Four Years Later (7 page)

Fun … scares me.

“Yay! You won’t regret this, I promise. I’ll be home in an hour. I told them we’d meet up around nine or so. We can hunt through my closet for something for you to wear and you’re going to look smokin’ hot. Trust me.” Kari prattles on, talking about makeup and hair and whatever else. I’m really not paying attention. All I can think about is another boy. Someone else I’d rather impress, but he doesn’t really see me like that.

I’m just the girl who’s helping him out. Some nameless, faceless brain who’ll get him where he wants to be. He’ll forget all about me once he’s finished.

Just like everyone else does.

Their names are Tad and Brad.

I’m not kidding, though I wish I were. Why didn’t Kari warn me about this? I mean, really? Tad and Brad? They’re not twins, they look nothing alike, but they’re fraternity brothers, and they’re both big and beefy, their arms bulging with muscles. They almost seem to revel in the fact that their names match. Like it’s some sort of gimmick to meet people—specifically girls.

So. Cheesy.

Kari acts like it’s the cutest thing ever—like these two shady dudes are the perfect matches for us. She attached herself to Brad’s side the moment we arrived and found our dates sitting in the lounge area of The District, which is just off the bar. He’s the better-looking of the two, with golden hair, pale blue eyes, and an easy smile. Too easy of a smile, if you ask me.

But she’s not asking me, so I keep my opinions to myself.

I’m stuck with Tad. He’s darker, as in darker hair, darker mood, darker words. Whereas Brad is bright and sunny and trying to put on the charm, Tad is rather serious, with somber brown eyes, and only offering the rare smile. He’s never without a full drink, even after we’ve been there for a couple of hours.

And the more he drinks, the handier he gets. I’m not referring to him as being helpful, either. He’s constantly trying to touch me. Grazing my arm with his fingers, resting his hand on my knee. He even tried to place his hand on my thigh, which I immediately shoved off.

Bad enough I’m worried about getting caught sitting in the bar when I’m underage, though I’m not even drinking. It’s even worse that I have to fight off Tad the Octopus every few minutes.

The night started off so promising, too. I’d actually had fun getting ready with Kari. She’d found a super-cute top for me to wear from her closet. Cream colored, with three-quarter sleeves, the front is cotton but the sleeves and almost the entire back are made of lace. With a tank underneath it, I felt sort of daring and free. Totally not myself at all.

I liked it.

All that confidence is gone now, though. I’m ready to bolt. And Kari is definitely not ready to leave. Brad has his arm around her shoulders and he’s whispering something in her ear, nudging his nose against her cheek and making her giggle. He’d offered his beer to Kari multiple times and she never refused him, sipping greedily with his encouragement. I think she’s a little drunk.

That’s my cue to get us out of here.

“Sure you don’t want something a little stronger?” Tad asks, leering at me as he holds out his glass. He’s been drinking the harder stuff, no beer for him, and no way am I drinking anything from his glass.

Recoiling, I scoot away from him as discreetly as possible. We’re sitting on these low, very comfortable couches that are formed in a U-shape. Brad and Kari sit across from us, a glass-topped table in between. “No thanks,” I say weakly, feeling bad about refusing him and irritated that I’ve been put in this spot in the first place.

Never again will I believe Kari when she says, “Oh, it’ll be fun!”

“Shit,” Tad mutters, taking a swig from his drink before turning his glare on me. “You need to loosen the hell up.”

His remark has the opposite effect. I stiffen my spine, resting my hands on my knees like some sort of prim-and-proper schoolgirl—which I am. “I think maybe you should lay off the alcohol,” I suggest timidly.

He sneers. “Jesus, what are you? Some sort of uptight little virgin?”

Flinching, I look away from him. His remark cuts too close to home and he yelled it loud enough for anyone to hear. Despite how noisy the bar and lounge are, filled with chatter and music, we receive more than a few stares in our direction.

I can’t stand him.

Ignoring Tad, I turn my focus onto Kari, desperate to get her attention. Brad has his arm around her neck, pulling her in close so he can kiss her. If I lose her now, I’m done for, so I move quickly, grabbing a piece of ice out of my mostly empty water glass and tossing it at her.

My aim is perfect—the ice cube hits her right in the chest and she yelps, turning her attention on me. “What?” she asks, sounding totally put out.

Not that I can blame her. I’m the priss; she’s the party girl. I’m the uptight virgin; she’s the one who’s letting some guy she barely knows maul her and kiss her in the middle of a public bar.

Somehow our friendship works most of the time, but tonight I need to end this. This is one part of our lives where we totally don’t mesh.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask, keeping my voice low. “Privately?”

Rolling her eyes, she withdraws from underneath Brad’s arm and murmurs something to him before she stands. I do the same, not acknowledging Tad whatsoever, and Kari and I head to the bathroom, neither of us talking until we’ve made our way inside.

Luckily enough, we’re alone, which is like a small miracle, and I know I don’t have much time before someone does come in here, so I just blurt out what I want to say.

“I’m leaving.”

“No way.” She shakes her head, irritation written all over her pretty face. Her hair is a deep, rich auburn, thick and wavy. She has hazel eyes that change color depending on her mood and what she’s wearing. With her flawless skin and perfect figure, she’s beautiful, both inside and out. She’s my best friend.

I know she means well but I’m so uncomfortable with this situation, I can’t get over it. I have to go.

“You’re having fun, I get it. You really like Brad.” I lower my voice, as if I’m afraid the two guys are going to bust into the ladies’ room at any minute. Ridiculous. “But Tad … he’s not my type.”

Kari raises a brow. “Why not?”

“Well, for one thing, he called me an uptight virgin.” I return the gesture, raising both of my brows back at her.

Kari sighs, shaking her head. “You know, he might have a point.”

My jaw drops.
Say what?

“Hear me out.” She holds her hands up, like she knows I’m about to tear into her. “You really do need to loosen up, Chelsea. I know you’re kind of socially awkward, and that all has to do with the age difference and you graduating school and coming to college so early. But Tad is kind of right. You really
are
an uptight virgin.”

Holy crap.
I can’t believe Kari is saying this to me. “Thanks a lot,” I mutter, crossing my arms in front of my chest. My heart hurts, my mind tumbling over what they both said. Again and again.

Uptight virgin.

Am I really that uptight? Do people look at me and immediately think
virgin
? Probably. I guess that’s better than thinking I’m a big nerd.

I slump my shoulders in defeat. It’s not that much better. I am the quintessential nerdy virgin. They should make a movie about me. I even have the titillating angle of my dad being in prison for fraud. At the very least, I’m a Lifetime movie waiting to happen.

“Hey.” She grabs hold of my shoulders and crushes me to her, giving me a hug. I don’t uncross my arms, just stand there awkwardly while she holds me close. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. You’ve been at this college for the last two years and you haven’t done anything wild or rebellious. But now I’m here to help you break out of your shell so you can have a little fun for once in your life. You deserve it, Chelsea. You’ve been pretending to live your life. Now you actually need to go out and do it. Find a hot guy and make out with him.”

Not with a creeper named Tad who calls me rude names. “This isn’t working out with Tad. I want to go home.”

Kari withdraws from me, her expression forlorn. “You can’t just leave me here alone.”

Guilt swamps me. When Kari and I moved in together, we made a vow never to leave the other alone at parties, on campus … anywhere. “I was kind of hoping you would go home with me.”

Can’t she see what she’s doing? She broke up with her boyfriend from high school when they moved here and he realized there was more to this world than just him and Kari. And now she’s running into the arms of another guy who’s probably only going to use her? I don’t get it.

Sometimes I feel like I’m the only logical person on this entire campus, I swear.

“Are you serious? It’s barely midnight! God.” She glances around the tiled bathroom, as if she’d rather look anywhere else but at me. “Come on, Chelsea. I really like Brad and I really think he likes me. I’m not going to call this night over so early when there’s still so much that can—happen. I don’t want to leave.”

So she leaves me no choice. “Fine. I
am
leaving. I’ll let you explain what happened to Tad.” I storm out of the bathroom, not even bothering to look back when I hear Kari yelling after me. Pushing my way through the crowded bar area, I break free, moving down the short hall that spills out into the front lobby of the restaurant. The dining area is to my right and it’s mostly empty, since it’s a Monday night.

Doesn’t matter what night it is in a college town, though. The bar is always in full swing.

I push open the front door, walking out into the cold fall night. I didn’t bring a coat of any kind and the air seeps through the lace of my borrowed top with quick speed, chilling me to the bone. A shiver passes over me and I glance around, wondering how the heck I am going to get home.

Normally, Kari and I would walk even though we live kind of far. Stupid, I know, but hey, we’re safer together than alone, right? Considering I
am
alone, no way am I walking tonight. Calling a cab would be pricey and I’d probably have to wait a while, but I don’t really have a choice.

Pulling out my cell, I start scrolling online, looking for a taxi service, when I hear someone call my name. I glance over my shoulder to see it’s Tad.

Great
.

“Hey.” He approaches me, his expression full of—worry? I must be seeing things. “Are you okay?”

I offer him a weak smile and a weaker excuse. “I’m fine, really. Just … tired.”

“Um, sorry for what I said earlier.” He shuffles his feet, dropping his head so he can stare at the ground. “It was a total jerk thing to do.”

“Yeah. It’s okay.” I want to smack myself for saying it’s okay when it so isn’t.

“So you’re leaving?”

I nod and glance down at my phone again. I really need to call a taxi so I can get away from Tad. He may be acting nice now, but I don’t trust him.

I don’t really trust anyone.

“I can take you home,” he offers.

My head snaps up and I study him. He looks sincere, but there’s something about his eyes … they’re too dark, too hard. A little mean-looking. It would save me megabucks if I rode home with him so I didn’t have to pay for a taxi, but I don’t want to take any chances. Something about Tad makes me uneasy. This guy has ulterior motives written all over him.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to pass.” I try for the apologetic smile to ease my refusal, but all he does is frown at me.

“You won’t even take a ride from me. First you treat me like shit and will hardly talk to me and now you won’t even get in my car? I mean, what the hell? Do you think you’re too good for me or what?” Tad spits out at me.

I’m in shock. Too good for him? What is he talking about? “I’m not trying to offend you …”

“Too late,” he interrupts, grabbing hold of my arm with so much force I yelp. “Though you’ll make it up to me if you let me take you home.”

There’s no way I want this idiot to know where I live. “Let me go,” I say, trying to jerk out of his grip, but he’s holding on too tight. Any tighter and I’m afraid he’ll bruise my skin.

“Come on, Chelsea. Loosen up, would you? This virginal act has got to go.” Tad’s whining now, which is almost as bad as angry Tad. “I’m just looking for a little fun.”

So not the kind of fun I was talking about with Kari earlier. “Tad, please …”

“Let her go.”

The familiar deep voice comes from behind us and I turn on a gasp to find Owen Maguire standing there, glaring at Tad like he wants to rip his head off. Relief floods me, heady and strong, as Tad loosens his grip, and I swear I sway a little when he lets me go.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Tad says, backing away from me with his hands up in front of him, his eyes never leaving Owen.

“Then keep moving and you won’t have any,” Owen practically growls as he stalks toward us so he’s standing right next to me, his expression menacing as he stares Tad down.

Wow
. No guy has ever come to my rescue quite like that before. Owen looks fierce, too, his hands clutched into fists at his side, his brows drawn down, eyes cold and mouth grim. Tad turns and breaks into a run, where to I’m not sure. I’m just glad he’s gone.

Breathing deep, I turn to look at Owen, startled when I find him already looking right at me. “Thank you,” I say, irritated when my voice comes out some breathy little whisper like I’m a dumbstruck girl.

Which I am. Not that I would ever admit it.

“What were you doing with that guy?” he asks, sounding irritated and looking mad. And hot.

Like, all sorts of hot. Those intense green eyes latch onto me like they’re never going to let me go and he turns more fully toward me, his broad shoulders blocking my view. Gosh, he’s tall! I tip my head back, trying to ignore the wave of yearning that washes over me at his nearness. He seems to make my brain short-circuit every time I get close to him.

“Um, my friend and I met up with him and his friend for a drink,” I explain, wincing when I see his eyes widen.

“Aren’t you underage?” he asks incredulously.