Shark Out of Water (Grab Your Pole, #3) (55 page)

I looked at Brandon, not at his face but his body, and saw that Keith was right. At some point, I have no idea when though, Brandon had added Melissa’s name to his plethora of ink. I almost missed it, though, because at first glance, it sorta looks like a large, black filigree necklace. It’s on the lower part of his neck right above his collarbone and follows the curve of his neckline. The font isn’t hard and doesn’t really have any sharp angles like you might expect though; rather it’s kinda feminine with a flowing cursive and swirls. And now that I’m really looking at it, I can see the color. Her name in black is entwined with a vine of roses. It’s actually really cool looking and I found myself thinking about giving Gary a call, but I shook myself when my brain finally registered what Keith had just spewed.

Now keep in mind, it might sound like this fight has been goin’ on for a while, but everything happens with blinding speed in fights so in reality, it’s been maybe around five minutes since we got outside, and you’d think after hearing what Keith had just said, Brandon would’ve lost it. I mean, I almost lost it. So did quite a few other guys, including a couple of Keith’s good buddies. You could see it in all their faces. Keith crossed the line. And he crossed it in a big way, but all Brandon did was very smoothly walk up to Melissa, look at Keith for a second then back at Melissa, and then he very calmly and quietly asked, “Please, now can it be my turn to say something?”

You could see in Melissa’s eyes that what Keith had just said really hit her hard so when Brandon asked permission to interject, no one was shocked when she just nodded and drifted off into Katy and Camie’s arms to cry.

Keith grinned at his work and faced Brandon with something close to a victorious smirk and that alone made me think that this whole time, he was beating Melissa to the ground to get to the guy she dumped him for, but what I don’t get is why he didn’t just start with Brandon in the first place. I’m gonna go with the tequila though. Tequila has never really been Keith’s friend. He thinks it is, but it’s two-faced and one way or another, he always ends up regretting hangin’ out with it. Usually though, he just pukes like a dog, which I have a feeling will be happening tonight as well.

“What’re
you
gonna do, you piece of trash? No one here is gonna have your dirty back and it’s time you get your ass beat for turnin’
my
girlfriend into your
nasty-ass
whore…”

Brandon took a look at Melissa who was still crying and wouldn’t even look at him or anyone else, and then very rationally he said, “Listen, joystick, I get that your ego is bruised because you got cheated on and dumped, but think back to why that happened…and if your brain is havin’ a case of amnesia, I’ll remind you…it’s because you don’t know shit about what honest to God respect is because if you did, you’d know it’s not okay on any level to pressure chicks into doin’ shit they don’t wanna do, least of all sex, and you know, I’m lookin’ around and yeah, I might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but it doesn’t look like you’ve got a whole lotta backers here either so I think what’s gonna happen is this piece of trash is gonna teach the star quarterback some
real
respect by kickin’ your fuckin’ disrespectful ass.”

And that’s pretty much exactly what happened.

Keith is bigger and taller and he got in some decent shots, but, I think Brandon let him because Brandon can seriously fight. Well, it’s not so much fighting as it is bare-knuckle boxing. I was just watching in awe along with everyone else, and being reminded of Brad Pitt in
Snatch
as Brandon took a hit and actually fucking
smiled
when he realized there was blood coming from his cheekbone. And then like he’d gotten what he wanted or something, and with one wicked punch to the jaw that Keith’s fuckin’ toenails probably felt, Brandon leveled Keith and stood over him for a second to calmly advise, “Stay down.”

Keith stayed down, Ryan crouched next to him to make sure he did, Melissa sniffled and walked over to Brandon who enveloped her in his arms and whispered something no one could hear into her ear, and then, shocking I know, I saw Jillian drop Brandon’s cufflinks into her teeny little purse as she put her damned iPod away while we all headed back into the ballroom. I almost feel bad for Keith, you know? He got his ass handed to him in a big way and was videoed while it happened, and you know there’s most likely a little blackmail in his future now because of it. Like I said though…
almost
.

I felt my pocket vibrate, reminding me I hadn’t heard back from Tristan and when I read his reply, I looked at Camie’s purple stained dress and shook my head. Somehow I doubt we’ve seen the last drop of blood spilled tonight…

The laws of physics ~ Tristan

I looked at the picture Jeff sent me again and the charm bracelet on her wrist. The one I’d given her for her birthday with a note explaining why I went with jigsaw puzzle shaped charms. To put it simply, when you symbolically put the pieces of the puzzle together, you get a picture of true love. Each gold puzzle piece is engraved with a date on one side and a symbol signifying its reason for inclusion on the other. For instance, there are a few charms with the date of our first date, but one of them has two cats engraved on the opposite side. Another charm has the date of New Year’s Eve and an engraving of a champagne bottle. That one will look innocuous to anyone who sees it, but she’ll know why it was really included. All told I think there’s probably twenty-five; maybe thirty little puzzle pieces dangling off the gold bracelet and one still hanging on my keyring. The one representing the date of that fight. The date we said I love you. I picked it up on Saturday, the day of her party, as soon as I got the call from Pete’s grandfather telling me he’d finished it, but I’d already wrapped the bracelet up so rather than opening it and re-wrapping it again, I thought I’d let her open it and then I’d put the charm on right in front of her. I never got the chance though because she never opened it. Well, not that I knew of anyway. Last night what I saw in her trashcan was the gold foil wrapping paper, but I didn’t have a chance to see if it was just the paper or if it was the whole gift, bracelet and all but, I knew she’d finally opened it.

I looked at the letter still in my hand and although that hand was shaking, I made my decision and then dug out a pen from the glove box and added a little bit more to the letter. When I was done, I grabbed my baby book, got out of the bus and as I walked through the parking lot, I sent Jeff my reply.

Me:
I’m on my way.

Yeah, I know. It’s not a lie though. I mean,
technically
, walking through the parking lot
does
count as being on my way.

When I walked into the lobby and started to follow the signs telling guests where the dance is, I came to an indecisive halt. I mean, what am I gonna do? Just walk in wearing jeans and flip-flops, not to mention I don’t even have a ticket, find Camie, pull her off the dance floor and then shove my baby book and a letter in her face? I’m kinda thinking that plan needs a little work. So I was sort of pacing by the elevator corridor just down the hall from the ballroom, trying to not obsess and absentmindedly nodding and saying hi to people I know who were on their way up to their rooms for after-party drinking and fun. Then Keith came in from outside through a door across from me looking trashed, sick, and beaten like he’d been playing chicken with a Mack truck head-on and lost. Basically, he looked like roadkill.

“Hey dude, you here for the after-party?” He asked and sort of wobbled on his feet.

“Nu-uh, what the fuck happened to you?”

“Aw dude, wish you were here to have my back fifteen minutes ago…I just had the shit kicked outta me by that fuckin’ pierced and tattooed dirtbag of Melissa’s…” I just looked at him and raised one of my eyebrows. First of all, Brandon is nowhere near close to being a dirtbag; he just likes tattoos, which, obviously, I can’t say shit about. And so he likes putting holes in his body too, big deal. Tattoos and piercings a dirtbag does not one make. Secondly, he’s a close friend of mine which I’ll have to forgive because Keith doesn’t really know that. “Aw fuck, Tristan, I’m sorry…I forgot you have one too, but, he’s fuckin’
covered
in ‘em, you know? What’s gonna happen if she gets knocked up?”

“How do you go from having tattoos to getting a chick pregnant?” I mean I know I have a bad habit of topic hopping, but I couldn’t follow his thinking on that
at
all.

“Think about it, dude, how’s he gonna support her and a kid? It’s just that he’s got no future…she’d probably wind up havin’ to pay for her own fuckin’ abortion! And I just don’t get how she could pick him over me in the first place, you know?”

Jesus, Keith’s gone off the deep end here…

“Look, man, I’m gonna be straight with you, Brandon’s a
really
fucking good friend of mine and just because he might look a little unsavory it doesn’t mean shit about the kind of person he is, and not that it’s any of your business, but, he does just fine financially. Besides, the tattoos and piercings will probably only help his career. And I don’t get why you’re so concerned about who Melissa goes out with anyway…you don’t actually care about her.”

“Nah, I do…it’s just him. But hey, what do you mean, how will bein’ scummy help his career? What kinda career can a guy like that have?” Keith asked and put a hand against the wall to steady himself.

“Keith, Brandon’s a singer, songwriter, and the lead guitarist in a rock band. You did know that, right?”

“N—no, I don’t think I did…huh. I guess that explains why she said he has more talent in his little toe than anyone she knows…”

“Yeah, he really does, and The Band is fuckin’ awesome. They just signed with an agent and got invited to record an album in L.A. this summer after Brandon and two of the other guys graduate.”

“No shit…huh. Well, I just got my ass handed to me by an almost famous person then,” Keith said and started shaking his head in self-deprecation, which reminded me he hadn’t told me how his ass kicking happened or why.

“Who started it? Him or you?”

He tenderly worked his raw and swollen jaw and nodded when he said, “Me. When she showed up with him tonight I flipped and by the time I got loaded, I couldn’t take it anymore. Even if I was sober though, I bet he still would’ve knocked me flat. And I fuckin’ deserved it too. I’m surprised he wasn’t the only one who beat me up…dude, I called her a whore. I mean I actually called
Melissa
a whore…I can’t believe I did that…I feel like such a douche…”

I was back to just looking at him with a dubiously raised eyebrow. “Tequila?”

“Seriously, I can’t be allowed to drink that shit anymore…Jose Cuervo and I just do
not
get along,” he said, shaking his head again as I did the same. Then he turned a nice shade of green and said, “Speakin’ of, I gotta try to make it up to my room so I can puke again and check the damage. I’m in 1018 though if you wanna party with everyone…I’m probably not down for anymore drinking but there’s tons of beer and other shit up there if you want it.”

“No, I’m good,” I said and pushed the elevator up button for him.

“Hey, I didn’t mean what I said, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.” Even so, I’m kinda glad you got the shit kicked out of you…

“Will you tell her? I still can’t stand him, but even with dumping me like she did, she hasn’t done anything to deserve what I said to her.”

“I think you should tell her yourself.”

The elevator doors opened and Keith staggered inside. He went to hit the button for his floor, missed, and then got it on the second try. Looking at me, he nodded, saying, “Yeah, you’re right,” just as the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent.

I was shaking my head and thinking about all the damage and problems that could probably be laid at the feet of substance abuse as I sent Jeff a text telling him that I’m here. I figure I’ll just give him the letter and book to give to her because I still really want when we talk to be up to Camie. I did a little more pacing as I waited for Jeff, still trying to not edge myself closer to the ballroom doors. I thought about hiding in the men’s room and had just turned to head that way when Jeff’s voice had me turning on my heel.

“Trist, dude! What the hell?!”

“What? What’s wrong?! Where’s Camie?!”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong, she’s fine. She’s inside…Brandon and all the girls are with her, but what the hell did you do to get here so fast? Break the laws of physics?”

“Oh, um yeah, no…hey, why is Brandon here anyway? I ran into Keith a minute ago…he looks like he got ran over by a train,” I answered and did my best to not answer at the same time. I know it’s just Jeff and he wouldn’t care really, but still, I feel kinda weird about being here.

“No shit. Brandon and Melissa got back together, Keith started drinking tequila…you know how it goes. I’ll tell you what though, he might not look all that big, but Brandon’s one guy I don’t
ever
wanna piss off…you shoulda seen it, dude, it was fuckin’ nuts.”

“Yeah, I bet,” I agreed and nodded, already knowing there’s a lot more to Brandon than meets the eye. Plus, I saw him take his older and much bigger brother down in a wrestling match last Sunday so I’m really not surprised.

Jeff clapped and rubbed his hands together and said, “Well, you ready to go in and get this done?”

I balked. “Yeah…about that. I’m not goin’ in there, so here, take this stuff and give it to her…I’ll just wait out here. Or, maybe out in the lobby…possibly the parking lot.”

“You’re fuckin’ kidding me, right?” He asked and looked at me doubtfully.

“No? Look, I don’t have a ticket to get in for one thing and you know what’ll happen if I go in there and see her with that Evil piece of shit…I can’t afford to do it, man, I can’t…”

Jeff turned me by the shoulders and started walking me to the ballroom door, saying, “You’ll be fine, trust me. Besides, she knows you’re coming…”

“
What?!
Why the fuck would you tell her that?!” I hollered and ground to stand still.