out of the shower. I grabbed my robe and ran into the kitchen.
“Hello,” I said breathlessly, and hit the stop button on the answering machine.
“Hey you, I was just leaving a message.”
“Sorry about that, I was in the shower and heard you. How are you?”
Ethan had been getting tired of not being able to reach me. I wasn’t home very often during that last semester, and he was always complaining that every time he called he had to talk to the machine.
“I’m good, what are you up to?” he asked.
I was about twenty minutes away from being picked up by Kevin for the Beta formal in Indy, but I hadn’t told Ethan about any of it. He knew I spent a lot of time with Kevin, Rocco and my other guy friends, but an out of town, overnighter might have pushed him over the edge of his tolerance wall.
“Just getting ready to go out.” Enough said. “How’s work?”
“It’s work.”
“Have you finished training your intern?” I asked. Ethan was given an intern for the spring, and he had been bringing them up to speed.
“Yeah, he was here every afternoon for two weeks, and then he starts full time in June. It’ll be nice having someone to boss around. Anyway, Caddyshack is on WGN tonight, maybe we can watch it together on the phone? We might even get through the whole thing.”
I glanced at the clock; Kevin was due to be at my apartment in ten minutes. “You’re going to be annoyed with me, but Jenna is going to be here any minute, and I’m dripping wet.”
“Sounds hot.”
“Pretty chilly actually,” I said.
He let out a sigh of frustration…if he only knew. “Alright, Syd, have fun, and be careful. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Call me later, okay?”
“Okay,” I said and my knees buckled from the guilt. I lied to Ethan and I wouldn’t call him later. Kevin and I were just friends, but Ethan would never tolerate me spending the night with him in a hotel room, and I didn’t have the energy to argue about it. This was one of my last collegiate hurrahs, and I simply had no desire to create unnecessary drama. I knew I would have to spend Sunday afternoon on the phone with Ethan backpedaling and apologizing.
We said our goodbyes, then I hung up the phone and shook my head. I was annoyed, and wasn’t going to let Ethan bring me down this weekend. He was always making me feel badly about enjoying myself. Not this time. I removed the charcoal pearl necklace I’d just put on, grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“I thought you called shotgun?” I asked Jenna as I peeked inside Kevin’s car. She was already in the backseat with Rocco when they picked me up for the dance.
“My date is riding back here with me,” Rocco answered for her and threw his arm around the back of her neck.
Jenna grimaced and shook it off her shoulders.
The drive to Indianapolis was about an hour, during which we stopped at McDonalds for Jenna and me, Hardee’s for Rocco, Steak ’n Shake for Kevin, and Dairy Queen for the group. The lingering scent of fried grease was barely tolerable.
After arriving at the hotel and checking in, Jenna and I went straight to our rooms, while the guys went straight to the bar.
When we reached the fourth floor, our rooms were at opposite ends of the hall, so we parted and agreed to meet back at the elevators in fifteen minutes. I put my tote bag on the bed, and hung my dress in the closet in hopes of removing the wrinkles inflicted from Kevin’s trunk. I fished my Le Sportsac make-up case out of my backpack, reapplied some eyeliner, and brushed the Quarter Pounder off my tongue in less than five minutes. Then I thought of Ethan. Staring at the two queen-size beds meant for Kevin and I made me think of Ethan. I tugged on the roots of my hair. All I wanted was guilt-free fun, but I instead I felt like a naughty toddler. I would get mad at Ethan for making me feel badly, and then I would feel like a complete shithead for blaming him.
I left the room and waited for
“Hello,” I said breathlessly, and hit the stop button on the answering machine.
“Hey you, I was just leaving a message.”
“Sorry about that, I was in the shower and heard you. How are you?”
Ethan had been getting tired of not being able to reach me. I wasn’t home very often during that last semester, and he was always complaining that every time he called he had to talk to the machine.
“I’m good, what are you up to?” he asked.
I was about twenty minutes away from being picked up by Kevin for the Beta formal in Indy, but I hadn’t told Ethan about any of it. He knew I spent a lot of time with Kevin, Rocco and my other guy friends, but an out of town, overnighter might have pushed him over the edge of his tolerance wall.
“Just getting ready to go out.” Enough said. “How’s work?”
“It’s work.”
“Have you finished training your intern?” I asked. Ethan was given an intern for the spring, and he had been bringing them up to speed.
“Yeah, he was here every afternoon for two weeks, and then he starts full time in June. It’ll be nice having someone to boss around. Anyway, Caddyshack is on WGN tonight, maybe we can watch it together on the phone? We might even get through the whole thing.”
I glanced at the clock; Kevin was due to be at my apartment in ten minutes. “You’re going to be annoyed with me, but Jenna is going to be here any minute, and I’m dripping wet.”
“Sounds hot.”
“Pretty chilly actually,” I said.
He let out a sigh of frustration…if he only knew. “Alright, Syd, have fun, and be careful. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
“Call me later, okay?”
“Okay,” I said and my knees buckled from the guilt. I lied to Ethan and I wouldn’t call him later. Kevin and I were just friends, but Ethan would never tolerate me spending the night with him in a hotel room, and I didn’t have the energy to argue about it. This was one of my last collegiate hurrahs, and I simply had no desire to create unnecessary drama. I knew I would have to spend Sunday afternoon on the phone with Ethan backpedaling and apologizing.
We said our goodbyes, then I hung up the phone and shook my head. I was annoyed, and wasn’t going to let Ethan bring me down this weekend. He was always making me feel badly about enjoying myself. Not this time. I removed the charcoal pearl necklace I’d just put on, grabbed my bag and headed for the door.
“I thought you called shotgun?” I asked Jenna as I peeked inside Kevin’s car. She was already in the backseat with Rocco when they picked me up for the dance.
“My date is riding back here with me,” Rocco answered for her and threw his arm around the back of her neck.
Jenna grimaced and shook it off her shoulders.
The drive to Indianapolis was about an hour, during which we stopped at McDonalds for Jenna and me, Hardee’s for Rocco, Steak ’n Shake for Kevin, and Dairy Queen for the group. The lingering scent of fried grease was barely tolerable.
After arriving at the hotel and checking in, Jenna and I went straight to our rooms, while the guys went straight to the bar.
When we reached the fourth floor, our rooms were at opposite ends of the hall, so we parted and agreed to meet back at the elevators in fifteen minutes. I put my tote bag on the bed, and hung my dress in the closet in hopes of removing the wrinkles inflicted from Kevin’s trunk. I fished my Le Sportsac make-up case out of my backpack, reapplied some eyeliner, and brushed the Quarter Pounder off my tongue in less than five minutes. Then I thought of Ethan. Staring at the two queen-size beds meant for Kevin and I made me think of Ethan. I tugged on the roots of my hair. All I wanted was guilt-free fun, but I instead I felt like a naughty toddler. I would get mad at Ethan for making me feel badly, and then I would feel like a complete shithead for blaming him.
I left the room and waited for
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