Second Chances (12 page)

Reagan reached out and toyed with the jade pendant at the end of Allison’s necklace, ignoring the way
she tensed at her touch.  She trailed her finger down the length of the Allison’s neck, stopping just above her clavicle.  “I meant to tell you earlier I really like your necklace,” she said, her enchanting mouth curling into a lazy smile.

Allison touched her fingers to the pendant.  “Oh, uh, thanks,” she said.  It suddenly felt very warm
in the room. The music was no longer the house beats that had been blaring when they’d originally arrived – it was slower, more primal. “It was a present from my mom.”

“So are you actually going to dance with me?” Reagan teased. “Or are you waiting on a lesson in how to move your body?”

Allison’s eyes narrowed slightly.  It sounded like a challenge; she never backed down from a challenge. She grabbed onto Reagan’s hips and pulled her close. Reagan’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly recovered by spinning around and pressing her backside against Allison’s front. The dance had unexpectedly become a game of chicken – how far could they push before one of them buckled. 

Not one to be outdone,
Allison pulled Reagan close and splayed her hands across her hipbones. She began to sway her hips to the beat, encouraging Reagan to do the same. She attributed her desire to keep up with Reagan’s advances as her being naturally competitive. She was her father’s daughter.  She was a Hoge. And they always did things 100%.

Reagan closed her eyes and allowed herself to get lost in the moment. She leaned her head back, resting it on
Allison’s shoulder. She could feel the pulsing of the bass vibrating against her body, the energy from the frenetic dancers that surrounded them, and the intoxicating sensation of Allison’s breath hot against her neck.  Her skin felt hot.  She couldn’t tell if it was from Allison’s proximity or if the alcohol was starting to catch up with her.  She didn’t know why she’d felt compelled to take so many shots in rapid succession.  She wasn’t much of a drinker, but being at a fraternity party with Allison made her nervous.  She didn’t feel so anxious anymore.

Reagan raked her short, manicured nails down the sides of Allison’s denim thighs.  The hands at her hips tightened, holding
her impossibly closer.  Her top had ridden up slightly and she felt the delicious burn of Allison’s heated skin against that exposed patch.  She spun around again so they faced each another.  Her thigh found its way between Allison’s and began a slow, sensual grind. She was mildly surprised that Allison had not pulled away, embarrassed to be seen with her so intimately in public, so she continued to dance, a small, lazy smile of contentment on her face.

Despite only having
had one shot herself, Allison found herself powerless to the movements of Reagan’s body. She felt like she was suffocating from the hypnotizing beat engulfing her senses and the raw promise of sexuality evident in Reagan’s expressive eyes.  She swallowed down the urge to run, but she knew she needed to at least step back.

“I have to pee,” she yelled into Reagan’s ear, making sure she could be heard over the house party’s music.

Reagan nodded, eyes looking unfocused. “Okay. I’ll be right here.”

Allison hesitated, not confident about leaving Reagan on her own, but she needed some space to clear her head.  She wandered back towards the kitchen area where she remembered seeing a bathroom. 
The line was surprisingly short, and within a few minutes she was safely locked away in the small bathroom.

She stared at her reflection in the dingy mirror.  Her face looked flushed, her hair slightly array, her make-up a little smudged.  She turned on the faucet and ran her hand beneath the coo
l water before clamping her now damp hand near the base of her neck.  The water instantly cooled her pulsing skin, but not necessarily the pulsing need between her thighs.  She turned the faucet off and gripped the edges of the porcelain pedestal.  She needed to regain control.

Allison
exited the bathroom once she felt sufficiently stable.  She focused next on reclaiming her spot beside Reagan and enjoying the rest of the night. She turned sharply when she felt a hand graze over her ass.  “Excuse me?” she snarled at a dumbstruck co-ed who wore the letters of the fraternity house they were in.

The male student held up his hands in surrender.  “Sorry,” he grinned.  His feet moved back and forth along with the music.  “I got bumped into.  I really didn’t mean to grab your ass.”

Allison’s hardened features momentarily softened and she prepared to retract her viciousness. 

The boy leaned in.  His breath smelled like mint and cheap beer.  “Although if I
did
grab it on purpose, could you blame me?” He beamed, flashing two rows of even, white teeth.  Some girls might find the anonymous boy charming and laugh it off.  But Allison wasn’t “some girls.”

She leaned in
, and the college boy’s smile widened, encouraged by the attractive woman’s proximity.  “Touch me again and you’ll lose body parts,” she stated coolly in his ear.  She pulled back and arched an eyebrow in challenge.

The smile fell from
his face.  He nodded, his eyes shifting in his head as though afraid to make eye contact again, and he promptly left the dance floor in search of another dance partner or a beer.

Allison audibly sighed and rolled her eyes.  She’d always believed that boys would mature during college, but if the few fraternity parties she’d attended were any indication, boys tended to devolve in college. 

She returned her attention to the dance floor.  It was more crowded now than when she and Reagan had first started dancing. She stood on her tiptoes to see over the taller heads of other co-eds in search of her friend.  When she finally spotted her, a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth.  Off in a corner of the room, Reagan was dancing with a significantly taller boy who appeared to have his hands cupping her ass.

Allison immediately felt her mood shift and darken. Unthinking, she stormed across the party, practically shoving people out of her way to get to where Reagan danced.  When she reached
her, she yanked on her wrist, pulling her away from the tall frat boy.  “Finding friends?” she asked tensely.

“Oh, I ran into…” Reagan blinked a few times, looking confused. “…this guy.  I th
ink his name is Matt.  We have Stats together.”

“I think we should go,” Allison said, hazel-eyes
flashing.  “That alcohol’s going straight to your brain.  And maybe other parts,” she growled, looking lower.

Reagan’s lower lip stuck out.  “But we just got here,” she pouted.  “And I’m having fun.”

“Fine!” Allison hissed, not wanting to make a scene. “Drink yourself sick.  I’m sure any one of these fine gentlemen you were dry humping will hold your hair while you puke.”

“Hey.
” Reagan touched Allison’s wrist, but she flinched and pulled away.  She was feeling remarkably sober despite the amount of alcohol she’d had in a short time-span. “Where is this coming from?”

Allison ignored her
and stomped across the house.

Reagan followed
behind until she reached the second-floor bedroom where they’d stashed their coats.  Allison grabbed her jacket off the bed and pulled it on, roughly shoving her arms through the fitted sleeves.  “I’m sorry if my idea of fun isn’t watching you do keg stands and getting groped by meatheads,” she sniffed.

“I wasn’t doing keg stands, Allison, and no one has been groping me,” Reagan snapped off in a retort.  “Give me some credit; I’m more responsible than that.”

“Well, whatever,” Allison scoffed. “I’m going back to the dorms.”  She slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder.

“I’ll come with,” Reagan said, despite the confusion and anger she currently felt.

“No.  You should stay.  You’re clearly having a good time.”

Reagan hesitated.  Allison’s face was unreadable and her tone civil and clipped.  She couldn’t understand what had happened.  They had
just been dancing and having a good time – or so she had thought.

“You shouldn’t walk back by yourself,” Reagan tried again.  “It’s late and this is New York City, not Rhode Island.”

“I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” Allison said coolly.

Reagan shook her head and reached for her jacket.  She wasn’t going to let Allison stop her.  “I’m sure you can handle walking back to the dorms, but I’d never forgive myself on the off-chance that something
did
happen.”

Allison rolled her eyes.  “Whatever,” she huffed.  “Just hurry up before I change my mind.”

Reagan hated this attitude.  It reminded her of the Allison Hoge she had known in high school and resembled nothing of the girl whom she had gotten to know over the past few months.  She wanted to point this out, but knew that standing in the bedroom of some stranger was not the place to have such a conversation.

The two women traipsed down the staircase to the front door.  Reagan stopped at the bottom of the stairwell. She suddenly remembered that they were about to leave someone behind.  She touched her hand to Allison’s elbow, causing
her to pause her hasty exit.  “I should tell Ashley we’re leaving so she doesn’t worry.”

Allison frowned hard. “Aren’t you worried about
her
walking home by herself?

“No,” Reagan said with a dismissive wave. “She’ll be fine.  Let me just find her.  I’ll be two minutes.  Don’t leave.”

Without waiting for Allison’s response, Reagan spun on her heels and maneuvered her way back through the crowds and into the pulsing center of the party.

Allison stood awkwardly by t
he front door.  She contemplated leaving, but something made her stand in place, as though cemented to the floor.

+++++

Reagan found Ashley, still holding court in the fraternity house kitchen. “Allison and I are gonna head back,” she told her roommate.  “Are you okay on your own?”

“Leaving so soon?” Ashley pouted.

Reagan nodded.  “Yeah, uh, Allison’s not feeling that well.”  The lie was easier than the truth; plus, she didn’t know the truth.  She couldn’t figure out what had happened to make Allison snap.

Ashley quirked an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Reagan said.  “We’re just gonna get back to the room.”

The answer seemed to satisfy her roommate. “Okay, be safe.”

Reagan hesitated.  Her teeth tugged at her lower lip.  “What do you think of Allison, by the way?”

Ashley shrugged.  “She’s nice.”

“That’s it?  She’s ‘nice’?”

Ashley chuckled.  “Chill out, girl. I just met her
like two seconds ago.  I don’t know her like you do.  Speaking of which, are you
sure
you two hated each other in high school?”

“I’m positive.  I’ve got the therapy sessions to prove it. Why?”

Ashley shrugged.  “You just seem pretty chummy for two people who only very recently stopped torturing each other.”

“We have history.  It’s complicated.”

Ashley gave her roommate an unconvinced look.

“Are you suggesting she has ulterior motives?”

“Maybe I’ve watched that movie
Carrie
too many times,” Ashley started, “but in my experience, people don’t change. At least not that much.”

“Allison did,” Reagan said stiffly.
She wasn’t altogether sure of that, but she desperately wanted to believe that people could change – even Allison.

“Just watch out for that bucket of pig’s blood, okay?  You’re my friend and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Allison won’t hurt me. It’s…I think things are different now.”

Ashley nodded slowly.  “If you insist, Prez.  Just be careful, okay?”

“
You
be careful,” Reagan countered. “You’ve had a lot to drink tonight.”

“Sure thing,
Mom
,” Ashley sighed as she accepted Reagan’s brief parting hug
.
“I’ll behave.”

Reagan’s smile grew when she
saw Allison still standing by the door.  She had expected her to grow impatient and leave, forcing her to run after her along the streets of New York.  But seeing Allison still there caused a strange, warm sensation to flush over her body.

“Did you find her?” Allison asked, although her face and tone showed nothing but disinterest.

The warm sensation immediately cooled.  “Yeah,” Reagan confirmed. “We can go now.”

+++++

The walk back to Reagan’s residence hall was quiet.  The city bustled around them on a busy Friday night, but Reagan and Allison ignored each other.

When they reached the front entrance of the dormitory, Allison stopped.  She pushed out a deep breath from her lungs.  “Maybe I should just go back to Providence,” she said.

Reagan’s eyes grew wide. “Tonight? It’s after midnight,” she pointed out. “I don’t even think there’s trains leaving the city anymore.”