Swept (6 page)

Me: In an hour, I need time to get ready.

Kelly: See you then.

Me: How was the party?

Kelly: I’ll tell you when I see you ;-)

I grab my bag of toiletries and pick out my clothes, before walking to the dorm showers. As I enter I hear other ladies talking and giggling. My clothes cling close to my skin as the humidity sets in. I pass completely naked ladies and others clad in just a towel and avert my eyes, not wanting to be caught looking as I make my way back to the shower stalls.

I’m looking around for an empty stall when I bump into Emily. Our bags fall to the floor and the contents spill everywhere.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry, Emily!” I apologize and stoop down to pick up the stuff all over the floor. Emily is naked and I can’t help but notice how beautiful her body is. Her breasts are full and perky, her stomach has definition, and from a side view she has an amazing ass; one that would make Kim Kardashian jealous.

Emily stoops down with me, “It’s okay; I should have been watching where I was going.” she smiles

“No, I’m a terrible klutz. I should be more careful.” I tell her wishing that this would have happened to anyone but me. She’s dating the man that I want, it’s bad enough that I have to see them together without this happening.

“Really, it’s okay, I’m not upset.” She reassures, dropping a bottle of shampoo into her bag.

“Here,” I say handing her a bra, I can’t help but note that the cups look bigger than the ones on my bra. Of course she has bigger boobs than me, just my luck. I wonder how I can compete with that.

“Thanks,” Emily smiles and takes the bra out of my hands. “What are you doing today?” She asks.

“I’m going into town with my friends. They want to look around at the local shops.” I tell her, glad that she seems to be interested in what I’m doing.

“That sounds like fun. If you get the chance, go to Toxia, it’s my favorite store.”

“I’ll look for it while we’re out.” I tell her, and I really mean it, I want to visit this store, if she took the time to tell me about it, then it must really be interesting.

“I guess, I’ll see you later then,” She smiles

“Okay.” I smile back as she walks away.

With my things gathered and securely in my bag, I find an open shower stall. I lock the door; undress and turn on the water, letting it heat up before I step under it. I run my hands through my hair as the water soaks it. I close my eyes and caress my body with my hands, imagining Gabriel touching me and helping me bathe. I snap out of my fantasy when I hear a loud crash. A voice curses from somewhere in the room.

I change my focus and finish washing my body, taking care to ensure that every part is clean, and hairless from the waist down. I turn off the water when I finish and wrap up in a towel. Not being the kind of girl to walk around naked, I decide to change in the stall. I put on my clothes, wrap my hair in the towel, and slide my flip flops on. I double check that I have everything and walk back to my room.

I brush my hair as I dry it, and then apply my makeup. There’s a knock at my door, Kelly is here and her timing is perfect. I grab my purse and follow her to the car where Ryan is waiting in the passenger seat. Kelly and I hop in and Kelly turns up our favorite song, Bohemian Rhapsody, by Queen. We take off and sing along in fake operatic voices, and bang out heads when the beat and guitars pick up. We laugh at each other as we pretend to play air guitar and drums. When the song is over, Kelly turns the stereo down and I scotch forward so I can see my friends better.

“Where is this place that Kelly tells me you’ve picked out? I ask Ryan.

“It a nice little restaurant called, Flickers.” It’s a grill and everyone says it’s amazing.

“Who’s everyone?” I ask

“The debate team, my roommate, some people at the party last night.” Ryan rattles off

“Oh that’s right! The party! How was it?” I had forgotten all about it.

“Only the single best party I’ve ever been too!” Kelly says

I raise my eyebrow, “Really?”

“Oh yeah, there were kegs everywhere, and Wreck Hock? They were amazing. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a record deal, and get this. The lead singer is hot! He has tattoos and piercings all over. And by all over I mean all over including his penis.”

I lean forward, between Kelly and Ryan, “How did you happen to see his penis?” Kelly always had the best hook up stories, I always wished I could be as bold as her and be okay with throwing myself into the kind of situations Kelly was always finding herself in.

“Well, after they were done with one of their sets, the lead singer left the stage and walked right up to me. He told me I was the hottest girl he had ever seen and kissed me. It was hot Crystal. I jerked him off right there on the spot.”

“What?” I yell in shock “Did anyone see?” I can’t believe she jerked a guy in public! I know she’s bold, but this is a whole new level of bold.

“Everyone was drunk, if they did see it I’m sure they didn’t care.”

“And where were you when all of this was happening?” I ask Ryan.

Ryan clears his throat, “I was um…”

“He was passed out in a puddle of his own vomit.” Kelly laughs

“Hey, I don’t find it all that funny. I still can’t get away from the smell.” Ryan grimaces

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have drank so much.” Kelly argues

“Says the girl who jerks off some random guy.” Ryan snaps.

“Oh you know you would love it if some random chick came up to you and yanked your shaft.”

“Well, I wouldn’t complain.” Ryan laughs

“So was that it with the band guy?” I ask injecting before I get left out of the conversation completely.

“No.” Kelly smiles. “His name is Nick and we got it on back stage after the show.”

“Oh, so you got his name?”

“And his number,” Kelly giggles.

“I think that’s more than what you got with the last guy.”

“I got a cock shot from him this morning.”

“What?” I ask. Do people really send photos of themselves to each other? A faint smile comes to my face as I imagine Gabriel sending me a photo of his dick.

“Have you not gotten a cock shot before?” Kelly asks, turning to me slightly so she can see my face.

“No! I don’t even know what I would do if I got one.” I say my face turning red, I feel so inexperienced around her.

“Oh my God! You never sexted before?” Kelly practically yells at me

“No, and who would I even sext?” I mumble, realizing that it would be a long shot to ever receive a picture from Gabriel, much less one of his penis.

“Flickers, is your next turn.” Ryan says, temporarily interrupting the conversation.

“Thank you,” Kelly says to Ryan, and then turns to me, “You need to come to a show with me sometime, I can find someone to hook you up with.”

“A show?” I ask

“Yeah, Nick plays a lot of shows and I plan to go to all of them.”

“Sounds to me like you’re going to be a groupie,” I laugh. I feel happy for Kelly, she’s been drifting from guy to guy and I feel it would be good for her to have someone around that she can tag along with.

“It’s worth it though, lots of mind blowing sex and cock shots for me.” Kelly laughs and I giggle as we pull into the parking lot. We get out of the car and walk into the restaurant and we’re immediately seated and order our drinks.

The waitress leaves and Kelly turns to me, “How’s the roommate? Any more overnight conquests?”

Ryan peeks at Kelly over his menu, “What are you talking about?” he asks.

I lay my menu on the table, “My roommate had her boyfriend over and I overheard them having sex.” I turn to Kelly, “He came over yesterday and we chatted. Emily wasn’t there and he left before she came home.”

Ryan closes his menu, “Whoa! He came over and Emily wasn’t there?”

“Yeah,” I answer, still trying to decide what I want to eat.

Kelly closes her menu, “What did he want?” Kelly asks.

I turn the page of my menu, “I don’t know we talked and he helped me do the dishes.”

Kelly’s eyes glint with excitement, “What did you talk about?”

“We talked about what we’re studying and our families.”

Kelly leans closer to me, “So, what does he look like? Is he hot?”

“He has dark brown hair, bright green eyes, and yes, he’s cute.” I blush, as I close my menu finally deciding on what to eat.

Ryan shifts in his seat, “Wait, so he came over yesterday and you talked about your future and you think he’s cute?” I’ve never seen Ryan react this way. I’ve talked about other guys before. His face is tense as he stares at me and his fingers are white as he grips his glass.

I feel thrown by his behavior, “We talked about what we’re studying for, I wouldn’t necessarily call that our future and yeah, I think he’s cute. What’s wrong with thinking someone is cute?”

“Nothing.” Ryan mutters and stares off while tapping his foot.

Silence fills the air then I hear Kelly ask, “So what’s he like?”

The word “perfect,” comes to mind, but I push it away, “He seems like a really nice guy.”

Ryan snorts, “Nice guys, don’t show up at their girlfriend’s dorm room when they aren’t there.”

“Nothing happened.” I reassure Ryan. “I don’t think he realized that Emily wasn’t going to be there. He just showed up. What was I supposed to do? Close the door in his face?” I stare at Ryan; his face is still tense and unreadable.

“Maybe, you let a complete stranger into your dorm, what if he wanted to hurt you?”

“Hurt me? You think he wants to hurt me? Why are you so protective all the sudden?” I ask feeling confused. Ryan is usually the one backing me up, not arguing with me. I feel hurt and taken aback, it must have shown in my expression because his face softens and he grabs my hand from across the table, “Crystal, you’re in a new town, at a new school. Not all guys are nice. There are all kinds of stories of guys taking advantage of women on campuses like this one. I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.”

I lay my other hand on top of his, “Thank you for looking out for me, but I can handle this. Gabriel is a nice guy.” Ryan pulls his hand back and I draw my arms close to me hugging my body.

“Oh so he has a name.” Kelly chimes in.

Ryan broods and I turn to Kelly, “Yes, his name is Gabriel.” I grin.

“Is he tall or short?”

“Tall.”

“Is he skinny or fat?”

“Muscular.” I smile dreamily as I recall the way his muscles looked when the dish water splashed onto his white shirt.

“Oh, yummy, you should try and get his number. I bet you can get a cock shot from him and when you do, you should show it to me.”

“It doesn’t matter though because he’s dating your roommate,” Ryan speaks up his tone sounding anything but amused.

Kelly glares at Ryan, “So, a girl can dream, can’t she?” she asks coming to my defense. I’m shocked by the change in the mood and the role reversal. Ryan hasn’t even met Gabriel and he’s acting like Gabriel is the serial killer of the year.

“Whatever,” Ryan quips.

The three of us sit in awkward silence, that’s broken when our food comes. Kelly and I chat between bites, and Ryan picks at his food, oddly quiet.

“Ryan, are you okay? I ask, worried about him.

“I’m fine, just a headache, you know, party last night.”

“I’m sorry, Ryan, maybe going out today was a bad idea.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m fine besides I like being out with both of you, even if you do talk about cock shots and sex.” Ryan smiles

We finish our food and walk down the strip. There are unique boutiques and shops. We look through the windows and enter a few of the shops that catch our interest. Ryan smiles tightly from time to time, but he’s still not acting his usual self. As we work our way down the street, we happen upon Toxia.

“Oh Kelly, Emily told me about this place, she said it’s her favorite store.” I say pointing at the sign on the door.

“Really? We have to check this out.” Kelly says opening the door. Ryan and I walk in behind her. Our jaws drop open as we stare in shock as the contents of the store. Lingerie, dildos and vibrators line the walls. Kelly and I giggle and Ryan frowns. I point out an oversize dildo and Kelly giggles.

Ryan taps Kelly and I on the shoulder as we rifle through the lingerie, “Um, I’m just going to wait outside.” He says

“Are you sure?” I ask

“But there are blow up dolls and pocket pussies over there.” Kelly says pointing to a shelf.

“I think I’ll pass,” Ryan says and leaves.

“What’s wrong with him?” I ask once the door closes.

“Maybe he’s still not feeling well.” Kelly replies.

Kelly and I giggle as we find new and interesting novelty items. We contemplate buying a dildo, but decide against it when we remember Ryan is waiting on us. Once we’ve had our fill, we walk outside and rejoin Ryan.

“What do you want to do now?” Kelly asks

“I’d like to get back to my room.” Ryan mumbles. Kelly and I exchange confused looks.

“Are you okay?” I ask

“I’m fine; I just have a lot of work to do.” Ryan says.

“Come to think of it, I do too.” I say turning to Kelly, when I realize that I have a paper due in just a few days and I haven’t even started on it.

“Alright,” Kelly says and frowns. We walk back to the car, Kelly mopes, Ryan broods and I feel confused, wondering what it is that’s causing Ryan to be so unlike himself. I’ve seen him hung-over before, but he’s always been able to pull himself together and seem chipper.

The trip back to campus is the complete opposite of the trip away. Ryan’s mood is dark and it’s having an effect on Kelly and me. We pull up to the dorm; I get out, thanking Kelly for the ride and for hanging out with me. I walk into my dorm and I see Gabriel and Emily both shirtless, staring at me in shock.

Ryan

Chapter Eight

Friends with Benefits

“W
hat the hell is your problem?” Kelly asks me once Crystal disappears behind the door of her dorm building.

I really don’t want to talk about this right now, especially with her. “Like you would care.” I glance at her and she looks hurt.