Chapter 2
Jackson
What amazes the hell out of me about this college campus is not the awesome architecture, but the number of slutty women and asshole guys roaming around. I assume that given the Rhode Island location, a lot of these pretenders are trust fund babies. I really don’t give a damn that they have money, but some of them act like idiots because of it. My first rule for college life: stay away from assholes. While sitting in the enormous park that flanks the entrance to the main building, under a tree with the latest edition of Top Gear, I decide this is where I intend to stay when I’m not studying. I also intend to keep my one and a half good friends as they are, and everyone else will be an acquaintance. I have no time for fake bullshit. I say half because I know Jade is my friend and her roommate Maia, well, I think she genuinely dislikes me. Which is awesome, because she’s hot and sweet, and I have no desire to meet someone here at all. So long as she keeps me at arm’s length, it’s all good. Although I can’t help but feel like it might be fun to change her mind.
I flip the magazine shut and stare up at the sky as it shoots off a kaleidoscope of oranges, purples and blues. The nervous habit I have of rubbing my palms together and interlacing my fingers causes me to look down and inspect my hands. My nails, though I attempted to scrub them well, still bear remnants of engine oil and congealed grease. The callouses on my hands remind me of the years I spent ratchet in hand, tightening bolts and clamps. Had I not had the hands of a hardworking man, looking at me you might assume that I was a pretty boy. That’s precisely why my hands are the best part of me.
I reach into my pocket to retrieve my phone. Scrolling through the camera’s images, my fingers stop when I reach a photo of a long-haired blonde and a sweet little girl with olive skin and bouncy light brown curls. I pinch the screen until the blonde woman is completely removed from the image and stare down at the little girl’s magnified face. As I examine every little delicate feature, I notice that when I look into her eyes, they mirror mine exactly. I didn’t tell Jade I found her. I didn’t tell Jade that I spent almost every cent that I earned on private investigators to find her. I didn’t tell my parents either. No one knows, except me. Just like no one knows that one day after a few beers too many, I had dialed the number the investigator gave me and was greeted by the sweetest little voice in the world on the other end. And no one knows that when her mother took the phone from her hand and I called her out on her lie, she gently hung the phone up. No love lost there, I guess.
And then that moment, you know that point when you just have to say “f-uck it!”? I had a moment like that one. I know she’s lying, but the investigator showed me a birth certificate without my name on it. And to think I didn’t follow Jade to Brown because I was waiting in a small time suburb in the hopes that one day she would come back home. I squint as the glaring afternoon sun peeks at me from behind a silver-lined cloud. This is precisely why I have no desire to go near another woman anytime this decade. I know I probably shouldn’t be so bitter; not every girl is Shana, and I am definitely a lot f-ucking smarter than I was back then. No hat, no sex; a simple rule that I could kick myself for not following in high school.
I shake my thoughts away from the negativity that is invading my mind. I’m here for a new start. I hold my hand over the phone, my finger hovering over the menu button wherein the delete function lies. The bouncy curls and bright eyes stare back at me and I close the gallery. I’ll keep the photo. And make sure Jade never sees it. If she knows I found Shana and didn’t tell her, she’d never forgive me. I shove the phone into my pocket, deciding that distraction is my best option. As I make my way to the huge campus library to try to find my textbooks for this semester, the familiar golden brown hair and frame of my half-friend comes into view. I pick up my pace to a casual jog until I catch up to her. Maia has changed into a pair of yoga pants and a razorback tank. She has taken her makeup off and I wonder to myself why she even bothers with that shit to begin with. She’s even more beautiful without it.
“It’s not safe for you to be out here after sun down unescorted!”
My teasing comment causes her to stop and visibly stiffen. I jog up the last few stairs until I’m one step above her. She pulls her hair into a messy bun as she turns her head in my direction.
“Hey!” Her expression is pleasant, and it stuns me.
Maybe she’s not so stone cold after all.
Judging by the way she’s fumbling with the corner of her book bag, she’s nervous as hell around me. I don’t get this chick. I really don’t. I may not be interested in anyone, but I generally have the ability to charm the pants off of anyone who’s unfortunate enough to come near me. But her obvious indifference to me makes me want to ask her what her favorite food, color and movie are.
“What are you up to?” I ask, as casually as I can muster.
“Just need to grab a few books,” she answers, chewing on her bottom lip nervously, though her eyes stay focused and determined. Her lips may be her only tell.
“Mind if I tag along? I have no idea where to look for what I need. Little help please?” I cringe inwardly, preparing for the shutdown that she’s about to hand me, and my face morphs into obvious shock when she answers with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
“Sure,” she replies.
We make our way past the eight librarians that occupy the enormous reference desk and situate ourselves at one of the study spaces towards the back. She lays her book bag down and looks towards me. “So, what do you need?”
An image flashes through my mind of Maia, laying flat on her back right here on this table, with me running my hands up her thighs. I shake the daydream away, pulling my face at how random it was. And I look like a real idiot because Maia is staring at me expectantly, waiting for my response. Thank heavens I chose to wear my straight leg jeans and Calvin Kleins instead of boxer shorts. Without those constraints, I wondered how the hell I would explain my instinctive physical reaction to her question. “Um, I, yeah I have to look up the list on library catalogue.”
“Okay.” She offers me a small smile and we walk over to the library’s PC station to get started.
Maia obviously spends way too much time in here. I can tell by the way she skillfully attacks the computer to get my book lists, and how she seems to know their exact locations in each aisle and section without reading the signs above the shelves. I am especially grateful when the books I need are lower, because when she bends, the top of her black G-string makes an appearance ever so slightly above the elastic of her yoga pants. Not to mention that her ass looks amazing in those pants in the first place. Calvin Klein, I really owe you for all your support.
The last book I need is Technology in Mechanical Engineering, and is on one of the higher shelves. I offer to reach for it, but she ignores me. “I need to make sure it’s the right one,” she responds, before using the wide library shelves as a ladder to climb up and locate the book.
“Be careful,” I warn, but my lips curl into a grin as I enjoy the view. Her tank rides up slightly to reveal the smooth skin of her lower back. Just as she is about to come down, book in hand, she loses her footing and teeters unsteadily on the shelf. Arms outstretched, I steady her just before she missteps enough for her ass to hit the deck. For the briefest of moments she leans back into me. Her hair smells like cinnamon and sandalwood, her skin like cocoa butter. Not even Calvin Klein can protect my honor when she’s this close to me.
And in no more than two seconds flat she’s out of my arms, off the shelf, and walking towards her book bag. I lean down to retrieve my stack of books and make my way to the table. As I arrive, she hurriedly packs up her shit, says goodbye and walks straight out the door. And I wonder two things. Firstly, what did I just say about women, and secondly, what the f-uck just happened?