Plastic Hearts (8 page)

"No, Dane and I have never been anything more than classmates and will never be more than classmates." I heard Jade snicker beside me and turned to give her a warning look. "What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Now that may be a first. A girl who has no interest whatsoever in the handsome, emotionally unavailable, Dane Wright," Tyler stated as he eyed me intently. I stood, not paying any attention to the disappointed look on Kevin’s face and moved back toward the bar. It was time for another shot. I bypassed Dane and went straight to Jay who gave me another shot and beer. I quickly downed my shot as I glanced at Dane. I had never seen the beauty in watching a man work, but Dane was different. His arms flexed as he lifted cases of beer up to fill the cooler; maybe he knew I was watching because he was putting on quite the show. It was time to head back over to the table before he caught me looking again.

As soon as I sat back down, Dane came over to stand by our table, gave Tyler some weird manly handshake, eyed Kevin, and exchanged hellos with the rest of the table. Suddenly he knelt down so his mouth was right by my ear.

"Can you come outside with me for a minute?"

"No, I’m kind of busy right now,” I replied, rolling my eyes. Tyler and Jade decided that now was a good time to get up to dance. Why did she have to leave me alone now?

"Please, I didn't mean to upset you earlier," he said with sympathy in his voice. I still wasn’t leaving the table.

"I’m fine, really!" I was still a little upset, but only at myself. He had simply done his assignment.

Kevin turned and asked me to dance. Any other time I probably would have said no, but right now it was a welcome invitation. "Yes, please!” I stood up and took one more look in Dane’s direction. “I’ll talk to you on Monday." Dane backed away and glared at Kevin, his jaw clenched.

A slow song played when Kevin and I joined the others on the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around his neck, being careful that my body didn’t rub too closely against his as he loosely laid his hands on my waist. Dancing always felt so intimate to me when my body was pressed against someone, but this I could handle.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Alex, I’m leaving," Jade said, leaning in next to my ear. She nodded toward Tyler with a big smile on her face. "Are you okay to get home?"

"It’s only a couple of blocks; I’ll be fine. Have fun!"

She winked. "You too." Before she walked away, she looked at me with a sly grin and a naughty glimmer in her eye. My plans for the rest of the night involved some more dancing and a few more drinks. This week had worn me out and I needed to let loose and have fun for once.

The music began to pick up as Kevin moved behind me with his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. Through my buzz, I couldn’t really see the any reason to stop him. I started to move again and felt his other hand at the hem of my skirt as it slowly moved up my leg. His hand moved up my waist, stopping just below my breast. "Kevin, stop!" I turned around, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Relax, sorry!" He took my hand, using his eyes to plead to me for one more chance before we slowly started to move again. I don’t know if I gave him another chance or if it was the whiskey; it didn’t matter at that point. A few more minutes went by before he had secured both hands on my ass, and began pressing me against him so I could feel how turned on he was through his jeans.

I pushed as hard as I could on his chest, "I. Said. Stop!"

Kevin just stood there, looking at me with his head tilted to the side. “I thought you came to let loose a little, Alex? What’s the problem?”

The way people were dancing around us, it seemed like everything he was doing was completely normal. I just didn’t want to partake in normal. “The problem is that I don’t want you fondling me in the middle of the club.”

I turned to walk away from him, but his firm hand grabbed my arm. “Will you let me do it in private?” he whispered, pulling me close to his body.

“Absolutely not,” I yanked my arm out of his hold. Suddenly I wasn’t so happy that Jade had left me at the bar. Why did guys have to act like such assholes? Actually, I knew the answer to that; they thought with their lower anatomy rather than their brains. That is exactly why I chose to focus on my classes instead of wasting my time with men.

I found a seat at the bar. One more whiskey and then I was going to head home.

As I rolled over in bed the next morning, my head was pounding and my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls. Whiskey always seemed like a good idea until the next morning when the hangover induced regret took over. A mix of coffee and men’s aftershave hit my senses as I worked to open my eyes. Panic instantly set in. The dorm usually smelled like a Bath and Body Works store and this was not the smell of Cucumber Melon and Sweet Pea.

The first thing I noticed was the bed; definitely not my bed. The sheets were grey and the comforter was black and gray striped, a far cry from the white down comforter that covered my bed. As I continued to survey the room, I noted that the walls were grey and the floors were covered in hardwoods. The window overlooked the downtown sky scrape instead of my usual campus view. Oh my God! What the heck did I do? I looked down and realized I was still in my dress, but my boots were missing. So maybe I hadn’t passed out and done something I’d regret with a complete stranger. That was reassuring.

The hammer in my head was pounding something fierce as I sat up. I needed a bathroom badly. I rolled out of bed and noticed three doors. The first one I attempted to open was a closet which, as I predicted, was full of male clothing. I had a little more luck with the second door. After relieving my full bladder, I rinsed my face with some cold water in an attempt to regain some composure. I desperately needed a shower and a toothbrush, but that would have to wait.

The third door led to a quaint loft space with a small living area and a small kitchen space in the corner. I could hear movement in that direction, causing my heart to race as I walked closer. Who the hell had I gone home with?

“Good morning, sleepy head. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll bring you something to drink?”

No, no, no! Standing in front of me, in black athletic shorts - and nothing else! - was Dane. Out of all people at the bar last night, why him? Did he kiss me? This was not good. I couldn’t remember anything. Did I kiss him back? What if he had the wrong idea? Oh crap, I’d never in my life seen abs like that this close. Ryan had nice abs, but Dane’s were incredible. And the tattoos spread from his arms to his chest and back; the sight of him made me blush.

He must have sensed my brain was working overtime. “Don’t worry, nothing happened. I think Jay gave you a few too many shots of whiskey and you were pretty much asleep at the bar when we closed. I brought you up here to sleep it off,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

I could feel my cheeks turn a deeper shade of red as I stepped toward the window, noting he lived right above the bar. “Oh my God, did I really fall asleep at the bar? I’m so sorry. God, I feel like such an idiot.”

 Jade. Did she realize I was here? If she went home, she must be worried sick. “Why didn’t you bring me home? Did you call Jade?” I rubbed my temples with the tips of my fingers in an attempt to stop the pounding hammer. I couldn’t believe I let myself drink so much that I fell asleep in a bar.

“Well, Sunshine, for one I don’t have a clue where you live. You haven’t invited me over yet.” There was extra emphasis on the word ‘yet’. He had this cocky smile on his face that showed a dimple on his right cheek. I wondered how much trouble that dimple had gotten him out of in the past? And where did he get off calling me sunshine? I felt anything but bright and cheery this morning. “Two, I didn’t see Jade anywhere and I have no way of getting ahold of her. And, last, I saved your ass from Kevin. I saw the way he was dancing with you earlier in the night and figured you wouldn’t like to wake up next to him in the morning.” Okay, he was right about that, but it didn’t mean that I wanted to wake up in his apartment…in his bed.

“So you thought I would feel better waking up in your apartment? I’ve known you for what, a week?” Raising my voice was not helping my head any and I moved onto the couch as I rubbed my temples. “Um, can I get that drink and some aspirin if you have it? I’m not feeling too well.”

“Of course,” he whispered before disappearing into the kitchen. God, why did he have to sound so chipper in the morning when my head felt like it had been slammed against a cement wall? He came back out with a glass of water and two white pills. “Do you want toast or something?”

“Actually, that might help soak up some of this alcohol. Make it plain, though. I don’t think I can handle anything else right now.” He headed back toward the kitchen as I downed the pills with slow sips of water. I took in the rest of the apartment; it was masculine with black and grey décor. There was a guitar in the corner, a couple of art pieces on the wall and several metal sculptures on top of a sofa table. The place was surprisingly clean for a college guy.

“Here you go. Hope I made it right.”

“It’s pretty hard to screw up toast.” I would have rolled my eyes if my head didn’t hurt so much. This wasn’t the first time someone talked to me as if I was some sort of spoiled brat. I hated it and the banging in my head made my appreciate it even less.

“Well, it’s just white. Not wheat. Not rye. Not whole grain or whatever you chicks eat.”

 He was looking down at me with his arms crossed and a stupid grin plastered on his face. Part of me wanted to look at that grin forever and the other part of me wanted to slap it off his face.

“I’m good, really. Do you always take girls home from the bar and into your bed? Wait, don’t answer that. I probably already know the answer.”

“Relax. I helped you up here, took your boots off, and tucked you into bed. Trust me, I could have easily taken advantage of the situation, but I was a good boy and slept on the couch.” I looked at that couch. It had a blanket on one end with a pillow in the same grey as the sheets on the bed. “You really shouldn’t drink yourself into a stupor when you are in a bar alone. Lots of things can happen to a girl like you.” His eyes looked at me with something other than anger. Concern, maybe?

“Well, thank you. I’ll keep that in mind next time,” I mumbled, trying not to anger my pounding head anymore than it already was. I was embarrassed that I drank so much last night and that I ended up in his apartment; annoyed that he was so happy in the morning and flustered by his early morning lecture. Looking at the clock on the wall, I noticed it was almost noon. “I should probably go home. I have lots of studying to do.”

“It’s Saturday,” he said, lifting a brow in my direction. I couldn’t expect him to understand how much study time my degree required. I picked up my purse and coat and started toward the door, muttering a quick thank you.

“Alex, wait.” I glanced back at him, but did not move. “I just wanted to say again how sorry I am about yesterday.”

I turned so that every part of my body faced him. “Don’t worry about it. I kind of created this mess on my own,” I said, giving him a slight smile. I turned to head back toward the door, stopping to put my coat on. My issues had nothing to do with Dane and my anger yesterday had been a knee jerk reaction.

I tried to tell him thank you again, but the look on his face stopped me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead remained silent. After a few seconds of silence, I left his building and made the trek back to my dorm.

 I cursed Jade for leaving me at the bar alone as soon as I walked into the room. Of course she reminded me that she had asked and that I had given her the okay. She had the biggest grin on her face when I told her how I found myself waking up in Dane’s bed. From the look on her face, she thought something happened between Dane and I, which was far from the truth. I quickly corrected her, but the sly look never left her face. I loved Jade, but I didn’t think she realized how different we were.

I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Dane when Monday rolled around. Okay, maybe there was a small part of me that was looking forward to seeing him. He was the only person I had ever met that could excite me and frustrate me at the same time. I arrived before he did and waited for him to make his grand entrance. With Dane, everything was a grand entrance.