Finding You (By You #3) (5 page)

It wasn't the first time Sarah had seen a keg stand, but it was definitely the most impressive display she'd ever seen. Billie drank from the nozzle for what felt like a full minute before she waved her head back and forth, signaling she was done. But what surprised her most was the huge smile Billie had when the guys set her back on her feet.

A roar of applause and cheers erupted from everyone that could see her--even Sarah cheered her on. Who knew Billie had it in her? But, then, Sarah didn't really know much about her roommate, in the first place.

The big man clapped her on the back, letting out a hearty laugh as he did. His face was wild with infectious delight.

"That was incredible," he said. "That was the most impressive thing I've ever seen."

Billie gave him a leering grin.

"If you think that was good, then you're in for quite a few surprises."

Sarah nearly fell over from what she was hearing. She stared at the both wide-eyed, not sure what to say or think, when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. She let out a cry of surprise, but was instantly embarrassed when she saw who was standing behind her.

"There you are!" Jeremy said, his mouth wide in that sexy grin of his. "I was starting to think you weren't going to make it."

Sarah's stomach exploded into a jittery mess when she saw Jeremy standing there, giving her that sexy smile. Before she could say anything, he took a step closer and threw his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. All at once she felt the hardness of his chest against her cheek, and the sweet smell of his cologne--it smelled expensive, whatever it was.
 

As their bodies pressed into one another, Sarah's breath slipped away from her. One moment she had been watching Billie, and the next she had found herself in the arms of the guy she'd been thinking about all day. Heat rushed to her face, and she was thankful he couldn't see her.

Get a hold of yourself, you barely even know this guy.

When they pulled away, he still had that beaming smile on his face. And those crystal blue eyes took all of her in--they might have been the most gorgeous eyes she'd ever seen. He was wearing a fitted, black button-up shirt with his hair spiked like it normally was. His jeans were tight, and they were rolled up at the bottom with black shoes to round off the image. The top two buttons of the shirt were undone.

"I've got someone I'd like you to meet," he said. He pulled her by the arm, turning her back toward the keg. She was shocked when he stopped right in front of the big guy still talking to Billie.
 
"Sarah, I'd like you to meet my friend Oz. Oz, this is Sarah."

"Ah, yes,
this
is Sarah," he said. His teeth looked even bigger and whiter when he was looking directly at her. "You must forgive me. I would shake your hand, but I'm afraid I'm a mess." He held both of his palms up and they glistened with the mess made by the Billie and her little stunt.

"It's nice to meet you," Sarah said.

Billie shot her a suspicious, icy look, but no one else seemed to notice it. She felt like the girl was trying to burn a hole straight through her with that glare.

"Oh, and this is actually my roommate, Billie," Sarah said, smiling at Jeremy while giving Billie a wary look.

Jeremy flicked her a wave, but Billie's attention was immediately back on Oz as he rounded on her.

"Billie, is it? I am Oz, and it is definitely my pleasure to meet you."

She eyed him up and down, and then cocked a hip to the side.

"About that cup..." she said, her eyes suggestive.

He grinned at her. "Yes, you do deserve a cup after all that." He held his palms up. "Perhaps I will get cleaned up, first, and then we can find you one."

Billie took a step closer to him. "Yes, you
do
need to be cleaned up."

He let out another confident laugh, and then led her off down one of the hallways branching away from the common room. Sarah and Jeremy both let out a laugh as they watched their friends depart. She couldn't believe how forward Billie was. She guessed it made sense, but she never would have expected it.

"Are they doing what I think they're doing?" Sarah asked.

Jeremy let out a chuckle. "That's definitely the way it looks," he said.

Sarah let out an impressed sigh, speechless.

"Oz is a good guy, I'm sure she'll be fine," Jeremy said, grinning.

Now that they were alone again, and all of Jeremy's attention was back on her, she felt those nervous butterflies spring to life again. Why did he have that kind of power over her? It's not like he was doing anything but standing there talking to her. She wasn't some high schooler, anymore, and she couldn't go getting all gooey eyed just because a gorgeous guy was giving her attention.

A
really
gorgeous guy, she corrected herself.

"Yeah, I think Billie can handle herself," Sarah said, with an awkward grin.

He eyed her for another moment.

"We should get you a drink," he said, coolly. "I'm sure you're thirsty."

She grinned at him. "That does sound nice."

Thankfully, they were still standing next to the keg and avoided much of the waiting in line, again. Another guy had stepped into take over the keg duties in Oz's absence, and he shot Sarah a grin as he handed her a red cup full of beer. She thanked him for it, and was surprised to see that Jeremy waved the guy off when he started filling another cup.

"Nothing for me," he said.

Sarah gave him a curious look as they moved away from the crowd around the keg.

"You're not drinking?" she asked.

He gave her a warm smile and shook his head. "I don't drink, anymore. Gave the stuff up a few years back."

She gave him a devious smile. "You're not going to try and get me drunk so you can take advantage of me, are you?"

The look he gave her nearly made her trip over her own feet. "Only if you ask me nicely." She gave him a nervous smile, hoping he didn't notice the heat rushing to her face. He winked at her and continued, "I just figured you could use a little night of blowing off some steam. Sounds like things haven't been going your way, lately."

"They seem to be going pretty well, right now."

Now it was Jeremy's turn to break into a nervous laugh. The words had just slipped out without her really thinking about them, but she didn't want to take them back. Jeremy shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away for a moment, and she decided he had an air of boyish innocence about him, and she found it quite charming. But how many other girls had fallen victim to that charm?

It was getting harder and harder, but she reminded herself that she had to play it safe. She wasn't going to let herself get hurt again.

"So how has the semester been going for you?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence.

He shrugged after considering it. "It's...different."

She frowned at him. "How so?"

"It's just been a long time since I've been in school, is all." He flashed her a timid smile that made her wonder if there was something more going on than he was telling her.

"Why didn't you go right after you finished high school?" she asked.

"It just wasn't a priority, then. Took me a few years to work up to it."

Sarah nodded, understandingly, and studied him for another moment. She searched him for any clue that that might confirm her suspicions that he was indeed hiding something--but there weren't any. He just took her in with those sexy eyes of his, making her feel bad for doubting him in the first place.

You've got to stop it
, she scolded herself.
Your paranoia is running away with you.

Just because she'd been hurt once didn't meant that every guy was out to get her. She knew it was just going to take some time before she could let her guard down, before she could really let someone in. She just had to make sure she didn't come off like some crazy person before then.

It was then that Sarah
did
catch a glimpse of something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. It was just the figure of a person she'd noticed behind Jeremy out of the corner of her eye, something they'd done that sent a nervous chill down her spine, something familiar. When she craned her neck to get a better look, her stomach just about fell through the floor. And she wasn't the only one that looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Huck stood there, giving her a wide-eyed look. His arm was wrapped around some girl, and his mouth moved several times before he was able to get anything out.

"Sarah...what are you doing here?"

"Huck..." Sarah stammered, trying to get her wits about her. "Huck, what are you doing here?"

She stared up at his huge frame. He didn't look anything like the boy she'd grown up with--the boy she'd followed to Franklin University. He looked like any of the other fraternity guys that wore their shirt too tight and tried too hard. A tiny, blonde thing clung to his arm, looking as annoyed to be standing there in front of Sarah as Sarah was with her standing there--they were two peas in a pod.

Jeremy spun around, taking in the both of the newcomers. The two men eyed one another, sizing each other up. Huck's eyes narrowed as he looked between Jeremy and Sarah, as though he was certain something was going on that he hadn't approved of beforehand.

"I thought you were back home in Green Falls," Huck said, giving Sarah a hard look.

"I don't know why you would think that--I go to school here, too. Remember?" The hairs on the back of her neck were still tingling, but she wasn't about to show any weakness in front of her ex.

"But, I thought you went back after, you know...everything."

"After
everything
?" she snorted. "What's wrong? Can't come out and say what you mean?" She glared at him, then her eyes fell onto the girl. "Or are you afraid of your little friend finding out what you did?"

Huck glowered, taking a step forward while putting the girl behind him. Jeremy moved just as fast to put himself in between Huck and Sarah, though Huck didn't even seem to notice.

"Hey, easy. There's no need for that," he said. "I just thought you'd go back after we broke up. After all, you don't belong here at Franklin.

Anger boiled inside of her. She wanted to be the adult--to be the bigger person here. But this was her chance to get a few things off her mind--to really let Huck know how she felt.

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Huck. I got into this school, the same as you, and I plan on finishing what I started." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. "And that's more than I can say for you."

He glowered at her even more, taking yet another step forward.

"Don't get pissed just because I didn't want you."

Jeremy put a hand on his chest, stopping him from getting any closer.

"Easy, there. Let's all calm down."

Huck swiped his hand away, giving him a threatening stare. But Jeremy didn't flinch, or back down. Sarah also noticed that he didn't try to one-up Huck, either. He was just calm and levelheaded. She would have jumped into the middle of it if she thought anything was going to happen between them--she'd seen Huck get into scrapes before, and they were never pretty. But Jeremy seemed to control the situation with little effort.

Huck huffed at him, but didn't say anything. Sarah took a few deep breaths herself, trying to get herself under control. A few in the crowd around them had started to take note of the escalating situation, but most everyone was still ignoring them.

Finally, Huck shook his head and waved a dismissive hand at her. He said, "It's not worth it," as he turned back to the girl. The girl was giving him a questioning look, and he waved a hand again. "She's nothing, just some girl I used to know."

"
Just some girl?
" Sarah said, her eyes going wide.

The anger she was trying to get a hold of boiled over, and there wasn't going to be any reeling it in.

"We've only been friends since we were kids, Huckleberry," she said, her voice getting louder. She pushed her way past Jeremy. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. "Remember that lady that used to change your diapers and feed you? I'm that lady's granddaughter--not
just some girl
."

Huck rounded on her, his face just as twisted as hers.

"Yeah, well you're not that girl, anymore," he said. He pointed at Jeremy. "And who's
this
guy? I didn't realize you were going to replace me so fast."

"At least I had the decency to wait until we weren't together, anymore. First that whore Lilly, and now her?" Sarah jabbed a finger toward the girl. "How many has it been? Two? Five?
Ten
?"

Huck voice got quieter, but even more menacing. "Yeah, well at least they know what they're doing."

In that instant, Sarah saw nothing but red. She wanted to rip that smug little smile straight off of his face. How dare he say that about her? How dare he take everything they'd once had and piss all over it?

Sarah let out a scream and launched herself at him. Or, at least, she tried to...

Arms wrapped around her, holding her in place while she struggled against them. Unable to move, she kicked at Huck, but he was already retreating from her.

"I hate you," she screamed. "
I hate you
."

Pain flashed across her face, and her eyes blurred with stinging tears. When she realized what had happened, Billie was standing in front of her, giving her the iciest stare she'd ever seen. She held Sarah in place with two iron grips on her shoulders.

"Calm down," she said.

The stinging tears fell down Sarah's cheeks as she shook her head.

"I
hate
him, let me go!"

Pain exploded on her cheek again as Billie slapped her a second time. Even more tears filled her eyes--a physical reaction more than an emotional one.

"
Calm
.
Down
."

Sarah struggled a little while longer, but it was useless. Billie was bigger than her, and stronger than her, she wasn't going to get away. After a few seconds, her head hung limp and she started getting a hold of herself. When she looked back up, Billie's eyes were locked on hers.