Chapter Eleven
Natalie
Class had dragged on that day. I wasn't sure if it was the teaching, or if it was that I was still tired from the night before. It had taken me forever to get to sleep after Jet left, and I knew why. That kiss had moved like electricity through my body; in fact, it had such an effect on me that I had a hard time getting Jet off my mind the entire morning. Maybe that's why class seemed boring in comparison to thinking about Jet and that kiss. Shockingly enough, I even had the crazy notion that I might like to kiss him again. Imagine that. Maybe I had been too hard on him this whole time; maybe he did deserve the benefit of the doubt. There was no need to mistrust him until he gave me a reason to. And the fact of the matter was I kind of wanted to see what was behind that kiss; to see if there was more than lust there.
Once class ended, I decided to take out some of my stress and frustration at the gym. I hadn't been there in a few days, due to my course load and assignments. However, I had a few free hours, so why the hell not? It might actually help me to fall asleep that night. I usually preferred to work out early in the morning, as I was usually too tired later on to get in there, but that day was an exception.
The campus gym was pretty exquisite. It was one of those state-of-the-art facilities that had everything you could possibly need to work out with, all in one place, with numerous makes and models. Although there were times where you still had to wait for a machine, it was a rare thing. Usually there was more than enough available for everyone.
One of the other reasons why I enjoyed working out early was because there was typically no one there that early. Most students were either hungover from the night before, or in class, and didn’t bother with early morning workout sessions. By mid-morning, the gym was a lot busier than it was when I generally came in.
I headed to the treadmills and stepped onto one. I entered all the requirements, and set the speed to allow for a slow jog at first, and then I would increase the speed as I went. I put my headphones on, and got my iPod rolling with some good jams.
I spent those 40 minutes in my own world; this was the time for me to fix all the problems that had been plaguing me lately. I felt at that point that I had my art project under control, and the first month was already complete. At the moment, I didn't have any other big projects coming up, so I could probably spend some time on my own art to get ready for a new show. I wasn't sure when the next one was coming, but it was always good to have a solid collection ready to go at the drop of a hat.
Now, what to do about Jet? The thought of letting him into my world gave me a touch of anxiety. I wasn't entirely sure I could trust him, but that kiss had sparked something inside of me that I wasn't sure I could continue to deny much longer. I was curious about why the kiss had moved me so much. Maybe there was more there to examine between us than I had realized. I didn't want to miss out on something spectacular if it was there for the taking.
The 40 minutes flew by, and my cool down began. I slowed to a fast walk and wiped the sweat off my brow. I pulled my headphones out of my ears, and took a quick look around the room. I had a minute and a half left before the treadmill stopped on its own.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of people, guys and girls, clustered against the wall. It wasn't an unusual thing to see. There were always groups of people lurking around, some with no real interest in working out, just there to try and get with a guy or girl. The unusual thing about this group was that they all seemed to be staring at me. They would glance over, and then whisper amongst each other, and then glance over again. I had never seen anything like it before, and I raised an eyebrow at them.
Although I was known around campus as an art student, I was never considered unpopular. I had never been the victim of bullying, nor had anyone tease me or make fun of me. In fact, a lot of people had known my ex, and liked him a great deal. For the most part, people liked me as well, but being shy, I just never immersed myself within a large group of people. That's why I found that little clique’s behavior to be highly unusual.
I gave them an obvious and pointed shrug, as if to say, Hey what's with all the staring? I brushed it off, and started heading toward the free weight area. I could still feel their eyes on me, and my stomach began to turn, as if I knew that they had a clue to a secret that I knew nothing about.
There was a girl lifting weights when I walked over, and she already had her eyes on the group of people as well. She had a quizzical look on her face, and I hoped she didn't think that I was some loser, too. The whole thing struck me as a little bizarre, but maybe I was just having one of those days.
The girl turned to me when I approached, and smiled awkwardly. Yup, she thinks I'm a loser. Wonderful.
I picked up some 15 lb. free weights, and sat down on a bench to do bicep curls. I never lifted heavy weights, I mainly did free weights just to add a little muscle to my body, but I didn't want anything crazy.
“Don't worry about them.”
Surprised, I looked up at her. “Excuse me?”
She pointed to the group, which was kind enough to turn away. “I'm talking about those nitwits. Really classy bunch over there that can't stop staring at you.”
“Yeah ... I'm not really sure what that's about.”
“You don't know? Really? Well, I know we like to think that guys keep their mouths shut, but it's rarely the case. Sorry,”
I dropped the weights as I grew a little annoyed. Was this puzzle day? If so, I had no idea what the hell was going on. “I'm sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“It's ‘cause you slept with Jet.”
“I did what?”
“Jet's roommate has a fairly large trap, and he was talking about you and Jet getting it on pretty hot and heavy last night after he stopped over at your place. After that, it spread, which is why you seem to have caught the interest of that group over there.”
“I've never met Jet's roommate.”
“It doesn't matter; Jet obviously filled him in on the two of you, and Kyle spilled the beans. It sucks, I know. Guys can be such pigs.”
I stared down at the weights I had dropped, trying to process the information I had just been given. I looked back at the group, which at that point had moved on to more interesting things. They thought I had slept with Jet. That's why they had been staring at me. They were probably wondering why a guy like Jet would sleep with a girl like me.
“I didn't sleep with Jet, though.”
“You don't have to hide it, girl, we aren't in high school anymore. Everyone does it.”
I laughed nervously. “No, that's not it. I seriously have never slept with Jet ever, nor do I intend on it.” The girl looked me over carefully, so I added, “I honestly don't know why those people think I did.”
“Well they think that because Kyle told them. Kyle isn't the kind of guy that goes around telling lies, so I'm guessing that for whatever reason Jet told him you guys did the nasty, and Kyle exposed it.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Some guy I had never met was going around campus telling everyone that I had slept with Jet last night. I was going to strangle Jet when I got my hands on him.
“That son of a bitch.”
“Yeah, guys are pricks. I typically try to avoid them at all costs. Just not worth the headaches.”
I put back the free weights, no longer in the mood to finish my workout. I had to get the hell out of the gym and away from the stares I was getting. “Well I appreciate you giving me the heads up, but I have to go now and murder someone.”
“Yeah, no problem. Good luck.”
I hurried out of the gym, avoiding eye contact with anyone. I wondered how many people knew―how many people were gossiping about my wild night with Jet. What a prick. I headed across campus to my apartment, and unlocked the building door. I made a quick dash up the stairs and burst through my apartment door. I was happy to see Julie there.
“You are never gonna believe what happened to me today.”
“What? What happened? Who pissed you off?”
“That idiot! I should never have trusted him.”
“Calm down, Natalie, who are we talking about here?”
“Jet.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Jet? What happened with Jet?”
“Absolutely nothing happened with Jet, that's the whole point. But that's not what he's telling people.”
“Whoa! Okay, start from the beginning.”
I told Julie everything, from the visit to our apartment the night before to the kiss. I even openly admitted to liking the kiss, and looking at future possibilities with Jet. I explained to her how I had freaked a little and sent him packing. I then explained the situation at the gym, and about the group of people staring at me, whispering. I told her how some strange girl had to enlighten me on the topic.
“Oh my God, Natalie. I'm so sorry.”
“It was beyond humiliating. They were just staring at me. I felt like an idiot.”
“They’re morons, Natalie. Like, who does that? We aren't in high school; why do they care if Jet slept with someone?”
“It's ‘cause it's me. They were probably trying to figure out what the hell he saw in me. Believe me, I was wondering the same thing.”
“Come on, Natalie, I know you are upset, and you have every right to be, but you are just talking crazy now. You are gorgeous; look at that hair alone.” I started laughing. “No, I'm serious. You're obviously beautiful. Those were just a bunch of tools that were jealous. A bunch of girls who got dissed by him at some point, that's all.”
I went for the heavy liquor that time. Screw the wine bottles. I went into the cupboard and took out a bottle of whiskey. I took out two snifter glasses, and poured a generous amount into both of them. I added ice and a small amount of Coke, and stirred it a little. Julie watched with her mouth hanging open.
“Natalie, it's like 2:00 p.m.”
“Do you have somewhere you need to be?”
Julie laughed, “No, I guess I don't.” She took the glass I handed her and took a sip. “Whoa, this is a stiff one.”
“Yeah, I wish I could have said the same for Jet,” I laughed. “I didn't even get to find out. I think that's what pisses me off the most. He didn't even put a valiant effort into getting me into bed before going around and telling everyone we did it.”
“Look, you don't know the whole story. Maybe he was trying to save face, and didn't realize it would go public. You have been pretty hard on the guy.”
“Save face, my ass. He's just like every other guy I know, and here's the proof of it. Just when I actually started liking him, he goes and does exactly what I thought he was going to do, and that's be an asshole.”
“I'm actually surprised. He seemed to genuinely like you.”
“That's how they trick you. He didn't like me. He's just the same as all the others. I tried to tell you that right from the beginning, and you kept trying to get me to hang out with him. And now this.”
“You're blaming me?” She looked dumbfounded.
“No! This is my own idiocy, trust me.”
“Maybe you should talk to him. See why he did that.”
“No thanks, I have no interest in talking to him again.”
“Sorry, girl.”
I held up my glass of whiskey before drinking it. “Let's just get shitfaced together.”
We laughed together, and I once again tried to drown my sorrows in booze.