Chapter 11
Dinner Party From Hell
An evening without any drama is like an Alpha Phi Alpha party without a keg. #NoFun #SorryMaryJ
We need the drama. In fact, we love it, and this is sure to be an evening to remember.
We cruise down Fraternity Row in his Chevy Silverado, speeding closer to their house.
I'm still reeling from the kiss. Like, I might pass out.
It was just that epic. Do we still say epic for amazing things?
I was never popular, so I don't know. It seems an appropriate enough word. I'm spinning out of control.
He's holding my hand, and I can think of little else.
This skin-on-skin contact is killing me.
His hand is rough and calloused and I blush when I think of how his rough hands would feel in certain places, especially on my soft skin—arousal clenches throughout my body.
I've never felt like this, and it's as if my body has finally awakened after eighteen long years.
I'm finally a hormonal teenager, and I'm not 100% sure that's a good thing. If Sasha weren’t in here, I'm not sure I could stop from jumping his bones. What the hell, Dani?! Contain yourself.
I squeeze my thighs together to try and diminish the feeling.
I inhale sharply. Geez, Louise! That had the opposite effect.
I quickly separate my thick thighs as best I can.
I can't have them touching. If only I had a thigh gap, but instead, here I am, a mermaid!
Jake looks down at my legs, and a look of surprise grows firmly into his expression.
He clears his throat and starts rubbing my palm with his middle finger.
Kill me now! Does he know I'm horny? I feel like my inexperience is showing.
He, on the other hand, is very experienced.
Our holding hands and the wonderful kiss we shared probably had little to no effect on him, and I'm over here with a fire raging in my who-ha.
Does he even have the ac turned on? I'm dying.
I give him a once over with the side of my eye.
He's grinning to himself, and he's breathing just fine. He’s the worst. If I start sweating, I'm going home. Bye.
I turn around to look at Sasha in the back seat. Thankfully, she's been oblivious to my raging hormones. I hope Jake is, too! How embarrassing?!! Sasha is deep in her phone...is it the new guy?? "Why are you smiling that big, Sasha?"
She looks up from her phone and flips me off. "Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that."
"Yup. Uh-huh." I give her a wink, but she doesn't even notice, she's buried her face back in her phone already.
I turn around and look at Jake and he's smiling at me. "Do you smile like that when I'm texting you?"
I giggle. "Nope. I only smile like that when Aaron Rogers texts me."
He almost runs us off the road, and I laugh until my sides hurt. "Really? Georgia. Really? That burns."
I shrug my shoulders. "If you know, you know!"
He rolls his eyes at me and mumbles something underneath his breath, making me smile to myself.
We pull up to a two-story house one street behind the end of Fraternity Row.
It's yellow, with green shutters. The Fearless Five share this five-bedroom house.
They are the only lower classmen that don't have to share rooms at the football house.
All senior players live in the houses on this street and the football house is the next street over.
We walk in, and the aroma that meets us there makes my mouth water. Jake wouldn't tell me what his menu consisted of, but I knew it was some kind of pasta. Maybe chicken Alfredo. If he ever wants to get lucky, it better be chicken Alfredo. The King of all pasta!
Jake goes to put my stuff up, and I head to find the kitchen.
My stomach won't have it any other way. This house is more spacious than it looks on the outside.
It has a living room, den, and a game room.
As I round the corner from the living room, I hear Jaxon laughing about something. "Hey, bestie!" I shout!
He looks up from the stove. "Bestie! Beyond glad that you could make it to our humble abode."
Sasha laughs. "Hi, Jaxon!"
He beams and I laugh. "Hi, Sasha. Where have you been my whole life?"
"Right here waiting for you, Stud!" She says with a wink.
He "catches" her words with his hands and places them over his heart like you would when someone blows you a kiss. He's darling, and whoever conquers this wild boy's heart will have one of the good ones.
Enough mushiness. I can't control myself anymore.
I head towards the stove to see what goodness awaits us.
If The Jake Ryan doesn't make it into the NFL, I'm sure he can open up a restaurant.
Don't tell my Mama, but I think this smells better than anything I've ever smelled in her kitchen, and my Mama can cook!
These thick thighs convey just how good her food taste.
I knew it was chicken Alfredo when the tasty aroma hit my nose.
This dish is in the top five of my favorite meals, and it looks like he grilled the chicken before adding it to the sauce.
I can't! I'm going to make a pig of myself.
He will never want to see where this is going!
It was fun while it lasted because this thick chick is about to eat.
He comes behind me and wraps his arms around my slender waist. Cold chills go up and down my arms, and my stomach has about a million butterflies flying around in there now.
My hunger goes to zero in an instant. I don't hear anyone else, and my vision grows blurry in an I'm drunken on The Jake Ryan type of haze.
He whispers in my ear. "I'm glad that you're finally here. "
I turn around and smile shyly at him. "Thank you for inviting me."
His long fingers stroke the side of my heart-shaped face. "I hope you like what I've fixed for you."
"It smells heavenly." I run my fingers through his shaggy dark brown hair. Exploring the soft tresses, I realize his hair is as smooth as it looks. I've wanted to do this since forever. Even better than his dazzling smile and six-pack, his hair might be my new favorite thing about him.
The other four members of the Fearless Five break our trance as they start singing a terrible rendition of a popular oldies song, "And they call it puppy LOVE!!!"
I bury my face in Jake’s chest as I’m blushing on a level I've never blushed before.
Jake is chuckling, but I can tell he's embarrassed, too.
His reaction to me was not a figment of my imagination.
That doesn't mean I'm special to him, though.
This "whatever we're doing" could only be temporary.
I do think we are heading towards the beginning of a full-fledged summer fling though.
I may be innocent, but I'm not naive. I can't allow any deep feelings to develop for him.
I need to accept this for what it is, which is fleeting.
People like him don't end up with people like me.
I realize in this beautiful moment that when I'm old and gray, I'll remember all of this, and I'll smile.
Gathering all my nerves, I finally look at everybody and laugh. "Don't be jealous because I'm the guest of honor!"
He puts his arms around me from behind and rests his chin on top of my head. "Haters, every last one of em'!"
Jaxon rolls his eyes and looks at Dallas.
And because they're them, they reenact the whole scene.
Dallas bats his eyelashes and flips his nonexistent hair from side to side.
While Jaxon has this goofy grin on his face, and his eyes are going for dreamy, but they look creepier than anything else. We all howl out in laughter.
I kick Jaxon in the shin. "Is that any way to treat your Bio study bestie?"
He looks offended. "We just wanted to show y'all what we saw. I think I need to go take a cold shower after that!"
I pinch his arm. "Shush!"
Sasha feels the need to insert her two cents into the convo. "You better watch out, Jake. She likes to pinch."
She sees my face and starts running. I chase after her, trying to get close enough so that I can pinch her.
She screams as we run through the living room.
She's fast, but I fake a cramp, and she's a sucker.
She's a nice one but still a total sucker.
I pinch her arm, and she yelps. I turn around, trying to get away from her before she retaliates.
The facial expression on every single one of the guys is hilarious.
I roll my eyes and head back to the kitchen.
Boys will be boys. "Take a picture. It'll last longer. "
Axel laughs. "I wish I would have videoed it, and I'd watch it every night before going to sleep."
Hector smiles. "Me too. Four or five times."
Jake grabs my hand as I walk by him. "And I'd break your damn phones, too."
They laugh. "That's cold man. That's real cold."
We line up for the grub. Jake makes sure I'm in front. I put a generous portion on my plate, but not more than the boys do. Sasha eats like a bird, so I have more on my plate than she does but I'm okay with that.
"Jake, this is the best thing I've ever put in my mouth," I say after my first bite. I genuinely mean it.
Jaxon grins. "Georgia, you're so innocent and cute!"
"Not to quote Britney, but I'm not that innocent. I am cute, though!"
Jake laughs. "Yes, you are. And thank you, Sweet Cheeks."
They all laugh at his pet name for me. Sasha gets a phone call, which she quickly excuses herself and takes leaving Dallas to stare after her.
He's been giving her looks all night. They can say what they want, but I think he likes her.
"She's mighty interested in that phone tonight. We must not be good enough company."
I like Dallas, but once someone is officially in my inner circle, I'm fiercely loyal.
His comment was a little too sarcastic for my taste.
He could have had her, but he's the one that chose to continue with his man whore ways.
"Yeah, she's got a date this weekend! I'm super excited for her. He seems nice."
I haven't even met him yet, but he doesn't know that.
His face falls, but I said what I said, and I have no regrets.
Next time maybe he won't let the best thing that's ever happened to him slip through his fingers.
Everybody goes quiet and Dallas is staring me down.
Not in a mean way, the boy is just shook.
I don't think he's even blinked in a good couple of minutes.
Maybe I do feel a little bad. Was I not supposed to tell him?
I can't remember. Will Sasha be mad at me?
I might have kicked a hornet's nest. I wish he would say something so I know what he's thinking.
Why do I have to be so socially awkward and always put my foot in my mouth? This is why I can't have nice things!
"What's his name?" Finally, let me think. Dear Lord, what was his name?
"I...um-uh...It's Baldwyn! They have government together." I sound like a stuttering buffoon.
I turn my eyes to Jake, and he takes my hand. I don't know how he knows, but he understands my distress. "Well, good for her." He adds quickly. Then he stares Dallas down.
Dallas scoffs. "Well, I think he sounds like a dick."
"Who sounds like a dick?" Sasha asks as she takes her place beside me at the table.
I silently plead that he will keep his mouth shut until I can tell her what I've done. But of course, his big-mouth-jealous self doesn't. "So, when were we gonna talk about Baldwyn the dick?"
She looks at me, but I turn away. I'm so ashamed. I stare death daggers at him, but he's looking at her with fire in his eyes. "I guess the rumors are true; you do get around."
What did he just say? I jump up and grab her hand. We're leaving. She looks heartbroken. My heart clenches in my chest. "The only DICK I see at this table is YOU!"
I am beyond pissed. I walk out but quickly go back and pick up my half-eaten plate of Alfredo. I fling the food off my plate at him, and I say a phrase I've never said in my life but remembering what Sasha's defeated face looked like seconds before, it is well warranted. "Fuck you!"
We turn and quickly leave. Jake will not have anything to do with me now, and I'll have to be okay with that.
At least, I hope I will. I'll cry when I get back to my room, but for right now, I'll be strong.
I hold my friend tight as we walk back to our dorm.
Dallas was lashing out because he was hurting.
That doesn't make it right. It just is what it is.
Sometimes things are just not meant to be, which makes my heart ache for us both. I whisper, "I'm sorry," for the hundredth time. She squeezes my hand, and I pray that she's forgiven me. I had no right to tell Dallas her secret. It wasn't mine to tell. I hope I can make it up to her one day.