smirking at me, and I didn’t like it.
“Yes, I’m like totally
committed to my boyfriend, and shit ,” I said, still not engaging, but
becoming more and more pissed off.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by
it. Settle down, settle down,” he was chuckling.
“What a cocky asshole,” I
thought.
“I was just thinking…you
probably haven’t partied much. Or done anything really college experienced ,
or nothing.”
“I’m pretty happy. Besides, I
don’t have a lot of time to party…when I’m carrying two losers on my academic
shoulders,” I said, tapping my pen on their unfinished report pages.
Despite Cory’s inability to
launch a sentence, he was right. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction now, but
his words did have some truth to them. I noticed Gavin studying me, too, and I
could feel the intensity of it without even looking. I just forged on with my
work, and the room stayed silent for several minutes. Gavin finally broke it.
“We should give you a college
experience,” he said. I snapped my eyes up to meet his, not sure where this was
going but pretty sure I didn’t want to experience anything with these three.
Gavin must have sensed my fear, because he started chuckling and backtracking a
bit.
“No, no. That’s not what I
meant. God no,” he laughed. “I mean, we’ve been working our asses off on this
project… or at least some of us have . Anyhow, we should celebrate when
we’re done tonight. Let’s hit a club or something. I’ve got a buddy who’s
playing on Mill. I bet you’d like his stuff. We could just kick back, dance,
shoot some pool, down some beers. Whataya say?”
It was clear the dingles were
game, but I knew that the only person Gavin was really asking was me .
Most of me was repelling the idea of going out tonight. But then there was also
that small part of me—the part that craved to live just a
little—that was fighting to say yes. It was a harmless night out. And
Reed would be gone. Before I could talk myself back out of it, I just smiled
and nodded.
“Okay, why not,” I said,
throwing my pen down and standing to head to the restroom.
When I walked into the ladies
room, I headed right to the sink and mirror, splashing a little water on my
face and looking at myself, my hair knotted atop my head and a pencil holding
it in place. I pulled the pencil down and let my hair fall to my shoulders,
shaking it out in sexy waves. I hadn’t thought about how I looked in months.
And even though it wasn’t for Reed, it was nice to think about being pretty for
someone.
We didn’t get everything
printed, bound and labeled until 8 p.m. By this time, I was usually heading
over to Sienna’s or Sarah’s to crash on their sofa and watch whatever stupid
movie or TV show I’d talked them into recording for me. I had gone to clubs,
but they had all been in Tucson, and I was always with Reed. I was a little
nervous about getting in without an ID, but Gavin told me not to worry. He knew
a lot of the people at the place we were going and was pretty sure I could pass
by unnoticed. I just hoped I could fit in with the clubbing crowd.
My wardrobe hadn’t changed much
over the last two years. I hadn’t really thought about that until now, but
looking at my sparse closet and shoe selection had me a bit embarrassed. The
guys had all headed to their various rooms, and we all planned to meet
downstairs before heading out. I decided to keep it simple and put my red heels
on with a pair of jeans and a tight black tank top. I left my hair down and
made up for the boring outfit with some heavy eye shadow and lipstick. I gave
myself a once over, took a deep breath, stuffed my keys and phone in my small
handbag and headed out the door.
I took the elevator down,
nervous about walking in these shoes and running into Gavin on my way. I pulled
my phone out briefly and thought about sending Reed a text but decided I would
just talk to him in the morning. I knew he didn’t really like
“Yes, I’m like totally
committed to my boyfriend, and shit ,” I said, still not engaging, but
becoming more and more pissed off.
“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by
it. Settle down, settle down,” he was chuckling.
“What a cocky asshole,” I
thought.
“I was just thinking…you
probably haven’t partied much. Or done anything really college experienced ,
or nothing.”
“I’m pretty happy. Besides, I
don’t have a lot of time to party…when I’m carrying two losers on my academic
shoulders,” I said, tapping my pen on their unfinished report pages.
Despite Cory’s inability to
launch a sentence, he was right. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction now, but
his words did have some truth to them. I noticed Gavin studying me, too, and I
could feel the intensity of it without even looking. I just forged on with my
work, and the room stayed silent for several minutes. Gavin finally broke it.
“We should give you a college
experience,” he said. I snapped my eyes up to meet his, not sure where this was
going but pretty sure I didn’t want to experience anything with these three.
Gavin must have sensed my fear, because he started chuckling and backtracking a
bit.
“No, no. That’s not what I
meant. God no,” he laughed. “I mean, we’ve been working our asses off on this
project… or at least some of us have . Anyhow, we should celebrate when
we’re done tonight. Let’s hit a club or something. I’ve got a buddy who’s
playing on Mill. I bet you’d like his stuff. We could just kick back, dance,
shoot some pool, down some beers. Whataya say?”
It was clear the dingles were
game, but I knew that the only person Gavin was really asking was me .
Most of me was repelling the idea of going out tonight. But then there was also
that small part of me—the part that craved to live just a
little—that was fighting to say yes. It was a harmless night out. And
Reed would be gone. Before I could talk myself back out of it, I just smiled
and nodded.
“Okay, why not,” I said,
throwing my pen down and standing to head to the restroom.
When I walked into the ladies
room, I headed right to the sink and mirror, splashing a little water on my
face and looking at myself, my hair knotted atop my head and a pencil holding
it in place. I pulled the pencil down and let my hair fall to my shoulders,
shaking it out in sexy waves. I hadn’t thought about how I looked in months.
And even though it wasn’t for Reed, it was nice to think about being pretty for
someone.
We didn’t get everything
printed, bound and labeled until 8 p.m. By this time, I was usually heading
over to Sienna’s or Sarah’s to crash on their sofa and watch whatever stupid
movie or TV show I’d talked them into recording for me. I had gone to clubs,
but they had all been in Tucson, and I was always with Reed. I was a little
nervous about getting in without an ID, but Gavin told me not to worry. He knew
a lot of the people at the place we were going and was pretty sure I could pass
by unnoticed. I just hoped I could fit in with the clubbing crowd.
My wardrobe hadn’t changed much
over the last two years. I hadn’t really thought about that until now, but
looking at my sparse closet and shoe selection had me a bit embarrassed. The
guys had all headed to their various rooms, and we all planned to meet
downstairs before heading out. I decided to keep it simple and put my red heels
on with a pair of jeans and a tight black tank top. I left my hair down and
made up for the boring outfit with some heavy eye shadow and lipstick. I gave
myself a once over, took a deep breath, stuffed my keys and phone in my small
handbag and headed out the door.
I took the elevator down,
nervous about walking in these shoes and running into Gavin on my way. I pulled
my phone out briefly and thought about sending Reed a text but decided I would
just talk to him in the morning. I knew he didn’t really like
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