Nat started the meeting and I tried to control my breathing. It took a couple of minutes but I realized my problem. I was really turned on. There was something about the raw masculinity of Berneli defending my honor that touched me in some very personal places. At the time, it seemed outrageous that he was pushing Trent around. But now I realized that part of the rage I felt may have been sexually charged.
I glanced over at Berneli and smiled to myself. He had slipped his glasses back on and his sleeves were rolled back down to his wrists. I remembered how amazing his hands felt on my body and my panties dampened. My hurt hand tingled from where he left the kiss and I bit my lip to try to control these feelings before I collapsed on the floor from desire.
This was not the time or place for those thoughts. I shook my head and tried to focus on what Nat was saying. The comedienne was coming in two weeks and this weekend was homecoming. EET was in charge of a lot of the events for homecoming so we had a lot that we needed to handle.
Everyone split off into groups again so they could organize the individual events. Berneli seemed to be overseeing all of it so this time I didn’t have the option to be in his group, but with my new realization, this was probably for the best.
I stayed with Annabelle and Jason and we joined the decorations group. We were responsible for ensuring that all the decorations inside the auditorium and around the school were put up and perfect. I wasn’t the most artistic person in the world but I figured we could make something work. When in doubt, just throw some glitter on it.
The meeting ran about twenty minutes over the normal time but we still had a lot of work to do. Our group decided to meet again tomorrow night to start working on the decorations. Berneli had to run and get ready for a class so I did not get to see him after the meeting. Tomorrow’s class was going to be interesting. The group disbanded, and Annabelle, Jason, and I headed to dinner talking over each other with ideas for decorations.
All of us went back to our dorms with these plans in mind. Lola was not there when I got back so I decided it might be a good time for me to get some homework done. I had a paper due and I needed to prepare for Berneli’s class. I worked for about two hours and decided to take a little break and shower. I still had two pages left in the paper but I needed to walk around. As soon as the hot water hit my skin, I felt myself instantly relax. Today really wore on me. With the stress from my classes, the stress from homecoming, and the stress from the men in my life, I was completely worn out.
***
I stayed in the shower longer than I intended but my muscles felt a little like Jell-O when I finally shut the water off. I slipped into my robe and headed back to my room. While I was walking there I saw Annabelle with her shower stuff.
“Hey! I guess we had the same idea.” I looked closer and noticed her face was red and her eyes a little puffy. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just think it’s crazy that we’re going to work so hard for this dance and I don’t have a date.”
To tell the truth, I’d kind of forgotten about getting a date for the dance. “I don’t have a date either! Who cares?” I was trying to sound secure in this statement but the same realization was now crushing my soul.
“I thought maybe Kenny would ask me but I haven’t even really seen him. Maybe he just can’t find me,” she said as she attempted to grasp at a straw. I did not have the heart to tell her that if he was interested, he would find a way to contact her. Annabelle had mentioned that she did not randomly hook up so I figured it was a big deal that she and Kenny had made out twice.
“It probably isn’t his scene. We can go together with Jason and Kyle,” I said hopefully.
“Jason is probably going with Janice,” she said, and made a face. I hoped this was not the real reason she was upset. She and Jason seemed to have a bit of a connection, but so far he still had a girlfriend and they seemed to respect that. Or at least so far they did.
“Oh, I forgot about her since she is never around. That doesn’t mean we can’t hang out together. It will still be fun. Do you know what you are wearing?” I asked her, trying to change the subject.
“I have a couple of dresses that I brought from home but I am not sure. What about you?” she asked, and my heart stopped.
“I don’t think I have anything to wear. None of my dresses are that nice.” I really needed to go shopping.
“We can go shopping Friday afternoon. Your last class ends at four, right?”
“Yeah. Sounds good. We may not have dates but we are going to look good.” I smiled, feeling a little better. I liked having a plan. We said goodbye and I headed back to my room. Lola was there watching television but it didn’t bother me. We talked for a little bit before I fell asleep to an old family sitcom.
Chapter 10
The next morning, I had to get up bright and early for Berneli’s class. My hand was really hurting so I didn’t put in a whole lot of effort in my appearance. Lola was awake, getting ready for her class, and braided my hair so I wouldn’t have to worry about it for the day. I threw on a t-shirt from my favorite football team with a pair of skinny jeans and then headed to class.
I knew I was going to see Berneli but I was not in the mood to look cute. He had seen me looking pretty multiple times, so seeing as a bum should not change his mind. If it did, then I didn’t need him. In reality, I shouldn’t be thinking like this since I couldn’t have him anyway. But a girl could dream.
Even though I got up early I was still struggling this morning, and as a result, I was running a few minutes late. So, I grabbed a granola bar for my breakfast and ripped open the wrapper. I did attempt to rush to class and eat at the same time. This could have ended with me choking but I was lucky and finished the bar with only one close call.
I opened the door to the lecture room and everyone looked at me. I turned bright red and headed to my seat. I took my notebook out and tried not to look around. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Berneli come to my desk.
“Miss Carrington, nice of you to join us.”
I forced myself to bite my tongue.
“Sorry. It won’t happen again,” I managed under my breath, swallowing the response I really wanted to spout.
“I’d like to see you after class.” Berneli knocked his knuckle on my desk and then continued his speech. Another student was going over her controversial scene and he was setting the stage for her presentation.
I tried to pay attention but decided not to participate this time. I was wondering why he wanted to meet with me. To be honest, part of me wanted to be alone with him, and this part scared me a little.
Time seemed to creep by and I was getting more and more nervous. Finally, the class ended. All the other students got up and headed to the door but I just sat in my seat and waited. As the last student exited, Berneli came over and sat in the desk next to mine.
“Is everything okay?” His brows furrowed and his eyes were dripping with concern.
“Yeah, everything is fine, why?” My hand was beginning to throb and I didn’t think I’d have the strength or will power to resist him. I was practically desperate to find some kind of distraction. Feeling his hands on me certainly fit the bill.
“Really? It seems like something is bothering you.” He looked deep into my eyes and any wall I had placed up crumbled.
I dropped my head into my good hand and rubbed at my eyes. “My hand hurts and I just took a little bit longer to get ready this morning, and things with school and homecoming are just starting to pile up.”
“Do you have any pain killers?”
“Yeah, but I don’t like to take them. They upset my stomach. I just need to get some ice but I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”
I started to grab my bag but he stopped me.
“You don’t have to be so tough all the time. It’s okay to let someone take care of you every now and then.” Berneli reached a hand out to stroke my cheek. I closed my eyes for a second and soaked it in.
&nb
sp; “I’ll keep that in mind.” I wanted to kiss him. Scratch that, I needed to kiss him. There was a magnet between us, and fighting it was becoming even more difficult. I took a deep breath, reached up with my good hand, and pulled him close to me. In that moment, I desired nothing more than letting him take care of me, but I knew that wasn’t an option. So I was going to take what I could get and I kissed him hard.
His kiss was something I could take and hold on to. My breathing became ragged as the kiss grew deeper and more intense. The desks were still between us and that kept me from climbing on top of him. I held on for a few more seconds and then broke the kiss. I looked deep into his eyes and panicked. I wasn’t feeling lust anymore. It was replaced by a scarier feeling I was too terrified to label.
I grabbed my bag and ran out the door before he could say anything. I really didn’t trust myself to stay in that room any longer. I sighed and headed to my next class.
***
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Before I knew it we were in the lounge outside the EET office making decorations. The theme was Can’t Fight the Moonlight and we were working hard to keep the cheese on the pizza and not on the decorations.
I was doing the best I could with one hand but really my artistic abilities were questionable with two hands. As a result, I was on rhinestone duty.
Annabelle became the boss real quick. It turned out that she was crazy artistic and creative. With her help, our vision was quickly becoming a reality. Jason had joined us and there were four other members there as well. Plus, Kyle showed up. He hadn’t asked anyone to homecoming either so he was going stag with us.
We finished some of the decorations and headed back to our dorms around ten. Unfortunately, we were only about halfway done so we decided to meet again tomorrow night.
Initially, the plan was to meet at eight, but only Jason, Kyle, Annabelle, myself, and one other person showed up. There were not enough people to finish the decorations. Annabelle texted Clarissa and asked for help. She sent out an SOS text.
About twenty minutes later, Clarissa, Nat, and Trent showed up. Annabelle gave me a look of concern but I shook my head, indicating I was fine. The reality was I was going to see him around. I liked this club and I wasn’t going to quit just to avoid him. I wasn’t going to take any more violence though.
Jason ignored me and came over to “help me” anyway. He really was a good guy. Annabelle gave Trent a job that would keep him busy and away from me. I let go of the breath I’d been subconsciously holding and continued with the bling.
We finally finished the decorations around eleven. All of us were exhausted but we were satisfied, well, except Annabelle. She was a bit of a perfectionist and maintained that there were more things she could do but Jason and I dragged her away.
I got up a little early and started to get ready. I grabbed everything I needed for the day since we would be going shopping after my second class.
I was five minutes early for Berneli’s class so I headed in and grabbed my seat. Berneli wasn’t there yet so I pulled my notebook out and looked over my notes for today’s speaker. He showed up a few minutes later and started class.
He was avoiding me. Probably because it was becoming harder to hide our feelings. It wasn’t until the last five minutes of class that he glanced my way. I smiled at him and he held my gaze. The corner of his mouth turned up in a crooked smile. I knew he understood. Almost as soon as the smile had crept its way onto his face it was gone.
He dismissed class and I dragged my feet for a second. I didn’t want to stay since I clearly could not be trusted in this room, but I did want to catch his glance again. I grabbed my bag and walked past his desk. He was talking to a couple of students but he looked at me for a second. For now, it was enough. I smiled and turned to walk out the door. I didn’t need to turn around to know that he had seen it. I felt his gaze burning into me.
My next class, the seminar, let us out about a half hour early. My professor said that he was an Elton alumnus and had big homecoming plans. He was actually giving us extra credit if we showed up to some of the events. I smiled. I would be at most of them with EET so they were easy points for me.
I met up with Annabelle so that we could go to the mall and the hunt began. She ended up settling on a beautiful red dress with an A-line skirt and eyelet lace cutouts near the hem. It had thin straps and dipped low in the front. She looked amazing. I picked a pink halter dress with layers of frills on the skirt. The top had a bejeweled sweetheart neckline and it gave me more push than a normal bra. The girls looked good but were secure in place, which was a task that was somewhat difficult in a dress.
We bought some accessories and then headed back to school for the night.
***
I met up with Annabelle bright and early Saturday morning to help with the homecoming carnival. It was happening in the field outside of our dorm so we didn’t have far to go. As we got to the field, we saw Nat and Clarissa. Nat looked stressed out and was yelling at some poor, defenseless workers so we had a distinct feeling we were about to walk into the lion’s den.
“Hey, girls,” Clarissa said as she headed over to us.
“Hey, Clarissa,” Annabelle responded as I waved at her.
“So, we don’t have a lot of volunteers, as I am sure you can see, and we need a lot of help,” Clarissa admitted.
“Okay, what do you need us to do?” I scanned the crowd. I didn’t see Trent, which helped me relax a little.
We were sent over to the alumni tent to set up some small carnival games, and Jason joined us a little later. Once that was finished, we stocked the prize table with tons of school memorabilia.
At that point, we had been working for three hours so I was getting hungry. Clarissa delivered us a big box of donuts and we had just started munching on them when I heard my name. I turned around and saw Trent standing there with puppy dog eyes. I almost dropped the donut as I realized he was asking me a question. I barely registered it so he repeated himself.
“Can I talk to you for a second, in private?”
“Sure.” I walked over to him with my shoulders back and my head high. I glanced back and made eye contact with Annabelle and Jason. I knew they would be watching us so I had that small comfort. I followed him out of the welcome tent and off to the side.
I tried to control my breathing. We were in the middle of a crowded field. No one was right next to us, but surely he wouldn’t try anything when so many people would witness it. That, and I didn’t smell any liquor on his breath. Still, my hand started hurting again and I wished I had decided to wear the wrap.
“I just wanted to talk to you about the other night. I was way out of line to grab you like that. I was drunk, and I know that isn’t an excuse but I wasn’t thinking clearly.” He looked down at his feet. “But I was hoping you could forget about it and come to the dance with me? I really think we have something special here.”
“No. I mean, yes, I forgive you. But I can’t trust you now,” I said as I tried not to get hysterical. I showed him my arm with the bruise. “Look at this.”
“Really, you caused that. Let’s just move on. We both did things we shouldn’t have that night.”
“What? I don’t regret hitting you. You wouldn’t let me go and it scared me.”
“You’re really being a bitch right now,” he stammered, and his voice rose. “You should never have made a big deal about Brittney. I wasn’t your boyfriend.” He stuck his finger in my face and I jerked back.
My heart was pounding but I refused to show my fear. “I made a big deal about you lying to me! I don’t care what the hell you do with other girls. I never asked you to be my boyfriend. Don’t you blame this on me! I didn’t ask you to grab me so hard that my arm is still bruised,” I responded, but I backed up a few steps. He was still too close.
“Oh, that’s right. It is always the guy’s fault. Well, not this time. You brought this on yourself. Then you went and cried to Berneli. Were you just trying to g
et a sympathy bang? Well, get in line, sweetheart. About every girl in school is trying to jump his bones. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you watching him.” He grimaced as he said this and then stepped up into my face again, closing the distance between us.
“Berneli figured it out. I didn’t whine to him.” I couldn’t breathe. I took two giant steps back and just glared at Trent. My head was reeling. Was Berneli seeing other students? Did other people notice my attraction to him? Could he be jealous of Berneli? But most importantly, why did he need to stand so close to me?
“You’re just a dumb freshman. I can’t believe I ever wasted my time on you.” He leaned in even closer and was now inches from my face. All thoughts of Berneli quickly left and were replaced by true fear.
Trent’s eyes were harsh and I saw raw emotion. Except this time, that emotion was anger, maybe even rage. He was too close. Too close. Too close! I had to get away. This conversation was only going to get worse.
I was in the middle of a giant field with no clear sanctuary in sight. So I did the only thing I could do. I ran back to my dorm, leaving my dignity at the carnival.
***
Apparently, Annabelle saw me and was at my door only minutes behind me.
“What the hell happened?” Jason followed her in and sat on my floor.
I explained how he had the nerve to ask me out and to brush the whole thing aside. Then how he blamed me for the fight and got in my face.
“I just panicked. He was too close to me and I got scared. I mean, I can’t hit him again. And, guys, you didn’t see the look in his eyes. I’ve never seen someone so upset in my life. I didn’t know what he was going to do.”
“What an ass,” Jason declared, looking disgusted.
“It definitely is not your fault,” Annabelle insisted as she sat down on the bed next to me.
I was trying to hold back the tears but it wasn’t working. I knew tears made her feel uncomfortable so it was nice that she hadn’t run away yet.
First Semester (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 1) Page 15