Chapter 3
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
Brooks
Definitely Where I Shouldn’t Be… Legally Speaking
Fake IDs were easy when you had money. This one wasn’t some cheap piece of plastic that was easily sussed out. There were actually people who made legitimate IDs for a living who did some shady shit on the side. It was expensive as fuck, which meant it was lucrative for them. I didn’t think it was worth risking prison time, but hey, to each their own.
The bouncer had barely checked it before he waved me in. Sometimes, I liked to imagine it was because I was pretty. Some people called me hot and others thought I had ‘interesting features.’ My face was angular and I had cheekbones carved by Zeus himself. So yeah, pretty was a good term.
I wasn’t cocky about it. To me, looks didn’t matter. They were a bonus, but I was a vibes person. If I got along well with someone and our energies matched, sparks might start flying. Alcohol tended to muddle that, though.
The guy I was looking at was attractive but not exceptionally. Maybe he caught my eye because I’d found him ogling me. I’d been dancing for a while and had a few drinks, but not enough to get me fucked up. I knew that my shirt was plastered to my body with sweat, which might’ve been a bonus in this type of place. I’d kept my hair down since people always liked it, and I’d regretted it ten minutes in. The place was hot as hell.
Deciding to be bold tonight, I made my way over to Mr. Fuck Me Eyes. Would I fuck him? Totally. Was I going to? We’d see where the night took us. I was very open with my sexuality and I might’ve been called a slut by less fun people, but I was safe about it and what I did under cover of darkness- metaphorically- was none of their business.
The man eyed me hungrily as I approached. He wasn’t as young as me, but he couldn’t be more than mid-twenties. When I got close to him, I realized he was slightly shorter than me. I wondered what his preferences were. It might’ve made me a dick or something, but I had a hard time being topped by someone smaller than me unless they exuded some serious daddy energy.
“You’ve been looking at me for a while,” I called above the music.
“You’re easy to look at.”
The line didn’t do much for me. I’d rather people not put on a front or try to be smooth. Be real with me and we’d be much more likely to get along.
“Let me buy you a drink,” he offered.
Now that we were close, I was getting some weird vibes from this guy. He kept his hands in his pockets and didn’t look away from me for a single moment. Drinking with him was a bad idea. He seemed like the type to roofie someone.
“I’m good,” I replied. “Not trying to get wasted.”
When I backed up, he latched onto my wrist. I stared down at his hand. His nails were kind of dirty, which was definitely not a turn on.
“One drink,” he insisted.
“No.”
“You came over to me.”
“And now I’m leaving.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but I turned my forearm and yanked out of his hold. I immediately turned around and headed for the exit. The asshole had ruined my mood and I didn’t want to field any more advances at this point. He didn’t scare me; I was from a bigger city than this one and I was pretty damn good when it came to self-defense. It was just annoying to deal with.
It was raining, so I stopped under the awning outside while I waited for a ride. I’d come here on a weekday when it wasn’t insanely busy. That was one silver lining.
We had the first day of class today, which meant all of my friends were in good student mode. They’d chill out in a few weeks when they got into the swing of things again. It was annoying, to be honest. I was fine doing things alone, but going to a club hadn’t been as exciting as I thought it would be. If my favorite friend group was there, it definitely would’ve been a hoot.
A dull silver SUV pulled up to the curb. It matched the one on my phone, so I rushed up to it and hopped into the back.
“Oh my god, you’re a lifesaver,” I said. “I thought I’d drown out there.”
I stopped suddenly when I saw the driver. The universe really had a score to settle with me lately. I hadn’t even looked at the name on the app, which was clearly a mistake.
“Hey,” Sadie greeted a little awkwardly.
All I did was give her a chin up. She started driving and I distracted myself on my phone. There were a few things I wouldn’t tolerate from people. Racism or any type of prejudice, sexual assault, and cheating. Maybe there were some others, but those were big ones for me. So, no, I didn’t owe her pleasantries.
Well, I was tipsy and my night had been lame, so I pulled out my phone to make dumb decisions.
Brooks: Question.
Kai: Oh, god.
Brooks: What was that for?
Kai: Getting that from you is nearly as bad as West sending it.
Brooks: I’m nothing like West.
Kai: You’re adjacent to that fucker. You just operate from the shadows.
Brooks: Dramatic. Remember when I figured out you were doing naughty things with Sen and I was quiet as a mouse?
Kai: Yeah, yeah. What do you want?
Brooks: I need the number of every hot, single person on campus.
Kai: Why would I have that?
Brooks: Guys, then. That’s your specialty. I’m bored, compiling a list.
Kai: Sounds more like horny.
Brooks: Okay, no numbers. Names, though. You’re gonna introduce me when you get back.
Waiting.
Kai: Aiden, Parker, Linc, and Ben are the ones I know. Linc is obviously off limits since he and West hate each other. Trying to date or something?
Brooks: Dunno. Send pics. Or their Instas.
I smiled when he sent them to me along with a middle finger emoji. As I scrolled through their profiles, I decided the pickings were slim. One of them posted a picture of his bamboo plant every day to track its growth or some shit. I’d seen Parker around Kai before Sen locked him down and the guy was very clingy, even though Kai never showed any interest. The last one was on the university’s anti-drug committee and since he included weed in that category, I didn’t think we’d get along.
In suggested friends, I saw my scowling friend, except he didn’t look angry in his picture. He was beaming. In one of his most recent posts, he was sitting on a bed with a guy who had light blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the picture on his phone when he called that guy, Tilian, but I thought it might’ve been him.
He was beautiful. His tongue was out and it was pierced with a metallic purple ball. He was holding up two middle fingers, looking ready to fuck shit up.
I scrolled through Dean’s followers until I found him. Tilian . Tonight, he posted a picture of him lying on his back with messy hair and even though it was from the shoulders up, I could tell he wasn’t wearing a shirt. The caption said, You may think I’m small, but I have a universe inside my mind.
Most of his other posts were of sunsets and weird shit he saw on campus that was confusing, like a pregnancy test on one of the courtyard benches. It looked like he wandered around all the time. There were a few of him lying on the hood of his car in different places.
More interesting than anyone Kai sent me, although I didn’t know where this guy stood on the sexuality spectrum. It didn’t really matter. I needed versatile friends and he looked fun in a ‘spends most of his time alone’ kind of way.
Maybe Dean would introduce me. Since I didn’t have his number, I private messaged him.
Brooks: I’m stuck in an Uber with your ex. Talk about awkward.
I sent him a picture of myself looking terrified in the back seat.
Brooks: You smoke? I’m in desperate need of company.
He read the message but didn’t reply. That was rude.
Maybe Kai had a point. I was meddling and poking at things I shouldn’t. My mom always said that I was a busy body. My dad countered that by saying I was subtly rebellious. That might’ve been more accurate. The guy obviously wanted me to leave him alone, which was a smart move and not difficult since I didn’t know a single thing about him. Except that he had a spectacular scowl.
So, of course, I sent him another picture of me hitting my penjamin and holding up a peace sign. Sadie gasped when she saw the faint smoke, but she must’ve been smart enough not to start something after the stunts she’d pulled for months. Being in the vicinity of a dab pen wouldn’t be the death of her.