“Okay,” I answer. “I’ll go, but only because it’s your birthday. If I don’t feel comfortable then I’m leaving without any questions from you.” I raise an eyebrow towards her making sure she understands the agreement. A smile creeps across her face making me laugh.
I don’t know what Violet is thinking. Before I know what she is doing she stands up on her chair and addresses the entire cafeteria, at least the ones who are paying her any attention. “Listen up, it’s official. Kennedy Conrad is actually going to go to a party this weekend,” Violet shouts. The cafeteria falls silent. I can feel everyone’s eyes on our table.
I grab at her leg to tug her down back to reality. “Are you out of your mind?” I roll my eyes at her. She can’t stop laughing at my embarrassment. I don’t expect anything else from my best friend. Violet is known for being outspoken and obnoxious. After her impromptu announcement I feel my body betray me and my skin burns with a blush.
“What! Just giving all the boys a heads up that you’ll be out on the prowl.” Violet fights back her laughter some more knowing just as well how embarrassed she has made me.
“No boys care if I’m out on the prowl which I’m not by the way.” I smack her across the arm playfully.
“No? Then why are Mark and a few of the other baseball players staring over here as we speak?” I peak through my hair over towards their table and sure enough their eyes are locked on me. They aren’t bad looking guys in the slightest, but they are your typical jocks. They chase anything in a skirt.
And if you’re being honest with yourself, then we both know there’s only one jock you hope to get attention from.
Graham looks up at me from across the room as if he can feel my eyes on him. A small smile that is obviously meant for me crosses his perfect face. It is discreet enough that no one would notice. He quickly looks down and turns his attention back to Amanda who is rubbing his leg under the table. That’s irritating.
I don’t know why I let Violet convince me to go to Craig’s knowing that Graham will be there. I don’t want to have the same conversation over again with him. It seems I am constantly telling him that he doesn’t owe me anything and he is always apologizing.
Chapter Sixteen
-Graham-
Craig’s house is already in full swing by the time I get there Saturday night. It is just a little after ten when I pull in the driveway. There are rows and rows of cars parked in his front and side yard. His parent’s own one of the larger homes on Lake Hudson. It’s your typical lake community, mostly occupied by doctors or lawyers and their Stepford-like wives. I step out of the car and hear music filtrating through the open windows of the house.
Walking in the door I am greeted by everyone that I know. There is barely any room to move around which is the usual capacity at Craig’s. I have to push my way through the crowd of drunken girls and guys who are looking for their next hook-up. The living room is filled with a few sophomores playing Guitar Hero, the dining room has beer pong set up over Craig’s dining room table which I’m sure his mother would lose her mind if she saw. I step into the kitchen and see a handful of my teammates gathered around the keg.
“What’s going on, man? We didn’t think you’d make it out tonight,” Mark fills up my solo cup with beer slapping me on the back.
“Figured I’d come out for a little while at least,” I answer scanning the room pretending to see who has all came out tonight. I am only looking for one though. I don’t believe she’ll actually show up tonight. She’s truthfully the only reason why I came in the first place. A few girls on the cheerleading team are pouring rows of shots for everyone in reaching distance from the center island. They hand them out with eagerness. We all throw them back without bothering to ask what the clear liquid is.
Tequila.
Not my favorite, but it always gets the job done.
“Amanda’s been looking for you. She’s somewhere around here,” Dan announces scanning the room looking for her. “She is looking pretty hot too.”
“You know who else is looking hot?” Mark adds with an approving head nod. “Kennedy.”
“Kennedy Conrad?” Dan questions. “She was sexy as hell at the talent show.” He winks at me and my stomach churns. I’m usually the one being suggestive about the girls at school. I feel protective of Kennedy, not liking what the other are insinuating. She isn’t like all of the girls that are always hanging around. Kennedy would blush in a second if she heard the things the guys were saying about her.
“I’m going to go walk around,” I say chugging my beer. I fill it back up before walking out onto the back porch. That will be all for me tonight. I think I’ve learned my lesson on drinking. The back yard is already cluttered with drunks who couldn’t quite make it to their cars to sleep it off. Been there. Done that.
I scan the back yard not seeing Kennedy anywhere. Where is she? I just walked through the whole house and didn’t see her or Violet. Surely wherever Violet was, Kennedy wouldn’t be too far behind. I hear footsteps encroaching behind me and I turn to see Becky who has clearly had one too many shots. Typical Becky fashion.
“Gra…Graham…” Becky lets a long sigh out trying to sound sexy. She is past the point of being adorably drunk and heading straight for hot-mess territory with her mascara smeared under both of her eyes.
“Hi Becky. You look like you’re having fun,” I shake my head in disbelief that I once fell hard for this type of behavior.
“Not really, but you’re here now so I guess my lucks about to change.” She stands in front of me wrapping her arms around my waist rubbing her fingers along my waist band. “I’ve missed you.”
I know that it is the alcohol talking. This was her usual thing. Becky is known for getting drunk then throwing herself at anything that would take her up on the offer. At one point I was one of those guys. It was second semester our sophomore year when we started hooking up. She’s beautiful when she’s sober, with long dark brown hair and honey colored eyes. Not to mention a body of a Calvin Klein model, but when she gets drunk she becomes a mess. It isn’t cute, but most guys don’t seem to care. She has what guys want and she is putting it out there. You can’t really blame any of us for scooping it up.
I look down into her big doe eyes and immediately feel guilty for how I had treated her sophomore year. “Becky, why don’t you sit down for a second?” I usher her over to the bench. Where’s this guilt coming from?
“Are you…going to sit with me?” She slurs every other word.
“Sure. Just sit down and chill out for a minute.” Becky entertains my request, but quickly goes into overdrive and tries to unbutton my jeans. I jump up from the bench we are sitting on. “That’s not going to happen, sweetheart.”
She looks confused and rejected. “Graham, come on. You and I both know what’s going to happen tonight.”
“You pulling yourself together is the only thing that’s going to happen. Splash water on that pretty face of yours and get Amanda to take you home.” I walk away leaving her staring in my direction. Hell, once again I am confused with what I am doing and saying and feeling.
What has gotten in to me? I would have never turned down someone like Becky, but I just had without thinking twice. It isn’t my MO to hook up with shit faced girls, but I have never taken much time to think about it either. I didn’t sleep with everyone that threw themselves at me or else I would have an even more obnoxious list than I already do, but I’m not in the department of being picky either.
Sex isn’t personal to me. It never has been. I never understood the harm in sleeping with different girls every weekend, until now. The way Becky looks at me as if she expects me to throw her over my shoulder and go into the first available bedroom makes me feel irresponsible. Is that how I’ve always treated the girls I’ve hooked up with?
After I leave Becky sitting on the porch I walk around the side of the house to the front. I find Amanda leaning up against the railing. She’s surrounded by a few guys from the foot
ball team and everyone moves along once they see my tall figure approaching.
“I was wondering when you’d show up,” she runs up throws her arms around me.
“You need to go get Becky and take her home. She’s a drunken mess,” I unhook her hands from around my back. “She tried unbuttoning my pants on the back porch.”
Amanda laughs. “She’ll be fine and it’s not the first time she’s unbuttoned your pants, babe. She practically sucked your dick in the middle of Skylar’s sixteenth birthday party.” She looks annoyed by my concern, rolling her eyes.
“That’s not the point.” I snap irritated with her accusations.
Amanda puts up her hands in defeat. “Okay, I’ll get her home. Relax. Will you be here for a while?” I nod in answer as she stands on her toes to lay a soft kiss on my cheek. I watch her prance to the backyard before heading back into the house myself.
And there she is standing at one end of the beer pong table next to none other than my best friend, Craig. They are playing against Violet and some sophomore. There is a crowd gathering around the table watching as Kennedy stretches to make the final shot to end the game. She turns her head catching my eyes raking over her before turning her attention back to the table. She sets up and shoots the ping pong ball banking it into the only single red cup left. Craig lifts her up in a hug as they both cheer in victory. She slides down his body and immediately notice what she is wearing. My eyes hone in on her bare legs.
Kennedy is modest most days. She doesn’t completely shun us all from seeing her legs. She’s wearing a short white summer dress that shows off her lean legs and allows just enough cleavage to be exposed with a pair of green sandals. Most girls would look ridiculous wearing a dress with a clunky cast, but somehow she manages to look gorgeous. I watch as she continues her celebration with everyone around the table. I can’t draw my eyes away from her body as she leans across the table to high five Violet making her dress shimmy up her thigh. I’m screwed.
“I have to go fill up my beer,” Kennedy shouts back to Craig before grabbing her crutches and stumbling into the hallway. She nearly trips over her crutches landing right in front of me. Her eyes are bloodshot showing how much she had already guzzled down tonight. Kennedy isn’t used to having alcohol gushing through her veins and it’s obvious by the glossy cover on her eyes. Why do you care how much she’s been drinking?
Kennedy looks up at me just as she trips with a look of surprise. I reach out to catch her fall. “You okay?” I ask with sincere concern. She jerks her arm away from me as if I burned her.
“I’m fine,” she barks at me with animosity.
“No, I don’t think you are. How much have you had to drink tonight?” I put my hand under her chin to get a better look in her crystal blue eyes.
“What are you doing?” Kennedy jerks away from my touch once again. “I’m just having fun. You know that thing you do every weekend when I’m usually at home reading.”
“Sweet heart, I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but you can barely stand up on your own. You won’t be having much fun tomorrow morning. I can promise you that.”
“Well Mr. Black, if you haven’t noticed lately someone ran me over with their car and because of that idiot I have a broken fucking leg,” Kennedy bobs her head back and forth enunciating every word while poking me in the chest. I just stand staring at her in silence.
I half expected her to lash out at me at some point. I never imagined it would cut as deep as it had. She forgave me for what I had done or at least she claimed she had. The girl standing in front of me now was not the one that sat in her room feeling vulnerable and unsure. Her passion was a major turn on. My pants grew tighter with her hostility. That’s a weird reaction, I know. How she’s making me feel is unnatural, that much is obvious by the major hard on I am rocking in the middle of this party.
“Fair enough, Kennedy. Go have fun. Try not killing yourself tonight. Craig seems like he’d miss you,” I gesture to the beer pong table where Craig and Violet are standing. Kennedy glares up at me with her eyes burning with fire. She is infuriated. I’m not sure if she is upset by what she has said to me or by the way I am treating her.
“I think you have that market cornered, Graham. Don’t you?” she rolls her eyes then turns away from me. My mouth just falls open in dismay.
Craig came up behind Kennedy and pulls an arm around her shoulder just in time to interrupt. “You ready to play? Violet and John want a rematch.” Craig looks to me nodding his head to show what his intentions are. It only pisses me off more. I tighten my fists to push back the urge to lay his ass out.
She smiles up at him. Damn, that grates on my last nerve. “Of course, I’ll be right over as long as we’re done here,” she pokes her finger into my chest one last time for good drunken measure.
“Yeah, we’re all done,” I speak directly to Craig. Kennedy’s already making her way back to the kitchen where a full cup of beer waits for her.
“Who knew, right?” Craig points back to Kennedy who’s standing at the keg waiting for Dan to fill up her cup. Craig leaves me to grab her drink carrying it back to the table. Talk about playing the gentleman card just to score a little tail. She’s not like most of these girls, she should be able to see right through it.
I’m left frozen in the same spot watching her. Feeling territorial is out of my wheel house. Seeing Kennedy with Craig only makes my blood boil hotter. He may be my friend, but he isn’t a good guy. I suppose I’d be placed in that same category alongside him. Craig’s been known to pull girls in with his sweet talk and spit them out just as quickly.
The next few hours go by slowly. I discreetly watch every move Kennedy makes. She continues to kick back beer after beer. Even from a far distance I can tell she’s well past the point of just being drunk. She would be feeling the repercussions of her choices tomorrow morning. We ended up being in the same room throughout the night. She refused to make eye contact and spent most of her time laughing at something Craig was saying. I know for a fact that he’s not nearly as funny as she makes him out to be with her little giggles and gentle hand brushes.
They are sitting on one of the couches in the living room watching Violet play guitar hero against Dan when he leans over to whisper something in her ear. One hand is on her thigh making its way to the hem of her dress. She giggles loudly at what he’s saying. A soft blush covers her cheeks as he stands up holding a hand out to her before helping her up to her feet. She can’t stand up on her own, that much is obvious.
I have zero intentions of watching Kennedy go off with Craig to god knows where to do god knows what. I get up to leave the room and run smack dab into Amanda by the front door.
“Are you leaving?” she asks with a bright eager smile.
“Yeah, are you coming with?” I grab her arm and steer her out of the house without waiting for an answer. I know what it will be. I don’t need to waste time with the pleasantries.
I should be stricken with guilt for using Amanda in the way that I am. Somehow I have let my frustrations with Kennedy bubble over and I have every intention of using Amanda as my own personal stress ball. She has never minded before, but the way her eyes lit up when I asked her to leave with me told me differently. It would have been simpler to just go home to take a cold shower. Amanda was standing there in my pathway dragging me back to what is easier.
Amanda is my last ditch effort in blocking the thoughts of Craig and Kennedy together. The way she had laughed at whatever he whispered in her ear while they were sitting on the couch got under my skin. Jealousy, true honest to god in your gut jealousy, isn’t a feeling even a girl like Amanda can dull. I sure as hell was going to let her try.
Chapter Seventeen
-Kennedy-
Light, pain, and shame is the only words that come to mind at this very moment in my life. I officially hate myself, like really despise myself. I made poor choices last night according to my throbbing headache and achy bones.
What happene
d last night? And where am I? Too afraid to physically open my eyes I reach out to try to get my hands on something, anything that might give me a clue as to where I’m currently laying. I clearly still have my dress on even though it’s hiked up to my hips. Maybe Violet carried me out to her car last night and brought me back to her house. As observant as I am, even I can tell that I am definitely in a bed with a down comforter, not Violet’s familiar silk purple blanket. I take a moment to collect my thoughts before daring myself to open my eyes. There’s only fear of seeing what’s waiting for me on the other side of my eyelids.
“Oh god!” I whisper under my breath once I actually open my eyes and see him lying next to me. What did I do? Luckily my crutches are leaning against the nightstand. I grab them attempting not to make too much noise in fear of waking him. With the morning light shining through the windows, I don’t have the energy to face him without knowing how I got in his bed to begin with. Violet’s going to die for leaving me at his disposal.
I get to the door before I hear his body wrestling around under the covers. I turn back adjusting my dress to cover up my exposed legs as much as possible. A strain smile was all I had to give when he opens his eyes to look at me. His bare chest is excellently on display with the blanket strategically covering right above where his mesh gym shorts land on his trim hips. A girl would have to be blind to not notice an impeccable body like his. The perfect V dip where his abs slid down into his waistband peeked out to distract me.
What was that called anyway? Oh never mind. Just pull yourself together, Kennedy. This is Craig Daniel’s for Christ sakes. Man whore extraordinaire.
I may be innocent, but I am far from blind. I keep finding myself saying that lately, don’t I? Craig’s the type of guy who knows that he’s trouble and girls fall at his every word much like they did with Graham. Why is it always the bad boys with the killer bodies and soulful deceiving eyes who pull the girls in? You’d think females as a whole species would have figured this out by now.
When Our Worlds Collide Page 9