Romance: The College Bad Boy: A Young Adult Romance

by Veronica Cross

  Liam leaned over the side of the bed, “Over there.” He pointed to the corner of the room. Alex walked over and bent down to pick them up. She turned back around. Liam was staring at her. She rolled her eyes as she shimmied them back up her legs. “What?” Liam asked defensively. “Can’t I just enjoy the view?”

  “Shut up.” Alex playfully threw a pillow at his head. She pulled his shirt back over her head. “Do you have any shorts or sweat pants I could borrow to make my walk of shame less embarrassing?”

  Liam swung his legs off the bed and walked over to a black dresser with silver handles. He shuffled around some things until he pulled out a pair of dark blue gym shorts. “Try these.” He tossed them to her.

  Alex pulled them up over her hips. They were loose. She tugged the drawstring as tight as she could and tied it in a bow. She gave a few test jumps to make sure they wouldn’t fall off. “That’ll work.” She smiled up at him. “Will you pick me up at Garner later?”

  “Sure. I’ll be there at six fifteen.”

  Alex grabbed her dress from the night before and wadded it up in her arms. “Show me out?” Liam walked her to the front door of his apartment. She stood on her tip toes. He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll see you tonight.” She stepped backwards out the door.

  Liam grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He kissed her again before letting her go, “See you later.” His crooked smile made her blush as she turned away and headed back to her own dorm.

  Alex walked back across campus to her building. She kept replaying the scene in her head: his lips on her skin, his touch, the way he felt inside of her. It was all she could think about.

  She opened the door to her room and saw a small plastic ball rolling around the room. Walter was inside trying to knock the lid free by bumping into Tish’s closet door repeatedly. A strip of duct tape was stretched over the lid, holding it in place. Tish was standing triumphantly in the center of the room with her arms crossed. The roll of duct tape was grasped in her left hand.

  “You’re back!” Tish ran over and threw her arms around her roommate. “Are you ok? What happened?”

  “I got too drunk, and Liam took me back to his place to sober up.”

  “I tried to find you. I saw you dancing on the dresser, and I looked away for a minute, and you were gone.” Tish looked at her worriedly.

  “I’m ok. I promise.” Alex reassured her and hugged her back. “I see you found Walter.” Alex looked at the ball rolling around the room.

  “Yeah, he was pigging out in my box of Cheerios.” Tish glared at her hamster. “I heard him rummaging around in the snack box.”

  Alex handed Tish her the wadded up red fabric, “Here’s your dress.”

  Tish wrinkled her nose, “How bout you wash it first?”

  “Ok,” Alex laughed. “Sorry, wasn’t thinking.”

  “Want to go grab a late lunch?”

  “Um, actually I need a shower.” Alex tucked her hair behind her ear, “I have a date tonight.”

  “What?” Tish exclaimed, “With who? Liam?” Excitement beamed from her face.

  “Yeah,” Alex could feel her cheeks burning as Tish squealed with eagerness.

  “Tell me, tell me, tell me!” Tish jumped up and down as she spoke.

  Alex tried to play it off, but her own excitement was almost too much to bare, “We’re just going to his sister’s high school play.” She shrugged trying to play it off as no big deal, but her eyes were still twinkling.

  “How freaking awesome!” Tish was still bouncing around, “Gah, I’m so flipping excited for you!”

  “Thanks,” Alex twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. “He seems really sweet once you get to know him.” She tilted her head to the side.

  “Well, just be careful. You don’t get a bad boy reputation from being sweet all the time.” Tish’s tone darkened a little with concern.

  “Yeah, I know,” Alex straightened her head back up and squinted, “but I also don’t want to judge someone off of just rumors, you know?”

  “True.” Tish nodded slowly, “Anyhoo, I’m starved, and you need to go have a shower.” Tish grabbed her phone and I.D. and headed for the door, “See you later, and I expect you to tell me all of the details when you get back.” She pointed at the corner where Walter was currently rolling, “Be good, Walter! I’ll put you back in your cage when I get back.” Tish closed the door behind her.

  Alex let herself have a moment of pure excitement and elation as the door clicked shut. Today had been amazing so far. She scrambled around to find a clean towel and her shower shoes. Alex caught herself practically skipping to the bathroom and had to take a moment to breathe and calm herself down. She scrubbed the smell of Martin Manor out of her hair and let the warm water run over her skin. As the final soap suds spiraled down the drain, Alex dried herself off and tied her towel around her. She squelched back to her room and flung open her closet.

  “What do you think, Walter?” She held up a yellow sundress with tiny white daisies on it in one hand. In the other hand, she had a black dress with a plunging neckline. “I think this one might be too much cleavage for a high school thing,” Alex scrutinized the black dress before hanging it back up. “Yellow it is!” Walter stood up in his ball and sniffed the air in approval. Alex laughed and tugged the dress on over her head. She ran a brush through her hair and wrapped it in a ponytail. Alex pulled a white ribbon out of her wooden jewelry box on the counter and tied it in a bow around her hair. She smeared a thin streak of light pink lip gloss on and smacked her lips together.

  Alex waited nervously for six fifteen to roll around. She opened her Chemistry book and stared at the chapter they were supposed to be reading. She couldn’t focus well. Her eyes scanned the pages, but nothing was sticking. She closed the book in frustration and pulled out her phone. She had two missed calls from her dad and text message from her mom that only said, “Call your Dad.” Alex sighed and hit the call back button. “Hey dad!”

  “Hey, baby girl!” His voice sounded husky over the phone.

  “Sorry I missed your calls. What’s up?” Alex paced back and forth in her dorm as she talked.

  She could hear her dad clear his throat, “You remember that old playground by the elementary school?”

  “Yeah,” Alex jumped to the side to avoid Walter as he rolled past her.

  “Well, they’re repainting it two weekends from now. I just wanted to see if you would be coming home that weekend or not.”

  “I’m not sure yet.” Alex felt a pang of guilt, “Classes have been pretty rough so far and it’s only the first week.”

  “Oh, ok.” The disappointment in his voice almost broke her heart.

  “But I promise I’ll come home soon, ok?” Alex tried to smooth things over. She hated letting her parents down.

  “Ok, baby girl. I love you.”

  “Love you too, dad!” Alex blew him a kiss threw the phone and hung up.

  It was like she was leading two lives now. At college she could be who she wanted to be, go to parties, and stay up late, but around her parents she would always default to the conservative, good little girl they knew. Alex felt uneasy. She finally felt like she was growing into her own person, and it made her feel guilty. She glanced at the time on her phone. It was ten after six. Alex grabbed her purse and walked out to the parking lot.

  Liam pulled into the circle drive in front of her dorm building. His car was black, and a thin layer of pollen coated it from parking under the trees by his apartment complex. Liam got out of the car and opened the passenger side door for her.

  “Thanks,” Alex smiled as she climbed in the car and buckled up.

  “You ok?” Liam looked over at her as he put the car back in drive.

  “Yeah. Just family stuff.” She fiddled with her purse strap in her lap.

  “You wanna talk about it?” Liam turned down the radio.

  “Did you,” Alex paused trying to find the right words, “find it hard when you first started
college? Like to balance life at home and at school?”

  Liam smirked at the windshield as he turned onto Lincoln Avenue. “This is your first big transition in life. You’re going to have to find out who you are and what you want. You’re going to have some growing pains and you’re going to mess up. It’s part of it.” He tapped his middle finger on the steering wheel absent mindedly as the car in front of the slowed down to make a turn.

  “Gee thanks.” Alex slouched in her seat.

  “Let me finish,” Liam chuckled at her. “You’re going to mess up, but as long as you learn from it, who cares?” He glanced over at her, “My freshman year sucked. My mom kept dropping by two, maybe three times a week. That’s the down side of going to college in the town you grew up in. Finally, I just had to sit down with my parents and tell them I would come visit a few times a month, but that they needed to give me space to grow into whoever I was going to be.”

  “And they were ok with that?” Alex tilted her head to the side and watched him as he drove.

  “Dad more so than mom.” Liam turned onto another street, “Mom took it harder, but she came around.” He pointed to a house with white siding to their right, “See that one?” Alex nodded as she followed his finger. “That’s my house. Well, my parents’ house anyway.”

  “It’s nice.” The front porch had planters filled with flowers dangling from its eaves and a white, wooden swing with pristine sliver chains hung off to the side. It looked like the perfect place for an ideal childhood. Alex watched as it faded behind them. “I just don’t want to disappoint them.” She looked at the floorboard.

  “You’re their daughter. They’re going to love you no matter what.” He glanced from the road over to Alex, “Unless of course they find out what you did in my bed this morning.”

  “I’m being serious!” Alex looked out the window huffily.

  “I’m just teasing you.” Liam laughed. “In all seriousness though, I’m sure you could never disappoint them. Just be you.”

  She rolled her head back in his direction, “That’s the problem. I’m still figuring out who I am.”

  “Well,” Liam stopped at a red light, “from what I’ve seen so far, you’re a sweet, caring young woman who wears her heart on her sleeve.” His eyes searched hers, “And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  They smiled at one another. The car behind them honked at them. “Oh, light’s green.” Alex pointed at the traffic signal in front of them. They rode in silence for a while.

  After a few minutes, Liam pulled into a gravel parking lot. “Here we are.”

  Groups of threes and fours were drifting into a building a few yards away. A couple of high schoolers were sitting on a tailgate, legs swinging. Liam got out of the car and walked over to Alex’s door. Alex had already opened her door and had one foot on the gravel. Liam let out a sigh and held the door open the rest of the way.

  “When a guy is trying to be a gentleman,” He raised his eyebrows at her, “let him.”

  Alex stuck her tongue out at him and laughed, “Fine, I’ll let you get the next one.”

  Liam held out his arm, and Alex wrapped her own through it. The gravel crunched and rolled under their feet as they walked towards the auditorium. The interior was filled with brightly colored posters from past productions and abstract metal sculptures. Alex looked at the one closest to them. She couldn’t tell if it was an elephant or just a fat dog. She was still puzzling over it as Liam led her to the box office.

  “Two please,” Liam smiled at the girl working the booth and pulled out his wallet.

  “Fourteen dollars please,” Her smile was polite, but Alex felt a twinge of jealousy. She struggled to suppress it. She wasn’t used to being jealous, or even having someone to be jealous of, but it seemed like Liam brought that out in her. She reprimanded herself in her head for being so childish.

  “Thank you,” Liam took the tickets and placed his hand on the small of Alex’s back. He guided her gently towards a theater entrance. Alex smiled to herself. Her jealousy faded at his touch.

  The usher led them to their seats. The auditorium was dotted with audience members talking to one another. Kitschy folk music played over the speakers. A maroon curtain was closed across the stage. Every now and then, the shadows of feet passing behind the curtain would stir across the space. The curtain rippled slightly as crew members and the cast took their starting positions. Alex scanned the list of cast member names in her program, “Which one is your sister?”

  Liam reached over and pointed at the actress’s name playing Annie Oakley. “There’s Lainey.”

  “Wow! I didn’t realize she was the star.” Alex looked up at Liam excitedly.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty good.” Liam winked at her, “Not that I’m biased or anything.”

  The lights dimmed and the music faded. A voice came over the loud speaker, “Thank you for joining us for this evening’s production of Annie Get Your Gun. Please turn off your phones or other electronic devices. Exits are on both sides of the theater. Please note there is no food or drink allowed in the auditorium. Thank you, and please, enjoy the show!”

  Alex heard the curtain move across the stage, and a spot light came on. The show was fairly decent for a high school production, but Liam wasn’t being biased about Lainey’s talent. Alex got tingles on her arms every time Lainey started singing. Liam watched Alex almost as much as he did the show. She would sit on the edge of her seat during the parts of the musical that captured her attention the most. He reached over and took her hand in his. She looked at him and smiled.

  Liam leaned over during a set change, “Are you having a good time?” He whispered in her ear, trying not to disturb anyone else.

  “I really am,” Alex smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Liam squeezed her hand lightly and turned his attention back to the show as the lights came up again.

  After the performance, Liam and Alex waited in the lobby for Lainey to come out. Alex caught snippets of conversation from the people milling around them. Some were talking about the show; others were making dinner plans. Laughter and flowers broke up the chitchat as the actors made their way out the dressing rooms to find their friends and families.

  “Hey there, Sport!” Liam grabbed Lainey in a bear hug, “You did great tonight!”

  Lainey groaned from the tightness of the hug and faked gasping for breath until Liam let her go. “Thanks!” She took a deep breath, recovering from his hug, “I’m glad you could make it.” Lainey looked expectantly from her brother to Alex waiting for an introduction.

  “Hi,” Alex waved nervously, “I’m Alex.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Lainey.” She tossed a playful look at her brother, “So, are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?”

  Alex’s face turned redder than the stage curtain, but Liam spoke up, “We are dating, actually.” He grabbed Alex’s hand. Suddenly she was all too aware of the physical contact. She felt as if she were being peered at from under a microscope.

  “Wanna go grab some pizza?” Lainey was texting on her phone as she talked. She still had stage makeup painted across her face. Without the starkness of the lights, the shadows and highlights of her cheekbones looked bizarre. She scowled at her phone.

  “That’s fine with me,” Liam turned to look at Alex to see if she had any objections.

  “Sure,” Alex chimed in. She hoped she sounded more cheerful than she felt. She was surprised by how intimidated she was by Liam’s little sister. She wanted to make a good first impression, and if that meant eating greasy pizza, then so be it.

  “Do you wanna ride with us or take your own car?” Liam held open the door for them as they walked out into the muggy parking lot. It was dark now. A few stars twinkled in the black sky above them. A light illuminated the parking lot as bugs buzzed around it, obscuring some of the light.

  “I’ll drive myself,” Lainey pulled some keys out of her pocket and jingled them in Liam’s direction.

  “Alright. Meet you the
re.” Liam and Alex headed off to his car while his sister walked to another parking lot on the side of the building, “Be careful!” Liam called after her, “And don’t use your phone while you’re driving!”

  Lainey sounded annoyed as she yelled back, “I know!” She waved one hand at him dismissively.

  Alex waited for patiently Liam to open her door, “See, I’m learning.”

  “I see that,” Liam laughed as he waited for her to pull her legs in. He closed the door and walked back to the driver side. Alex had her hands clutched in her lap. Her nails were digging into her skin, and her fingers were white. “Hey,” Liam reached over to touch her hand. His voice was soft, “Are you ok?” His concern was genuine as he looked at her.

  Alex could see apprehension in his eyes as she looked up at him. “I just really want her to like me. I didn’t know it would bother me this much.” Panic was starting to swell up inside her.

  “Whoa, hang on, didn’t know what was bother you this much?” Liam brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. “You worry too much what other people think about you.”

  “I just, I wasn’t prepared for hanging out with her.” Alex lowered her head ashamed of feeling this way.

  “Hey, you’re doing fine.” Liam lifted her chin. “Just relax and be yourself. You’re stressing yourself out over nothing.”

  Alex let out a long slow breath, “Yeah, you’re probably right.” A small smile crossed her lips.

  “You know; we don’t have to go eat with her tonight if you don’t want to. I’m sorry I kind of sprang that on you.”

  “No, I’ll be fine.” Alex shook her head, “I was just over reacting.”

  Liam stroked her cheek, “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.” Alex looked into his eyes, “I can tell she means a lot to you.”

  Liam smiled and his eyes lit up, “Yeah, she does.” He leaned over and kissed Alex lightly on the lips.

  Alex felt her nerves settle as he started up the car. They drove through town until they reached the local pizza joint. The smell of melted cheese and sauces drifted through the parking lot to mix with car exhaust. Lainey was waiting by the door for them. Liam helped Alex out of the car, and the two of them walked hand-in-hand to the restaurant.