Chapter Two
Falling For You
I walked up the steps of the huge Sorority house, Amber following close behind. There were students everywhere, all looking completely wasted even though it was only an hour into the party. I pushed through the door and was blasted with music loud enough to make my ears bleed. I had no idea who it was, but they were doing a cover of Chevelle’s The Red and they were amazing.
Amber came up beside me and motioned toward the table holding more alcohol than I cared to think about. I grinned and nodded, tonight was about having a blast, hangover be damned. I grabbed her by the hand and marched over to the table, grabbing a cup and filling it to the top.
There were several guys standing next to us at the table and they smiled approvingly as they took in my dress. I gave them my best flirty smile and as the band switched to Pour Some Sugar on Me, two of the guys approached us.
“Hey, I’m Ben, this is Alex. Care to dance?”
I grinned and nodded, noticing Alex was practically undressing Amber with his eyes.
Ben led me to the center of the dance floor and we started dancing close, more grinding than any actual dance moves. As we moved, he put his hands on my hips to pull me closer, if that were possible. We had only been dancing for a few minutes when I glanced up across the sea of people and locked eyes with the singer of the band. My breath froze in my chest. It was him. Mr. Tall, dark, tattooed, and pierced from my morning class. And he was staring straight at me. I dropped my gaze, suddenly shy.
I finished dancing with Ben as the song ended and made my way back to the drink table, as far from the singer as possible. Much to my dismay, Ben followed.
He stared down at me, more at my low neckline than my face.
“Want to get out of here?” He grinned naughtily at me, leaving no doubt as to where he wanted to go.
“No thanks, I think I’m just going to hang out here.”
He looked disappointed but shrugged and walked away. I glanced around for Amber, seeing her and Alex locked around each other on one of the couches pushed against the far wall. I grinned, about time she started actually trying to move on. Not that I was the type to hook up with random guys at parties, but she deserved some fun after all the heartache she’d had with Chad over the summer.
I hung around the party awhile longer, refilling my cup a few times and dancing with a couple different guys, but I refused to go home with any of them. Not my style, unlike several of the girls I’d seen sneaking upstairs to the bedrooms above throughout the night.
I listened to the band, which I was blown away by, but I refused to glance back up at the singer, afraid he’d be looking at me again. I mentally hit myself. There was no reason to be all nervous around this guy, he had never even talked to me. I wasn’t going to let some random guy make me crazy. I glanced up to the stage, but the band was packing up; they had finished their set while I was thinking about him.
I decided to call it a night, even though the party was still in full swing. My head was slightly fuzzy and I knew if I stayed any longer I’d end up drunk off my ass passed and out on a couch, or worse. If I called Logan like that, he would surely lock me in my room for the rest of the year. I pushed through the crowd to the door, texting Amber so she would know I’d left.
As soon as I made it out the door I sighed in relief. I hadn’t realized how hot it was inside and feeling the cool evening air on my skin helped to clear my head a little. I started walking in the direction of my dorm when the spike on my heel caught in a crack on the sidewalk. I flew forward and landed face first with my ass sticking straight up in the air.
“Damn these shoes!”
I muttered curses as I tried to stand when a hand grabbed me firmly by the arm and stood me up. I tried to balance myself, but the heel had broken off of the shoe and I wobbled, falling against whoever had picked me up. Strong male arms wrapped around me and pulled me into his chest, keeping me from falling all over again. I glanced up to thank my savior, but the words lodged in my throat when I saw it was the lead singer holding me. I stared at him, unable to think, or move for that matter.
He cocked his head to one side, looking down at me, “You ok?”
His voice pulled me back to reality and I realized I had just been standing there staring into his eyes for longer than I cared to think about.
I cleared my throat and nodded., “Yes, thank you, my stupid shoe caught in the sidewalk.”
“Yeah, I saw.”
I stepped away from him, careful not to lose my balance again, and glanced over his shoulder to where the other members of the band were loading up the equipment into the back of a van. The color in my face drained as I realized he was directly behind me when I fell. I knew that anyone behind me had seen pretty much everything thanks to the length of my dress, and to make things even better I had worn a thong tonight so he really had gotten a show. My face heated and the corners of his mouth turned up as if he knew what I was thinking.
“No big deal.”
I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but at this point I was done. A person can only take so much embarrassment before they die of shame.
“Well thank you for helping me, I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem.”
As he spoke, I watched his eyes travel the length of my body and I knew I needed to leave before I did something stupid.
“Well, thanks again. I’d stay and chat but I need to get home,” I turned quickly and removed both my shoes, dreading the now endless barefoot walk back to my dorm.
He grabbed my shoulder and turned me back toward him. “Where are you headed? My car is right over there, I can drop you off instead of making you walk without shoes.”
Doubt at getting a ride from a complete stranger clouded my thoughts as I looked up at him. If Logan knew he would absolutely kill me. I chewed my lower lip, debating before nodding my head. “Oh, well ok, if you don’t mind. It’s only three blocks over to my dorm. I can walk though, it’s not that far.”
The thought of being in a car with this stranger made my stomach quake. As handsome as he was sitting next to me in class, being up close and personal to him a whole other matter. I had never seen someone with such dark brown eyes, and the way his dark hair hung in his eyes, it took everything I had not to reach out and push it back. When he had pulled me against his chest I had felt pure, hard muscle and the shirt he wore was fitted enough that I could see those muscles beneath it. I almost blushed as I started picturing what he looked like without a shirt on.
“It’s not a problem. Wait here and I’ll pull my car over.”
I nodded as he turned and started walking to the lot across the street to get his car. I watched him walk away without guilt as I stared at one of the nicest backsides I had ever seen. He glanced back once, and I quickly averted my eyes, hoping he hadn’t noticed me checking him out. How many times can one person embarrass themselves in one night?
A minute later he pulled up next to me and I almost rolled my eyes. A guy that looked this good should not have a car this sexy. I knew next to nothing about cars, but I knew this one was old, even though it looked brand new. The exterior was a glossy black with chrome wheels, and as I opened the door and hopped in, I saw the inside was all new and black as well.
“Nice car,” I commented as I closed the door behind me.
“Thanks, it’s a 1983 Mustang. I rebuilt pretty much all of it. She’s my baby.”
He patted the dash affectionately and I laughed at him. “Oh no, don’t tell me your one of those guys who loves their car more than any woman.”
He laughed, “No, I wouldn’t say that, but she is pretty close to my heart.”
He peeled out of his spot and headed toward my dorm. It was quiet for a minute as I racked my brain for something intelligent to say. I figured that I’d only get this opportunity once, and even with the traffic, I’d be home in five minutes tops so I didn’t want to waste it.
“I’m Chloe by the way.”
“Drake Allen, nice to meet you Chloe.”
I grinned, “Well, now that we got the whole awkward introduction thing over with, I feel better.”
He busted out laughing, “Yeah, glad we got the awkward part of the evening over.”
My face instantly turned blood red, thinking of the view he had seen tonight, and I looked out the window hoping he wouldn’t notice. Apparently he did, because he laughed again.
“Sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Think of it this way, with the introduction we had, I won’t forget you anytime soon.”
My face felt even hotter, if that was possible, and I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. “Oh my God. I think I’d like to die right now thank you.”
He kept chuckling as the light turned green and he turned onto my street. We pulled into the parking lot across from the dorm and he put the car in park, waiting for me to get out. I didn’t want to leave yet, so I said the first thing that popped into my head.
“Your band is pretty amazing, you guys rocked at the party tonight.”
His eyes lit up and I could tell I’d hit on a subject he was happy to talk about.
“Thanks, we play every Friday night down at the bar across town called Gold’s Pub. You should stop down some night and check us out. The bar is awesome and just between the two of us, they don’t card.”
Was he asking me to meet him again? No, he was probably just trying to get more fans. There was no way a guy this hot could be interested in me.
I glanced at him again, taking in just attractive he was. His lip ring caught my attention as it glimmered from the reflection of the street light outside. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss him with that in. Pulling myself away from any thoughts of his lips, I quickly smiled at him and opened the door. “Good to know, I’ll stop down sometime. I’d better head inside, thank you for everything.”
He smiled back at me, “Yeah, no problem. Goodnight.”
I quickly grabbed my shoes and got out of the car, watching for any pebbles or glass that I might step on as I closed the door. I started to walk away when he rolled the window down.
“Hey Chloe?”
I turned back to the car and leaned down to the window, “Yeah?”
He had the oddest look on his face, but stayed silent. Finally after what felt like an eternity, he smiled at me. “Watch out for cracks from now on ok?”
How I made it up my room without breaking my neck, I’ll never know. I even managed to sneak in without waking Rachel up, who was out cold with her book across her chest. All I could think about was Drake with his flirtatious nature and charming smile. That smile could make me forget my first name, so it was understandable that one minute I was walking away from his car and the next I was sitting on my bed in a daze.
I admitted to myself that I was attracted to him from the moment I saw him, but now that I had actually talked to him, it was ten times stronger. He seemed like a nice guy if my first interaction with him was any indication of his personality. He could have embarrassed me endlessly from what he had seen, but he played it off like nothing to help put me at ease, and I truly appreciated that from him.
I fell back into my pillow and groaned. Men had no spot in my college plans, they had never had a spot anywhere truthfully. Although I wasn’t planning on becoming a nun anytime soon, Amber had been right about me not ever being into any guy. Sure, there had been dates, I wasn’t even a virgin, I had lost that to my Cousin Danny’s best friend Jordan when I tagged along with my mother one summer, but no one had ever caught my eye since.
Thoughts of my mother brought a sigh to my lips. To say my mother was flighty would be an understatement. She had become pregnant with me at seventeen. She had been a hardcore partier, and I was a result of a drug and alcohol fueled night with some man she didn’t even remember. She had managed to contain her drug use while she was pregnant with me, but she had continued to smoke and drink, which had resulted in me being born almost a month early.
Soon after I was born, she had gone back to using drugs and partying, leaving me with whoever would watch me. More often than not, it was with someone who was a complete stranger to me since my grandparents had disowned her when she informed them of her pregnancy and her only sister lived hours away.
When I was around seven or eight years old, she started bringing me to the parties with her and would leave me alone for hours. As I got older, she would let me stay home by myself, leaving me home for days at a time, sometimes weeks. By that time, I had become good friends with Amber, and often stayed with her when my mother took off.
When I was a freshman, her trips had become multiple month events, and Amber’s parents Dave and Emma had transformed their guest room into my own bedroom. They had bought me school clothes every year, Emma took me prom dress shopping, they had even ordered my graduation cap and gown. While they became parents to me, my mother’s visits back to me became less and less, until I saw her only a couple times a year.
I was thankful when she was gone. My mother had always held a grudge against me over my birth, and when she drank at home with just the two of us, she often became violent toward me. I spent most of my childhood trying to cover the bruises she left all over my body. The physical wounds had healed long ago, but they left me bruised and battered inside. That and the venom she often spewed at me left me feeling that I could never truly trust anyone and that I really was as worthless as she said. Logan and Amber had broken down my barriers slowly and I thanked every deity out there for putting them in my life.
One summer in high school, I had decided to tag along with her for whatever reason. We lived in West Virginia, but she took me from state to state, as far away as Colorado, mostly by bus or cramped into the back of one of her friend’s cars. We ended up at my Aunt Jennifer’s home in Ocean City, Maryland and I quickly formed a close friendship with my cousin Danny.
He and I had only met a couple times, but my mother and I stayed with them for over a month, so I started tagging along with him and his best friend Jordan. I became close friends with Jordan as well, and one night we were with a group of kids on the beach partying. Danny had left with some random girl, so Jordan and I decided to take a walk down the beach together.
We found ourselves hidden by some rocks, only a few feet from the ocean, having drunk sex. Being the sweet guy he was though, he made it romantic and gentle and I loved him for it. Even though I rarely spoke to either of them, Jordan would always hold a special place in my heart.
Thoughts of my mother and my past sobered my excitement over Drake. It had been over a year since I had seen her, and sometimes I missed her. I knew she loved me in her own crazy way, but she hadn’t even been able to pull herself away from her life for one night to attend my graduation. I sighed again and rolled over on my bed just as my phone started playing Logan’s ring tone. I had forgotten to call him.
I grabbed my phone and answered it before the noise woke up Rachel. “Hey Logan, I’m home.”
“Thanks for calling me.”
“I just walked in a couple minutes ago. Amber met some guy and stayed though, so go call and yell at her.”
He stayed silent for a moment and I thought he really was going to call her, but his next words surprised me.
“You mean you walked back by yourself this late at night?”
His voice was lined with anger and I bit my lip. Telling him Drake had brought me back would probably make him angrier than the thought of me walking home by myself. I decided to be honest, in case I slipped up later.
“Actually I got a ride with someone,” I waited silently on the blow up that my words would surely bring.
“And who was this someone?”
“You remember that guy who was sitting beside me this morning in class?”
He groaned into the phone, “You got a ride from some guy you don’t even know? Why didn’t you just call me Chloe?”
I felt slightly guilty at the concern in his voice. I had debated on calling him, but the need to be alone with Drake had won out.
“It’s not like that. I was walking home, but my heel broke on my shoe and he was there, so he offered me a ride. It was fine Logan, honest. He just drove me back here and dropped me off. He didn’t try anything with me.”
I heard him muttering curses under his breath. “Well it could have ended a lot worse. Next time you need a ride, you call me, understand?”
Sensing the anger fading to worry in his voice, I smiled, “Of course I will.”
“You better Chloe, I don’t know what I’d do if someone hurt you. You’re important to me, you know that right?”
My heart swelled at his words. “Yes, I know. And you’re important to me too. You’re like the brother I never had.”
Expecting some kind of remark about me being an annoying little sister, I was surprised by the silence on the other end of the line.
“Logan, are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, but I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, ok?”
“Um, yeah I’ll see you tomorrow. Night.”
I plugged my phone in to charge, wondering what on Earth went on inside Logan’s head sometimes.