The Same Side (University Park #2) (23 page)

I held my hands up to my mouth and breathed hot air on them. The coldness had made them go numb.

“Are you ready to go?”

Nodding my head, I said, “Yes.”

“Then let’s go.” He extended his hand and helped me stand. “Hey, look, the donut shop is open. Want something hot to drink?”

“Sure, that sounds good.” We crossed the street to the shopping strip. Raven’s eyes lit up when he saw the door to the comic book store open and a guy walk out. “Do you want to go?”

“Yeah, I need to get my latest issues.”

“I can’t believe you read comic books.”

Raven opened the door to the donut shop and I walked in. “That’s why I never read my assigned books.”

“Aww, so the truth finally comes out.” I snickered.

“What can I say?” He shrugged. “Comic books are more fun to read than Booker T. Washington.”

“I guess it depends on what you like to read, but I won’t argue with you on that one.”

After buying two cups of hot chocolate, we headed next door. To my surprise, a few people were shopping, even though there were no cars parked outside. I figured they had walked there like we had. A table top Christmas tree decorated in Star Wars figures immediately caught our attention.

“Wow, this is cool.” Raven tapped a mini figure of Chewbacca.

“It sure is,” I said, showing him a Princess Leia figure.

“I think we should buy it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we need one for the apartment.” He did a quick sweep, checking all the figures. “It’s not Christmas, unless you have a tree.”

The guy behind the counter greeted us and by the handshake he and Raven exchanged, I knew Raven frequented the place.

“I didn’t think the store would be open today.” Raven leaned over the counter, strumming his fingers against the glass.

The guy pulled out a stack of comics and handed them to Raven. “Since I live in the apartment’s right behind here, I was able to walk to work.”

“Really?” Raven flipped through the stacks of books. “What building are you in?”

“Building four.” The guy took a sip from an oversized coffee mug that was the head of Spock from Star Trek.

“I’m in building two.”

“Kick ass.”

Raven motioned with his head. “How much for the tree?”

“Seventy-five bucks.”

“Does that include the ornaments?”

“Yep.”

“I’ll take it.”

“Alright.” The guy walked to the small tree and took it to the counter. He continued talking to Raven while he removed the ornaments and wrapped them for us.

I looked around at all the cool stuff I knew my dad would love. They had a variety of action figures and my eyes zeroed in on the Walking Dead figures that my dad had recently started collecting. I quickly spotted a figure of Daryl on his motorcycle and knew that my dad had been searching for it on Amazon. The price seemed reasonable so I decided to buy it for him for Christmas. Then, my mind drifted to what I should buy Raven. I hadn’t even thought about buying presents since I’d been so caught up in spending time with him. With Christmas eight days away, I needed to think of something.

I casually neared Raven to see if I could hear him saying anything about something he wanted when two guys walked in.

“Woot! Woot! The Raven is in the house,” a large guy with dreadlocks ranted and I quickly recognized his face. He was one of the guys that had entered the taco restaurant when Macy had decided to interrupt our conversation.

“What’s up?” Raven fist bumped both guys and I knew they played football for the university. I kept a discrete distance behind one of the aisles, listening to their conversation.

“Damn remote broke to my Xbox. Thought I’d stop by and see if they had one.” The guy ran his hand over his short buzz cut and I noticed the diamond rings on his fingers.

The guy behind the counter smiled. “You’re in luck, Jared. We got a few last week.”

Jared made a fist and pumped his arm in a backward motion. “Yes.”

“Good. Now we don’t have to take turns like little kids,” the larger guy added. “Rimmy, when does Halo: Spartan Assault come out?”

“December twenty-fourth,” the clerk answered.

“Fuck. Seven more days?” The large football player stomped his foot on the ground, reminding me of a big baby Huey. He pouted and sighed like he couldn’t wait that long.

“Sorry, man. We don’t open until nine, but I’m sure you can camp out at Game Stop if you want it that bad.”

“Nah, that’s okay. They don’t give student discounts.”

“Let me check on something.” Rimmy went to the computer and typed in some information. “Hey, Cage, I can preorder it if you want.”

Cage. Calvin ‘Cage’ Rutherford.

The name was familiar and based on his build and size, I knew he was probably a defensive tackle.

“Alright, let’s do it.” Cage’s voice instantly transformed into a deep, husky tone that matched his large, stoutly built. With each step he took, the floor shook and I couldn’t imagine being tackled by something that size. Raven was about two sizes smaller than him and for me, he was still a big guy.

“Hey, man, why don’t you stop by tonight? We’re gonna’ play some Madden and have a few bitches over,” Jared told Raven and my ears shot up like a hunting dog on high alert. I quickly stepped from behind the aisle, making myself present.

“Yeah, uh, well…” Raven stumbled to answer Jared. Raven shot me a quick glance and then turned to his friend. “I, um…” His friend ignored him and instead, locked his eyes on me. He scanned me from head to toe in a slow and deliberate manner. A chill shot up my back and my stomach clenched. A devious, dark smile covered his face and I inwardly cringed.

“Who’s this?” Jared kept his gaze on me, but I didn’t flinch. I wasn’t sure what went on between Raven and Jared, but I wasn’t one of the hoes made for sharing and I wanted to make sure he knew that.

“Hi.” I kept a straight face and stuck out my hand. “I’m Lexi Thompson.”

Jared’s brows arched. “Oh, you’re Lexi.” He shook my hand in a polite manner. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” I said, keeping a watch on him. I didn’t trust him and something in the pit of my stomach told me he was bad news. I recalled some of the articles I had read in the newspaper and swore I saw his name listed. I made a mental note to check when Raven wasn’t around.

“Yeah, so I don’t know, man. Lexi is staying with me and—”

“Oh, you are?” Jared continued shaking my hand and I finally had to tug to get him to let go of it. I wanted to wipe the sweat from his hands on my pant legs but refrained.

“Yes. I am,” I said, matter of fact.

“Then you should come.” A sly smile played on the edge of his lips and I shuddered. “We’re gonna hang out, play video games, and drink.”

Raven placed his arm around me and pulled me close, as if showing Jared that I was with him. It eased the tension going through me and reassured me that he would protect me at all cost. “Okay. We’ll stop by.” He picked up his sack from the counter and the tree that Rimmy had wrapped up. “Ready?”

“Yeah, I just need to pay for this and we can go.” I walked to the counter and paid for the figure. The entire time I stood at the register, I felt like Jared was watching my every move. When I turned around, my intuition proved right as Raven’s friend kept an unsettling gaze on me.

“Excuse me,” I said as I shouldered past him.

“Sure.” He barely moved and I felt his hand brush against mine. A sickening shiver rushed down my back and I quickly jerked my hand away. Everything about this guy screamed trouble. Jared smiled at me. “I guess I’ll see you tonight.”

Uh, no.

Even though the comment was directed at me, Raven responded, “Yeah, man, see you later on.”

“Let’s go.” I grabbed Raven by the hand and quickly bolted out of there as fast as I could.

Σ

Chapter 15

After we put up the miniature Christmas tree, Raven and I had a slight argument about going to his friends’ apartment. I truly felt that it was a bad idea. At first, I told him that we shouldn’t drive because the roads were still iced over and he could wreck his car. But he retorted with the fact that his friends’ apartment was just on the other side of the circle and he’d drive slow. When that didn’t work, I told him that Jared made me feel really uncomfortable. Again, Raven discounted my comment by telling me that Jared flirted with every female he came across. Since I didn’t want to be the girlfriend that told her guy that he couldn’t hang out with his friends, I agreed to go. I just hoped that my decision wouldn’t be one that I’d later regret.

We drove to a fairly new apartment complex on the other side of the park. I remembered my brother checking in to them at the beginning of the semester, but my parents refused to pay the monthly rent because it was about five-hundred dollars more than most apartments. Cautiously, Raven entered the parking garage and drove to the top floor.

We got out of the car and walked to the entrance of the apartments. The sound of hip-hop music echoed through the top floor as we approached Jared’s apartment, reminding me of some of the frat parties I’d been to. We passed a really nice workout facility and a rooftop lounge that was obviously closed because of the weather. There were a few apartments along the way and I noticed that each door was somewhat distant from each other, telling me that these apartments must be fairly large.

“Did I tell you that you look really beautiful tonight?” Raven commented as we reached the door.

I unzipped my jacket and gave myself a quick look over. I wasn’t wearing anything special, just an oversized sweater and leggings. My typical attire during the winter. “Thanks.”

“If things get too crazy, we’ll leave, okay?” Raven raised his hand and I tried to stop him, wanting to know what he meant by
too crazy,
but it was too late.

The door to the apartment opened and Cage stood in the doorway with a huge glass stein filled with beer in his hand. “What’s up?” He smiled and his cheeks puffed. He had on a football jersey, sporting the number forty-five on the front.

“Hey, man.” Raven exchanged a fist bump with him and then led us into the huge loft apartment. It looked like a mini-penthouse decked out in shaggy rugs, modern furnishings, and bright colors. Canvas painted art of naked girls lined the walls along with neon lights, trophies, and football paraphilia enclosed in glass. A football player’s dream with a playboy accent.

Great.

And I had willingly walked into it.

To my surprise, the place didn’t reek of cigars, liquor, or any other funky smell, but something turned my stomach and I instantly got another bad vibe. Several girls were playing a dance video game in the living room, screaming and yelling as they shimmed against each other. Two guys, who looked like football players, were sitting on the couch with a couple of trampy-looking girls surrounding them. They nodded their head at Raven, exchanging a typical guy hello. The girls wore short skirts and tiny shirts that barely covered their stomachs. I looked homely compared to how much skin they were showing. How the heck could Raven think I looked beautiful?

Past the living room was the kitchen where Jared sat at a glass dining table with a girl on each side. A silver pipe hung out the side of his mouth and he took long draws, puffing on it as a small billow of smoke swirled above his head. I couldn’t help but question what was in the pipe.  His eyes were red and he had a sly smirk on his face. In a slow, deliberate fashion, his eyes surveyed me from head to toe and my skin crawled, remembering what it felt like when he touched me.

“Glad you guys could make it.” Jared pulled the pipe from his mouth and smiled at me. His large, gold tooth sparkled and it looked like a diamond was in the center of it. Was Raven was involved in any illegal activities with him? Based on his pad and the red Corvette I saw parked outside the comic book store, I was confident this guy was more than a student and football player.

“Don’t even think about it, Jared,” Raven quickly replied, pulling me closer to him. “She’s not for sharing.”

“Ah, hell.” Jared slapped the glass and the table shook beneath his large hand. “I thought I’d get to try a piece of her tight ass.” He snickered and my blood boiled. Who the hell did he think I was? One of Raven’s ex-hoes? Clenching my jaw tightly together, I held my tongue, knowing that he was trying to get a reaction out of me. I’d be damned if I gave him that pleasure. For all I cared, he could go eff himself.

“Trust me, Jared, I’ve already tried.” The girl on his left side ran her slender hand down his arm and across his chest. Her gold bangles clanged against each other and her long, pointed fingers trailed a path to Jared’s mouth. Her nails razed his thick lips and his tongue swept across her finger, as if he were licking a lollipop. She released a low moan while keeping her eyes directly on Raven. “For whatever reason, Raven’s really hung up on this one.”

“Shut the fuck up, Macy,” Raven barked as he rolled his eyes at her.

I did a double take, realizing that it was Macy from the restaurant. Her hair was jet black and pulled into a high ponytail with braids on each side that trailed down her back. A huge contrast from the blonde hair she had a few months ago. She had on a black, silky tank top with no bra, paired with a cheetah print micro-mini skirt. She was an animal ready to rip apart her prey. I held on to Raven’s arm tightly, because there was no way in hell I was letting that puma pounce on my man.

“Do you want something to drink?” The girl hanging on the other side of Jared’s arm stood. She had a big afro that was highlighted with a gold color on the tips that made her almost as tall as Raven. Her smooth mocha skin radiated under her bright, peachy blush and glossy lips. Her eyes were light green, almost like Raven’s, and I noticed how she caught his attention.

“Yeah, sure.” I tucked my hair behind my ear, wishing I had fixed myself up more. There was too much skin and too many head-turning girls, making me feel totally out of place. Danger lurked in the air and I knew then that we shouldn’t have come.