Chapter 7
“So, Della. How has your first day on campus been? A little overwhelming?” Callie drummed her bubblegum-pink nails on the table as we sat in one of the many cafeterias that they had on campus. The three of us had compared schedules and found three days that we could meet up for lunch. It was relieving to have two instant friends.
“Yeah, a little bit. It’s definitely not what I’m used to, but you guys helped out a ton with showing me around the other day. I think I should pretty well know my way around by the end of the week without getting too lost.”
“That’s good,” Zoey replied. “You think you want to go out with us tonight? Callie met some guy who wants to meet up at the Campus Pub, and she thinks I always need to tag along to be her wing woman or something.” She rolled her green eyes, and Callie nudged her with her elbow.
“Oh, please Zee. You know you love being my wing woman, and we always have fun. Don’t be such a Debbie Downer. You have to come Della, there are always hot guys there.”
“I don’t know, I should probably be studying or something so I can keep up with my grades. My grandparents are being a little strict, to say the least, about them being above average.”
“C’mon, Della. Everyone knows the first week of school is a blow off week. All we’re getting are syllabuses and boring speeches. You’re old enough to make your own decisions, just as long as you keep your grades up, your grandparents don’t need to know what you are doing every minute of the day. Besides, everyone deserves to have a little fun. Please?” Callie pouted her pink lips at me, lacing her fingers together dramatically like she was sending a prayer that I would agree to go.
“Fine, I’ll go, but I’m not staying out too late. I don’t want to miss class tomorrow.” Callie broke out into a wide smile, doing a fist pump in the air.
“Calm down, Callie. We don’t want to -” Zoey stopped midsentence, stiffening slightly.
“What’s the matter, Zoey?” I turned around to see what she was staring at with an icy glare and came face to face with Nash who had an amused smile on his face.
“Hey, Della. I finally found you, mind if I sit?” I nodded my head slightly, even though I could tell Zoey was uncomfortable by him being there for some reason. Callie gave me a big wink, wiggling her eyebrows, which I assumed meant she would be grilling me for details later on why and how I knew Nash.
“Sorry, I wasn’t around yesterday. I had some errands to run for my mom before I moved back to campus. Did you get everything moved in all right?”
“Yeah, I really didn’t have a ton of stuff, so my grandparents helped me with most of it. Where are you living at?” I was hoping he wasn’t going to say with that girl I had seen him with.
“I live over at one of the houses right off campus with a few guys. You should stop by sometime to check it out, but let me warn you, the place is never clean. Did you still want to get together to hang out?”
Before I could respond, Callie piped in, slightly nudging me out of the way. “Actually, the three of us are going out tonight if you wanted to join us. We’re going over to the pub around nine.”
“That sounds awesome,” he replied with a bright smile before tapping me on the nose. “Hopefully, we can catch up some more then. I bet I can still beat your ass at pool.”
“Oh, please,” I snorted. “I used to let you win so you wouldn’t run off pouting to your mom like a little baby because a girl beat you.”
“Right,” he dragged out before standing and looping his arms through his backpack. “We’ll see about that. I’ll see you ladies tonight.”
Zoey and Callie stared at me in wonder and didn’t start grilling me until he was out of ear shot. “What.The.Hell?” Zoey crossed her arms tightly over her chest, raising one brow at me. “What?” I asked in confusion.
“Please explain how exactly you know Nash Griffin. You seemed a little too chummy for just meeting today and he made plans with you. Nash doesn’t talk to any girl besides that bitch of a girlfriend of his, Mariah. So spill it.”
“Nash and I grew up together during the summers,” I explained. “We lost touch when I moved to Connecticut, but we saw each other a few days ago when I got back into town. He’s basically the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“Uh-oh, looks like Mariah finally has some competition then,” Callie commented. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you the whole time, and he seemed pretty damn excited to meet up with you tonight. I wonder if he’ll tell her where he’s going tonight,” she added in a sing song voice.
“Oh, no. Trust me, I’m not looking at getting in between their relationship. Nash and I are strictly friends. What’s the problem with Mariah? Nash was always such a nice guy, I can’t imagine him being with some ice queen like you seem to be implying.”
“Well, I just don’t like her because Zoey doesn’t. You know friends need to stick together and all that shit. Zoey here can explain exactly why Mariah is her arch nemesis,” Callie let out a little giggle but was cut short when Zoey gave her an evil glare.
“Mariah made every single year of high school miserable for me. So yeah, I think I have a pretty good reason for hating her. Mariah and I used to be best friends from practically the time that we were born. Our moms were best friends and had us within months of each other. Then it all started to change when we hit high school. Suddenly, guys were paying attention to her, and we started to hang out less.
“Then one guy in particular that she was dating started flirting with me when I was around. When she found his lips on mine, which, let me just point out, I wanted no part of and was totally trying to get him off of me, she went postal. Of course, he told her I attacked him and she believed him. She spread rumors all over school that I had forced myself on him and that it wasn’t the first time because I just wanted what she had. Every one believed poor Mariah since she was always the more popular one, and I sort of stayed behind her shadow.
“The rumors have grown over the years, apparently I’ve slept with almost all of Allen County, and I’m STD infested. I also have three secret babies at home that I keep hidden from the public eye; it’s a tough life. So basically no one talked to me during high school. It’s changed a bit since coming here, even though a lot of people from my school came here.”
“That must have been tough,” I reached out to pat her hand, wishing I could take away the pain that flashed through her eyes. I had never been on the receiving end of rumors like that; I guess that’s one thing I could thank my mother for. But I did know how it felt to not have any friends, even though it seemed like I had an endless amount back home. “What’s your problem with Nash though? Did he tease you at school or something?”
“No,” she gave a shake of her auburn waves. “Actually, Nash was a year ahead of us, but he had always been nice towards me when no one else was. When he started dating Mariah right before he graduated, it sort of felt like a betrayal, even though we were never really friends.”
“But now you have us,” Callie piped in. “And none of that high school drama matters now. I, on the other hand, think Nash is a sweet guy. He’s always so nice to everyone and such a gentleman about everything. I really have no clue how him and Mariah have been together so long, they are like complete opposites.”
It was good to know Nash hadn’t changed much, even if his girlfriend wasn’t the greatest. Now that I was back, it would be nice to rekindle our friendship, which he seemed to want too, but I guess we would have to see how that all played at once we actually met.
*********
“Yes, Grams, the first day of school went great. I think I should do pretty well in my classes as long as I stay focused.” I cradled my phone on my shoulder as I flipped through my closet looking for something to wear for my first night out with my roommates.
“So what’s on the agenda tonight, Della?”
“Oh, not much,” I replied as my hands landed on an off the shoulder black dress that still had the tags on it. I actually sort of regretted pulling them off. I could really use that extra money right now, but I guess that was the price I had to pay for looking good. “Probably just hanging around my room, getting some studying done, and getting ready for classes tomorrow.” I winced when I caught my reflection in the mirror as I lied to my Grams.
It wasn’t like I was going out tonight to get crazy, but I deserved to have a little fun every once in awhile as long as I controlled myself and didn’t get into too much trouble. What Grams didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her as long as I kept up with school.
“Well, that sounds great, Della. Very mature of you, I’ll make sure to let your Grandpa know how responsible you’re being. Are you still planning on coming over for dinner later this week?”
“Of course, Grams.” I turned to my doorway to find Callie standing there with an armful of pink, and I held a finger up to her. “Listen, I have to get started on all of my studying. I’ll talk to you later on, love you.”
“Love you too, Della.”
I tossed my phone on the bed and eyed Callie as she unloaded her pile onto the lounge chair I had tucked in the corner. “I feel a little guilty lying to Grams even if I’m old enough to be doing whatever I want.”
“Oh, please, Della. You really didn’t lie perse. We’re going to be studying tonight, your Grams just doesn’t need to know that it will be the male species that we’re studying.”
“Very true,” I replied with a laugh as I threw my dress on the bed.
“What’s the deal with that anyway? Did you really do something so horrible that now your every move needs to be monitored? I mean, not to sound harsh, but you could always just cut off all contact with your family and do your own thing.”
I let out a loud sigh and glanced at Callie, who was looking at me expectantly. Callie and Zoey seemed to be the type of girls who would be there for me no matter what I had done in my past, but I wasn’t quite ready to spill all of that just yet. “Let’s not get into that tonight. Tonight we’re going out to have a kick ass time and you don’t need to hear my sob story.” Changing the subject, I pointed to the pink mess on my chair. “What exactly is all of that for?”
“Oh,” she clapped her hands and began rifling through the pile, “just a few of my choices for the night. I was hoping you could help me decide.” She held up two different dresses in front of her, and I pointed to the one on the right as she moved onto the next two. “You can borrow something if you want.”
“No, that’s all right. I’m good.” I didn’t mind pink but not that much pink. We spent the next hour getting dressed and helping each other fix our hair. Zoey came in just as we were finishing up in a pair of skinny jeans and an emerald top that was backless. It went perfectly with her creamy skin, and she grinned when she saw us.
“I’m so glad Callie finally found a primping buddy,” she said as she ran her fingers through her wavy hair that she had just left down like usual. Callie and I, on the other hand, had taken turns on each other’s hair. My flat iron had transformed Callie’s curls, and I now had curls running through mine, just skimming my bare shoulders.
We headed out of the dorms, choosing to walk so we didn’t have to worry about a DD. Callie and Zoey had both turned twenty-one over the summer, so they promised to supply me with drinks throughout the night. I really wasn’t too worried about it, I didn’t need to get smashed and end up doing something stupid like I normally did when I drank.
“There’s Drew,” Callie stood on her tiptoes, pointing to a back table where a stocky looking football player-type stood, nervously tapping his knee as he scanned the packed bar back and forth with his eyes.
A relieved looking smile lit up his face as soon as he saw Callie skip towards him and I could tell they had a really good connection. Callie flung herself into his arms which earned her a surprised chuckle from Drew for her over enthusiasm, and she pulled back to introduce us. “These are my roommates, Zoey and Della. This is Drew.”
I smiled at the way she said Drew, like she was caressing his name as she said it. I could tell how into him she was. “Nice to meet you,” Drew replied, never releasing Callie’s hand as we all sat down around the high-top table. “Callie’s told me all about both of you. Can I get everyone something to drink?”
“A beer for me would be good,” Zoey instantly replied, twirling a curl around her finger as her eyes wandered. “Me too.”
Drew left pretty reluctantly and headed towards the bar that wrapped around one side of the pub. “So, have you seen Nash yet?” Callie asked, leaning into me without ever taking her eyes off of Drew.
“No,” I glanced at my phone seeing that it was just a little past nine and figured he would show up sooner or later, at least I was hoping. “Not a big deal if he doesn’t.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Zoey replied with a snort. “Mariah doesn’t let him out of her sight very often. I still can’t believe he actually talked to you, let alone made plans with you.”
“Whatever.” I smiled at Drew as he sat glasses in front of all of us and a full pitcher of beer. I took a slight sip before setting it back down and running my fingers across the rim. Beer really wasn’t my thing; normally I tended to go for the harder liquor.
Zoey and I made small talk between ourselves while Callie and Drew talked quietly together like they were in their own little bubble. I really had no clue why Callie had needed us here for support, but I was having fun.
“Hey.” I jumped when I felt a set of hands dig into my hips and turned around to find an amused looking Nash standing behind me. “That was so not funny. You scared the shit out of me.”
“I know,” he smirked, pulling his hat on backwards as he sat down next to me. “One thing that hasn’t changed. It’s so easy to do, I just couldn’t help myself.” He grabbed the glass in front of me and took a big gulp before setting it back down.
“Help yourself,” I commented dryly as I took in his laid back appearance. He had a form fitting black t-shirt on with the name of some band that clung to his body nicely and a pair of faded jeans that hung low on his hips. A pair of black Converse that looked to be the exact same pair he wore when we were younger, except for probably a few sizes bigger now, completed his casual outfit and I suddenly felt overdressed. Why did I take so much time getting ready for tonight again?
“Sorry, I hit the gym before I headed over here and then ran home to change real quickly. I promise to refill that for you.”
“No problem,” I replied with a shake of my head. “It’s been sitting there almost all night anyway. I’m glad you could make it though, you could have called if you didn’t have time to stop by.”
“Well, first of all, I would need your number.” He held out his hand expectantly and I slid my phone towards him so he could put his number in.
“There, now I can always get a hold of you, and trust me, I wasn’t planning on blowing you off. I told you I wanted to catch up and that was the truth. I missed my Della.” A warm sensation fluttered through my stomach when his brown eyes stared back at me intently. My Della? I really wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take that exactly.
“Well, I missed you too.” I cleared my throat and looked around the table, realizing that Callie and Zoey had abandoned me. “So, how are your parents and your sister doing? I didn’t see anyone around when I was staying with my grandparents. I always loved your mom.”
“My mom loved you too. She’s actually been asking when I’m going to bring you over for dinner so we can all catch up. You down for that?”
“Of course, that would be awesome.” Donna had been more of a mom to me during the summers than my own mother ever had. She was always tending to our cuts and scratches from the adventures we went on and making picnic lunches for us when we would spend all day at the lake.
“What about your dad? How is he?”
I watched as Nash’s face transformed into a cold blank stare, and he poured another beer for himself, downing it and slamming it on the table. “No clue and I could care less. My dad’s an a*shole, Della. My mom kicked him out a few years ago, and we haven’t heard from him since. Hopefully it stays that way.”
Shock must have covered my face because he reached out a hand to grab mine. The last time I had seen Nash, his dad had been like a hero to him. He had always looked up to him, and to know that their relationship had changed that drastically, surprised me.
“He used to beat the shit out of me,” he said in a quiet voice without looking me in the eyes. “Those summers we spent together were like my escape from him. He tended to leave me alone since I was never really home.”
“But you seemed to look up to him so much. How-”
He cut me off with a sharp shake of his head. “No, you just mistook that for fear whenever he was around. I was constantly tiptoeing around him to make sure I didn’t do something to set him off. The simplest things did it.”
“I’m sorry, Nash.” I really had no clue what else to say. I felt partially responsible for not coming back during the summers after I had moved away.
Had it gotten worse when I didn’t come back? Guilt coursed through me as all of the different scenarios ran through my head, but a slight squeeze to my hand brought me back to reality. “Don’t worry about it, Della. It’s done and over with now. I’ve moved on and we don’t need to dwell on it.” I bit my lip trying to squash down all of the questions I had, but I really didn’t want to bring back any of those memories if he really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Okay, fine, moving on then. So what are you majoring in? Still set on becoming an astronaut?”
“Nah,” he answered with a loud laugh. “That was definitely one of those kid dreams before you really enter the real world. Actually, I’m in the accounting program, I only have about a year left, and I’ll be completely done.”
“Wow, Nash Griffin sitting behind a computer all day, crunching numbers. Who would have thought?” I responded sarcastically.
“Well, people change, Della. What about you?”
I shook my head, looking down at our intertwined hands. “I have no idea. I just finished up my first two years at a community college and basically got sent here by my mother. She cut me off, so I basically didn’t have a choice.”
“Cut you off? That’s pretty harsh; you must have been one bad girl for that to happen. That really doesn’t surprise me much though.”
“Funny,” I replied.
“Uh-oh,” he quickly dropped my hand and scooted away from me several inches. I looked around the crowded bar but couldn’t tell who had freaked him out. He muttered something to himself before shaking his head and giving me a crooked smile. “What was that all about?”
“Don’t worry about it, we still have lots of catching up to do.”
We sat there for what felt like hours just talking. It was so comfortable being around him, like we had never been apart. Callie and Zoey stopped by every once in awhile, but for the most part, seemed to be giving us the privacy that I think we needed.
“Nash! What are you doing here? I’m so glad I ran into you.” A high pitched voice that I’m pretty sure pierced my ear drums filtered up from behind me. Nash stiffened slightly, but turned around with a small smile. “Hey babe, how’s it going?”
The girl that I instantly recognized as Mariah let out a squeal and hopped onto his lap, wrapping an arm around his neck. “So much better now that I ran into you. I thought you were meeting up with a friend tonight,” she eyed me suspiciously but somehow managed to paste a fake smile on her lips.
“Well, I was. Mariah, this is Della. I’m sure I’ve told you about her before. We were just catching up,” I watched Nash squirm under Mariah’s glare before she turned back to me, her nose scrunched in distaste.
“Oh, you’re Della? With the way Nash has talked about you I was picturing someone much…different.” I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. I really didn’t care either way, so I just shrugged my shoulders. “Yup, that’s me I guess. And you are?”
“Mariah, Nash’s girlfriend. He hasn’t mentioned me?” She stiffened on Nash’s lap and I felt a kick under the table, which I could only assume was from Nash. Oops. He really hadn’t mentioned her though, it’s not like I was lying.
“No, actually he hasn’t. We were just catching up on all the good times we used to have together. Hopefully, we’ll be able to hang out some more, I’m sure you can tag along.” She stuttered with a response as I stood up and grabbed my clutch. “I’ll be back in a minute, I have to use the restroom.” I spun on my heel and walked quickly away but not before I heard Nash getting an earful. Payback was a bitch for all of those times he used to throw worms down my shirt.
I dabbed on some lip-gloss in the dingy bathroom mirror and fluffed out my curls. I really wasn’t looking forward to going back to the table, since I figured Mariah was still there. There was no way in hell she was going to leave Nash alone with me now.
I made my way out of the bathroom and instantly felt like I crashed into a brick wall. The last thought that ran through my head was that I was going to look like a complete idiot landing flat on my ass before a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I was pulled against a very hard chest.
“Whoa, if you wanted me that badly you didn’t need to throw yourself at me, sweetheart. I’d be pretty willing.”
I looked up, meaning to tell off the arrogant a*shole who thought I would actually throw myself at someone, but all words ceased to exist when I looked up into a pair of startling gray eyes. He pulled me closer when I failed to say anything and pushed me lightly against the wall so our bodies were flush with each others.
I caught the glint of a lip ring as he turned to stare down at me with an intense gaze that set my body on fire. He wasn’t the normal type of guy I went for. One arm was covered in an array of colorful tattoo’s and from what I could tell, he had multiple piercings. Who knew how many others there were under the tight gray V-neck and black shorts he had on? For some reason, I really wanted to find out.
“You don’t look familiar. What’s your name, sweetheart?”
“Della,” I managed to whisper out. Why in the hell was I so nervous around this guy? I had no reason to be, he was the one who should be worshipping at my feet. Right?
“Della.” My name rolled off of his tongue before he ran a thumb over my cheek and dropped his hand down to his side. “I like it. The name’s Justin and I think you and I were meant to be. Want to get out of here?” Whatever fog had been cluttering my mind, suddenly cleared, and I shook my head, pushing at his chest as I stood up taller, even though he still had to look down as he towered over me.
“Seriously? That was about the lamest pick up line I’ve ever heard. No thanks.” I turned to walk away, but he jumped in front of me and held up a finger. “Wait, that didn’t come out right. I don’t know what the f*ck is wrong me, normally I’m a whole lot smoother at this.”
“So normally you pick up girls a lot easier? Good for you.” I crossed my arms over my chest and let out a loud sigh when he still didn’t move.
“C’mon, Della. Let me buy you a drink at least, I’m really not that bad of a guy. Give me a chance?” His eyebrows knitted together as he waited for my response, and I was just about to tell him where he could stick that drink when I caught site of the table where Nash and Mariah were looking awfully cuddly. Apparently they had made up. It made my stomach coil just at the thought of having to sit there and watch the two of them together.
“Fine, follow me.” Surprisingly, he did and by the time we got back to the table with the drink he had promised me, Callie, Drew, and Zoey were also back, looking slightly uncomfortable by Mariah’s presence.
Callie’s eyes widened as Justin situated himself next to me and she kept looking back and forth between the two of us in utter confusion. I introduced Justin to everyone, and he stood up to shake everyone’s hand before sitting back down next to me and leaning in, brushing his lips against my ear. “Can you say awkward? Want to dance?”
I stood up right away, wanting to get away from the glare of Nash and Mariah’s icy smile. Sure, Justin seemed like an arrogant a*shole, but tonight, he was my lifesaver. Justin led me to the center of the dance floor and I couldn’t help but notice all of the death glares I was getting from almost every single girl around me.
We were all ready just inches from each other, but he put his hands on my hips to pull me even closer against his hard, muscular body, moving the both of us to the music. I had never in my life danced with a guy like this. Chris had always just kind of stood there while I grinded against him and enjoyed the show. Justin on the other hand, moved every time I did.
I let out a gasp when he twirled my body around and pulled my back tightly against his chest. My body tingled everywhere at the sudden contact. At first, I was hesitant to be dancing with this guy I had just met, but his hands all over me gave me the confidence to move right along with him.
I slid my body up and down his to the music, and he played right along, pulling me even closer and grinding against me. I felt his hands lock onto both of my wrists, and he moved them to wrap around his neck as his hands explored the sides of my body through the clingy material of my dress. My body hummed at the warmness of his hands, and I moaned when his lips brushed against my neck. I actually moaned.
I abruptly pulled away and turned towards him, pushing into his chest. “What in the hell was that for? I did not give you permission to touch me like that.”
“Really?” he replied with a smirk, sucking that stupid lip ring into his mouth. “Because you really seemed to be enjoying it. And I was too,” he added.
I shook my head sharply, rolling my eyes before turning on my heel. “Whatever, just leave me the f*ck alone. I really don’t need to be another notch on your bedpost.” I stormed off, returning to the table where now just Callie and Zoey sat, waiting expectantly. “Are you two ready to get out of here?”
“Absolutely,” they both replied simultaneously, looping their arms through mine and quickly ushering me towards the front door. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”