“Beth?” I asked hesitantly. My eyes locked onto her exposed legs, ass, and underwear. My cock jumped in my pants, and I could feel my mouth start to water. Aimee was a supermodel, a woman that could be in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue and be worshiped by hundreds of thousands of people. But Beth was one of those women that could have started a war. Like Helen of Troy. I called her name again, but she didn’t stir.
I looked at the alarm clock on my nightstand.
Three thirty-eight in the morning.
I sighed and juggled a few decisions. This was probably the best outcome. I didn’t have to call a cab for her, she wouldn’t seduce me, I wouldn’t fuck her, I wouldn’t go to jail, and I could still make it to school and work tomorrow.
She suddenly shivered on my bed, and her teeth started to chatter. I walked over to the bed and called her name again. She was either ignoring me or was actually passed out cold. I reached down to her feet and pulled on her leather heels. They came off easily, and her toenails were, of course, painted red. I set the shoes on the floor and walked over to the other side of the bed. I rolled the comforter up and wrapped it around her. I should have made her get under the sheets, but I didn’t want to risk moving her unconscious body around on top of my bed. I didn’t know if I trusted myself or her if she woke up while I attempted to move her half-clothed body.
Her hair had been tossed over her head and looked like an angry ink stain on my pillows. I smoothed it away from her face, put the full glass of water on the nightstand within her reach, turned off the alarm on my clock, and then walked away from the bed. I turned off the light in the room, but I kept the light on in my bathroom and left the door cracked, just in case she had to use it in the next few hours before the sun rose.
Then I set the alarm on my phone and crashed on my couch. Tomorrow she would be out of my hair.
So I hoped.
Chapter 8
The phone woke me up at ten to seven. I was confused for a second, since I was waking up on my couch instead of on my bed and the phone was waking me up instead of my alarm clock. Then I remembered Beth storming my castle last night.
I slid off of the couch with a groan and then realized that she was probably still sleeping in my bed and I would have to be quiet.
The sun was starting to rise, and I could see Beth’s form nestled on my bed still. It looked like she hadn’t budged from where I had left her, but the glass of water on the nightstand was missing about a quarter of its contents. I carefully grabbed the clothes I needed for work from my dresser and closet before I went into the bathroom. I had never used the lock on my bathroom door, but I used it now. I didn’t want her coming in accidentally. Beth never did anything accidentally.
I shaved, showered, changed, and brushed my teeth as quickly as I could. Half way through my tooth brushing, I remembered that Beth had apologized for using it. I pulled it out of my mouth quickly and smelled it. It smelled like mint and not like vomit. Thank god.
It appeared that my shower hadn’t disturbed Beth. I just hoped she would wake up and get out before I got home tonight. I had narrowly avoided disaster this morning, but I didn’t know if I could fend her off for another night. I packed up my laptop, grabbed my keys, and headed out the door. I was going to be early for class, but I didn’t want to eat here.
I closed the front door to my apartment and put the key in to lock it. I froze.
You needed a key to lock my door from the outside.
Fuck.
I went back inside and rummaged through the junk drawer in my kitchen, finding my spare key and also finding a sense of dread that filled my stomach like cold ice water.
I had a scratch pad on the counter, and I grabbed a pen.
Beth,
Make sure you drink plenty of water before you go; there is some in the fridge. You can lock the door with this key. Just leave it with the building manager. He is in unit 101, and if he isn’t there, you can just leave it in the drop box outside the door and I’ll pick it up tonight.
I didn’t bother signing it. I just laid it on the coffee table with the spare key on top. Then I dashed out the door like the place was on fire.
School was close enough to walk to, and I often did that, but I didn’t want to have to go back home to get my car, so I drove there instead. I grabbed my day-parking pass, got a breakfast burrito from the cafeteria, guzzled some coffee, and made it to my class with plenty of time to spare. I even felt pretty alert despite the interruption of sleep.
I was starting to feel really good about myself until I realized a few things.
The first was that, from what I knew about Beth, she never did anything by accident. She was some sort of genius, wasn’t she? Did she have the whole go over to Eric’s house, get drunk, throw up, pass out on his bed situation planned? The second was that Beth didn’t have a cell phone. How was she going to call anyone to take her home?
I put my face in my palm and rubbed my eyes. The coffee buzz faded quickly and was replaced by the dread I felt when leaving my apartment.
Beth would be there tonight when I got back. She would never leave. I’d just end up going to jail.
Chapter 9
Class was a blur of exhaustion, but I managed to plow through the classes and make it to work without falling asleep. Maybe it wasn’t so much the lack of sleep, but the thoughts of Beth, Kelly, Aimee, and Jack that churned in my head like rotten butter. I was a raw nerve, and, every second, I seemed to imagine my phone buzzing with either a text message from Aimee or a phone call from her sister.
I didn’t know what I was going to do with Beth when I got back home tonight. Between half-hearted cold calls at work, I pondered calling Jack and asking if I could stay with him for a few days. I even thought about just booking the next flight to China and becoming a kung fu monk. Those guys didn’t have to worry about underage women, backstabbing their best friends, or getting through school.
I dreaded the clock reaching five o’clock, so of course, it came incredibly quickly. The drive back to my apartment also seemed to somehow be traffic-free, and while it normally took me around a half hour to get home from the office, I made it back in fifteen minutes. The universe was conspiring for me to rush headlong into Beth’s arms.
After I parked the Subaru and cut the engine, I sat in the car and pondered my options for the eight thousandth time. If Beth was there, I could always take a hard line and demand that either she leave or I would. Then I could run out of my apartment, flee in my car, and maybe stay in a hotel for the next couple of nights. It was an extreme reaction, but I didn’t trust myself to stay away from Beth, or maybe I knew her advances would eventually triumph, given my sexual desires.
I let out a long sigh, closed my eyes, and leaned back into the seat of my car. The hotel plan sounded like my best bet, but I suddenly wanted to just sleep in my car and not even bother walking into my place. Then I sighed again, realized I was being melodramatic, told myself that Beth was just a girl, and got out of my car.
The lights were off in my apartment, and I half expected Beth to jump out of the shadows when I turned them on. But there was no vampire horror-movie scare, and it looked like she wasn’t here.
“Hello?” I called out just be sure. There was no answer, so I breathed a thankful sigh of relief and closed the door behind me. I set down my backpack and reached for the remote to turn on the TV so I could hear something other than silence while I cooked dinner.
Then I saw the keyboard.
It was one of those big Yamaha professional digital pianos. It was full size and placed on the side of my living room wall adjacent to my TV. I walked the few steps over to it and touched the white keys to feel the weight behind them. There was a red envelope on top of the instrument, and I pulled out the bench to sit while I ripped open the paper.
The letter was written on thick, pink paper, and the stationary smelled faintly of roses. The handwriting was exquisite, and every turn of the characters on the paper looked as if it was one of thos
e works of calligraphy.
Dear Eric,
I wanted to apologize for last night. It was immature of me to come over and act the way I did. You mentioned that you did not have a piano, so I wanted to give this to you. I would love to hear you play again.
I got tickets for us for the Getty this Saturday. They are having an exhibit on the West’s artistic and commercial involvement with Asia. It looks really interesting, and I think we will have a wonderful time. I will meet you at the museum at ten o’clock.
Thank you for taking care of me last night,
Beth.
Inside the folded paper were two tickets to the J. Paul Getty Museum’s “Imagining the Orient” exhibition this Saturday. I had to shake my head and chuckle. I had no idea how Beth managed to get tickets to the museum, buy this keyboard, and get it set up in my apartment without a car. Or do all of that in the dress she wore last night.
I ran my hands across the keys again. I didn’t know that much about keyboards or pianos, but the weight of the keys seemed perfect, and I guessed that this wasn’t the base model of Yamaha’s keyboard fleet.
On the side of the stand hung a really nice pair of thick, padded headphones; I set Beth’s letter down and put them on my head.
I found the switch to the piano and began to test my fingers against the sounds. The instrument was wonderful to my ears, and I put my hands through some of the jazz standards that I remembered. It felt just like playing a real piano. After a short time, I played around with some of the buttons and dials on top to get different instrument sounds through the keys.
Finally, my stomach growled, and I forced myself to stop playing. The clock on my DVD player said it was nine thirty, and I realized that I’d been playing for around four hours. My back was a bit achy from sitting so long, but I didn’t realize the pain until I stood. I grabbed Beth’s letter again and walked into my kitchen to get some food.
If Beth intended to win me over with the piano, she was partially succeeding. I didn’t know how much the piano cost, but I guessed they ran over two grand. As I started pulling food stuff out of the fridge, I debating calling her to take it back, then I decided that I really wanted to keep it. But by the time I had cooked my pasta, I realized I was going to ask to return it again.
I also needed to find a way out of going to the museum with her this weekend. My nerves had calmed from earlier in the day, but I knew it was going to be a bad idea to give in to the girl’s requests. Even if I did want to see this exhibit.
Even if I did want to see her again.
I finished eating and read through the letter for the twentieth time. I guessed that this could have all been a ploy to get on my good side, but part of me wanted to give the girl a second chance. Maybe she hadn’t intended to throw herself at me last night? Maybe she was just really drunk and appreciated that I took care of her?
I turned on my computer and clicked to the spreadsheet where I had typed out her home phone number. I reached for my phone and spun the silver device in my hands for a few moments. It was late now, and I knew that if I called it would probably wake someone up, or it would end up alerting Aimee, and she might start asking me uncomfortable questions.
The whole situation was just so fucked up.
I plugged my phone into the charger and turned it off. Then I took a last look at the keyboard before I went back into my bathroom to brush my teeth. My mind was beyond exhausted now, and I felt like the piano playing had really helped calm me. I’d figure out what to do with Beth tomorrow after I’d had a good night’s sleep.
Chapter 10
The crowd screamed again when Kelly hammered the volleyball over the net and the defending Florida team couldn’t get a hand on it. The gym was beyond packed, and I felt myself swept up in the energy of the crowd. Our team served again, and Kelly quickly popped the ball up for one of her teammates to spike.
It was Wednesday night, and I was attending the game that Kelly and I talked about when I dropped her off from the camping trip last weekend. We hadn’t talked on the phone since then, but we’d exchanged a few text messages this morning to confirm that I’d be at her game and that we would catch dinner afterwards.
Word on campus was spreading about the girls’ volleyball team. They were undefeated so far this season, and I guessed it had a lot to do with Kelly. I didn’t know if my school was known for its athletic program, but they did have cheerleaders at this game, so I figured it was a big deal.
My pocket buzzed, and I reached for my phone. Besides Kelly’s texts this morning, my phone had been eerily silent for the past two days.
You didn’t call me back about my b-day party. Did you get the invite? Can you go?
Crap. I hadn’t called Aimee back from the message she left me last weekend. I had seen the invite; it was for next month, a week before Christmas. I still hadn’t decided if I should go to the party, but I knew I was going to have to make a decision in the next few minutes.
Yeah, sorry! Been crazy busy.
I started to type, and then I took a deep breath and studied the game. Florida’s coach called a time out, and the girls huddled. All of the girls on Florida’s team were cute, and their tight shorts looked sexy when they huddled up together. I shook my head at my distraction and looked back down to the sentences I was in the middle of texting.
I can make it but I’m still worried about Jack.
I hit the send button and put my phone back in my pocket. As soon as my hand released the phone, it buzzed again.
Are you going to Brent’s party this Friday? Doing anything Sat or Sun?
It was Katherine, and I didn’t expect the text. I was about to answer when Aimee texted me back.
It will be fine. I’m so happy that you are coming! What are you doing this weekend?
I felt my heart start to beat nervously, and I closed my phone for a second so that I could figure out what to do. I guessed that Aimee knew about the party, and Katherine probably did too. If I told them both, they would both want to come; if they hadn’t already planned on going. Then again, if Aimee knew about it, she probably would have invited me.
I opened my phone and clicked on Katherine’s text to write her back.
Yep! Are you going? I’m busy Sat but free Sun.
As soon as I hit send, I realized that I had unconsciously put myself busy on Saturday so that I could go to the museum with Beth. Fuck me.
I clicked on the message from Aimee and decided that truth, or some part of the truth, was the best course of action.
Going to Brent’s party Friday night. Are you going?
There. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the entire truth about what I was doing Saturday, but not telling everything isn’t as bad as lying, right?
Yesssssss! Kim and I are going. I’ll see you Friday, and maybe Saturday morning? <3
I shook my head and tried not to smile at Katherine’s confidence. She was correct though, I didn’t think there was a single guy alive that would turn down a night with Katherine and Kim. But now I didn’t know if Aimee and I were together. We were kind of planning on dating once she broke up with Jack, but I didn’t know if that meant that we weren’t seeing anyone else in the meantime. I was guessing that she would frown on me spending the night with Katherine and Kim.
Aimee would definitely frown on me spending Saturday with Beth.
My phone vibrated again, and I look at the screen.
Can’t. Fundraiser dinner thing with my parents. I’m going with them to this golf thing Saturday. Do you want to come?
Can’t. Have plans already. I’ll see you on your birthday!
Bla. That is too far away. I want to see you sooner. Sunday?
Maybe. I’ll let you know later. Maybe we should make it a group thing? I don’t want Jack to get the wrong idea.
Let me deal with Jack.
I put the phone back in my pocket. It looked like the game was almost over, and the score board showed that our side was going to win by a landslide. Then Kelly’s teammate
hit the ball over the net, the Florida girls hit it out of bounds, and all the people began to cheer. It looked like we had won, and the girls on Kelly’s team all began to celebrate with screams of delight.
There was some chaos in the gym, and the two teams quickly met to shake hands. Once they parted, the girls seemed to mesh in with the crowd, and I lost sight of the tall blonde girl who was my dinner date. I figured she wouldn’t leave without me, so I relaxed again on the bleachers and waited for her to either find or call me.
It didn’t take long. Only a few minutes passed, and then she broke free of the crowd and skipped over to me. Her uniform consisted of tight, black shorts and a red shirt with black stripes. The shirt was a little baggy, but her shorts left little to the imagination, and I wondered if she was going to hint at having some dessert back at my place after dinner.
“We made it!” She leapt into my arms, and I felt her feet leave the ground.
“Finals?” I took a somewhat-educated guess.
“Semis actually. The bad part is that I’ll have an even crazier schedule for the next two weeks.” She put her feet back on the ground but didn’t unwrap her arms from around my neck.
“Excuse me. Miss Anderson, can we do an interview?” A guy around our age stood behind us. He had a digital recorder and a notepad in his hands. Kelly looked back at me with a big smile on her face.
“Sure!” She took her hands from my neck and looked back to me. “I’ve got to go meet with the coach after this. Do you want to hang out here or should I meet you at the restaurant?”
“Why don’t you meet me there? Text me before you leave so I can order something to start you off.” We had planned on a sushi place ten minutes from the campus. I didn’t know how long she would be, but I hadn’t eaten much in the last few days because of the piano, and my stomach was complaining.
“Okay. Be there soon.” She turned to the reporter, and I walked out of the gym.
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