I headed toward the other students to hand out the papers and attempted to calm the sexual need that was trying to pour out of me.
This class was helpful. For some reason, it gave me time to think about the two of us and what I wanted. I had no intention of almost hooking up with David in the middle of the classroom again. He kept starting something but never finishing it, and I was tired of that game.
If David wanted something to happen, then he was going to have to think of a new plan. As the class winded down, I packed up my books so that I could make a quick exit. I wasn’t going to hang around after class. Besides, if we kept doing that, people were going to start asking questions.
***
I went to the snack shop to get a strudel and then headed to the library. I had a little extra time before my next class but I wasn’t hungry enough for lunch. As I was looking into the book for the next discussion, I got a text from Trent.
Trent: Hey, I have some extra time. Wat are u up 2?
Me: Working on some homework in the library. U?
Trent: Hanging out in my Greek Council office. Wanna stop by?
Me: Sounds good.
He sent me the information for his office and I headed up. When I got there, he was engrossed in a phone call that did not appear to be going well. I decided it would be rude to stand there and listen but I didn’t really want to interrupt him. So I went to the bathroom and checked on my hair and make-up.
As it was only about two hours since I originally did them, I still looked good. Nonetheless, I washed my hands and put a little extra water in my hair to reactivate the gel. Running out of things to do to kill time, I checked my phone, but had no new messages.
I remembered that I had texted Lola this morning and never heard back. I didn’t want to sound like I was nagging her or anything but I made a note in my planner to make sure I checked in on her later tonight in case I didn’t hear from her. I was sure she was fine, but after the incident with Tyler, I was a little jumpy.
Figuring I’d stalled enough, I went back to Trent’s office and looked in the window. He was off the phone but still looking distraught. I knocked, and when he saw me in the window, any anguish he had initially shown on his face quickly dissipated and turned to pure joy.
I was sure something was still bothering him but it was nice to see that he was happy to see me. Trent stood up and let me in the office. When I walked in and placed my bag on the floor, he gave me a light kiss on the lips.
“Aww, I needed that,” he assured me. I smiled and gave him a second kiss. It lingered a bit longer but the sweet sentiment was still there.
“What’s going on?”
“Just Greek stuff. Rush week is always crazy and there is always somebody complaining about something. When you’re president of Greek Council, you have to listen to the nonsense,” he said, brushing off the incident. I didn’t want to push if he was not willing to talk about it.
“Okay,” I said, and lightly brushed the hair out of his eye. Except for the lunch, we hadn’t really hung out without hooking up. I was a little nervous. There was an awkward pause where neither of us said anything. Luckily, Trent found something to say. Unfortunately, it was the wrong thing to say.
“So I heard Berneli stole my rider.” He laughed and I tried to join him, but mine clearly sounded forced.
“Yeah, apparently he thinks it’s a big deal and you can’t handle it. I just think he wants to meet with the comedienne.” I was hoping to keep the conversation light.
“Makes sense. I mean, he has a point, things have become so crazy that I don’t know if I would have had the time.” He shook his head and looked a little disappointed for a second. Just as fast as it crossed his face, it was gone. “Are you excited about the show?” he asked, looking at me with his bright eyes.
“I actually have never heard of her. I looked up some of the other comedians but I didn’t get to her.”
“Oh, she’s hysterical.” He turned the computer on and we spent the next half hour watching some of her shows on the internet.
Turned out, she was pretty funny. But it was even better to just hang out with Trent. We had the same sense of humor and laughed at all of the same jokes. I was really starting to like him. Before I said goodbye and headed to my next class, Trent took my head in his hands and gave me a long and meaningful kiss. Once the kiss ended and I opened my eyes, the look on Trent’s face was so beautiful and pure. It made me a little weak in the knees. I left the office on cloud nine, thoughts of Berneli long forgotten.
***
The rest of the week went by with little commotion. Trent was completely overwhelmed with Greek week so I was unable to see him. He did text me occasionally though. Some of the texts said how much he missed me or how excited he was to see me at the party. Then some text messages were a little on the dirtier side. They were intense enough to make my mother blush from head to toe and I liked them the most.
Things with Lola were going well. She and Tyler were still going strong and she spent most of her time at his dorm. Apparently, he had a single. We managed to catch up for lunch and dinner a couple of times.
Kenny seemed to be busy when we met up for meals or hung out so Annabelle didn’t get to see him. This seemed weird to me because we couldn’t get rid of him before. I had a bad feeling about him but Annabelle didn’t want to listen.
But then again, I didn’t have a lot of room to talk. I hadn’t seen Berneli either. Well, I hadn’t seen him outside of class. Even then, I walked into class and then walked out. There was no funny business. This was probably for the best since my feelings for Trent were growing and I needed to try to make that work.
Saturday finally came, so I slept in late and worked on a little homework. Eventually, I met up with Annabelle for dinner. Jason was going to spend a couple of hours with Janice before the party, so Annabelle decided to spend the night getting ready and watching reality TV.
I curled Annabelle’s hair and she let me do her make-up. Of course, that lasted a matter of five minutes before she washed it off and did it again herself. Apparently, my toned down version of make-up was still too much for her. I shook my head and started my own make-up game. After that I straightened my hair while Annabelle changed her outfit five times.
She maintained that she hated her legs so she refused to wear a skirt or a dress. I insisted she looked great but I was overruled. Finally, she settled on a blue one-shouldered top with dark skinny jeans. She slipped on blue sandals and some layered costume jewelry. She topped the look off with a white sweater as she wouldn’t leave the house without some kind of jacket.
“You look amazing! Kenny will be impressed.”
“You don’t think it’s too much?” she asked for the fifth time.
“If you change again, I will lock you out of your room,” I informed her, trying not to sound irritated.
“Okay! I’m done.” She grabbed her keys and I followed her outside to the car. I was wearing a grey blouse with some amazing sequins and a tight black skirt. Annabelle suggested I wear heels or at least platform sandals but I decided to stick with the flats again. I planned on doing a lot of dancing.
Jason, Kyle, and Kenny were all hanging out near their dorm. Kyle and Kenny appeared to have prepared for the party a little differently than Annabelle and I. They climbed into the car laughing hysterically. They were a little tipsy, and Annabelle was pissed.
“If either of you throw up in my car, I will pull it over, drag you out into the street, and then murder you,” Annabelle warned.
“Relax! We’re not that drunk yet,” Kyle said, laughing. The two of them continued to carry on and even though I found it quite funny, Annabelle didn’t. By the time we got to the party, I was slightly concerned she was going to be homicidal. The boys barreled out of the back and headed into the party. Annabelle and I did a quick make-up check and then followed behind them.
“Well, at least it wasn’t awkward with Kenny,” I offered, trying not to laugh.
Annabelle gave me a dirty look as we headed into the living room where the guys were. Kenny and Kyle already had more drinks in their hands.
I looked a bit closer at Kenny and noticed he was watching Annabelle. She had gone over to talk to Jason near the couch. Kenny was talking with a couple other guys but he was completely focused on her. I smiled. It was nice to see that he seemed to still be interested. Kyle realized I was looking in that direction and called me over. I smiled and walked over to him.
“Violet, beer or jungle juice?” He pointed behind him to the keg or a dark blue liquid in what appeared to be a sports drink cooler. It looked even worse than the purple gunk from last week.
“Beer, please!”
“One beer coming up!” He pumped the keg for me and handed me the beer with an overdramatic flourish. Then he introduced me to the guys he was talking to. Apparently, these were the guys rushing Trent’s fraternity. I hung out with them for another ten minutes or so until I saw Trent enter the room.
His eyes found mine almost instantly and a huge smile spread across his face. I felt myself start to blush and I headed over to where he was standing. Trent leaned down and gave me a big kiss. He smelled of straight liquor and I backed away a little. I was beginning to realize that alcohol was one of his most popular colognes, and I was not a fan.
“When did you get here?” he asked, draping his arm around my shoulders.
“Like fifteen minutes ago. I met your new members.” I tried to smile up at him but I noticed Trent was leaning on me a little more than normal. I got the slight impression he was having difficulty standing up on his own. He was clearly already drunk.
“Oh good. They’re some good guys.” He pointed at one of the guys and whispered in my ear, “That is Mat and he’s going to be my little. But keep it a secret. He doesn’t know it yet.” He brought his finger to his lips and made a shushing sound.
“Your secret is safe with me,” I said, and winked at him.
“That’s my girl.” Trent leaned down and kissed me hard. This kiss was wet and sloppy. I was not impressed with this version of Trent. But he’d had a crazy week so maybe things would be better if we hung out during the week or at least not at a party.
“So, I guess you started drinking early?” I asked, breaking the kiss.
“It’s been a stressful week so some of the guys and I started pretty early.”
We headed downstairs to start dancing but my Spidey Senses were tingling.
I looked over to the dance floor and couldn’t believe what I saw. Annabelle and Kenny were kissing in the corner. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Good for Annabelle.
Trent finished his drink and we both headed onto the dance floor. I didn’t want to crowd Annabelle so we went to the other side of the room. But when I passed her, I saw Kenny was whispering in her ear. She looked really happy. I smiled to myself and returned my attention to Trent.
***
After about half an hour of dancing, I was hot. I told Trent I needed to step outside for a few minutes. He offered to go with me, but then I saw Jason sitting on the deck by himself so I told him I was fine. I sat down on the step next to Jason and looked at him, shoulders slouched and an untouched drink next to him.
“You okay?” I gave his shoulder a slight shove and smiled when he looked up at me.
“Yeah, I’m just bored. Kyle is off with some of the brothers smoking pot, and that’s not really my thing so I came out here for a little air.”
“Yeah, and I guess Annabelle is a little busy,” I said, smiling. Then I looked at his face. He looked devastated. Apparently, that was why he was upset. I instantly felt terrible. I remembered that Annabelle never told him about the kiss with Kenny. This probably completely blindsided him.
“I didn’t see that one coming. I didn’t even realize she liked him.” He took a deep sip of water and I decided to break girl code. I told him about the little study/make-out session.
“What! Why did no one tell me?” He was exasperated and rubbed his face.
“It was not my story to tell.” I shrugged and hoped Annabelle wouldn’t kill me when she found out that I told him. It was not my place to say anything and I felt guilty.
“I don’t think he is a good fit for her.” Jason crossed his arms and his leg started bouncing. I had a pretty good idea why he didn’t think Kenny was a good fit for her but I wasn’t going to bring it up just yet.
“Yeah, I’m not his biggest fan. I have a bad feeling about him too, but she seems to be happy.” We sat there for a little bit longer in silence.
“Well, I guess we should probably head back into the party and watch out for her. Plus, I should probably check to make sure Kyle is still upright.” We both laughed but it was definitely forced.
I let him lead the way and he opened the door for me. I smiled and walked in. We both headed downstairs to the dance floor. Trent was no longer there but Kyle was. He was playing beer pong with Mat while Annabelle and Kenny were watching nearby. Kenny had his arm wrapped around Annabelle’s stomach and kept leaning in to whisper things in her ear.
Jason seemed to tense instantly but he didn’t say anything. I asked him if he wanted a beer but he declined. I went over to the keg and convinced one of the new members to pump me a beer. The game lasted an unbearably long time. Both teams were pretty drunk so they were not even close to making the cups.
Annabelle and I decided we were ready to leave after this game ended. I went over to talk to Kyle and let him know. That was when I saw it.
Trent was on the dance floor with another girl. He was kissing her neck and his hands were all over her. She had long black hair but even longer legs. They didn’t look good together but I may have been a little biased. My face dropped when they turned slightly. I got a good look at her and saw that it was his ex-girlfriend. I remembered her from the social media stalking. Kyle noticed my face and followed my gaze.
He cursed and looked back at me. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I mean, we never said we were exclusive or anything.” I was trying to ignore the knot in the pit of my stomach. After all, I had done far worse with David, so I really didn’t have any right to be jealous. But I was not about to tell him that. Kyle leaned over to one of the brothers and started talking to him.
“So, that is actually his ex-girlfriend.” Kyle gave them a disgusted look and tried to push me up the stairs, but I stood my ground. Then Trent grabbed the girl by the back of her head and kissed her deeply, pushing her against the wall like he had done with me the other night.
“Nice,” I groaned, and looked at Kyle with hurt eyes.
“Right. Look, this game isn’t going anywhere. Why don’t we head out?” He ran over to Mat and told him we were leaving. Kyle motioned to Jason and Annabelle, then we headed upstairs.
As we were heading up the stairs, Trent looked over and made eye contact with me. He looked like a deer in headlights and rushed up the stairs after me. When we got outside, Trent led me back to the same tree where he had kissed me so passionately at the end of the last party.
“Violet, I thought you left,” he said, running his fingers through his hair.
“No, I was just hanging out with my friends for a couple of minutes.” I was trying to keep my voice even. I was upset with him but I knew I technically didn’t have a leg to stand on.
“Brittney and I have history but we were just dancing.” Trent tried to wrap his arms around my waist.
I pushed him away, frustrated. “Look, I know we never decided to be exclusive, so you can kiss whoever you want. Just don’t lie to my face. You weren’t just dancing and you clearly aren’t done with her like you told me earlier.” I spun around and walked toward the car. He followed and grabbed my wrist.
I looked down at his hand and then up at him. “Let go.” He was squeezing my arm hard and panic began to build up in my stomach.
“Violet, don’t walk away from me when I’m talking to you,” he ordered, still holding my arm. I twisted to get
out of his grasp but he tightened his grip.
“Trent, that hurts. Let me go,” I begged. I was starting to get a little scared. He was still holding on to me but my knights in shining armor showed up.
“Let her go, asshole!” Kyle screamed as he and Jason rushed over.
“Hey, back off! This has nothing to do with you.” Trent pulled me a little closer to him and tightened his grip on me, twisting my arm. My breathing quickened and I tried to pull away but he was too strong.
“No, it does concern us. Let her go,” Jason yelled.
Trent’s grip was not loosening and I turned around to look at him. I didn’t even recognize the man staring back at me. I took a deep breath and punched him in the nose.
Trent let go and grabbed his nose. There was blood rushing out of it and all over his hands. He looked down at the blood and took a step toward me. Kyle and Jason pulled me behind them and he backed off. The boys escorted me to the car and Trent went back inside.
***
“Are you okay?” Jason asked as he opened the front passenger door for me.
I slid into the seat and noticed my hand was throbbing. Punching hurt. “Yeah, but I think I need some ice for my hand.” I could bend all of my fingers so I didn’t think anything was broken but it still hurt like hell.
“I cannot believe you punched him! That was awesome,” Kyle said from the backseat.
I tried not to think about what could have happened. I looked down at my arm and there was a slight bruise forming. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, guys,” I said, turning around to look at them.
“Please, you didn’t need us,” Jason exclaimed.
I looked at him and then realized the car was missing a passenger. It was at that moment I realized Kenny was not with us.
“What happened to Kenny?” I asked, looking at Annabelle.
First Semester (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 1) Page 13