Bad Rep

by A. Meredith Walters

“Thanks, Mom,” I whispered back. She kissed my cheek as I pulled back from her open window. I waved as they drove off. And despite the awfulness of the day I felt warm at the memory of Jordan telling my dad he was crazy about me. Yeah, I was one lucky gal.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Several weeks had passed since Parents' Weekend. Jordan had apologized profusely for being disrespectful to my father. But before I could let him say any more about it, I had kissed him soundly, letting him know that I had appreciated the disrespect he had dished out.

  No one had ever stuck up for me like that with my parents. And I realized, without a doubt, that I was with the most amazing guy ever. Because he was all about me. And I was all about him. And damned if we weren't going to make this thing between us work.

  Now it was another Saturday night and I was finally making it to one of Garrett's infamous parties. I was a little nervous. Garrett was definitely the wild one of the group and Jordan had regaled me of his after show exploits. He was probably the least good looking out of the four guys. Yet he apparently got more girls than any of them. I guess he had something going for him.

  I hadn't been able to make Generation Rejects' show that evening because Layne had needed me to come in late to help unload some inventory. I had cut back on my hours considerably since school started, finding myself unable to juggle work and school very effectively. So any extra cash was a plus.

  We had finished up around midnight and I had driven to the address Jordan had texted to me earlier. I found myself on the outskirts of Bakersville in a rundown area I wasn't familiar with. I finally found the house at the end of a long gravel driveway. It was a non-descript two story home that still had the 1960's German siding that was full of asbestos. Jordan had told me that Garrett's parents had been killed in a car crash when he was still in high school and had left him the house. Apparently, he had been in it ever since.

  The place was heaving. Cars were along the driveway all the way down to the street. Other cars had driven right up onto the lawn. I could see a huge bonfire blazing in the back yard and people were hanging out on the porch.

  Jordan wasn't kidding when he said these parties were nuts. As I approached the house, I saw a woman who had to be in her thirties, leaning over the railing, puking her guts out. The vomit splashed on the ground below and I had to scramble passed before it sprayed me. Gross.

  The front door was wide open and I went inside. Looking around, this was clearly not my scene. This was a much rougher crowd than I was used to. I noticed some people I recognized from Rinard, but the rest were strangers. Some looked almost my parents' age. Others could still be in high school. And every single one of them seemed to be wasted off their asses.

  I realized I probably stuck out like a sore thumb with my dark skinny jeans, off the shoulder midnight blue top, and knee high black leather boots with a three inch stelleto heel. Especially when the dress code seemed to include clothing that would have been cool a couple of decades ago. I had felt really good when I had gotten dressed for my evening but now I wished I had gone for something a bit more low key.

  I didn't see Jordan anywhere. In fact I didn't see any of the guys from the band. Though to be fair it was hard to see anything in this crowd. I was standing there like an idiot when a huge guy lumbered toward me. When I say huge, I mean huge. He was easily over 6 foot tall and he had the shoulders of a linebacker. His dirty blond hair came down the back of his head in a greasy mullet and his face was obscured by a Grizzly Adam's beard. He was fucking scary!

  And he was bearing down on me. Shit! Do I run? And then he stopped in front of me, grinned and shoved a red Solo cup in my hand. “Here, sweetheart. You looked like you needed a drink.” I blinked, having been rendered mute by this odd exchange.

  “Uh. Thanks,” I mumbled, holding the drink in my hand. I wasn't going to drink it. I had seen all the roofie videos in health class. I'm no dummy. But I didn't want to seem rude, so put the cup to my lips and pretended to take a sip.

  The guy just stood there, smiling at me like I was something peculiar. I cleared my throat. “Uh, have you seen the band around?” I asked, feeling really dumb. I wished I had made Riley or Gracie come with me. Or maybe Vivian, she would have loved this.

  Grizzly nodded and jerked his thumb behind him but didn't say anything. Okay. I guess that meant they were in the room down the hall. I tilted the cup in his direction in acknowledgment and followed his less than specific directions.

  I came into a large rec room, complete with a pool table and Foosball. There was a bar to the right that had been built out of the wall. The room was packed. Scoping the place out, I finally saw Cole and Mitch. Cole was manning the bar and was slinging drinks to a large crowd.

  Mitch was playing pool with two girls hanging off of his arm. Not wanting to interrupt that, I opted to approach Cole to find out where Jordan was. I had to push my way through the group circling the bar to reach one of the stools. Hopping up, I tucked my feet under the chair.

  Cole was talking to a guy with dreads who had a joint tucked behind his ear. I waited for a lull in their conversation before I jumped in. “Excuse me,” I called out.

  Cole looked down at me and his mouth spread into a grin. “Hey there, pretty lady. What can I do for you?” He leaned over the bar, his dark hair flopping in his eyes. His smile was flirty as he took me in.

  I gave him a sassy smile back. “Well, you can tell me where Jordan is?” I asked. Recognition dawned on his face and Cole leaned back from the bar.

  “Ahh. You must be the famous Maysie Ardin,” he said, his grin getting wider. I laughed.

  “Famous, huh?” I asked, wondering what exactly he had heard about me. It was sad to think that it could be any number of things. Not just the fact that I was his band mate's girlfriend.

  Cole reached under the bar and grabbed himself a beer, he inclined his head my way in a question and I nodded. He popped the top off of second beer and slid it toward me. “Oh, luv, we've heard nothing but Maysie, Maysie, Maysie since this summer. Whatever you've done to our boy Piper, you've done it good.” He chuckled, taking a swig of his beverage.

  I swallowed a mouth full of my own drink. “Piper?” I asked, wondering where the hell that particular nickname came from. I had heard Cole use it during their performances but had never gotten around to asking Jordan about it. Cole laughed and the dreaded guy beside me guffawed. Clearly this was a private joke.

  I arched my eyebrow. Cole shook his head. “Nathan, why don't you share that little golden nugget of info. That way when Piper gets pissed, he'll bash your face in and not mine. I'm a hell of a lot prettier than you,” Cole said, rubbing his hand on his own cheek.

  The guy with the dreadlocks, Nathan, shrugged. “Whatever, it wouldn't be the first time he broke my nose,” he said lightly and my eyes widened. What? Cole saw my face and patted my hand.

  “Babe, don't worry, Nathan deserved what Jordan gave him.” Both Cole and Nathan laughed as though the fact that the dude had his nose broken by my boyfriend was a huge freaking joke. These guys were mental.

  Nathan pulled the joint out from behind his ear and lit it up. He passed it to Cole who took a drag. Cole then handed it in my direction but I waved my hand, refusing it. Drugs weren't my thing. Alcohol, yes. Other stuff, not so much. “Okay, so spill about the nickname. You've piqued my interest,” I queried, drinking more of my beer.

  Nathan toked on the joint a few more times before he responded. “Well, you know the story about the Pied Piper of Hamlin right? I mean, you're a college chick, you know all that history stuff,” Nathan commented, his voice tight from holding in the smoke.

  “Yeah, I know the story. The guy was hired to get rid of the rats and then took off with the village's children who followed him while he played the pipe. What does that have to do with Jordan?” I was a little shocked that these townie guys were able to place a nickname on someone that didn't have to do with a sport or a body part. And then I felt crappy for judging them like that. W
hat a snobby thing to think! I chastised myself.

  Nathan blew out a lungful of smoke. “Yeah, well Jordan is the pied piper of pussy.” My eyes popped out of my head and I knew my mouth gaped open.

  “What? Did I hear that correctly?” I sputtered. Cole was cracking up at my response. Nathan smiled in a stony kind of way.

  Cole slammed his hand down on the bar top in his fit of laughter. “You should see your expression Maysie!” he said, snorting. My eyes narrowed. Nathan put his joint out and dropped the roach in his beer bottle.

  “He plays and the pussy comes. These three sad sacks have gotten laid more since Levitt joined the band than they ever did before. The chicks love him. They would follow him off of damn cliff. So that's how he got the name Piper,” Nathan finished, moving away from the bar. Clearly his storytelling was at an end.

  “Wow. I'm not even sure what to say to that,” I responded honestly. I didn't want to come across like a jealous shrew after just meeting Jordan's band mates. But there's something wholly unsettling about learning your boyfriend has been labeled some sort of pussy magnet.

  I handed Cole my empty bottle and he threw it in the garbage can with a loud clang. “Shit, girl. He's never acted on it. The whole time he was with that other girl, Olivia, he never hooked up with anyone. And now he's with you. But the girls love that shit. Eat it up like it's a god damn bowl of fucking ice cream. Think that maybe they're the one to get him to stray. It's like a fucking aphrodisiac. He gets more pussy flashed his way than a god damn gynecologist and he doesn't do a thing about it. Has the will power of a saint if you ask me.” Cole was a dog. There was no doubt about it. And I really didn't want to hear any more about girls throwing their girlie bits at my man.

  I felt my hands curve into claws in my lap. Cole laughed again. “Girl, you need to settle. Jordan is as clean as they come. Sure he looks like a straight up bad ass motherfucker but he's way too soft for all that shit. Anyway...you've got him whipped, so I wouldn't stress about it.”

  I forced my hands to unclench and I gave Cole a smile. “Sorry. I won't go psycho girlfriend. I promise,” I laughed, calming down. Cole smirked.

  “Well, that's a nice change,” he commented and I lifted an eyebrow.

  “Oh really?” I asked, mining for the information Cole obviously had. Cole grinned, seeing straight through my dig for gossip.

  He leaned in toward me again and dipped his voice down low. “Oh yeah. That last piece of work he was with was a straight up cunt. And I don't use the c word, well, ever. But that girl was all cunt. She hardly ever came out to our gigs. But when she did, she usually caused such a fucking scene, we'd have to ask her to leave. She was a jealous bitch, screaming and yelling if chicks even looked at Piper. He's in a fucking band! Then Jordan would get pissed and then there would be fucking drama. And sista, we do not do drama. And then there was that friend she would bring along with her. Now she was sort of fun. If you could get around the fact that while you fucked her she would scream out Levitt's name. That'll deflate your hard on in no time.”

  What the hell was this guy saying? I was totally and completely confused. “Wait...what friend?” I asked. Cole put his hand through his hair and seemed to be trying to remember something.

  “Fuck if I can remember her name. All I remember are her naked tits that she would shove in my face. They were nice. Real nice.” Cole licked his lips lasciviously.

  I groaned and rolled my eyes. Cole chuckled. “Wait. Her name started with an M, I think. She had dark hair and was like amazon tall.” Milla. My eyes got wide. Milla had screwed Cole? And she had screamed out Jordan's name while she did it? This shit was messed up!

  And Cole wasn't done with that particular story. He seemed to be in some serious reminiscing. “Yeah. She loved giving it out. She wasn't picky about who she fucked. One night it would be me. One night Garrett. You get the picture. I guess I should have been turned off by sticking it where my boys have stuck it. But she was hot.” OH. MY. GOD! Milla had not only slept with Cole, but Garrett and Mitch and probably half the county as well. I wanted as much information about this as possible.

  “So, this M chick. Did she come around just with Olivia?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant. Cole started picking up empty bottles from around the bar.

  “Hell no! She was out here every time we had a party. Olivia never came. I always got the impression she thought she was too good for us. But whatever, we didn't want that bitch around anyway. She always killed Piper's buzz, so it was better when she wasn't here. But yeah, her friend showed up a lot. Usually looking for Levitt. We weren't stupid; we knew we weren't that bitch's first choice. She made no bones about letting everyone know it was Jordan she wanted. But he has never given her the time of day. And we didn't care, because bitch was nothing but kink.” Okay I didn't want him to continue. I had heard enough. And if he wasn't talking about two girls I absolutely detested, I would be extremely insulted by his continuous use of terms like 'bitch' and 'cunt.' Cole had no couth.

  But one thing was obvious, Milla had been trying to get with Jordan for a while now. Behind Olivia's back. And she had the nerve to start shit with me! It dawned on me clear as day that her pure motivation was jealousy. First of Olivia and now of me. Each of us had what she wanted desperately. Jordan Levitt.

  Cole was still talking and I wanted to tune him out but he was being very animated. “She was all about doing it in public places. One time I fucked her on that stool you're sitting on with a room full of people watching us. It was hot!” I jumped up off the stool. Eww!

  “And I didn't care if she called me Jordan. Hell, she could call me the fucking president. She was that good.” Cole seemed a little wistful. Guys were disgusting. Yuck.

  I smoothed my hair behind my ears. “So, when was the last time you saw Mi...I mean, Olivia's friend?” I asked, trying not to sound too eager.

  Cole frowned. “I guess it's been a few weeks.” Hmm, interesting. Man, I would love to tell Olivia about her bestest buddy, Milla, who for years had been trying to screw Jordan behind her back. Then maybe I wouldn't be the bad guy.

  But then I realized, Olivia would never believe me over her friend. I mean, why would she? In the game of she said/she said, I would definitely lose. But I tucked the information away, hoping I'd have an opportunity to pull out the big guns at some point.

  Cole was sort of grossing me out by this point as he continued to try and tell me about girls he slept with and the crazy places he'd had sex. Like I cared about any of that. So finally I cut him off. “Cole, do you know where Jordan is? I should let him know I'm here.”

  Cole looked over at Mitch, who had given up playing pool and was watching the two girls he was with make out. “Mitchie! Do you know where Piper is?” Cole called out. One of the girls broke away from her lip lock and whipped her mouth.

  “He was out by the bonfire when we left him,” she smirked. I clenched my fists, not liking how she said that at all. Cole laughed beside me. This guy laughed...a lot.

  “Don't mind Brooke. She's just some of the pussy the piper attracts. Obviously she didn't get anywhere or her tongue wouldn't be down Dalia's throat over there. But, Maysie, you've can't let that shit bother you. If I didn't love the guy so much I'd punch him in the face. He's that obnoxious about you.”

  Cole may be a bit of a douche, but I could see the nice guy underneath. I gave Cole a small smile. “Thanks. I'm off to find him.” Cole slung his arm around my shoulder before I could walk away.

  “And just so you know, if you ever get sick of Piper, there's the really hot singer you could get to know. Just sayin',” Cole teased. I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to respond.

  I made my way out to the bonfire and found my boyfriend sitting in a lawn chair, laughing with a group of people who seemed to be hanging on his every word. I took advantage of this opportunity to watch him. He was so charismatic and he seemed to suck people into his orbit without him even realizing it.

  Girls and guys alike listened with rapt
attention to whatever he was saying. He was talking very animatedly and I could tell he was drunk. I had never been around Jordan when he was overly inebriated, so I was a little nervous about that. Not that I was worried, just not sure what to expect.

  There were three girls sitting at his feet. One of them had her hand curled around his ankle like a damn dog waiting to be petted. I was going to rip every one of those fingers off of him. White hot jealousy flashed through me and I took a step forward. The other two seemed to be vying for the closest spot. I watched as they slowly edged closer to Jordan until they were practically on top of him. And my man was completely oblivious to the affect he had.

  Though I didn't care about that, because aware or not, these girls needed to back the fuck off.

  I walked up behind Jordan. He was saying something and moving his hands while he talked. I could see that his face was flushed. He was so sexy and damn cute too, with his excitable energy. The three girls at his feet looked up at me as I approached. Jeesh, it looked like he had a harem. Each of the girls wore way too much make up and way too little clothes. And then I didn't feel so much as jealous as kind of embarrassed for them.