2. Will
WILL
“Last cup,” Nathan and I cheer in unison as our lacrosse teammates groan across the beer pong table.
They remove the second-to-last red cup Nathan just sank his ball into, and I line up my next shot—hopefully the last one of this round—as I shout over the music to tease them a bit before I throw the ball. “Don’t look so surprised, Decker. We’re undefeated for a reason.”
He snorts. “Whatever, Carter. Throw the damn ball.”
Before I can though, Nathan is elbowing me, completely throwing off my concentration. “Hey, isn’t Sydney the one with the foot fetish you hooked up with right before winter break?”
I huff out a laugh. “Yeah. Why are you reminding me of that right now? I’m trying to win us a game.
” Maybe I should be a little more private with those things, but my roommates are used to me verbally processing things with them, and they don’t seem to care.
If anything, they love to hear the shit I get myself into.
“Did you give her your usual ‘this is a one-time thing’ speech?” he checks.
I turn to him with a raised brow, one arm still in the air holding the ping-pong ball. “Of course.”
“Well, she’s been glaring daggers our way since she saw you from the top of the basement stairs a minute ago and is headed over here now. Big pissed-off girlfriend energy,” he warns, tipping his chin in the direction she must be.
I mutter, “You know I don’t do girlfriends,” before facing her way with my most welcoming smile as she approaches. “Hello, Sydney. How are you?”
“I was great until I just heard Harmony bragging about how amazing you were in bed, last night!” she seethes, emphasizing the timeline as if that’s relevant information.
“Oh, that was nice of her. Always good to hear positive feedback,” I respond in a joking manner.
I’m not trying to be a dick, but I was very clear with her that our hookup would be a one-time thing, and she agreed before we even started.
There’s no reason for her to be so upset at the news of me with someone else.
“I just thought…” She trails off, her expression morphing from anger to disappointment. Fuck. “I mean, we had so much fun, right?”
“Sure,” I agree easily. I’m not trying to kink shame her—I’ll try anything once—and just because her aggressively sucking my toes didn’t end up being my thing, it’s not why I have no interest in a repeat.
This is college, the glory years and all that.
Even if I do love to hook up, I’m not looking for a relationship, and I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.
Already learned that lesson once.
“So why are you so against doing it again?” she demands. Thankfully, no one is really paying attention to us, except for my teammates who are eagerly waiting for me to finish the game. “And why would you immediately turn around and sleep with my roommate as soon as we all got back to campus?”
Shit. I did think her apartment looked vaguely familiar. “First off, I didn’t know you lived together. But more importantly, we both agreed it was just for fun. I don’t owe you anything more.”
“Seriously? God, you’re such an asshole, Will!” she yells, and before I even know what’s happening, her drink is dripping down my face and covering my chest.
“Well, fuck,” I groan, wiping my eyes, which are stinging from the alcohol, before taking in the sight of my soaked shirt. Her drink must’ve been full because it’s practically see-through with how wet the white fabric is now.
Sydney storms off while everyone around me is laughing or murmuring to each other about what they just witnessed. So much for thinking they weren’t paying attention. Nathan claps a hand on my shoulder, still laughing. “Been a couple of years since you had a drink thrown in your face, hasn’t it?”
I sigh. “Yep, not since freshman year. That’s why I stopped doing repeats and started having the expectations talk before hookups in the first place. It’s worked so well until now.”
He tilts his head toward our teammates, who are still smirking at the other end of the table. “Want to let them play the next game?”
“Yeah. I might be able to pull off the no-shirt look, but we have our first weight session of the spring semester tomorrow morning, so we might as well head back. You okay just going home?” Nathan never protests leaving a party early, so I’m not surprised when he nods his agreement.
“Cool. Let’s find Cam and see if he wants to join us, or at least tell him we’re heading out.
Want to take a lap down here, and I’ll go look for him upstairs? ”
“Sure, I’ll meet you up there in a minute.”
I turn to start making my way through the crowd of drunk college students dancing in the center of the basement as I head toward the stairs.
I’m only half paying attention as I ascend the steps, looking out over the dark room for Cam, and I nearly miss a step as someone bumps into me.
Their shoulder directly collides with my sternum, and he grunts, “Oof, hello?”
I steady myself, rubbing my chest where he hit me, and realize I’m face-to-face with a guy holding a few drinks who’s now standing on the step above me.
At least those didn’t spill on me too. He’s got shaggy white-blond hair and must be a good two or three inches shorter than I am.
His deep blue eyes are lined with black, and he’s glaring right into my soul like I’ve done something to personally offend him.
He has enough attitude etched into his face that I already feel like I’ve said the wrong thing before I’ve even opened my mouth.
“Do you make a habit of running into things?” His focus shifts down to my chest. “Just because you apparently enjoy being covered in drinks doesn’t mean I want the same fate.”
Damn, what a way to greet a stranger. His tone is stern, but I’ve never met this guy.
He didn’t even slur or sway or give any other indication that he’s drunk.
Is he always like this? Is he actually upset?
Sydney was mad at me, sure, but I’m usually a pretty likable guy.
At least, I think I am. That definitely seems like an extreme reaction for bumping into someone at a crowded party.
I take in what he’s wearing before I reply, trying to lighten the mood a bit more and go along with what I’m choosing to believe was a joking tone. “Yeah, I guess the excuse of having a soaked shirt so everyone can see your abs is kind of unnecessary when you’re already wearing a cropped one.”
He huffs out a surprised laugh. “Staring at my abs, Will? Have you already slept with all the girls at this school, so you’ve moved on to the gay men? I’m not interested.”
“What? No, I’m straight,” I quickly respond with a laugh as I snap my gaze back up to his.
I wasn’t staring at him. If he knows my name, though, I must have hooked up with a friend of his.
“But wait, why wouldn’t you be interested?
Am I ugly to gay guys or something?” I ask without really thinking about why I care so much.
“Looks aren’t everything.” He rolls his eyes. Even if he believes that, he’s clearly put a lot of effort into his look tonight.
Before I can ask him for his name, Nathan appears behind me on the stairs. “Why are you just standing here?”
I shake my head and the mystery man chooses to walk between us to continue down the steps without another word.
That was the strangest interaction of my life.
I don’t think I’ve ever had someone be so openly…
I’m not sure if rude is the right word, it seemed more like he was taunting me over something I did, but I have no idea what that thing would be because I’ve never met him before.
I’ve certainly never had a first meeting like that one.
Nathan looks back at him as he joins the crowd. “Why were you talking to that guy for so long? And what the hell was he wearing?”
I shrug. “I thought he looked kind of cool.” Nathan’s brows draw together, like maybe he’s confused or concerned by my answer, but I don’t get why he gives a shit about what some stranger is wearing at a college house party, so I mirror it back at him. “What?”
“Don’t say shit like that in public. You never know who might hear you.”
I shake my head because that’s such a weird thing for him to say.
I have no idea if Nathan is homophobic. I guess it’s never really come up.
He’s normally pretty chill and quiet, so I’d like to give my friend the benefit of the doubt.
I also don’t feel like getting into it with him right now while my shirt is still literally dripping beer onto the floor.
I can lecture him about being more accepting another time. “Whatever, man, did you find Cam?”
“Nah, must be upstairs.”
We make it to the main level and find Cam is in the living room, talking to Bo, the guy who’s throwing this party. With one look at my shirt, they burst out laughing.
“Another girl threw a drink at him,” Nathan offers with a smirk.
“Ha ha, yes, my life is so funny. I know, I know. Well, I came to remind you we have early gym time tomorrow, but maybe I should take an Uber home by myself tonight,” I tease.
Cam attempts to school his expression. “Hell no. If you’re paying, I’ll head out now. It’s cold as fuck out there.”
I smile, completely unsurprised by his answer. “Anyone want to grab water before we go? Or should I order the ride?”
“Don’t worry, Captain, we’ll be fine in the morning,” Nathan answers. “Call the car and hope they don’t refuse you for smelling like a brewery.”
I snort a laugh at the nickname my roommates have been calling me at every opportunity because I’m the only Junior who’s a captain on our lacrosse team.
The implied responsibility sounds a bit ridiculous when the second girl during my college experience just threw a drink on me.
But I’ve always been the one my friends deemed the most responsible of our group, so it’s usually a bit more fitting.
I’ll always have their backs, even if I do plan to make the most of my glory days.
I gesture for them to follow me. “I’ll promise them a big tip. It’ll be fine.”