Chapter Two
Janie
“Hey good-looking, what you got cooking?” Anabel whistled at me as I walked out of the bathroom dressed in my shortest black skirt and a push up bra that left nothing to the imagination.
“A steak and fries,” I giggled as I winked at her. “Hey, can I borrow your red lipstick? I can’t find mine.”
“Sure.” Anabel laughed and I watched as she stood up and walked over to her vanity. I stared at her skinny frame and sighed with envy. Anabel was one of those natural effortless beauties. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans, a cute gray top and little makeup, yet she still looked stunning. Her hair hung straight in a bob, accentuating her heart-shaped face, and when she handed me her Chanel lipstick, her hazel eyes were sparkling. I would have hated her if she weren’t my best friend.
“You know you’re a gorgeous skinny bitch and I want your figure and hair, and natural rosy cheeks.” I stuck my tongue out at her as I grabbed the lipstick and walked over to the mirror to apply it.
“Janie.” She laughed. “I will take those words as a compliment. You know you’re a sexy beast. Don’t even pretend that you wish you had no curves, like me.”
“You call them curves. I call it fat.” I glared at my reflection in the mirror. My black hair was wavy and mid-back, my brown eyes looked like they held dark naughty secrets and the red lipstick made me look vampish. Overall, I was pleased with my appearance, but I still wanted to lose a good twenty pounds. “Do I look like I’m trying too hard?” I spun around and looked at Anabel. “You look so casual and I look so dressed up.”
“It depends on what you’re trying too hard for.” Anabel grinned at me. “You’re sexy and you know it. Own it girl.”
“Own it?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Have you been watching reality TV again?”
“Like duh, holla.” Anabel started giggling. “Okay, maybe we shouldn’t have taken shots of vodka before the party.”
“It’s called pre-partying.” I giggled again. “I mean, we’re even lucky that Louise gave us that bottle. It’s not like we can buy it ourselves yet.”
“And that’s exactly why we shouldn’t be drinking. It’s not even legal yet.”
“Waa waa.” I rolled my eyes. “We’re nineteen, it’s fine.”
“Janie, sometimes I just don’t know about you,” Anabel said with a small sigh. “You’re my exact opposite.”
“And that’s exactly why our friendship works so well.” I turned around and grinned at her. I grabbed her hands and danced around the room. “Aren’t you so glad I’m your best friend? Your life would be so boring without me.”
“I don’t know if that day in eighth grade was the best or worst day of my life.” She smiled at me as she shook her head. “We’re dancing to no music, you know?”
“I can sing us a song.” I suddenly stopped and started swinging my hips. “And what do you mean you don’t know if it was the best or the worst day of your life?” I glared at her.
“Oh, Janie.” She shook her head at me. “Of course it was the best day of my life. Now let’s get going to this party, so that we can have you meet lots of hot frat guys.”
“Uhm, there’s only one guy I’m going to meet.” I sighed wistfully. “And hopefully make out with.”
“And marry and have kids and grandkids,” Anabel continued.
“And we will live in a mansion with five cars and two nannies.”
“No nannies.” Anabel shook her head. “You don’t want him sleeping with her and your kids calling her mummy.”
“You’re right, no nannies. You can help out.”
“Uh huh.” Anabel laughed. “I’ll take care of your kids and my kids.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” I grinned. “Maybe Nate has a brother and you can marry him.”
“Yeah, let’s ask him tonight after he proposes to you.” Anabel grabbed her bag. “Come on, silly. Let’s go.”
“You’re making fun of me now, but just you wait. When Nate and I end up together, I’ll be the one laughing.”
“If you and Nate end up together. I will very happily enjoy watching you laugh,” Anabel said and we walked out of the room arm in arm.
***
The Sigma Ep party was in full swing by the time we made our way through the front doors, and I was slightly overwhelmed by the amount of students who were packed into the house. The music was blaring and there were lots of hot girls dancing with even hotter guys. The lighting was dark and the booze looked plentiful. I gave Anabel a look as we made our way into the house and she just grinned back at me.
“This is crazy,” I said as we walked into the living room. “Do you see Nate?”
“Are you going to make a beeline directly for him?” she asked curiously as she looked around the room. “There are a lot of other guys here. Really hot ones. Maybe you’ll fall in love with one of them instead.”
“Anabel.” I glared at her. “I’m not flakey.”
“Uh huh,” she said as we walked over to a fruit punch bowl.
“I’m not. You know that,” I continued.
“Hey, there ladies.” A cute Asian guy handed us two cups. “Drink?”
“Sure, thanks,” I said as we took the cups from his hand. I took a quick sip and started coughing. “What’s in here?”
“Gin.” He laughed. “Ever had that before?”
“Not really.” I shook my head. “And now I know why.”
“It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” He grinned. “I’m Chen, by the way.”
“Hi, Chen, I’m Janie. This is Anabel.” I nodded toward my friend.
“Nice to meet you ladies,” He gave us both a wide smile and nodded his head. “Want a tour of the house?”
“Maybe not now,” Anabel said quickly and gave me a look as if to say no. I rolled my eyes at her. Sometimes she had no faith in me. I wasn’t going to tell him yes. No matter how cute he was.
“Are you sure?” He flashed a wide smile and his dimples set in. “I can show you my room.”
“Yeah, we’re sure,” Anabel said and grabbed my arm. “Thanks for the drink, Chen. We’ll see you around.”
“Ah, okies.” He shrugged and I saw his attention turning to some other girls as we walked away.
“You didn’t have to cut him off like that,” I said to Anabel as we walked away. “He was just being friendly.”
“Yeah, he was just being friendly because he wanted to get us into his bed.”
“No, he didn’t.
“Ah, yes. He did.” She made a face at me. “He most probably thought that it was his lucky night and he was going to have a threesome.”
“Anabel!” I laughed. “No, he didn’t.”
“I bet he did.” She grabbed the cup from my hand. “And don’t drink anymore of that. He might have roofied it.”
“Anabel, I’m sure he didn’t.”
“Not worth the risk,” she said as she grabbed the cup. “Okay,” her voice lowered. “Don’t look now, but today is your lucky day.”
“Oh?” I immediately looked behind me and my heart started racing as I saw Nate approaching us. He looked so handsome in a pair of dark blue jeans and a crisp white shirt.
“Hey, girls,” he said as he joined us. “Nice to see you, Anabel.” He gave her a hug and then he turned to me. “And you too, Jane.” He gave me a quick hug as well and the warmth of his body against mine made me want to melt. “So glad you girls could make it.”
“Thanks, the party seems hopping,” I said. “Are you in the frat then?”
“No,” He laughed as he shook his head. “I’m too much of a nerd to be in a frat.”
“You don’t seem like a nerd to me.” I batted my lashes up at me.
“I hide it well.” He threw his head back. “I mean I’m only vice president of the chess club and an engineering major.”
“You’re so smart,” I said, just gazing at him.
“Did you sort out your boyfriend’s dog—or was it cat problem?” he asked Anabel, and I could feel jealousy whirling up in me. Was he interested in Anabel? Why did he seem to be asking her more questions than me? I tried to ignore the envy that was growing as I watched him staring at her appreciatively. I couldn’t fault him for finding her attractive.
“Yeah, I did. Thanks for asking,” Anabel responded nonchalantly.
“Would you like a drink?” he asked her as he moved slightly closer to her. My skin grew cold as I watched him paying all of his attention to her.
“No, thanks. I don’t want to be drugged.” Anabel shook her head.
“Drugged?” He tilted his head to the side. “Would I do that?”
“I don’t know? Would you?” she bantered back at him, and he laughed. I could feel a coldness in me as I stood there.
“Never.” He then looked at me. “You don’t think I would do that, do you, Jane?” He stopped for a second and his hand flew to his mouth. “Oops, sorry. It’s Janie, isn’t it? Not Jane.” He looked apologetic, and once again I was on top of the world. His eyes gazed into mine, and I nodded happily.
“Yes, it’s Janie, and no, I don’t think you would drug us.”
“Good.” He smiled at me warmly. “Would you like a drink?”
“Sure.” I nodded happily. “That would be great.”
“Hold on, stay here and I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah, okay.” I ran my hands through my hair and gave him my best flirtatious smile. “Oh my God, he’s so cute!” I hissed to Anabel as soon as he was out of earshot. “I want to just push him against the wall and plant my lips on his.”
“Then you should do that.” Anabel nodded her head. “Go for it, Janie.”
“Really?” I looked at her in surprise.
“No, of course not.” She gave me a look. “Be cool. Don’t be too eager.”
“I don’t know how to be cool.” I pouted. “Not when the feelings are this strong.”
“Janie.” She threw her hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me? You don’t even know him. You—”
“I’m joking.” I started laughing. “I know you think I’m crazy, but I’m not that bad.”
“You are that bad.” She started laughing as well. “You forget I’ve known you since we were fourteen, and you’ve always been boy crazy.”
“I’m not boy crazy.”
“Okay, well, love crazy.”
“I’m not love crazy. I just believe in true love.”
“Every guy you meet and find hot isn’t your true love.”
“I know that.” I sighed. “But I feel something special for Nate.”
“Yup, it’s special all right. I mean, you know him so well.”
“Anabel, don’t be facetious.”
“Would I ever?” She winked at me. “And it’s fine. One of these days you will actually meet the one, and all your dreams will come true.”
“You don’t think Nate is the one?” I grinned at her.
“Honestly?” She stared at me. “I very much doubt it, but then neither one of us knows him very well.”
“Yeah, he is super cute though, don’t you think?”
“Yes, he’s cute.” She nodded, her face thoughtful. “But …” Her voice drifted off.
“But what?” I asked her suspiciously.
“Nothing.” She shook her head swiftly. “Nothing.”
“Do you like him?”
“What?” She frowned at me. “No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She made a face. “He’s not my type. You know that.”
“Hmm, yeah,” I said, but a part of me still wondered if she was into him. Anabel had always put her studies first, but I knew that she also believed in true love—that was something we had in common. She just didn’t always jump in with her heart right away, like me. She was cautious when it came to love.
“Here we go, ladies.” Nate popped up in front of us with two drinks. “I brought one for you as well, Anabel.”
“Thanks,” she said as she took the drink. “If it tastes weird, I’m going to spit it out on you.”
“Sexy.” He winked at her as he handed me my drink. I took it from him and watched them carefully. I took a sip of the drink and stood there, trying to think hard of something flirtatious to say.
“So do you like it?” He looked at me as I continued to sip it.
“It’s delicious. What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a Nate special.” He laughed. “I cannot divulge my secret recipe, but I’m glad you like it.”
“Aww, okay.” I took another sip.
“Nate, my man, what’s good?” A tall, stocky guy joined our group and gave him a fist bump.
“Not much, Travis. How are you?”
“Good, good. Introduce me to your friends.” Travis looked at me and Anabel and winked.
“This is Janie and this is Anabel,” Nate said dutifully. “Girls, this is Travis. He is a Sigma Ep.”
“Yup, you girls in a sorority?”
“No,” I said as he ogled my chest. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to wear a low-cut top.
“Aww cool, cool.” He chugged on his beer. “You dating Nate?” He licked his lips as he stared at me hopefully.
“No.” I shook my head and gave Nate a look to see if he was jealous that Travis was trying to chat me up. I felt disappointed that he didn’t seem to care. He was texting someone on his phone, and I wondered if it was another girl.
“Sweet, so I can ask you to dance then?”
“Uh …”
“We’re not ready to dance yet,” Anabel interjected.
“Okay?” Travis looked over at Anabel. “You girls lesbians?”
“No.” Anabel gave him a weird look.
“Dude.” Nate laughed. “Not cool.”
“What?” Travis shrugged. “Is that not a PC thing to say?”
“You can’t just assume a girl is a lesbian because she doesn’t want to dance with you.” Nate punched him in the shoulder. “Be cool.”
“It’s fine. I’m cool with that.” Travis looked at me and Anabel. “To be honest, it’s always been my fantasy to have a threesome with lesbians.”
“Travis.” Nate glared at him. “Dude.”
“What?” Travis laughed and hit him in the shoulder. “I’mma get out of here. Have fun tonight, buddy. Let me know if you need any Trojans.” Travis walked away laughing and we all stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes.
“Hey, sorry about him. He’s an idiot.” Nate made a face. “I hope he didn’t offend you.”
“No, I’m fine,” I said quickly.
“Do you girls want to dance?” Nate asked and I couldn’t tell if he was more interested in dancing with me or Anabel.
“I’m going to go and check out the food,” Anabel said quickly. “You guys dance, and I’ll catch up with you both.”
“Oh.” Nate paused. “We could all check out the food and then dance if you want.”
“No, that’s okay,” Anabel said, as I just stood there awkwardly. He totally wasn’t interested in me. He wanted Anabel. I almost felt like crying. I wanted to just leave the party. I was an idiot.
“Ready, Janie?” He grabbed my hand before I could walk away. “I warn you, I’m a terrible dancer.”
“That’s okay. I suck as well,” I said, almost giddily as he pulled me across the room to the makeshift dance circle that had started.
A Drake song started playing on the speakers and I watched as Nate started moving back and forth, his head beating in time to the music. He was laughing as he rocked back and forth out of time, and I quickly sipped the rest of my drink and started moving in beat to the music, tossing my hair back and forth like I had no cares in the world. In that moment I felt like I was on top of the world. Maybe he did like me. Maybe this really was the beginning to my fairy-tale story.
“So, Janie, tell me,” He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me toward him so that we were dancing closer together. His lips came down toward my face and in that moment I knew for sure he was going to kiss me.
“Yes?” I said as I looked up at him, my lips slightly parted. “What do you want to know?”
“What’s Anabel’s story? Is she serious with her boyfriend?” he whispered in my ear, and it took everything in me to not pull away from him.
“Yes, yes, she is,” I answered, not making eye contact with him.
“Oh, okay.” He nodded. “She’s cute.”
“Yeah,” I said, as we continued dancing. I wanted to tell him that I thought he was a jerk. What about me? Didn’t he think I was cute?
“You seeing anyone?” he asked as we continued dancing, but he didn’t sound like someone that was dying to hear the words no. I pretended not to hear him and he didn’t ask me again.
“So how long have you been playing chess?” he asked me as we stopped dancing and walked over to the side of the room.
“Not very long,” I said, not even caring to lie about it any longer. I just wanted to leave. I didn’t need his small talk.
“We should play some time,” he said, his face eager as he looked at me. My heart skipped a beat, but the pessimistic side of me realized that he was most probably asking me just so he would have an excuse to see Anabel.
“Yeah, one day.” I looked around the room to see if I could find Anabel. There was a guy staring at me and smiling and I could feel myself blushing as he gave me a small wave.
“What about this weekend?” Nate asked me, but I was too focused on the cutie in the plaid shirt to pay attention to him. “Janie?”
“Sorry, what?” I said as I looked at his frowning face.
“Do you want to play chess this weekend?” he asked me with a shy smile.
“Nah.” I shook my head. “Maybe ask Anabel. She’s most probably free.”
“Oh …” He looked confused, and I watched as he ran his hands through his golden locks. “I guess I can ask her.” He stopped talking and we just stared at each other for a few seconds. “So I was wondering if …”
“Hi there.” A deep voice interrupted our conversation and I turned to see the cute guy in the plaid shirt next to us.
“Hi,” I said with a wide smile.
“Hey, Brad.” Nate grunted. “What’s up?”
“Not much, man. You?” Brad fist bumped Nate. “Introduce me to your hot friend.”
“This is Janie. Janie, this is Brad,” Nate said reluctantly, as my face burned. Hot friend? Me? Brad thought I was hot? Yay!
“Nice to meet you, gorgeous.” Brad took my hand and kissed it.
“You, too,” I said, a little taken aback by his gesture.
“Hope you don’t mind the kiss. I’m a Southern gentleman.” Brad batted his eyelashes at me. “And when I see a lady I have to treat her right.”
“Oh, no worries.” I giggled. I could see Nate’s carefree expression had changed and he looked disapprovingly at us.
“You’re so gorgeous, Janie. Where have you been all my life?”
“Brad, you’re laying it on a bit strong, dude.” Nate made a face at him. “Janie and I were just talking.”
“Dude, you were talking, but she was looking. Directly at me.” Brad winked at me. “You must have been boring her.”
“Brad.” Nate glared at him.
“Dude, the truth hurts.”
I looked over at Nate, who looked angry. I was surprised at his expression. What did he care if Brad was flirting with me? He wasn’t interested in me. He was only using me to get to talk to Anabel. I couldn’t believe he’d had the nerve to ask me about her boyfriend and say she was cute. What about me? Why hadn’t he said I was cute? Why hadn’t he asked if I had a boyfriend? Shit, he had barely even remembered my name.
“So, Janie,” Brad leaned toward me and put his arm around my shoulder. His bright blue eyes were a few inches from mine and I could smell the beer on his breath.
“Sorry, dude. We’ll catch up with you later.” Nate grabbed my hand. “We were just going to go outside to chat.” Nate pulled me with him toward the front door, and I could see Brad staring at us as we walked away.
“Hey, what was that about?” I asked him as we walked out of the back door and into the yard.
“Brad’s a douchebag,” he said as he let go of my hand. “Trust me, I just saved you from a fate worse than death.”
“He seemed nice to me.”
“He seems nice to every girl, until they wake up the next morning naked with him gone.”
“What?” I frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“He just wants to get laid. Once he gets laid, he’s no Southern gentleman, trust me. He’s gone, like the wind.”
“Uhm, okay,” I said. “I wasn’t going to sleep with him.”
“Yeah, that’s what they all say.” He winked at me. “He has charm.”
“Unlike you, huh?” I said, starting to feel annoyed. What was Nate’s deal? I barely knew him, but was already starting to feel like maybe he wasn’t the Prince Charming I’d assumed he was going to be.
“I’m not a one and done man,” he said and laughed.
“Wow, okay.” I made a face at him. “That’s crude.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“You’re nothing like I thought you were going to be,” I said as I stared at him.
“What did you think I was going to be like?” He looked curious. “We only met once at the chess club.”
“Yeah, I know …” My voice trailed off. I wasn’t going to tell him that I’d seen him in the library and had an insta-love moment with him. Especially now that it was already fading. Easy come, easy go, I suppose.
“I’m glad you girls came to the party, though,” he said. “I don’t meet many girls that like to play chess.”
“Well, you know.” I shrugged. “I guess that’s just how life is.”
“Huh?” He looked confused. “Ooh, look, a shooting star.” He pointed up at the sky. “Cool, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s cool,” I said as I looked up, suddenly feeling calm and at ease again. “It’s a beautiful night,” I said as we stood there.
“It sure is.” His voice was sweet and as I looked over at him, I could see that he was staring at my face.
“What are you doing?” I asked nervously as he looked at me, a soft look on his face.
“What do you mean?” he said, his eyes not leaving mine.
“Is there something on my face or something?” I said self-consciously as he continued staring at me. He moved over closer to me and I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
“No.” He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, okay.” I took a step back, confused as to what was going on. Was he making a move on me? And why? I’d thought he was interested in Anabel.
“You’re really pretty. You know that?” he said as he grabbed my hand.
“Thanks.” I blushed. His hand was warm against mine and I stared into his blue eyes, completely mesmerized by his gaze.
“Would you like to go for a walk?” he asked softly. “We can climb up to the top of the hill and look down at the city. There’s a cool swing at the oak tree right over there.” He pointed to the right and I could see the hill he was talking about.
“Sure,” I said, wondering what was going on and if I should invite Anabel. My heart was racing. Was he going to try and kiss me? Maybe I’d misunderstood his earlier comments. Maybe he really did like me as well. Maybe he wasn’t really interested in Anabel.
“Shall we look for Anabel and invite her as well?” he asked just then, and my heart sank again. What the hell was up with this guy?
“Yeah, I don’t think tonight is a good night,” I snapped at him. I wasn’t in the mood for his games. “I shouldn’t leave her alone at the party and I don’t think she will want to go for a long walk. She’s wearing heels.”
“Oh, sad,” he said, and then he gave me a winning smile. “Can I do something else instead, then?”
“What’s that?” I asked, wanting to just walk away from him.
“This.” He lightly pressed his lips against mine, before stepping back. The moment was magical, and I swore I felt a little sparkle of electricity buzzing between us as our lips met. I just stared up at him, his face illuminated by the moon. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and I could see he looked a little dazed.
“We should go back inside.” He blinked at me, walking away quickly as he headed toward the house again.
“Okay,” I said, once again confused. This guy was obviously bipolar or some sort of weird yo-yo human being. I couldn’t keep up with him.
“Sorry about that.” He stopped outside the door. “That was totally inappropriate of me.”
“It’s fine,” I said. “It was barely a peck.”
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have just done that. I hope you don’t think I’m that sort of guy.”
“What sort of guy?” I was starting to think he was crazier than me.
“The sort of guy that tries to take advantage of pretty girls.”
“You think I’m pretty?” I blushed at his words.
“Yeah.” He looked confused as he nodded. “But you know that. Every guy here has been trying to talk to you.”
“No, they haven’t.” I shook my head, but I felt like I was floating on air. “You’re a weird guy, Nate.”
“I told you. I’m a nerd.” He laughed and then grabbed my hand. “Shall we go back in and grab another drink?”
“Yeah.” I smiled back at him. “Let’s do that.”