The College Life

by Mercy Amare

  The last time I got drunk, I pretty much told Ty he could lick me anywhere on my body. And I’m pretty sure I sniffed him.

  Ty and I go our separate ways. He has no trouble at all finding a girl to talk to, well, to flirt with is more like it. I’m sure he will have no problem at all getting a girl to share his bed.

  I remember the conversation I had with Toby yesterday. He said that Ty hasn’t had sex with anybody since May, after everything went down with his dad. Toby said that Ty is trying to be worthy of me. Certainly he’s mistaken, though.

  I spot my friend, Carter, talking to some guy, so I walk up to him.

  “Why are you wearing a Staying Connected shirt?” Carter asks when he sees me.

  “My dad gave it to me,” I say, shrugging.

  “It’s so weird,” he says.

  “Not really. My dad sort of created Staying Connected,” I tell him, biting my lip.

  “Are you serious?”

  I nod.

  “Your dad is Mark Evers?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow,” the guy standing next to Carter says.

  “Yeah, wow,” Carter agrees. “I can’t believe I’m just now hearing this.”

  “It’s really not a big deal,” I say.

  “Your dad is a billionaire,” Carter says. “I think that’s a big deal. Plus, he like, changed the internet. Thanks to him, people waste hundreds of hours online. Including me.”

  I laugh. “You put it so elegantly.”

  Carter points to his friends. “This is my best friend, Eric.”

  “Nice to meet you, Eric. I’m Kihanna.”

  “You too,” he says.

  “So, my girlfriend is coming to see me next weekend,” Carter tells me. “And I want you to meet her. She will love you.”

  “She’s okay with you having friends that are girls?”

  Carter looks shocked by my question. “Julie trusts me.”

  Gabe was so not okay with me having guy friends. Except Toby and Ty. And Toby doesn’t count because he’s my stepbrother. Of course, Gabe wasn’t okay with Ty hanging out with me and texting me when he wasn’t around. He was always really insecure and jealous. I always hated that, but I tried to understand.

  “I couldn’t be with a girl who didn’t trust me,” Eric says.

  “You shouldn’t have to be,” Carter says. “Though, I guess we know your ex didn’t trust you.”

  “Nope,” I say, then shake my head. “Well, he sort of did. But he was jealous. He didn’t want me hanging out with guys. Which would be okay, except I don’t have any girlfriends. I guess I just get along better with guys. Girls like drama too much.”

  Though it would be nice to have a girlfriend. Somebody to go shopping with and share fashion tips. I mean, I literally have four hairstyles—straight, wavy, messy bun and side braid. It’s kind of sad. I even wear my make-up the same way every time. I’m jealous when I see girls with cool eyeliner.

  “You’ll like Julie,” Carter tells me. “She’s a very non-drama kind of person. She likes to keep all negativity out of her life. She’s all into yoga.”

  “You said she’s an actress, right?”

  “An aspiring actress,” he says. “She’s been in a few commercials. Lately she’s been getting into modeling. She’s, like, five foot ten and has the body of a model. She did a runway show a couple of weekends ago in New York City. I went to watch her and she was amazing. She really had fun, so I think she might try to pursue that.”

  “That’s awesome,” I say, wishing I was brave enough to do something like that. I’m the most shy, awkward person ever. If I ever had to walk down a runway, I’d probably trip and fall off the stage. Somebody, of course, would have recorded it. I would become the most popular Vine ever.

  “Julie is hot,” Eric says. “I keep trying to get her to introduce me to her model friends, but she refuses.”

  “And that’s why she refuses,” Carter says. “She doesn’t want you to embarrass her.”

  “Kihanna, I’m getting a tattoo,” Eric tells me, abruptly changing the subject. “I haven’t fully decided on what I want, yet. What do you think I should get?”

  “I think that if you’re unsure, you shouldn’t get a tattoo. It’s going to be on your body forever. You shouldn’t just get one on a whim,” I say. “It should be well thought out.”

  “I just... want a change,” he says.

  “So, dye your hair blue. Or, get your lip pierced. Don’t get a tattoo.”

  “She has a point,” Carter says.

  “I guess so,” Eric says, then grins. “How do you think I’d look with a lip piercing...” then his eyes get big. “Or a penis piercing.”

  “It hurts to even think about that,” Carter says.

  “You know, I don’t think I need to be here for this conversation,” I say, and then walk off.

  Because, seriously, ew.

  As I’m walking, I really am not paying attention to where I am going and I end up bumping into somebody.

  “Sorry,” I say, and look up to see who I bumped into. It’s Gabe. Of course. “Hey.”

  “Hi,” Gabe says back. His eyes are a little glassy and he smells like tequila.

  “You’re drunk.”

  “And you’re observant,” he says sarcastically. His words are a little slurred. It’s weird, because I’ve never actually seen him drunk before.

  “So, what’s up?” I ask.

  “Just hanging out with hot sorority girls, trying to get over my ex-girlfriend.” He points to the left where a blonde girl is looking at him. “I think she is into me. So, I am totally going to hit that.”

  Right.

  Gabe stumbles off towards the girl and I turn away.

  Just because I broke up with him doesn’t mean I want to see him with another girl, less than two days after we broke up.

  “He has no class,” a girl says.

  I look up at the girl who is standing beside me. I guess she heard our conversation. “I can’t believe I dated him.”

  “We’ve all dated jerks,” she says. “I’m Andrea, by the way.”

  “I’m Kihanna,” I tell her. “Nice shirt.”

  Andrea is wearing a t-shirt that says ‘Internet friends are better than real friends.’ She also has on a pair of jeans and red Air Walks that look like Vans. Before my dad came into my life, I wore that brand a lot. It’s a good brand. I miss being able to wear comfy shoes all the time.

  Andrea has blonde hair and blue eyes. She’s about my height, and she seems friendly so far. Maybe we will become friends.

  “Thanks,” she says. “I have to admit, I think it’s kind of weird that you’re wearing a Staying Connected shirt. I mean, practically everybody in the world is on there.”

  “My dad gave it to me,” I tell her, like that explains it all.

  Andrea nods, like she understands. “My dad is the reason I don’t go on Staying Connected much. I swear, he comments on everything I post. But it never actually has anything to do with what I posted. I’ll be like ‘I’m bored. Anybody want to hang out?’ and literally, from a few doors down in our house, he will post ‘I love you, baby.’ It’s so annoying.”

  I can’t help it. I laugh. “Try having your ex-boyfriend’s mom comment on your break-up status.”

  “Block that bitch,” Andrea says. “You don’t need your ex’s mom on your page. That’s just creepy.”

  “Well, it’s kinda complicated,” I say. “His family is, like, really close to my family. Like, we go on vacation together every holiday. And we have Sunday brunch together. There is, like, no avoiding her.”

  “That is messed up.”

  “Did I mention that my other ex-boyfriend actually lives with my family?” I ask. “Because he does. Well, not now, because we’re here at college. But when we’re not here, he stays in my house, across the hallway from my room.”

  “Wow. I don’t even have words. I can’t believe your parents let him move in,” she says. “My dad wouldn’t even let me go
out on dates unless I took my little sister. She’s twelve and so annoying. So, I didn’t date when I lived at home.”

  I feel an arm go around me and without looking, I know it’s Ty.

  “I need my wing woman,” he says.

  I look at Andrea. “Meet the other ex-boyfriend, Ty.”

  She laughs.

  “Ty, this is Andrea.”

  Ty grins at her in the same way he grins at every female. And most women swoon, but not Andrea.

  “Nice to meet you Andrea,” Ty says.

  “I’m sure it is,” she says, then looks at me. “I guess I’ll see you around. Good luck with your ex-boyfriends.”

  “I’m definitely going to need it,” I tell her, and then walk with Ty.

  “There is this girl,” he begins.

  “Isn’t there always?”

  “She’s hot.”

  I nod. “Fine, what do you need me to do?”

  “Her older brother is here. And he, basically, won’t let a guy within ten feet of her. So, I need you to distract him,” he says.

  “Whatever,” I say.

  After I get done with this, I am calling Toby. Because, obviously, he was wrong about Ty. He’s still hooking up with girls.

  As we get close, Ty points out the guy I am supposed to distract. The guy is actually nice looking. As in, I don’t have a shot with this guy, because he is way out of my league. “I don’t think this is going to work,” I tell Ty.

  “Why not?”

  “Look at me,” I say.

  Ty does.

  “I’m a six. Maybe a seven with make-up and a cute dress. That guy is a ten.”

  Ty rolls his eyes. “I thought you were over your insecure crap. You’re hot. You know it. Let’s do this.”

  “Ty, I’m serious.”

  He sighs. “First off, you’re a ten. Even without make-up. In a t-shirt. In nothing, which is preferable. And that guy, look at him. Sure, he may be nice looking, but look at his clothes. His dad is obviously not a billionaire. Yours is. So go over there, talk to him like you’re better than he is, because you are, and he will be begging you for your number before you leave.”

  I start to protest.

  I’m a nice person. I could never talk down to anybody. But maybe Ty does have a point. Just be confident. Make him want me. Because, I am desirable. Or, at least Ty thinks I am. So, if he thinks so, that should be good enough for me.

  We walk forward. The brother is actually standing beside his sister. In that moment, I’m so glad Toby isn’t like that. I mean, he’s my stepbrother, so maybe it’s different for us? But Toby is super protective. He would do anything for me. But he wouldn’t try to stop other guys from talking to me. In fact, he would encourage it.

  As we walk towards them, Ty sticks his foot in front of mine and I go stumbling forward into the arms of the guy.

  Really, Ty?

  Couldn’t he have warned me beforehand?

  “Sorry,” I say, trying to push myself away from him. “I’m really clumsy.”

  The guy helps me steady myself and looks at me with a smile on his face. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I say. “Are you?”

  “Yeah,” he says. “Especially now.”

  Okay, maybe Ty was right. Maybe I am cute.

  Well, I guess beauty is more of an opinion and not a fact. But this guy seems to think I’m attractive, which is doing a lot for my ego, I will admit.

  I grin at him. “I’m Kihanna.”

  “I’m Clay,” he says. “So, I haven’t seen you around here. Are you a freshman?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Cool. I’m a junior,” he says. “I got a scholarship here to play soccer. I love this school. I’m glad I chose to come here instead of UCLA.”

  “I actually came here instead of Stanford,” I say, hoping I don’t sound boastful. “I got a scholarship too, but not for sports. I mean, obviously. I literally trip over my own feet.” And other people’s feet.

  I’m going to punch Ty when we are done here.

  “So, you’re smart?” he asks.

  “I wouldn’t say smart,” I say. “I mean, I did okay in high school. Mostly A’s and B’s, a few C’s. My senior year was kind of crazy, so I slipped a little in the last year.”

  “What did you get a scholarship for?” he asks.

  Crap. I should’ve left out the part about the scholarship. I really, really hate telling people why I have a scholarship.

  “Well, I get a ton of cool perks, but I have to be a spokesperson for them while I’m here,” I say. “Basically they want bragging rights. I guess they’re hoping that when other people see me here, they’ll want to come too.”

  “Are you a celebrity or something?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “No. My dad is just... kind of well known.”

  “Who is he?” Clay asks.

  “Mark Evers.”

  Clay looks at me. “I can’t quite place the name. I know it, but I don’t know from where.”

  I point at my shirt.

  His eyes grow wide. “Oh, my God. That Mark Evers.”

  “Yeah,” I say, suddenly feeling awkward.

  “You know, I don’t get something,” Clay says, looking a little bit angry. “Your dad can afford to send you here. Hell, he could afford to send a lot of people here. Yet, they just give you a full ride. While people, like my sister, only got a partial scholarship. My dad had to get a second job so she could come here. That seriously pisses me off so bad.”

  “I really don’t have any control over it. And my dad actually is paying for somebody else’s tuition.” I point to Ty, who is currently talking to his sister. “My dad is paying for his college. So, don’t be all, judgmental. You have no right.”

  I grab Ty’s arm and pull him away from the girl.

  “That guy sucked,” I tell him, before he has a chance to yell at me. “Can we just go back to the dorm? I’m so over this.”

  “Fine. That girl was kind of annoying anyway,” he says.

  So, we end up leaving early.

  And we are both completely sober.

  1 a.m.

  Drunk dialing.

  A loud noise wakes me up. At first, I think it’s my alarm clock, but it’s too dark to be morning.

  I finally open my eyes and see that my phone is ringing.

  “Hello?” I answer, without seeing who was on the ID.

  “Kihanna...” I hear somebody sobbing into the phone.

  I look at the clock on my nightstand and see that it’s just after one in the morning. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Gabe.”

  And Gabe is really drunk. Like, so drunk I can barely understand him.

  “I did something bad,” he says.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, suddenly feeling panicked. No matter what our relationship status is, I will always care about him. He was my first love, and he’s my friend. He will always be a huge part of my life.

  “I cheated on you.”

  “Gabe, we aren’t going out,” I say, trying to calm him down. “You didn’t cheat on me.”

  “But I slept with another girl,” he says, more persistently. “I shouldn’t have done it. I should’ve just waited for you. But I didn’t. And now you’ll never want to be with me again. I really screwed up.”

  “Just calm down. You’re really drunk,” I say. “Where are you?”

  “I don’t know,” he says.

  I hear a girl’s voice in the background.

  “Gabe, tell me where you are. I’ll come get you,” I say, getting off the bed. I am throwing on clothes, trying not to trip in the darkness.

  “I’m in some girl’s room at the sorority house,” he says. “Kihanna, I’m so, so sorry.”

  “I’ll be right there,” I tell him, then hang up.

  I call Ty.

  “Kihanna?” Ty answers after the forth ring. I obviously woke him up.

  “Are you busy?” I ask, as I leave my dorm.

  “Just sleeping,” he s
ays. “But if you have something fun in mind, I can always sleep later.”

  “Not so much fun,” I say. “It’s Gabe. He’s really drunk, and I need your help. I’m on my way to your dorm now.”

  I hear Ty groan through the phone. “Ugh... okay. Give me two minutes and I’ll be right out.”

  True to his word, two minutes later Ty is coming out of his dorm room.

  “Do you really want to pick him up in your new car?” Ty asks, cringing.

  “What other choice do I have?”

  “Let him walk home. He’s the one who got wasted.”

  “I’m not as mean as you are,” I say, taking off towards the sorority house.

  “So, why did he call you to come get him?” Ty asks.

  “He didn’t really call me to come get him. He called me to tell me that he had sex with another girl,” I say, gripping the steering wheel. I’m trying not to let it bother me. We are single. Gabe can be with whom he wants. But it still hurts that he moved on so quickly.

  “Are you okay?” Ty asks.

  “I’m fine,” I say.

  “How are you really?”

  I sigh. “Fine, it hurts. I wish he would’ve waited longer than two seconds to move on. And even though I was the one who broke up with him, it hurts to know that our relationship meant so little to him. I mean, I was truly in love with him at one point. And I still love him. He’s still my friend.”

  “Well, since he screwed somebody else, that means you get a pass,” Ty says. “You get to have petty revenge sex now, and not feel guilty about it.”

  I laugh. “What the heck, Ty? How do you come up with this stuff?”

  “Years of practice,” he says.

  Of course.

  Years of trying to get girls into his bed.

  “You know I’m not having sex with you, right?” I ask, as I park my Range Rover in front of the sorority house. The party had died down a lot, but there are still quite a few people here.

  “Challenge accepted,” he says, grinning big. “It’s not a line with you, though. I already told you—I will be your exclusive friend with benefits. And the benefits of Ty Newman are great benefits to have.”

  Damn hormones.

  I get out of the car so he can’t see that my face is turning red. Because it is.

  We walk back into the house, and I’m wondering why any of the girls would want to live here. How could you get any studying done with all this partying going on? Though, I don’t think all of the sororities are like this.