“Hello, space cadet!” Nicole elbows me in the side.
“Ow, Nic, that hurt.” I rub my side, feigning injury.
“Sorry, girl, but you have been on a different friggin’ planet, and we still need to figure out what to tell the boys. Jason is seriously going to kill me for being at that warehouse tonight. It is going to take some serious sucking up to get me out of this, if you know what I mean.” She raises her eyebrows at me and the entire car erupts with laughter. Once Maddy pulls the car into the parking lot, all of the laughter dies. The boys are so overprotective, their heads are going to explode when we fill them in on tonight’s events.
We walk up to the apartment like traitors who are about to walk the plank. When we open the door, all of the boys are sitting on the couch in the living room and don’t say a word when we walk in. Mads is the first one brave enough to go past the doorway. She walks over to Carter and goes to give him a hug when he gives her one of those looks that says, ‘we need to talk’. She sits down next to him, looking like a wounded puppy dog. Nicole’s next, but her approach is definitely more forward. She saunters over to Jason, wraps her arms around his neck, and bends down to kiss him. He moves his head to the side, grabs her hips and sits her down next to him. She lets out a loud ‘hmmmph’ and pouts like a child sitting in timeout. It takes everything I have in me not to laugh at the two of them.
When I look up, I see Shawn staring at me and instantly feel my cheeks heat up. I glance back at Holly, and she has an expression on her face that tells me she knows something is going on. Holly throws her hands up in the air, “Okay, enough! It was my idea and I didn’t even tell them where I was taking them. So both of you boys need to get over it and leave them alone. I heard about the fights a couple weeks ago before school started and decided that’s what I wanted to do for my birthday.”
Carter jumps up and stalks over to Holly. I don’t know how she’s still so confident, he isn’t even looking at me and I want to run and hide. “Do you even understand how irresponsible and reckless going to a place like that without us was? Anything could have happened!”
“Like what, Carter? We’re all big girls, you know. We stayed together the entire time and left when it was over. Trust me, if I wanted to run away with a tattooed biker named Spike I wouldn’t need to go to Hell to do it! You are not my father and you do not get to tell me what to do. I’m leaving now, and just to piss you off, I’m not texting you to let you know I got home safe!” She storms out of the apartment and leaves me standing here in limbo. I don’t have enough courage to look Carter or Jason in the eyes, so I mumble a quick goodbye to the girls and follow her out.
I catch up to her about halfway to the car, “I can’t believe you just left me standing there!”
She laughs and then looks over at me, “Sorry, girl, but he makes me so mad sometimes. He thinks because our dad isn’t here, it gives him the right to be my boss. I can’t even talk to a guy on campus without one of them trying to intervene. Speaking of guys, what the hell was up with you going all blushing, quiet girl when Shawn looked at you?”
Shit. I knew she noticed. “Um…”
“Christen!” I look toward the voice and see Shawn jogging up to us. When I look back at Holly, she has her eyebrow raised as if to ask me what’s going on. I turn toward Shawn just as he reaches us. “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute? I’ll drive you home afterward so Holly doesn’t have to wait.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Holly opens her car door and gives me a knowing smile, “I’ll see you in a little bit, mama. Bye, Shawn.”
“My truck is over there.” He tilts his head to gesture across the parking lot. We start walking to his truck and the awkwardness settles in. “I’m actually kind of hungry. Would you want to go get something to eat?”
“Yeah, that sounds good.” I’m so nervous around him, like a teenager on her first date. It’s definitely not my first date, but I have also never been out with a guy like Shawn before. Most of the guys I have dated are, for the lack of a better word, preppy assholes.
We get into his truck and he pulls out of the lot. I look over at him and see that he has cleaned up and changed after the fight. I’ve had a thing for Shawn ever since I first met him, and looking at him now is only making my attraction more intense. He must have showered before we got home because his hair is still damp. His chiseled jaw is tight with either nervousness or anger, and I’m hoping it’s the first option. He turns his head toward me and I quickly look away, not wanting to get caught staring, even though I probably already have.
We pull into the diner, walk in, and sit at one of the booths in the back. The waitress comes to take our drink orders and gives us some menus. We sit in silence as we look them over. Honestly, I have no idea what to say to him. After we place our order, I know I need to break the silence somehow.
“I’m sorry for tonight—” We both say in unison, and then look at each other in confusion and start to laugh.
“Wait, Christen, I know why I’m sorry, but what the hell are you apologizing for?”
Why is he sorry? I’m the one who barged in on him. “I shouldn’t have followed you back there. I know you probably needed your space after the fight, and I caught you at a weird time. I’m sorry for just busting in.”
He shakes his head and laughs, “I appreciate that you came back ‘cause you wanted to see if I was okay. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you’re right, I was upset. I hate doing that all the time, but it’s an unavoidable necessity right now. I’m sorry I took advantage of you and then stormed out afterward. I’m normally not like that, and I don’t want you to think I was just using you.”
I don’t regret the kiss at all, and it hurts that he does. I have no idea what to say to him right now.
“Listen, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I just want you to know things are still going to be the same as they were before.”
I look up at him and try to gather the nerve to say what is on my mind, “What if I don’t want them to be?” My voice is so quiet, I’m surprised he even hears it.
He lifts his head and his eyes meet mine, “What do you mean?”
“Maybe I don’t want to forget it happened.” I can’t believe I’m sitting here and saying this to him. I’m never this forward with guys.
“It’s been a really long night, and I’m exhausted. Please clarify exactly what you’re asking because I really don’t want to make a wrong assumption.”
I take a deep breath, “I don’t want to pretend like it never happened. I didn’t go back there to try to hit on you, but I definitely don’t regret it. I’ve had a crush on you since last year, and when you kissed me tonight it was amazing. I hope I’m not making an idiot of myself right now, but I would like to see where this goes.” I looked down, not wanting to be making eye contact if he decides to reject me. I have never been this forward and I really don’t know what’s come over me.
He looks at me for what feels like forever, until the waitress brings out our food. We sit in silence the entire time while we eat, and by we, I mean him. I can barely touch my food because of the growing pit in my stomach. After he’s done eating, he pays the bill and we walk back out to the car. He still hasn’t said anything and I can feel the growing need to curl up in a ball of shame and cry. I should have kept my damn mouth shut.
When we pull up to my house, I practically jump out of the car and run to the door. Just as I’m about to turn the knob, I feel a set of hands grab my hips and I let out a shriek. I turn my head to the side and Shawn’s face is only an inch from mine. My heartbeat immediately speeds up. Having him this close to me with his hands where they are is torture.
“What if we give this a try and it doesn’t work?” he whispers in my ear, his hot breath giving me goose bumps all over.
“What if we give it a try and it does?” His fingers dig into my hipbones in response. I turn to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He walks me backward, pressing
me against the door, and kisses me. His lips are so soft and his tongue immediately finds its way into my mouth. He completely dominates me the same way he had earlier. When he pulls away, I can barely catch my breath.
“Okay, let’s give it a try,” I blurt it out so fast that I wonder if he even understands me.
When I look into his eyes, he gives me a smile and then walks back to his truck. I stand there like an idiot until he pulls away and turns the corner. Before I can even reach the handle of the door, it flies open and Holly is standing there.
“Holy shit, that was hot.”
She grabs my hand and pulls me into the house. When we get to the living room, I see Nicole is home, too, and has just as big of a smile on her face. Privacy is so not something you can have when you live with your best friends.
After living through the Spanish Inquisition and taking a shower, I’m lying in bed, trying to fall asleep. All I can think of is Shawn and the way he kissed me earlier. I can hear my phone buzzing on the end table and reach over to grab it.
Shawn: Goodnight beautiful.
I smile so big I feel like one of those creepy clown dolls. Should I reply to him? What the heck do I say to that? I decide to text him back a simple goodnight with a smiley face. As soon as I hit send, I regret it. A smiley face? What am I, in high school? My phone buzzes again.
Shawn: Do you want to meet for lunch tomorrow? My classes are done at 1.
Me: Ok, do you want to meet at the fountain?
Shawn: Sure, I’ll see you then, Princess.
Princess? Holly and the girls usually call me Princess as a joke. I’m really not sure how I feel about Shawn calling me that. It’s the girls’ way of teasing of me for having money growing up. To anyone on the outside, I probably look like the picture of a trust fund baby. My mom and dad definitely have a lot of money, and I do have a trust fund, but I try not to live like it. I’ve never touched my trust fund, and even though my dad deposits an obnoxious amount of money into my bank account on a regular basis, I don’t use most of it.
Growing up in my house was easy financially, but that was about the only easy part. My parents constantly fought with each other, and it only stopped when they both started seeing other people on the side. They keep up appearances at the country club my dad belongs to because public image is everything to my mother. I am told on a daily basis how my most important job is to find a suitable husband who comes from a “good” family. The fact that I actually want to get an education and work for a living drives my mother insane.
I dread having to go home for break because I know that’s all she is going to talk about.
Why are you wasting your time at school, Cece?
Why don’t you come to the club more, Cece?
Cece, Scott Jameson is a perfect match for you. You know he’ll be taking over his father’s company one day.
My mother insists on calling me Cece and pushing me on Scott, who in my opinion, is slimier than a slug. Every time my parents force me to go to the club with them, we just ‘happen’ to run into him.
I decide to go to bed, hoping that it will give me some break from my own thoughts. The entire time I’m trying to fall asleep, all I can think of is Shawn and what might happen tomorrow.
Chapter Three
Shawn
“So, you’re really going to try to start something with her? You know if you screw it up, Holly is going to beat your ass. Christen is like her sister.” Jason laughs as he grabs a soda out of the fridge.
“Thanks for the pep talk, J, you really know how to build a brother up.” I came to Jason for advice on how to handle this whole relationship thing. He was the last person I ever saw making a relationship work, yet somehow he is. I think the main reason for that is Nicole. She always calls him on his shit and doesn’t let him get away with half of what he’s used to doing.
“Listen, I’m just telling you to be careful. I know the pressure because Mads gave me the threatening talk when I started dating Nic.” We all thought he would screw it up, which would have been bad for everyone involved. He and Nicole still aren’t home free.
As we’re walking up to the fountain where I’m meeting Christen, we see Nicole in a heated “discussion” with Stacey. Stacey has been going after Jason with no shame, and no care that he is with Nicole. It almost ended their relationship when she set it up to look like Jason slept with her last semester. We both look at each other, knowing there’s no way this will end well.
“Hey, guys, what’s going on?” Mads walks up and when she sees what we’re watching, she just sighs. “What the hell is she doing? I don’t understand what it is about girls not getting the message when a guy is taken.” Before I can even reply, Nicole lunges at Stacey and they start to roll around on the ground. We’re all speechless for a few seconds before Mads speaks up, “J, why are you still standing here? Go do something!”
Jason just laughs, “I’m about to take out my phone and record this. Nicole looks damn hot.” Before he can say anything else, Mads punches him in the chest
“Jason Smith, stop being a douchebag and go help her!”
“Okay, okay. If you ask me, Nicole doesn’t look like the one in need of help.” They both jog over to where the girls are still fighting. Right now, Nicole is sitting on top of Stacey and pulling out what I can only hope isn’t her real hair.
I don’t even notice Christen standing next to me until she starts talking, “Oh my God! What the heck is going on?” I turn to answer her but lose my words once I see her. She’s standing there, staring at the scene, which is still unfolding, and it amazes me that I never realized how beautiful she is until now. Her long blonde hair is down and curled, and she’s wearing a light pink dress. It hugs all of her curves in every way, and I suddenly feel the need to cover her up with the sweatshirt I have in my bag to keep every guy around here from staring at her.
She waves her hand in front of my face, and I realize I’ve just been standing here staring at her, “Um, I have no idea. J and I walked up just as they started going at it.”
“Should we go over there?”
The last thing I want to do is to go hang out with everyone right now. Especially knowing Nic is probably going to be in a bad mood. The girl is hell on wheels when she’s not happy. “No, Mads will help J with her. Let’s go grab lunch.”
We start walking toward the dining hall together and I find myself reaching out for her hand. I can’t believe how nervous I am right now. I’ve known Christen for a few months, but I’ve been so distracted with trying to keep my secret, I never really noticed her. When we arrive at the dining hall, we get our food and sit down.
The awkward silence sets in and I have no idea what to say. Jason is the flirt and Carter is always the nice guy who can talk to any girl. I’m usually just the quiet one who occasionally laughs at their jokes and blends into the background. From what I know about Christen, the girls always tease her about being spoiled and Carter told me her dad is some big business man.
“So, aside from school and the fights, what else do you like to do?” Thank God she is the first to talk.
“Um, not really anything special. I played football in high school, but with my classes right now, I really don’t have much time to do anything else. The pre-med classes really require a lot of work and then I have to fight just to be able to pay for them.”
“I remember you saying that the other night. Can’t you get financial aid?”
“I do get aid, but it isn’t enough, and my family really can’t help me pay for school. I’ve tried to get loans, but I would need a co-signer and my parents’ credit score isn’t high enough.” Admitting this definitely isn’t easy. I hate that I’m in this situation and I hate lying to my family even more. I’m also embarrassed. Knowing that she is so well off, it doesn’t feel good to admit that I can’t even pay for school.
“So—”
My phone starts to ring, and when I look down, I see that it’s Andrew. He runs the fights and usually onl
y calls once he has a time and a place. “Hello?”
“Hey, come to the warehouse tonight at 8.”
Before I can even respond, he hangs up. I look back up at Christen. “Sorry, that was, um…” This is the point where I would usually make up a lie, and then come up with an excuse to leave. I don’t want to do it anymore. I want to be able to be honest with her and everyone else. “That was the guy who runs the fights. He was letting me know that there’s one tonight.”
She seems as if she doesn’t know how to react. “Oh, are you going to go? Do you want me to come with you?”
I choke on the soda I’m drinking, “What?” there is no way I want her there. It isn’t safe for her or me. The crowd gets so wild sometimes she could really get hurt. Not only that, but I would be so distracted worrying about her that I might lose my first fight.
Before she can respond, Jason, Nicole, Maddy, Carter, and Holly all walk up together and sit down. Just great.
Jason smirks at me, “So, how is the first date, love birds?”
“Better before you showed up, jackass.” Everyone laughs, but I’m serious. I can’t believe they are actually crashing our first date.
“Whatever, dude, you know you still love me.” He takes a bite of his burger, which so big I honestly don’t know how he’s able to close his mouth. “You gonna be around tonight?”
I catch myself about to lie and say I have a study group, but decide to go with the truth, “No, I just got a call for a fight.”
Everyone turns toward me and stares at me; I guess this whole honesty thing will take some getting used to for everyone. Nicole breaks the silence, “Cool, I’m there.”
“Excuse me, Nic? You are not going.” Jason continues to eat his burger and I can basically see the steam coming out of Nicole’s ears. Here we go.
“What do you mean I’m not going?! I didn’t ask for, and I definitely don’t need, your permission! I will do what I want when I want.” Nicole has always been really independent and Jason hates it.
I can see him getting more aggravated, “Listen, just ‘cause you beat the crap out of Stacey doesn’t mean you can start going to the fights. You are not going, and that’s the end of it.” She starts to respond but J shoots her a look that would have made me shut up if it had been aimed at me. It’s clear he won this argument, but he will probably be paying for it later tonight.
Fight For Me Page 2