“Well, yee-haw, motherfucker, because I’m not changing.” I turn to Chad and state defiantly, “I’ll be by the front door whenever you guys are ready to go. And the shorts are staying on.”
I grab my purse and keys from where I hung them on the entryway hooks by the door. They said the flowers were too girlie, but I know they like not having to search for their keys anymore.
I sling the crossbody purse across my chest and wait for them to exit the room. When they come over, Chad grabs his keys from the hook, flinging them around his finger, and Wes fiddles with his cell phone. I hold the door open and usher them out.
They don’t hide their disdainful expressions at my clothing, but I stand up tall and smile in return. I use my key to lock up, and while their backs are to me, I give the bottom of my shorts a tug.
Okay, fine. They are a teensy bit too short.
The Uber is outside already, so Chad and I slide in. Looking back to see where Wes is, I notice him standing by a homeless man on the corner. He slides his hand in his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. The twenty-dollar bill he hands him has the man blessing Wes profusely and telling him what a good soul he has. I turn back to Chad, who doesn’t seem to find this act odd.
Instead of taking the seat beside me in the back, Wes hops in the front seat. I close the back door as Wes shuts his, and we take off for the party. Wes makes small talk with the driver, pretty much learning his entire life story and country of origin, culture, and type of woman his wife is in the span of fifteen minutes.
As we arrive at the party, we see Nicole is already here, waiting for Chad. When they greet, their kiss hello is borderline inappropriate, so I turn toward the kitchen to get away from the sight of my brother grabbing his girlfriend’s ass and pushing her up against him.
Wes doesn’t seem fazed by their public display of affection, as he walks right past them and checks out who’s here for him to go talk to. Thankfully, they make it quick, and Chad takes her hand, following Wes through the house.
Back home, I went to parties but nothing like a university frat house soiree. The blaring music was heard before we even walked through the door, and liquor is handed off from one partygoer to the next, like a factory line.
The main foyer has a two-story entrance with a grand staircase sweeping up the center. We pass a dining room with the fraternity symbols painted on the wall, and the table is being used for flip cup.
The living room is lit in only black lights, like a nightclub. Everywhere I look, people are standing elbow to elbow. Some try to talk over the music while others dance in the middle of the room. Billows of smoke puff from a fog machine at each corner of the living room, and the heat radiating off everyone’s body fills the air, making me hot and glad I didn’t put on my long-sleeved shirt right away.
I follow my crew, trying to make my way through, not interrupting anyone while doing so. All around me, people are talking, dancing, making out, or fighting. I see one guy push another, so I move to the side to get away from the scene and am taken off guard when Wes pulls me into his side. My hand lands on his stomach, and I get a whiff of his cologne—Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male. Vanilla, aromatic, spicy … masculine.
“Knight!” Matt yells from the middle of the family room in the back of the house, and I straighten up, moving away from Wes and tugging on my shorts that rode up.
Wes walks over to a group of guys and gets swallowed up by a mess of fist pounds and handshakes. I watch as everyone stops their conversation when Wes appears. It’s like he draws their attention, but he doesn’t even notice it. It’s seemingly natural because they genuinely like the guy.
Chad gives Nicole a quick kiss on the cheek before walking toward them too.
“They’re campus royalty,” Nicole says over the music as she stands next to me. “Not the whole team. Just the seniors. There’s a certain aura they carry.”
“My brother is campus royalty?” I ask.
“The baseball team has been on a hot streak, and everyone loves a winner. They’re also fun to hang with and good to look at. I mean, tall, athletic guys are easy on the eyes.” She stares at the crew, especially my brother, with a starry-eyed expression. “It’s more than that though. Chad and Wes, they’re leaders.”
I sway my hips as I arch back, surprised and in disagreement of that statement. “Maybe Chad. He’s a natural boss. He loves to tell everyone what to do. But Wes? He’s the guy who will plan and organize, but I would not put him in a position of authority.”
She giggles into her cup. “Don’t have trust in him?”
“It’s just not his style.” I see she’s confused, so I explain, “In high school, we both wanted to save this empty natural land from development. It started as a class project but wound up getting a huge group of students to volunteer and clean up the land. He worked tirelessly to put it all together, but when it came to the actual dictating, he made me the front woman. He’s more of a behind-the-scenes kind of guy when it comes to things like that.”
“Interesting.”
“That he’s more of a hang out with everyone and joke kind of guy?”
“That you have history.”
I shake a finger at her. “No history. Just grew up together. Brother’s best friend, remember?”
“You must have had so much fun with them in high school. These two guys are the best at the school,” she says sweetly.
“Oh, you mean like the time I was turned down by every guy I asked to the Sadie Hawkins dance, only to find out it was because they’d both threatened to punch each one in the nuts if they agreed to go with me. Sure, high school was a blast with those two.” I purse my lips and raise my eyebrows.
Nicole grabs my arm in shock as she laughs. “No, they didn’t!”
“Or how about in middle school, when they put a frog in my locker? I almost died of a heart attack.”
She covers her mouth, fighting her giggles because my expression screams it wasn’t funny. “They’re so bad!”
“They’re horrible. The worst was when they got ahold of my diary. Chad used it as leverage to keep me from going to the coolest boy’s house for a party. He threatened to spill all my secrets.” I actually find myself laughing now because that guy turned out to be a total creep. Chad did me a huge favor. “I don’t trust them for a second not to go all big brother on me.”
“Chad’s not like that. He knows you’re an adult. He’s all talk.”
I lift a finger to challenge her. “Care to make a wager? Twenty bucks says they come and cockblock the first guy who comes over.”
“Deal.” She holds out her hand, and I shake it. “First, let’s get this party started with some drinks.”
In the kitchen, a keg sits in the middle of the large island with people on all sides. I grab a red Solo cup and wait while Nicole pumps herself a drink from the keg.
“Hey, aren’t you in my Psych class?” a guy with short, dark hair and glasses appears next to me.
I recognize him as someone who sits a few rows back. “Yeah. I’m Stacey.”
I reach out my hand, and he takes it in his, pulling me a tad bit closer to him than I was prepared for.
“Bobby James. Here, let me fill your cup,” he shouts into my ear as he takes my cup, pours beer from the keg into it and hands it to me. “I’ve never seen you at a party. Are you new to Cal?”