by Taylor Wade
Now facing me, I was able to drink in the sight of the other guy in all of his shirtless glory. He had broad shoulders but was lean, his muscles toned, and his stomach sculpted, flexing with each turn of his torso as he threw another punch towards Luke. His black athletic shorts hung on his hips and I found my eyes trailing down his body shamelessly. His tanned skin shimmered with sweat and I absentmindedly licked my lips. His right arm was almost fully covered with black designs, while his left shoulder donned intricate lines and patterns leaving the remainder of his arm bare except for what looked like writing on his left forearm. Another design, which appeared to be words in the form of a poem, was placed on his left side, traveling down his ribs.
Shaking myself from my trance I tore my eyes from his body and met a pair of liquid blue eyes as he and Luke stepped away from each other. The both removed their gloves, and reaching down to grab his water bottle, I watched as the beautiful stranger brought the bottle up to his lips and took a sip, his eyes staying trained on mine. I felt my cheeks catch fire and turned to exit the gym. I made my way over to the front desk hoping someone might have found Elle’s card and dropped it off. I heard my phone chime in my pocket and opened up my new text message.
Elle: Found it! Thanks anyway, chick! ;*
I groaned, silently cursing Elle and made my way back outside and headed to the parking lot. Not remembering where I parked I scanned through the rows of cars before giving up and pressing the button for the alarm. I heard sirens to my left and turned to see the lights flashing on Elle’s red convertible, a graduation present from her parents. My parents didn’t let me bring my car to school this year since Elle had hers but she often got rides from Colin so it was almost like having my own car. I turned off the alarm and headed over responding to a text from my good friend Skyler who I had roomed with during freshman year. She was one of the few people who I knew I could confide in and although I miss having her around she’s planning to visit in a few weekends.
Not looking up from my phone, I finished the last few words of my message when my feet came to an abrupt halt as I ran straight into a very impressive, now t-shirt clad, chest. Strong hands gripped my waist, steadying me, before I backed up and bent down to pick up my phone that had fallen to the ground and sputtered apologies.
Keeping my head down, I peered up through my lashes at those blue eyes that now shined with amusement. I instantly recognized the familiarity of the five o’clock shadow spread across his sculpted jaw, and the short dark hair that seemed to be about half an inch longer than when I had first seen him outside of Dusty’s that first night. I had suspected then that this man was exceptionally attractive, but standing in front of him now I noted the perfection of each feature of his face, the only imperfection being the tiny scar above his left eyebrow. There was something dangerous yet inviting about him--something that warned me to stay away but begged me to come closer. His bad boy exterior paired with his boyish grin created an irresistible combination, and by the reactions of every female in the gym, I knew I wasn’t alone with my instant attraction.
“You didn’t have to pretend to run into me, ya know. I would’ve given you my number if you just asked nicely.”
Startled by his assumption, my head flew up, my eyes meeting his, “I did not purposely run into you. I was texting.” I held up my phone as if to prove my point before I noticed the change in his expression and realized he was only teasing me. Although, I’m sure I wouldn’t have been the first female to walk into him to strike up a conversation. “Very funny.”
Before either of us could say anything else, Luke jogged up to us and nodded a ‘hey’ at me before continuing past us. He glanced back, gesturing at the guy in front of me, “You comin’ Wes? I gotta get back or Jade’s gonna flip a shit about me being late again.”
Taking that as my cue, I chose to escape before I could further make a fool of myself. Luke had called him Wes. Of course he had a hot name, too. Not bothering to turn around to see if Wes was still standing around, I closed the space between Elle’s car and me and got in before I could walk into anyone else. Backing out of my parking space my resolution dissolved and I found myself looking back as Wes opened the door to an outdated black truck with Luke climbing into the passenger side seat. I gunned it to the school’s exit before I could do something stupid like walk back over to him and proposition him, and felt annoyed with myself for acting so foolishly over a boy. All boys were the same.
~~~~
When I got back to the apartment I found Elle in her closet sifting through her hangers with a deep frown on her face.
“I can’t find anything to wear. Colin said there’s no theme and that people usually dress pretty casual. I don’t want to look overdressed but I don’t want to look frumpy either.”
Elle flopped down onto her bed with a huff as I went over to her dresser and started pulling out a couple of options.
“How about these shorts with one of these tops?” I held up a pair of white denim shorts that I knew made her legs look good and a couple of loose-fitting blouses.
“Oh, I like this one! God, you’re a lifesaver. Thanks bestie!” She bounced over to me and grabbed the shorts and a salmon colored top blowing me a kiss as she headed to the bathroom.
It was still early and the party wouldn’t start for a couple more hours but I knew it’d take a while for everyone to get ready and I’m sure Elle and Savanna would want to pre-game a little before we headed out. I got to my own closet and grabbed my black denim shorts with fringe at the bottom and studs on the pockets, placing them on my bed before heading over to my dresser to find a top. I decided to pair the shorts with my white loose-fitting t-shirt that had the words “you wish” written on the chest in black lettering and my white Michael Kors knock-off sandals.
After taking the time to shave my legs and deep condition my hair in the shower I powered up my flat iron and grabbed my make up remover wipes, swiping under my eyes at the mascara that had smudged in the shower. Figuring that Elle would likely insist on taking pictures throughout the night I decided to put in a little extra effort, straightening my hair into a sleek mane down my back and redid my make up, applying my eyeliner a little bit heavier than usual. By the time I was fully dressed the party would be kicking off within an hour so I headed down the hall to the living room where Savanna had pop music blaring as she danced around the kitchen in her underwear. I heard a familiar chime that signaled the dryer was finished and she bounced down the hall, submerging a few minutes later wearing a purple tank top and a black mini skirt paired with purple chuck taylors. I did a double take at her shoes and she laughed.
“Tonight’s supposed to be wild, girlie. I figured I’d lessen my chances of going to the hospital tonight.”
“Alright my ladies, lets get this party started! Colin’s picking us up in about twenty minutes so let’s get drinking’!” Elle was especially energetic today and I knew she was excited about going to her boyfriends frat’s party and making sure that all of the flirting coeds knew that Colin was taken. “Gabe’s with him, by the way.”
Gabe had sent me a text me earlier letting me know he was getting a ride from Colin so this didn’t come as a shock to me.
“What about Ollie?”
“Oh, that’s over. He’s cute but he was always ditching me to smoke pot with the guys. So not worth it.” Savanna grabbed a bottle of vodka from the freezer and three cans of Diet Coke from the fridge while Elle grabbed three shot glasses. “Besides,” Savanna looked between Elle and me with a mischievous grin, “I’ve got a new boy-toy to play with.”
“God bless him.” Elle chuckled and Savanna gave us all a pout, pouring the vodka into the three shot glasses, filling the liquid to the very top of the glass.
“To breaking hearts and livin’ life!” Savanna shouted as we all lifted our glasses and clinked them together. “Cheers to a good night!
FOUR
Gabe took my hand and held it as we walked through the doors to the fraternity’s ho
use. I took in the dozens of people in front of me holding red cups and mingling, knowing that there were even more people outside by the pool. It seemed like half of the university’s student population had shown up for the event. Gabe pulled me through the sea of people as we followed after Elle and Colin who were headed towards the large kitchen. Colin opened the fridge and handed us each a bottle of beer when Gabe’s grip on my hand tightened and I looked up to see his jaw clenched. I moved my eyes to the direction where he was staring to find a pair of long legs wrapped around a guy’s waist as she sat on the kitchen counter above him. She had one hand clutching his back and the other pulling his head closer as their lips locked in a heated kiss. I instantly recognized the tattooed arm that clutched the girl’s thigh and felt disgusted at the semi-pornographic scene before me. As though she could sense eyes watching her, the girl looked up and froze, and I took in her reaction to Gabe warily. They seemed to know each other but neither spoke up to acknowledge each other’s presence.
Wes pulled away from the brunette beauty and glanced over to where Gabe and I stood with Elle and Colin. Colin just shook his head and sighed, leaning back against the granite countertops pulling Elle into him. Elle appeared equally confused by whatever was going on and shot me a questioning look to which I just shrugged.
Wes looked right at me and then brought his gaze to Gabe, looking back and forth between the two of us a couple of times before his eyes settled on Gabe and he smirked. Gabe’s grip on my hand loosened and he slipped his arm around my waist, which bothered me. I could handle hand holding, but Gabe’s arm wrapped around my waist seemed too intimate and possessive. I begrudgingly admitted to myself that I also didn’t like that he was trying to stake his claim on me in front of Wes despite the fact that Wes was clearly taken.
“’Sup Gabe? Long time no see, man.” Wes chuckled to himself and the girl in front of him tensed, clearly uncomfortable with the confrontation.
Gabe ignored Wes and leaded me out of the room throwing back one last glare and, “Keeping it as classy as ever, Emmy.”
I looked back and saw heat rush to the girl’s cheeks as she bowed her head. Wes just laughed, but then his eyes swung to me and I felt myself stop breathing. The look in his eyes was no longer cruel, but rather playful. The deep blue color seemed to lighten with his mood and he flashed me that boyish grin of his before turning back to the girl Gabe had called Emmy.
~~~~
Gabe lead me towards a pair of sliding glass doors that lead out to the pool which was filled with college students in and around. One guy was trying to undo a girl’s bikini top while she spoke with her friend animatedly and unaware, and there were a few couples playing chicken. There were at least five girls who had already removed their swim tops with guys standing around them taking some sort of survey of which girl had the best rack. I was thoroughly disgusted with the attention seeking ways of some of these females and my face must have shown it because Gabe looked down at me and smirked, removing his arm from around my waist and grabbing my hand again to lead me over to a couple of unoccupied chairs. The backyard was so packed with people doing keg stands and body shots that I was surprised to see there was room for someone to create a makeshift dance floor on the grassy area to the left of the patio. I was relieved to see that the majority of the guests were fully clothed rather than wearing swimsuits. We hadn’t realized there would be a pool and I knew Elle would pitch a fit at Colin for not mentioning it if we had been the only ones without a suit.
I settled into the chair beside Gabe and peered over at him to see his gazed focused in the distance, his eyes tight and his jaw still clenched. I reached my hand over and touched his cheek with my fingers until he turned towards me. His eyes looked sad and I realized that whatever happened in the kitchen with Wes and that Emmy chick seemed to have really affected him.
“Do you want to talk about what happened back there?”
He sighed, defeated. “That girl.. the one who was allowing that fucker to practically molest her in front of dozens of people? That’s my ex.”
I drew in a sharp breath and my eyes widened, taken completely off guard by his revelation.
“I know what you’re thinking…that I’m still not over her.” He paused and looked me in the eyes but continued when I remained silent. “I am over Emmy, beautiful. I’m just not over what happened. Two months of being broken up isn’t long enough to walk in on something like that. I didn’t realize she was with him. I figured he was just a one-time thing that she had to get out of her system. But to see her there with him again…it was like watching it happen all over again.”
“I don’t understand, Gabe. Watching what happen all over again?” I shook my head, confused. “I don’t know what you mean by ‘see her with him again’…”
“Alright, I’ll explain everything,” Gabe sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and pushed his bangs from his face. He was silent for a moment before he took a deep breath and began.
“Emmy and I had met two years ago when I was a sophomore helping out with orientation for all of the new freshmen. After orientation I had seen her around campus a few times and we ended up talking and I’d helped show her around a bit. I fell hard for her, fast. She was the first serious girlfriend I had ever had. Everything had been perfect with us from the start. We didn’t fight often and when we did we got over it pretty quickly.
Two months ago I decided to show up at her house a few towns over and surprise her since I hadn’t been able to see her much this past summer. I drove six hours to see this girl, and then when I got there, I ended up being the one surprised. Wes, that guy in the kitchen with her, opened the door in only his boxers and I saw her walk up behind him in only his t-shirt to see who was at the door. Wes just smiled at the whole thing, completely proud of himself for destroying two years of my life. The guy has always hated me, and me him. We were assigned roommates during freshman year and we just never clicked. He knew she was mine but he went after her anyways. He doesn’t care about her… I know he doesn’t. A guy like that cares only about himself.”
“Wow…Gabe I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that. I don’t even know what to say…” I was shocked by his story. Of course a guy as good looking as Wes would go after someone else’s girlfriend. With all of the single girls throwing themselves at him so easily he must’ve needed the thrill of the challenge and, Emmy, being his enemy’s girlfriend, only made it that much sweeter. I suddenly felt disgusted by my own attraction to the guy. I couldn’t fathom the kind of cruelty one must have within them to be able to purposely hurt someone like that.
I got up from my seat and sat down on Gabe’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and placed a soft kiss to his mouth. I didn’t care about who was around for once. I only wanted to help ease the pain in his eyes. I understood what it was like to be betrayed so deeply by the one you loved and I wouldn’t have wished that on anyone.
“Thanks, beautiful.” He leaned his forehead against mine and smiled softly.
“For what?”
“For listening,” Gabe stood, placing me on my feet and laced my hand through mine once again. “Now let’s go get another drink.”
~~~~
Gabe was wasted. Really, really wasted. He had begun to stumble a bit and slur his words when I left with Elle to find the bathroom and by the time we finally got back he could barely stay standing. To make matters worse, he had called me Emmy twice. I knew he was too intoxicated to understand what he was saying but the decent amount of alcohol in my own system made it difficult to not get angry with him.
I had only seen glimpses of Wes since we had come back from the patio and each time there was no sign of Emmy. I figured she had gone home after the awkward run in earlier in the kitchen.
It was still fairly early, not yet midnight, and considering the state Gabe was in I knew I should get him out of there before he drank more or started a fight with Wes. I looked to Elle for help and she held up a finger signaling she’d be right
back.
I waited impatiently, swatting at Gabe’s hands as he started grabbing at me and whispering words I couldn’t understand through his drunken dialogue. His hair was now sticking up all over the place and his red band t-shirt up shirt was rumpled and wet from spilling his beer onto himself numerous times. His eyes were bloodshot and he reeked of cheap whiskey.
I saw Elle hurrying over with Colin from the corner of my eye and let out a breath of relief. Behind Colin was a guy similar to Gabe from his blonde hair down to hid casual laid-back style. This guy, however, had small diamonds pierced in both ears and dark brown eyes complementing the dark undertones of his dirty blonde hair. He was a couple of inches taller than Gabe and stood at approximately 6’3, towering over Elle’s petit frame as he slid up beside her and looked towards Gabe who now had his head resting in his hands and his eyes closed. I poked him in the shoulder, a little roughly, still ticked off about him calling me Emmy, and his eyes shot open.