11. Deacon
Chapter eleven
Deacon
After a week of classes, my mind finally shifted to something other than school or Cassie. Maybe it was my unplanned reunion with Grounds for Thought. Maybe it was because I felt at home in my apartment and enjoyed living with Andre and Nathan. They carried the same energy Drew did when coaxing me to move on, and between the constant prompting and trying to survive my longest dry spell, my mind shifted to sex.
I needed and actually wanted to sleep with someone else other than Cassie. I considered this an essential milestone in figuring out what I was doing with my personal life. Heartbreak wasn’t a roadblock to getting laid, and wanting to feel wanted wasn’t a sin.
I went out with the guys on the first Friday night of the semester with a game plan. Find a girl I thought was cute, make sure she could carry on a conversation, and see where things went. It had been a while since a woman looked at me like she could devour me right on the spot. It was exciting to have the little touches back; running their fingers down my arm, touching my shoulders, smacking at my chest when I said something to get a rise out of them. I was reminded of my first week as a freshman before I met Cassie, and suddenly, I was chasing a high I didn’t even know I wanted .
Serena was the first. She was gorgeous—dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and a line of freckles that ran across her cheeks. She made me laugh, and when she invited me back to her place, I didn’t hesitate. It was like riding a bike. Only this bike could speak some Italian and had a set of tits that fit perfectly in my hands.
Amber was the second and most surprising encounter. We met at a pregaming party, and before we even left for the bars, I was in her bedroom.
Then, my following weekend consisted of Melissa on Friday and Becca on Saturday. As I said the names aloud to Andre and Nathan over lunch at Mr. Spots, I realized I was in danger of sounding like a Petey Pablo verse. Was this considered a hoe phase? I was confident I had mine in high school, but could a person have more than one?
“Serena, Amber, Melissa, and Becca,” Nathan stated proudly. “Who knew you were such a dog, Deac.”
“Me?” I exclaimed. “I’m afraid if I sit on our couch, I might catch something. You’ve had so many girls over that I’ve lost count.”
Nathan grinned. “We aren’t talking about me, though.”
“For real, that couch needs fumigating,” Andre muttered, turning his attention to me. “What’s the move tonight, then? First long weekend of the year . . .” He rubbed his hands together like he already had a plan mapped out.
“You gotta keep your streak,” Nathan added.
“Streak?”
“It’s bad luck to mess up your streak,” Nathan explained like I should’ve already known. “Once you mess up your streak of hot girls, you risk letting an ugly one slip in.”
Andre smacked Nathan’s shoulder. “Is that why your dumb-ass brings home broads every night? ”
“And are any of them ugly?” Nathan challenged, sending Andre and me into a fit of hysterics. He smacked the table, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant. “I’m taking you to Shots tonight.”
“Shots?” Andre scoffed, looking to me for backup. “You thought the couch was bad.”
Our conversation paused when one of the workers announced our order number. Once we had plates full of chicken tenders, fries, and hoagies, we continued with our evening agenda.
“I’ve never been to Shots,” I said with a mouthful of Philly. If I had to determine my last meal on earth, it would be Mr. Spot’s Philly with fries and a side of cheese sauce.
“You’ve never been to Shots?” Andre’s eyebrows flew to the top of his forehead. He shook his head and took another bite of his sandwich.
“It’s a right of passage,” Nathan declared. “We’ll start there tonight.”
I rolled my eyes and listened to Andre and Nathan go back and forth about the upcoming hockey season. I pulled out my phone to check what time the library closed tomorrow since it was a holiday, but the unread text message drew my attention instead.
Serena
Are you going out tonight?
I tucked my phone back into my pocket and forgot about the library. I had all day tomorrow to finish my essay. Right now, I was intrigued to discover a bar called Shots and get Nathan’s opinion on what the algorithm said about sleeping with someone twice. I had survived living in our apartment with Nathan’s infested couch for almost three weeks. How bad could one bar on campus possibly be?
Shots was everything Andre warned me it would be. As Bubba Sparxxx’s “Ms. New Booty” came over the sound system, I watched a group of girls grinding on each other in the middle of the dance floor. Shots allowed anyone over eighteen through the door, meaning some of these girls had just graduated high school. An hour felt like plenty of time to complete my right of passage.
“I feel like I’m committing a crime just standing in here,” I yelled to Andre over the music.
“I told you, man!” He laughed, placing his empty cup on the bar. “Let’s walk over to Nate moving on and pretending everything she knew about me was suddenly a turn-off. I was missing something—a piece of the puzzle that would put me one step closer to getting Cassie back. I knew what she was looking for, and when I watched a few girls spinning on the pole in The Attic, I knew a person who might be able to help me out with what I was lacking.