After the meeting, I pulled Violet aside before we headed to the regular EET meeting. “Okay, so when I brought up Kingsley, there was another reason and I didn’t want to mention it in front of Jason. He asked me to go out Saturday afternoon. I know you said you may be visiting Finn then, so I thought it would be the perfect time for us to spend some time together. But if you want me there, or readily available when you leave, or whatever, I’m there. No worries. Kingsley will still be there on Sunday or whenever. Hoes before bros, right?”
“No, no. Go out with him. I told you that I didn’t want you to come to the visit, so by all means, have a good time. We can text afterward. If I’m with David, then I’ll be okay. Besides, I have a lot of faith in this investigator.”
“I mean it, call me and I’ll drop everything and show up.”
“I will. No worries.” She took my hand and smiled at me. “What are you guys doing?” The light was back in her eyes. I guessed Kingsley was a good distraction for her.
“I don’t know. He wants to surprise me,” I replied, trying not to blush.
“Aww, that’s so cute. I can’t wait to hear all about it and live through you. I could definitely use something to boost morale around here.”
I smiled and gave her a quick little side hug. “I guess I could go above and beyond to have an amazing date. Just looking out for you.”
We headed to the EET meeting and got situated. Violet and Berneli pretended they didn’t know each other, and so did Jason and I. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed by the way we were acting. Violet didn’t need to deal with our crap right now, so I made a conscious decision to try to tolerate Jason and all of his nonsense. I looked at him and attempted to give him a genuine smile. He looked back at me and winked like nothing was wrong. Hopefully, we could put this behind us and be good friends for Violet, and just maybe, he could approve of Kingsley. I made a mental note to bring up the date this time. I didn’t want to get busted for lying again.
I sat down at a desk near the door and began getting my notes out to take attendance. I was in the process of creating a sign-up sheet for the new members when a pretty bleach blonde walked up to me. Her big blue eyes looked a little scared, but she had a smile on her face as bright as her red lipstick.
She extended her hand to me and I shook it. “Hi, my name is Christie, I’m a commuter. I really enjoyed the comedy show last semester so I thought it might be fun to join.”
“I’m Annabelle. I’m glad you liked the comedienne. I thought she was hysterical. We kind of got a little backstage show after her performance. It was really cool.”
“Yes! That was one of the reasons I wanted to join. The backstage stuff sounds awesome, but to be honest, I’ve always kinda been interested in marketing.”
“Great. Why don’t you fill out the sign-in sheet, so we can contact you, and have a seat? We definitely have a lot of marketing opportunities.”
“Sounds good.” She completed the form and then went to sit by herself. I looked at her and noticed she wasn’t making eye contact and didn’t seem to know anyone. It must have been the commuter thing. I knew it was hard for students who commuted to make friends since most college kids became friends with the people who lived in the same dorm building. If you didn’t live across the hall from an overly outgoing person who practically forced you out of your room on the first day of school, that could create problems.
I waved at Violet and she looked up at me. I nodded my head in Christie’s direction and Violet’s gaze turned toward her. She looked back at me and smiled a little mischievously. Violet, in her extroverted way, walked over and introduced herself. She said she wanted a distraction, and making a new friend would certainly fill her time. I just hoped Christie was ready for how pushy Violet could be. It had taken me a minute to get used to.
Nat was just starting the meeting when Kingsley waltzed into the room. He saw me in the corner and slid into the desk next to me.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked as he placed his hand on my knee.
“You mentioned this was important to you the other night at dinner so I wanted to check it out.” He brushed the tip of my nose with his finger and I smiled up at him.
He took my hand and we turned our attention to the front of the classroom. Clarissa had started talking about some of the smaller events that were going to be put on in the next month. They were planning a murder mystery party, some little game shows, and a few hallway fundraisers for various causes. She wanted us to break up and pick an event.
Kingsley and I stood up, still hand in hand, and headed to where Violet and Christie were sitting. I looked at Jason, trying to get his attention. Maybe if he spent some more time with Kingsley, he wouldn’t despise him so much. But he wouldn’t make eye contact and looked super into his own group.
“So, what do we want to be in charge of?” Violet asked, bringing my attention back to the group, and, of course, Kingsley.
“Well, I know I’m new here, but we should do a bake sale on a Friday. Everyone goes out to the bar or drinks on Thursday, you know, for Thirsty Thursday, and I’ll bet they want something to munch on as they try to get through their classes,” Christie suggested.
I looked at Violet and we both shared the same giant smile. This was a great idea. Then the problems began to pop up. “While I love the idea, we can’t bake on campus. None of us have an oven,” I pointed out, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Annabelle, I told you earlier that I’m a commuter. I live fifteen minutes away. Some of you can come over and we can bake in my kitchen,” Christie offered.
“That’s really nice. Are you sure? We don’t want to put you out,” Violet assured her.
“No, it’s totally fine. I’m actually a big baker, so I can help all the beginners.”
“Well, I’ll let you ladies sort that out. I don’t bake, but I’ll definitely be there to eat. One of my boys is over there so I’m gonna change groups,” Kingsley said. I was a little sad to watch him go, since it would have been a lot of fun to do something else together, but I could understand that he didn’t want to bake.
Christie gave Violet and me her address and we planned to meet up Thursday afternoon.
The meeting was coming to a close and dinner was definitely calling my name. I watched Christie grab her things, and asked Violet if we should invite her to eat with us.
“Yeah, she seems nice. Besides, it would make Thursday significantly less awkward if we got to know her a little better.”
“Good call.” I walked over to Christie and she gave me another big smile as she brushed her hair out of her face. “Hey, do you want to come have dinner with us? A few of us get together after the meetings and go to the cafeteria. I know it’s not a home cooked meal, but it’s edible.”
“Yeah, sounds great. Let me just shoot my mom a text so she isn’t expecting me. She gets a little crazy if she doesn’t know where I am at, like, all times.”
“Awesome, we’ll meet you outside.” I grabbed my bag and headed to the hallway. I wanted to see where Kingsley went to. When the meeting ended, he practically ran outside. It was weird that he’d leave without saying goodbye, so I was eager to find out what happened. Maybe he just needed to run to the bathroom.
As I left the classroom, my heart sank a little. Kingsley was with the girl with the long brown hair again. I couldn’t hear what they were talking about but they were sitting really close to each other on the couch and their heads were bent so only the other could hear their whispers. It looked heartbreakingly intimate.
I watched for a second longer as she handed him something but I couldn’t see what it was. He quickly took it and shoved it in his bag. Had she just given him her phone number? No, that was dumb. Why wouldn’t she just text him or something? It had to be something else. He gave her a nod and then he looked over at me. Kingsley forced a smile and rushed over to where I was standing.
“Hey, babe, what’s up?” His shoulders were slouched and his hands were shoved in his pockets. I looked him over and couldn’t adjust the frown on my face. He looked like he was up to no good and something in my gut was screaming out, desperate to be heard.
“Um, so, it’s not a big deal, but who’s that girl? I’ve seen you guys together a few times.” I pulled him to the side, hoping Violet and Christie would stay in the classroom a little longer. But if they didn’t, I was sure they’d realize I needed a minute. Or at least I hoped they would.
“Oh, her? Babe, you have nothing to worry about. She’s just an old high school friend. I had a headache earlier and she offered to give me a pain reliever.”
I remembered what Kyle had told me about pills and red flags started flying. “She just gave you one?”
“Well, no, I have another class later, so she gave me a couple extra in case it comes back. She’s studying to be a nurse so she keeps stuff like that on her all the time in case someone needs something. Really, it’s not a big deal.”
“If it’s not a big deal, why did you hide it? You two looked all secretive.”
He reached out and touched my forehead. “Do you feel that worry line? That’s why I was being secretive. I didn’t want to worry you. I know you have enough going on with Violet and I didn’t want you to worry about a little sinus headache. I have bad allergies, so it’s just because of that. They happen all the time. Besides, I’d hate for someone to get the wrong idea.”
“Okay,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty for questioning him. I was practically accusing him of flirting with another girl, and here he was, feeling sick. “I’m sorry you don’t feel good.” I reached out and took his arm, giving him a mini hug.
“You’re sweet.” Kingsley leaned down and gave me a light kiss on the lips. “Come on, your friends are hiding in the classroom while we talk this over. I’m sure they’re hungry.”
“What? Oh.” I turned around and saw Violet, Christie, and Jason hanging out in the doorway, pretending not to watch us. “Ready to get some food?” I reached up and started to fix my hair a little. I figured they’d give us a minute but I never thought they’d be watching. That was poor planning. Violet was nosey as hell. I should have expected her to be eavesdropping.
“I’ll meet you down there. I’m just gonna run to the bathroom and take that pain pill before my headache gets worse.
***
“So, tell us a little about yourself, Christie,” Violet suggested as we made our way to the cafeteria.
“Uh, I’m studying business with a concentration in marketing right now but my real goal is to be a top notch trophy wife.”
“I like that plan,” Violet managed between chuckles. “Have you found your sugar daddy yet? Does he look like Fabio?”
“Not so much. He has a military crew cut. My boyfriend’s name is Rob. He is actually in an officer program at a college down south. He’ll be graduating in a year and then he’ll be a commissioned officer. So we want to get married shortly after that and I’ll follow him to whatever base he is assigned to.”
“Oh, that must suck. Long distance relationships are the worst. How do you do it?” I asked her.
“Sexting, of course,” Christie said with a stone cold serious face. This time, Violet couldn’t control herself and actually shot soda out of her nose. Of course, this just caused everyone to laugh harder. Violet had found someone just as brazen as her.
“No, in all seriousness,” Christie said while Violet cleaned up her spittle, “we try to talk on the phone every night and he visits almost once a month, so that helps. My parents are crazy protective, so they didn’t want me to go to school out of state, and forget about me traveling down to see him alone.”
“My parents wouldn’t let me bring my car on campus, so I understand crazy parents,” Violet reminded us. It certainly would have been a lot easier for her to drive off and see her lover if she had a car. But then again, maybe her parents had a point. I didn’t think their main goal was to ensure Violet had an easier way to get to the professor she was banging on the weekends.
Christie took her phone out and showed us a photo of Rob. He was the picture perfect military man. His brown hair was cropped short, his blue eyes shown brightly, and his muscles appeared to be bursting out of his shirt. He looked even more jacked than Kingsley, but he had a light and carefree smile on his face and looked at Christie like she was the most important person in the world.
“Good for you, girl,” Violet cheered, whistling.
“The two of you together look like Barbie and Ken,” I said, handing her back the phone. “He is gorgeous.”
“Thanks, he’s definitely a good-looking guy,” she responded, and put the phone away. “What about you guys?”
Jason practically threw his phone at her. “I’ll have to introduce you to Janice. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Aww, she’s pretty. You guys look good together.”
“Thanks, we’ve been together forever.”
I tried not to roll my eyes but clearly I was making a face. Violet kicked me under the table and I turned to look at Kingsley and smiled at him. Christie picked up on it and pointed at us. “So, are you two a couple as well?”
My eyes shot open and my mouth gaped a little. I wasn’t ready for that, and frankly, I didn’t know how to answer it. Kingsley wrapped his arm around me protectively and smiled. I placed a hand on his knee and realized it was bouncing up and down. Was he nervous too? There was a little sweat on his brow so maybe he was. Taking a page out of Violet’s book, I spoke up.
“We’re not dating, just trying to get to know each other a bit more.” I smiled back at him and he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
“And, Violet, where’s your boyfriend?”
I froze and waited to see what Violet would say. Maybe meeting a new friend was a little dangerous in our group.
“My boyfriend is studying abroad in England right now, but I say boyfriend loosely. I don’t really like the idea of being tied down.”
“Hey, live it up. I’m all for playing the field,” Christie cheered.
***
When we finished eating, we all went back to Jason’s room and had a movie night. But, man, Christie was not kidding about her parents. They actually called her three times during the course of one movie to find out what her plan was, when she’d be home, and who she was with.
Kingsley, on the other hand, could not take his eyes off the movie. I thought he was beginning to annoy everyone because he kept pointing out little things in the background, weird things about the cast, and tiny plot holes that were bothering him. It was like he was hyper focused. I kept whispering for him to keep it together, but it was like something was forcing the information out of his mouth. His knee was still going and I was desperate to know how he had all this energy. But then I remembered I’d been up almost all night with Violet. It suddenly made a lot of sense as to why I was exhausted.
I started fighting to keep my eyes open and leaned against him, stroking his chest gently. This seemed to finally calm him down as he wrapped an arm around me. Now he just spoke to me in a whisper. I didn’t mind listening to him jammer on. It was soothing and I might have even dozed off a bit.
The movie ended too soon and we all started to head out. Kingsley offered to walk Violet and me back to our dorm. I looked over at Violet, trying to have one of those best friend telepathic conversations that movies and books talked about. I wanted a few moments alone with Kingsley.
Either Violet and I were now psychically connected, or she was able to pick up on my meaning on her own. Honestly, with Violet, it could have gone either way. She insisted on walking with Christie back to her car, maintaining she was terrified Christie’s mom would hunt us down if she didn’t make it home safely. Jason went with them since we didn’t want Violet walking back to the dorm alone either.
“Alone at last,” Kingsley said as we walked outside. It was cold, but the night was perfect. The moon was full and there were a million stars out. Since the school was in a small town, about a half hour away from a major city, on clear nights, it wasn’t unheard of to see a sky full of stars. I looked up at them and then smiled at Kingsley.
“I know. But I’m glad you were willing to hang out with my friends all night. It means a lot to me.”
“Anything for you, babe. Besides, I needed to make sure you and Violet were safe.” He pulled me against him and gave me a kiss. Not the light kisses from earlier today. This kiss had a force behind it and it made my knees weak. It was a good thing he was holding onto me, or I didn’t know if I could have stayed upright. His touch sent a fire through my body and I no longer felt the wind’s chill.
Then, as he nibbled a little on my lip, it happened before I could keep it together. I shivered hard, but it wasn’t from the cold.
“Geez, I’m such an idiot. Let me take you back to your room before you freeze.”
“I have some hot chocolate in my room, want to come up?” I asked, knowing the double meaning behind my words.
Kingsley looked me deep in the eyes for a moment, as if he were trying to decipher if I really meant what he hoped I did. He leaned down and gave me another deep kiss. “I’d love to come up.”
Hand in hand, we walked up to my dorm room and I paused a second before opening the door. “Would it be terrible if I asked you to wait outside for a minute? I wasn’t expecting this, so my room is a little messy.”
“Sure, I’ll just run to the bathroom real quick and then knock on the door. How’s that?”
“Do you want me to take your bag with me? You don’t need to take it with you to the bathroom.”
He pulled the bag a little higher on his shoulder and gripped the handle tighter. “Not that I don’t trust you, because I do, but…” He stopped for a minute and looked up at the ceiling, shifting his weight back and forth. “I don’t know. It’s this weird thing. I just like having my bag with me.”
“That’s fine,” I said, and pulled him to me, placing a big kiss on his lips.
When I let go, Kingsley walked off to the bathroom and I rushed into my room. Truth be told, I wasn’t a messy person. I had some dirty clothes next to the hamper that I quickly tossed away, and I made the bed. Yeah, it was probably going to get all mussed in a minute but it would look nice when he walked in.
As I took my coat off and hung it up on the back of the door, I quickly scanned the room for any embarrassing items. My eyes quickly fell on my duck collection. I liked to buy little duck statues whenever I went to a new city or state. I had quite the collection. Basically, I kept mom-and-pop tourist and knickknack shops in business.
Unfortunately, my mother had taken the duck collection to a whole new level. Whenever she went to a new city or state, she bought me a stuffed duck. I grabbed the stuffed animals and tossed them in the closet, cursing myself for not tossing them in my trunk. I was eighteen, why were there stuffed animals in my room? Probably because there was no man taking up that side of the bed, I thought to myself.
Then I checked my panties. No, I wasn’t planning to have sex but I wanted to see which ones I was wearing. Just because I wasn’t ready to go all the way didn’t mean there wasn’t a chance he’d see them. Besides, Violet always told me to work my best asset, and she definitely meant asset.
The yellow and black polka dot hipsters were cute but definitely not sexy. I almost changed, but then decided to keep them on. It wasn’t like I had any sexy lingerie. They would have to do. Then I checked what bra I had on. It was just a plain black one. He was almost definitely going to see that, and when I thought about it, I didn’t mind. Black was supposed to be a sexy color, right?
I decided to stop second guessing everything before Kingsley came back and I was doing something embarrassing like falling over as I tried to pull my skinny jeans back up.
Instead, I turned to start mixing the hot chocolate when I heard a knock on the door. With my heart trying to pound out of my chest, I opened the door to see the best-looking man I had ever laid eyes on giving me bedroom eyes. “Can I come in?”