Chapter 9 #2
She still had her boots on, but instead of jeans she had on a skirt so short I was convinced if she bent over, we’d all know if she had a thong on again. Above the skirt, she wore some kind of tight, black strappy shirt that barely held her tits in place.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her tits. They were full and round, and so fucking big. But not so big that they were all over the place, even without wearing a bra. Because that was something she wasn’t wearing.
I was pretty sure every other guy at the party was also aware.
My challenge was making sure she didn’t see me checking her out; that was all I needed.
“How’s my beefy, brawny, best guy friend doing?”
Becca startled me as she grasped my arm, showing up out of nowhere.
“Hanging in there?” she asked. Her look was gentle, her smile warm.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
We stood against the wall of the basement for a few minutes, watching the drunken fools around us. Then her attention was drawn to our pint-sized roommate in the far corner of the room. Ava was sandwiched between two guys as they pushed their bodies up against hers, dancing to the music.
“Looks like Ava is on the prowl. Par for the course for that one,” Becca said. Suddenly, I felt her next to my ear. “Ya know, I really do wish the two of you could at least be friends. She’s a good person once you get to know her.”
My eyes were trained on Ava and the scene she was making.
Ava turned her head my way, our eyes connecting, just as the guy in front reached around and gripped her ass, pulling her closer.
Her wicked smile made my blood boil as she taunted me.
Then she had the audacity to spread her legs, allowing him to grind against her even more.
Becca followed my eyes to the threesome across the way, then back to me. I wasn’t sure what she made of it. But as she watched me grip and destroy the half-empty water bottle, she guided me to the stairs.
“Let’s get some air, big guy,” she said as we started our ascent.
I didn’t argue. We both saw Lanie and Xander on our way to the back door.
Lanie made a motion to join us but stopped in her tracks as Becca waved her off.
Her lips thinned as she watched us walk by.
But I had to agree; I didn’t need to be talking to the girl I had feelings for last year about the one I’m pining over now.
Becca threw open the back door, and a gust of frigid air hit our faces.
“Let’s make this quick, my tits’ll freeze off out here.” She turned toward me, an expectant look waiting for an explanation. “Well?”
As I leaned against the metal pole acting as a railing, I didn’t know how to answer her, so I didn’t. That didn’t sit well with her as her hand went to her hip immediately.
“Well what?” I asked.
“Logan, what the fuck did I just watch downstairs? It was as if she was trying to, I don’t know, piss you off or make you jealous or something.”
I had no response for her. Because she was right on both accounts, I think. Yet I had no idea why. The girl hated me.
“Have you two hooked up?” she asked.
The accusation took me by surprise.
“You’re kidding me, right?” I turned to the door, ready to head back inside, but stopped. “She hates me, Bec, you know that. And even if she didn’t, she’s our roommate.”
She grabbed my arm, not letting this go.
“Then why were you so upset? You were working hard to control your emotions down there.”
Giving in, I leaned against the cold metal again. The small porch we stood on offered no protection from the elements, and it had to be less than twenty degrees out here. Neither of us had more than a sweater on.
“I don’t know. She just gets under my skin with everything she does, you know that.” I hoped that would be enough to satisfy her.
Her eyes studied me as we stood there, almost in a standoff, but then they lit up and went wide.
“You like her, don’t ya?”
I was not going to answer her. There was no way I was going to answer that question.
Suddenly, the door slid open.
“You guys OK out here? You must be freezing?” Lanie came to my rescue.
“Yeah, let’s go inside, Becca, it’s cold out here.”
Becca didn’t protest, but I knew she’d revisit this once we got home.
“I’m going to find Ty,” Becca said. “You good, Logan?”
“Yep,” I said.
“He’s with me, now,” Lanie chimed in.
Looking around the first floor, I realized I knew no one but her and Xander up here.
It must be all his fraternity brothers hanging on this floor.
It was quieter, more like they were hanging out than the party going on in the basement.
Xander was deep in conversation with a few guys near the kitchen, so Lanie and I steered toward the living room.
“I think it’s awesome how everyone in your house chose to not drink tonight,” she said as we took a seat on a couch. “It proves you have some good people in your life.”
Nodding in agreement, I knew she was right, but I wasn’t feeling that way about one of them.
“Hey, Lanie.” A pretty girl sat down next to her. “How’s your night going?”
“Hi, Charlotte. I’m good, but you don’t sound so good. What’s up?”
The two girls spoke quietly, so I decided to get myself another bottle of water. Grabbing two from the cooler along the wall, I was faced with deciding what to do. Should I return to the basement or stay up here? That was when Lanie caught my attention.
“Logan, I want to introduce you to my friend Charlotte. We knew each other a little last year, and now we work together this semester. Charlotte, this is Logan.”
Charlotte stood to greet me, and I noticed how pretty she was. Her light brown hair fell in waves past her shoulders. She pushed those waves behind her shoulder as she put a hand forward.
“Hi,” she said. Her hazel eyes sparkled when she smiled at me. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Apparently, you both have the same major. Finance, right, Logan?” Lanie said. It became all too clear what Lanie was up to.
But then I thought, why the hell not?
As Lanie quietly made her departure, Charlotte and I started talking about some of our classes, discovering we were in one together.
We’d found a quiet corner of the room to talk, leaning up against a wall.
Quiet was relative; we still had to lean in and almost yell into one another’s ears to hear, but it was better than downstairs.
“Lanie said you took last semester off.”
Her mouth was so close to my ear her lips rubbed against my lobe.
“Was it hard coming back after being home?” she continued.
We kept talking.
And it was easy.
Even with her asking about me being home, and why.
For whatever reason, I had no qualms about telling her all about me.
Maybe it was because I thought I’d never see her again, or maybe she had a knack for being a good listener.
Regardless, she knew more about me than Ty did in the hour we’d been talking.
The room got more crowded, and our little corner no longer belonged to just us. Our bodies touched as we continued leaning in and whispering our words in each other’s ears. She was drinking, some of those seltzer drinks, but it didn’t bother me.
“So,” she said as her hooded eyes looked up at mine.
I knew what that tone meant.
My dick knew what that tone meant, too.
“Do you have a car?” she asked.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Yeah, I do, but I brought all my roommates. I’d have to see if they’re ready to go home.”
Through her disappointment, I saw hope. This girl was not only pretty and had a gorgeous body, but she was nice. Like, a really good person kind of nice. I could use that in my life right about now.
“Take a walk with me, let me see what I can do,” I told her.
Taking her by the hand, I took us down to the basement. It had calmed down but was still more party than not. At my height, I was able to look over the top of most of the people and found Becca and Ty immediately.
“I see one of them,” I yelled over the music.
She nodded and gripped the back of my shirt as we snaked our way through the tightknit crowd. The partygoers swayed against us as we pushed through, many of them almost losing their footing. Our shoes stuck to the cement floor, which was now sticky with wet beer puddles.
Being sober in a setting like this was nothing short of eye opening.
“Hey, Ty,” I screamed over the noise of the crowd. “Can you ask Becca if anyone is ready to go?” I motioned to my companion when I asked him, hoping he’d get the point.
As soon as Ty turned to Becca, I realized that Ava was tucked away behind him. She was so tiny I couldn’t see her behind them at first. Her eyes were drawn to Charlotte’s hand interlocked with mine. Her brows knitted together when she looked at me, her disapproval clear on her face.
Hypocrite.
She pivoted on her heels and hightailed it upstairs.
“You’re in luck, I think everyone is good with heading home.” Ty had Becca and Macie with him. He didn’t know that Ava took off.
“Let’s go,” I said as I pulled Charlotte along behind me. Barreling through the crowd, we finally made it outside.
“Where’s Ava?” Macie asked as we made our way toward my truck.
I chose not to answer. Instead, I got us to my truck and opened the passenger door, helping Charlotte inside. And I liked the feel of her ass in my hand as I did it.
“Thank you,” she said.
“So you’re not a total douche,” a snarky voice said behind me as I stepped away from the truck door.
Turning, I saw my pint-sized roommate looking up at me with laser eyes as she willed them to shoot me down.
Not taking her seething eyes from mine, she continued. “You have compassion for some people who need help getting into this truck.”
While making my way around to the driver’s side, I barked my comment back. “You reap what you sow, Tink.”
Macie, Becca, and Ty all stood motionless outside the truck, watching this debacle unfold as I pulled myself up into my seat.
“Let’s go, your ride is leaving!” I yelled to all four of them.
They piled one by one into their seats, completely silent. Charlotte was unaware of what happened, so she started chatting up a storm once the truck was full.
“Hi, everyone!” she exclaimed. “I’m Charlotte, Lanie’s friend. So you guys all live together?” Her bright smile was met with solemn stares from the others in the car. All but one.
“Oh christ,” Ava mumbled.
I shot her a look in the rearview mirror before taking Charlotte’s hand in mine.
“Ty over there on the other side of you doesn’t live with us. It’s just me with all these fine ladies,” I told her.
Charlotte sensed the tension in the truck by this point, squeezing my hand to let me know, and remained quiet the rest of the drive home.