want more of him in whatever form you could get. I could totally understand Georgina getting wrapped up in him in such a short amount of time.
“We don't want to hear about his dick.” I pressed my eyes shut. I didn't, at least. I didn't give a crap if anyone else did. “Just drink the beer.”
“Drink the beer,” Leonor parroted.
“Drink the beer!” a guy's voice chimed in behind us. Then the chanting began.
The corner of Georgina's mouth quirked into a smirk, and she fell victim to peer pressure, slamming back her second beer. As soon as it was gone, I gave her the rest of mine.
“Drink until you don't feel anymore. We'll take care of you.” I winked at her, though I couldn't help but wonder if she suspected me of ill intent. I had none. I just felt friendly and supportive tonight. Besides, I had been where she was before. Well, sort of. I had somewhat of an idea what it was like. I wasn't going to make her suffer alone like I had.
“You know, you're not so bad,” she told me as the effects of the alcohol began to kick in.
“I know,” I replied proudly, refusing to give her the satisfaction of returning the compliment.
We fell into a state of unity after that, all dancing and laughing and forgetting about the world around us. For the longest time, things felt like they always should have. I was having fun. Not thinking about Bobby. Only caring about the moment. I had no enemies. No one was out to hurt me. All I had were friends and beer and this amazing night where nothing could go wrong.
I was happy.
“Someone told me you needed a beer,” a male voice said behind me.
I spun on my heels and came face to face with a handsome blond guy. I'd seen him around campus before but couldn't remember his name.
My gaze fell to the cup he was offering me. “That must be for someone else. I didn't ask for a beer.”
“I know you didn't. I saw that you gave your beer to your friend, so I decided to take the liberty of bringing you another one.” He smiled at me, flashing two rows of perfectly white teeth.
In my buzzed state, it took me a minute to realize he was flirting. Damn, and I didn't think my night could get any better.
Warmth surged up my neck, and I prayed it wouldn't reach my cheeks.
“That was rather nice of you.” I reached out to take the cup from him, but my hand stalled as a guy ran into the room yelling the word “Fight!”
Like meerkats detecting a predator, everyone turned in his direction at the same time. He pointed outside and shouted the word again. My head pivoted to face the girls. There was already a mass exodus happening with people rushing outside to see what was going on. Internally, I groaned. This could not have come at a worse time.
“We should go see what's going on.” Leonor stepped up beside me.
Blond hottie didn't seem interested in the fight. His gaze was fixated on me. I wanted to get to know him better. That sounded a lot more interesting than any fight.
“You guys go on ahead. Tell me how it goes.” I took the cup of beer from the blond guy, not even bothering to look at Leonor.
“Maybe we'll stay. We probably won't be able to see anything good anyway.” She shifted her weight. Almost everyone had cleared out around us. I imagined that the backyard was already pretty packed. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to go, and as long as she didn't cockblock me, I didn't really care what the girls did.
Those who stayed inside were chattering around us. I tried not to pay any mind to them, wanting to focus on my new potential love interest, but as soon as I heard the names drop of the people who were fighting, my attention was completely diverted.
Javier Yancy...and Bobby Calhoun.
Without even thinking, I shoved the cup of beer back into the blond guy's hand, apologizing to him before I practically flew into the crowd, pushing my way through the throng of bodies that were still trying to get outside to see the fight.
By the time I reached the backyard, the two guys were already squaring off. Javier was at least twice Bobby's size. Taller, broader, and filled out with muscle. Bobby was taking a defensive stance, his palms held out in surrender.
“I didn't touch her, man,” he insisted.
“Doesn't matter, dude. You were going to. I know you were upstairs with her.” Javier shifted his weight back and forth on his heels like a boxer, his hands already balled into fists.
“She didn't tell me she had a boyfriend.”
“Everyone knows I'm her boyfriend.” He raised his voice, throwing his arm out towards the crowd in an angry gesture.
I held my breath, hoping that the aggression would fizzle out between them. It was obvious that Bobby was trying to avoid a fight. Javier didn't seem to be backing down, though.
“We don't need to resort to violence.”
“Nah, bro. Actually, I think we do.”
“Oh shit,” I choked on my own words as Javier surged forward.
Bobby's arms crossed in front of his face to block the blow, but it was too late. The jab landed across his nose with a sickening crunching sound. Javier didn't let up. Knocking Bobby off guard, he took advantage, raining a barrage of fists down upon him.
Before I even knew what I was doing, I was pushing my way through the crowd. By the time I broke through, someone else was already there pulling Javier off of Bobby. It only took a quick glance to realize it was Dustin.
Silently, I thanked him.
Javier was struggling in his grasp, not ready to give up. Bobby was on the floor, curled up in the fetal position. It should have been over, but it wasn't. Javier broke free of Dustin's grasp and lunged at Bobby again. Not even considering the consequences of my actions, I put myself between them, closing my eyes as I waited for the pain to come. Pain that was meant for Bobby.
The crowd seemed to suck in a collective breath. Everyone was eerily silent.
I opened my eyes to see that Dustin once again had a hold of Javier. Javier glared at me, though he didn't seem to be struggling as much.
“Get him out of here.” Dustin nodded down to Bobby over Javier's shoulder. His face was red from the effort of holding Javier back.
“Yeah. Okay.” I turned to help Bobby up off of the floor.
He didn't object, throwing his arm over my shoulder and allowing me to support some of his weight. The crowd parted for us to leave. Faces flashed by as we walked hurriedly out of the frat house. I saw Leonor looking shocked. Melody was smirking. Holly's expression was deadpan. There was a scowl plastered across Georgina's features that told of her thoughts of betrayal. I didn't care about any of that now. All I cared about was getting Bobby to safety. And safety was as far away from Javier as possible.
We made it down the steps at the front of the frat house before Bobby stopped in his tracks, removing his arm from my shoulder to pat his pockets. “Shit.”
“What?” I scanned over him, my voice full of alarm.
“My wallet must have fallen out of my pocket during the fight,” he growled.
“I'll get it. Just stay here. You'll be okay here, right? Or should I take you back to the dorm and then come back for it?”
“Get it now. Who knows what will happen to it if I leave it here.” He raked his hand through his hair in aggravation.
I worried about leaving him, but I didn'
t really trust the guys not to rob him blind either. For all we knew, someone could have already taken his wallet. There was more of a chance of getting it back if I went in after it now.
“Alright. Wait here. I'll be right back.” I did a quick check to make sure that no one hostile was around before running back inside to retrieve Bobby's wallet.
Again, the house went by in a blur. Leonor grabbed me by the arm to talk to me, but I quickly told her that I would catch her up on what happened later and continued into the backyard.
Javier was standing with a group of guys venting his frustration. My nervousness spiked the second I laid eyes on him. More than likely, he was going to be pissed at me for helping to break up the fight. I wanted to avoid confrontation with him at all costs, so I kept my head low as I scanned the floor near where they had been fighting.
“Looking for this?” a voice said behind me.
I turned to see Dustin holding up Bobby's wallet. As odd as it was to think, I was glad that it had landed in his hands instead of someone else's.
“Yeah. Thanks.” I reached out to take it, but he jerked it out of my grasp.
I gave him a quizzical look as I watched him open the wallet and take out a twenty before closing it and handing the wallet to me. “For my services,” he said with a cocky grin.
I rolled my eyes but didn't argue. Even though it reminded me of the bullying bullshit he used to pull when we were in high school, the money seemed earned this time around. If Dustin hadn't been there to break up the fight, who knows what would have happened to Bobby.
“You're an asshole,” I grumbled as I snatched the wallet back.
“Am I?” He shoved the twenty into his pocket, sounding amused.
I didn't bother to entertain him with an answer. I simply spun on my heels and walked back through the house to return to Bobby.
“Oh, thank God,” Bobby sighed in relief the second he saw I had his wallet.
“Here.” I handed it to him. “Let's go. I don't want to deal with any more drama tonight.”
Internally, I was fuming. Somehow, Bobby had managed to ruin yet another frat party for me. Things were going well until his dumb ass got into that fight.
“What were you thinking?” I laid into him the second we were out of earshot from the party, my discontent finally building to a head.
“I guess I wasn't.” He shrugged.
“This is what not thinking gets you.” I glanced over at him. He was limping, though I wasn't sure why. Maybe Javier had kicked him, and I hadn't seen it. The whole fight was kind of a blur to me. His lip was busted, and the skin beneath his left eye was quickly taking on a purple hue. I had been certain that he would have a broken nose from that first punch, but his nose wasn't even bleeding.
“To be honest, I didn't even care she had a boyfriend. I hadn't planned on getting caught.”
I stopped, and my mouth fell open in disbelief. “What in the hell has happened to you?”
“What?”
“Who are you?” I threw my hands out to the sides in exasperation. “I swear to God, I don't even know you anymore.”
“I'm me.” He continued walking, ignoring me.
“No, you're not,” I insisted. “The Bobby Calhoun I know would never do something so reckless. Hell, the Bobby Calhoun I know would never mess around with someone else's girlfriend.”
“I'm not the same guy.”
“Obviously,” I huffed. “You're a fucking asshole now.”
“Brenna, are we really going to do this right now?” He gave me a warning look over his shoulder.
“Yeah. We are. We're going to do this right now. You know why? Because I just saved your ass, so the least that you owe me is a Goddamn explanation about why in the hell you've changed so much.” I circled him and jabbed my finger into his chest, not caring if I hurt him or not.
His gaze fell to my hand, then his eyes flitted back up to mine. An unwelcome tingling sensation surged through me. It had to be the alcohol causing it. That was the only explanation.
Those eyes. Those damn beautiful green eyes. I wanted to rip them out of his head so that he couldn't look at me like that.
“You're right. I've changed,” he said softly.
“Why? Why have you changed?” I pressed.
“I don't want to be the guy I was in high school.”
“You mean the decent guy who I respected.” I rolled my eyes before flanking his side and continuing towards the boys dorm.
“I mean the guy who wasted four years of his life being faithful to someone who was barely tangible.”
“You made the choice to stay with her,” I reminded him.
“I know I did,” he sighed. “And now I'm making the choice to make up for lost time.”
“By fucking half of the girls on campus?” I grumbled.
“By living, Brenna.” He glanced at me. “I spent the last four years of my life in front of a computer screen. I'm away from home now. I want a new life. And even though you might not approve of it, this is it right now.”
“A lot of people don't approve of it. That's why you got your ass kicked.” I forced a sardonic smile.
We walked in silence until we reached the dorm. The tension between us was almost palpable. There was an uncomfortable mix of anger and sorrow sloshing around inside of me, coming and going in waves. The boy I knew and loved was gone. I didn't even know who I had just saved.
“Well, here we are.” I hugged my purse in front of me, gazing past Bobby at the imposing building. I didn't want to look at him—didn't want to see this new person who I was slowly beginning to hate.
“Yup. Here we are.” He stood before me like he had something else to say, yet nothing came out of his mouth.
Bitterness fizzled on the end of my tongue, and I couldn't contain it any longer. “I hope you enjoy your new life. You're obviously fine with everything it's cost you...including me.”
Then I turned from him and walked away.
CHAPTER TEN
Bobby: Breakfast? I owe you for being an asshat.
That was totally not something I had expected to wake up to. To be honest, I had expected that when I dropped Bobby off at the boys dorm last night, it would be the last I saw of him until the next party or a chance encounter in the cafeteria.
The bitch in me briefly considered ignoring him. He deserved it, especially after everything he had put me through, but I couldn't help but respond.
Fast forward a few hours later, and we were sitting across from each other at a Denny's. His injuries looked much worse now that they were illuminated. The split in his lip was deep and purple. His eye was practically black and swollen almost completely shut. He had never looked less attractive, and for that I was grateful.
“I bet you feel like shit.” I smirked at him, replaying the fight in my head.
“I've certainly had better days.” He tried to smile but ended up wincing about halfway through when his lip split back open.
I cringed as I saw the wet glistening of fresh blood on the wound. “Are you sure you can even eat?”
“I may potentially have to take whatever I order back to the dorm, blend it, and drink it through a straw.”
I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. When he just ordered coffee, I figured that he wasn't.
“Well, this is a nice surprise,” I confessed. “A little awkward, but a nice surprise.”
“Why is it awkward?” He pulled the tab open on a little cup of creamer.
“Why do you think?” I lowered my voice mockingly.
“It doesn't have to be awkward, Brenna.” He tried to smile again with the same result.
I held my hand out, pressing my eyes shut. “Just don't, okay? Don't smile. I'm worried your face is going to squirt blood at me.”
He let out a pained laugh. “I'm trying really hard not to.”
“Try harder.”
“Fine, fine.”
It was odd how quickly we fell back into normalcy. Within a few seconds of conver
sation, it was like nothing had changed between us at all. He was the same fun-loving guy that I used to know, yet at the same time he wasn't.
“So are you finally going to kiss my ass for saving you, or is this breakfast a silent thank you for my heroic gesture?” I poured over the menu, planning on pigging out since I knew he would pay for it.
He tipped the menu down so that I could see him over it. “Thank you for coming to my rescue last night. Really. Thank you.”
“You're welcome,” I huffed, pulling the menu out of his grasp to continue scanning over it.
“I suppose I should probably thank Dustin Nikoli later too. If I remember correctly, he's the one who pulled that girl's boyfriend off of me.”
“He was.” My memory flashed to Dustin holding Javier's arms behind his back.
“Whoda thunk that guy would ever be the one to come to my rescue?” His good eye widened for effect. The other one tried, but it was a moot effort.
“Yeah. Whoda thunk?” Whoda thunk that Dustin Nikoli would have done a lot of things that I'd witnessed him doing. He was a completely different person too, it seemed.
“But anyway, I need to be more careful next time.”
“Or just not whore around.” My shoulders slumped in disappointment at him.
“Or just not sleep with girls who have boyfriends.”
“Or that.” I unwrapped my silverware.
Silence fell over us for a moment, and tension rushed in to fill the space. The thought of Bobby sleeping with other girls still caused a tugging at my heart that I didn't like. Maybe I wasn't as over him as I had initially thought, but at least it wasn't as bad as it had been in the beginning.
“So, what was it like dating Georgina?” I asked, hoping that talking about something unpleasant would further snuff out my feelings for him.
He leaned back in his seat, gazing into nothingness. “It was interesting.”
“Interesting?” I pressed.
“She was an interesting girl.”