by Laura Ward
My fist rapped on the door twice, and the sound echoed down the hall.
“No, Jules. I already told you I don’t want to watch that gross porn with you again. Once was enough.” The door swung open, and Taren stood in front of me wearing nothing but a smile and a towel.
And just like that I had a fucking woody.
“Tell her I don’t want her using her vibrator as a flashlight either!” A voice called out from behind Taren.
My gaze took all of two nanoseconds to scan every inch of Taren’s wet, naked skin. She was wrapped in a small white towel that barely covered her ass and her hair was hanging down her back, wet and dripping. Motherfucking dripping down her body.
Iron. Clad. Wood.
“Uhhhh…” Jesus. My voice sounded like I was having sex with her. Which come to think of it...
“Alec!” Taren screamed and slammed the door in my face.
Christ. Get it together, fuckface. So what if she was naked and wet and…naked?
“What are you doing here?” Taren barked from behind the door.
I huffed out a breath and looked at the ceiling. Of course this wouldn’t be easy. “Open the door, Taren.”
“No. Why won’t you just leave me alone?”
I fisted my hands. Why did she have to make this so difficult?
“I want to talk to you.” My voice was low and demanding, which probably wasn’t the best way to get her to cooperate.
“No. I have nothing to say to you, Alec. At least nothing that’s nice. Go away.”
I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck. Pain in my ass. “You could say thank you since I found your wallet.”
The door slowly opened, and Taren peered out from around the edge. She looked down and saw her wallet in my hand. “Oh.”
As she reached for it, I pulled my hand behind my back. “Can we talk?”
She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. After a few seconds she held up her index finger, and I was glad she chose that digit instead of the one she probably wanted to use. She shut the door, and I heard muffled voices from behind it.
A moment later, a pretty blonde opened the door, glaring at me. “Come in.” She motioned me in with her hand. She turned to Taren. “I’m gonna shower, but if you need anything, just scream.” Her roommate gave me a pointed look and then grabbed a towel before leaving the room.
Taren stood next to her bed, hands clasped together. She’d gotten rid of the towel and was wearing shorts and a tank top. A very tiny, very thin tank top.
I swallowed loudly. “Look, I don’t want to keep having these uncomfortable run-ins on campus.” I watched her as she stared at the wall across the room.
Her eyes met mine. “Why can’t we just pretend we don’t know each other?” She crossed her arms over her chest, and her breasts rose high under her tank.
Never. Ending. Woody.
“Pretending we don’t know each other is awkward as shit.” I crossed my arms and tried to avoid staring at her chest.
“Yeah, well so is getting humiliated in front of the entire school. Get used to it.” Her hip was cocked to the side and her eyes blazed with confidence.
I held her gaze and neither one of us blinked as we glared at each other. “Look, I feel like an ass for what I did at the bonfire. But it’s not like you’re completely innocent either.”
She tilted her head, and her forehead wrinkled. “I know you wanted to win the scholarship. So did I. We both worked hard on that project and deserved to win. You can’t blame me for a decision someone else made.” She stood up straighter, hands now planted on her hips, eyes flaring. With her chest jutted out in defiance, it was clear she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Even my frustration couldn’t subdue the way my dick twitched at the sight of her nipples poking through the thin fabric. Which only pissed me off more. Those tits belonged to a self-righteous harpy. My dick was a goddamn idiot.
I took a step toward Taren and narrowed my eyes. “I’m not talking about the scholarship.” The hard edge of my voice made her flinch. “How about when you ratted out the hotel party? My father made my senior year a living hell for that.”
“Are you serious?” She placed both her hands on my chest and pushed hard. I didn’t move an inch, but a burn started to build inside me. Realizing she couldn’t move me, she raised herself on her tiptoes and got in my face. “I never turned you in, Alec. The party was so loud the other hotel guests probably called security. I might have been a geek or a nerd or a goody-two-shoes, or whatever else you and your asshole friends called me, but I was never a snitch. I’m disgusted that you thought I was even capable of that.”
She grabbed her wallet out of my hand and tossed it on the desk before stalking over to her bed. She yanked clothes from the laundry basket, folding them with vicious motions. “Thanks for bringing my wallet back. Hopefully we won’t have any more awkward run-ins. If you see me, just turn the other way, and I’ll do the same.” She folded her shirt into something that resembled a wadded up napkin and slammed it down on the top of her bed.
I watched her attempt to fold a few more things. “You didn’t turn me in?” My voice was rough. Regret was like a fucking boulder on my chest. All this time I hated her for a mistake I had made.
Her laugh was bitter as she turned around to glare at me. “Oh my god. Why are you still here?” When I didn’t answer, she shook her head. “And why do I keep letting you hurt me?” she said under her breath.
“I never wanted to hurt you.” I held my hands uselessly out to my sides.
“But you did.” She looked like she was going to cry, and she crossed her arms again, her fingers gripping her biceps. “I thought we were friends.”
“We were.” My voice was firm and sincere.
Her laugh was full of scorn. “Yeah. As long as no one knew about it.”
“I’m so fucking sorry.” I walked toward her and placed both hands on her shoulders. I expected her to pull away and was grateful when she didn’t. I bent my knees to meet her gaze, and I wondered if I sounded as guilty as I felt. “For everything.”
She shuddered and took a deep ragged breath.
I gripped her shoulders tighter. “I wish I could take it all back.”
Taren blinked quickly and then uncrossed her arms, her hands fidgeting together. “Me too.”
“So what do I have to do to get off your shit list?” I grinned, forcing my hands to let go of her.
She sighed and then shrugged, a timid smile finding its way onto her lips. “Well, you did save my life.”
“Twice,” I reminded her, nodding toward the wallet she’d tossed on the desk. “One look at your picture and some douche would have been letting himself into your room later tonight.”
Taren’s eyes widened as the reality of the situation finally hit her.
“Oh…wow,” she whispered, wringing her fingers together and looking between me and the wallet. “I didn’t even think…Alexis could have been hurt.” She stepped close to me and wrapped her tiny arms around my back, resting the side of her face against my chest. “Thank you for returning my wallet even though I was a total bitch outside.” She squeezed tightly, pressing every part of her body against mine. My arms fell around her, accepting the impromptu hug.
Fuck. She’d know what she was doing to me in three, two…
“Oh.” She gasped and pulled back.
I reached up and ran my hand through my hair. She was hot. Couldn’t be helped. Besides, she started it.
Taren cleared her throat and extended her hand. “Friends?” She tucked some hair behind her ear, trying not to laugh.
I nodded and shook her hand. “Sounds good,” came out of my mouth, but the words in my head were for now.
***
“Dude!” Caz yelled as I threw another perfect barani. “That was awesome. Now you have to do a full.”
I laughed. “I just learned this. I’m not ready for a full twist.”
“It’s easy.” Caz thought everything was easy.
His judgment could rarely be trusted.
“The landing is blind,” I said, stepping off the mat. “I don’t like that.”
“Come on,” Caz said. “You’re ready for the full. Do it.” He grinned and I could see the wheels of mayhem turning in his head. “Or else.”
“Or else what?” I sat down on the edge of the double mini tramp and leaned my elbows on my knees. Defiance only seemed to encourage him further.
“Or else I’ll tell Amanda what you do in your bed at night.” He collapsed on the mat and put his hands behind his head.
“I sleep in my bed, jackass.”
“That’s not what I’m going to tell her.” He arched his eyebrows and then mimicked pleasuring himself. “Ah-manda. Oh Amanda, you feel so good,” he moaned.
“You’re a dick.”
“Oh...Oh...” Caz continued to groan and mime-masturbate all over the mat. He opened his eyes. “Oh good. Here she is.” He got to his feet and waved his hands like he was a hitchhiker flagging down a ride. “Amanda!”
“Fine.” I stood up and pushed against his shoulder causing him to roll back onto the mat again. “Fine. I’ll do it. You’ll spot me, right?”
“Like a boss.”
I walked back to the other side of the gym, swinging my arms in front of my chest like an Olympic swimmer to loosen my muscles. I’d never admit it to him, but I was glad Caz pushed me to challenge myself. If he didn’t rag on me, I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I’d learned in the Acroletes gym. We both knew it. He took my comfort zone and demolished it on a daily basis.
I stood at the end of the run, facing the double mini tramp, twisting my arms and chest as a last minute reminder to my body on how to rotate while flipping.
“Let’s go, Maude. I’m waiting,” Caz taunted. I stared at the double mini tramp a moment longer, and he started his ridiculous mime-masturbation again.
I took a deep breath and then started running. I leapt onto the first bed, rode the bounce high, and then came down on the second bed. As my body rose up out of the second bounce, I flipped, throwing my arms into the position Caz had shown me.
“Over-rotating!” Caz yelled, grabbing for my arm.
His direction was too late. I was too high, my rotation too far to stop, and the landing was blind. I came down hard on my ankle and heard an agonizing pop as I fell to the mat. Pain lanced up my leg and down my foot like knives splitting my bones. My body rolled awkwardly to the side, and I immediately curled up, pulling my leg close.
Fuck. I was going to throw up. I rocked back and forth, gritting my teeth.
“Shit!” Caz cursed, dropping down to the mat next to me.
“What happened?” Amanda yelled as she ran across the gym to us. “Alec, are you okay?”
“Get him some ice!” Caz grabbed my wrists, trying to pull them away from my leg. “Let me look at it.”
I let him pry my hands away, and I hissed in pain. Leaning back on my elbows, I swore as I stretched out my leg for him to get a better look. The movement felt like someone was slamming a rock into an open wound.
“Dude. Shit.” Caz jerked back away from me to sit back on his heels. “I’m so sorry.” He was tearing his hands through his hair as he stared at my leg. His eyes were wide and full of panic.
“What?” I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut until light burst behind my eyelids. My leg hurt so fucking bad. “Is my ankle dislocated? Can you pop it back in?”
“I don’t think so, dude. Shit.” Caz muttered under his breath. “Alec...it’s broken.”
I opened my eyes. “It can’t be.” Shaking my head, I forced the words up and out of my chest.
“Ankles are definitely not supposed to look like that.” For once, Caz sounded scared. His fear, more than the pain I was in, terrified me.
Gingerly I sat up and looked at my leg. I groaned, knowing with certainty that I’d fucked up royally this time.
I didn’t have to be a doctor to know that recovery would take months. I didn’t have to be a coach to know that I wouldn’t be ready for the lacrosse season. At best, I’d be benched. I didn’t even want to think about the worst—about what I might not be able to do if it didn’t heal correctly.
I could hear Caz yelling for Amanda to get the coach and have him call an ambulance, but it sounded far away, as if it was happening to someone else. I stared at the unnatural shape of my ankle. My thoughts were a haze of dizziness. A dark cloud crept across my vision. I closed my eyes, and the noise around me faded into a dull drone.
One thought repeated with relentless certainty through my head: I’d just lost my scholarship. That thought was echoed by the absolute conviction that I’d also just guaranteed my father’s wrath.
And then I really wanted to throw up. Not because of the pain, but because I risked it all. I’d gone all in on nothing but a high ace. I’d just gambled everything and lost.
A Year Later
SOPHOMORE YEAR
Chapter Thirteen
TAREN
“The devil came up from Hades with fire in his eyes. He said there’s one thing wrong with Hell; there are no Tri-Gams. Oh, there are no Tri-Gams down in Hell. Hell no!” My sisters and I sang in unison, screaming at the top of our lungs when we got to the, hell no! “Oh, there are no Tri-Gams down in Hell. Hell no! Cause they’re all up above, drinking beer and making love. Oh, there are no Tri-Gams down in Hell. Hell no!”
We stood outside of the Xi Upsilon fraternity house, serenading them to say that we had agreed to be their match for Homecoming.
“Ohmygod, I’m so happy the Xi U’s asked us,” Julie whispered in my ear as the members of Xi U sang back to us in response.
“Why do you care so much?” Alexis teased Julie. Julie’s scowl made us both laugh.
“I’m seriously in love with their social chair, Damian Yoffee.” She pointed one perfectly manicured finger to a preppy looking mass of muscle who was leaning against the banister of the porch. He saw Julie and raised his chin. “Did you see that?” she squealed.
“If that wasn’t a declaration of love, I don’t know what is.” Alexis elbowed Julie and Julie nodded in agreement, missing the sarcasm that only one of her best friends could say with love.
***
“Are you planning on making your Friday morning history class, Jules?” I raised my eyebrow and pursed my lips in my best schoolmarm impression. Homecoming Week had arrived, and Julie had been dedicated in her role as Homecoming Chair for Tri-Gam. As such, she had attended everything…absolutely everything.
Except for her classes.
“Friday is the talent show.” The light changed to red, and the pedestrian sign lit up, allowing us to cross Route One and head home. “I have to set up at six in the morning. Sorry babe, but history class is a distant second to that.”
I rolled my eyes at her. Julie might not take her classes seriously, but I did. “You need to take classes you love. Once you get past core classes and take ones for your major, you’ll feel differently.” I loved every second of the required courses I was taking for my English Literature major.
“I can’t start my design classes until I pass the stupid core fuckers.” Julie threw her head back and groaned. “How the hell do you maintain such a good GPA and still have a social life?”
I threw my arm around her shoulders. “Easy. I study.”
Julie wrinkled her nose at me as we walked up the pathway to our large white-bricked house. Moving into this beautiful old home still felt like a dream. Without my scholarship covering tuition and living expenses, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Several sisters sat on the front porch and waved when they saw us.
“Hey, Taren,” Julie’s big sister, Jen, called out. She knelt on the floor, painting a bolt and a nut onto poster board. “Are you sure you won’t join the dance group for our talent show number? It’s going to be so hot.” Jen smiled, using her forearm to push her curly brown hair from her face since her fingers were covered in paint.
“Jen, I told you I
have two left feet.” I bent down to examine her poster. “Why are you painting tools on the sign?”
“T?” Jules yanked my arm, pulling me to a standing position. “You’re my best friend, and I’m Homecoming Chair. How do you not know what our theme is?” She pointed to a large white sheet, stretched across four windows in front of the house. Painted on it were the letters of Gamma Gamma Gamma with a nut underneath. Next to that were the letters of Xi Upsilon and underneath their letters was a bolt. Written across the bottom of the sheet in bold black letters was, evidently, our slogan:
Tri-Gam and Xi U: Together We Screw!
Pornographic. And absurd. I didn’t get it.
My eyebrows pinched together. “Oh shit, sorry Jules. I thought that was a joke. You know, like we’re screwed. Meaning we lost.” I rambled on, speaking rapidly and trying to explain my lack of attention. “The goal is to win Homecoming, so I figured you all were joking when you suggested that.”
“We discussed your thoughts, T, and decided you were over-thinking things. We wanted to emphasize the fun, sexy element of the slogan. I think it’s perfect.” Julie smiled proudly. “By the way”—she pushed me through the front door— “why aren’t you wearing your T-shirt?”
Looking around the formal living room of my sorority house, I could see sisters lying on sofas, reading magazines or playing on their phones. A group sat off to the left in the sunroom, working on a project for a class. Two of our new pledges shared a small side table by the fireplace, quizzing one another on Tri-Gam history. Every single one of them wore the same blue shirt with a nut and a bolt on the front.
“I…uh…forgot?” I grimaced, waiting for my best friend to unleash on me. She followed me as I walked into the dining room. Several girls were eating grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup from the table that was set up along the side of the wall. I took a plate and headed to the salad bar.
“Is this because of Whistler?”
My brows arched at her question, and I paused, tongs full of iceberg lettuce dangling in the air. “What do you mean?”