Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Mascen
“Dude,” Cole slams a palm down on my shoulder, “you’re quieter than normal. What’s up with you?”
I close the refrigerator door and turn around to face him. I don’t know what I was searching for in the first place. Some of our other friends crowd the living area, spilling over all the couches. It’s the first night we’ve all been able to hang out since we returned to school.
“Lot on my mind, I guess.” I brace my hands on the shiny stone counters, my shoulders nearly rising to my ears in a shrug.
“Like what?” he asks, swiping a beer from the fridge. He offers it to me first but I shake my head. He pops the top off and takes a long swig. “I mean, you’re not the chattiest guy to begin with but since you got here you’ve been…” He pauses, frowning. “Weird.”
I take my baseball cap off, gliding my fingers through my hair before replacing it. “Life’s been crazy.”
He gives me a sympathetic nod. Just today there was an online article circulating a photo of me and an ex from three years ago, although, I wouldn’t even consider her an ex. Three dates with the up and coming actress did not make her my girlfriend. But with her headed to rehab for alcohol abuse, suddenly I’m somehow responsible. Go figure.
He pats my shoulder as he passes. “Just try to have a drink. Eat a slice of pizza.” He nods at the open box on the counter by the coffee maker. “Chill, man.”
I know he’s right. I need to stop stressing about things I can’t change or fix. School and baseball needs to be my focus, not Rory either, but somehow I still find myself speaking up before he leaves the kitchen. “Have you texted that girl yet?”
“Huh?” He turns back around, arching a brow.
“The one who stayed over?”
“Oh, not yet. I should, though. She’s cool. Why?”
“No reason.” None that should matter anyway.
He dips his head before ducking out of the kitchen.
Grabbing a beer this time, I lean my hip against the counter as I take a few slow sips. Knowing I can’t hide in here sulking forever, I grab a slice and join the guys.
“It’s about time you reappeared.” Teddy, the short stop on Aldridge’s baseball team and one of my closest friends after Cole, spreads his arms wide, nearly falling out of the recliner as he does it.
“You’re in my seat, asshole.” I kick his leg, not hard enough to do damage but enough for him to make a noise.
“It’s mine now. You snooze you lose.”
“What are we watching now?” I plop on the couch beside Cole, his friend Andrew, another basketball player like Cole, on his other side. Murray, the third baseman, is asleep on the love seat. The guy can’t stay awake for much of anything.
“Godzilla.” Okay, apparently Murray was only resting his eyes.
He’s not kidding either, it’s just beginning and it’s the original—aka the best, even with the dubbed over English. I don’t know how other guys spend their evenings decompressing after class, but this works for us. Teddy, Murray and Andrew all still live on campus, but end up spending a lot of time here. Can’t say I blame them, not with the flat screen my dad set me up with, as well as gaming systems, and the pool table on the bottom level of the townhouse.
Kicking my legs up on the ottoman I finally take a bite of pizza. It’s cold now, and greasy, but I’m too lazy to cook something even if I should watch what I eat. I’ll have to go on a run tonight, but some sacrifices are necessary.
Hours later, the guys are gone, my run’s over, and I’ve showered the sweat from my skin. Too many times today my thoughts have drifted to Rory.
Aurora , I remind myself, her name grating over my taste buds.
I’ve only seen her the one time this week, when she happened to fall right in front of me. God, the irony of her falling on her knees at my feet wasn’t lost on me. Especially, when ironically I’d had a dream the night before of her in that same position, naked, her luscious mouth wrapped around my cock.
Fuck, even now my dick stirs at the thought.
It’s ridiculous how my body reacts to her. After all this time she should be no one to me, a blip, but the fact is back then she was a tether to something more, a solid footing in a world that was nothing but chaos. Then she slipped away, never to be heard from again. Despite everything, she could’ve found a way to reach out to me, I know it. I tried to find her, begged my parents, but they said it wasn’t their place to meddle.
Looking back now I think they were afraid of getting caught in the storm of Rory’s family drama, the implications that could blow back on Willow Creek, but I was a boy who just wanted to know his friend was okay.
Scrubbing my hands over my face I let out a groan, the pent-up frustration seeping between my lips.
I need to get Rory off my mind. She’s someone I used to know. That’s it. She’s no one now.
“Fuck it,” I mutter to myself, swiping my phone off the dresser.
Going to my contacts I click on the first female name in there. Sending a text about dinner this weekend, I’m not surprised when the girl responds in seconds agreeing, a ridiculous amount of exclamation points accompanying her answer.
Do I really think going out and more than likely fucking someone else is going to help my fucked-up feelings over Rory?
No. But it’s a start.