“My ex is a stage seven clinger, and I need you to just act like my girlfriend for a few seconds.” He bites his bottom lip, and looks at me as he waits for an answer.
I look around for someone who might be his ex-girlfriend hoping that if I agree with this it won’t land me in a fight with a chick who could kick my ass. I sigh, moving my eyes back to him.
“Okay? What do you need me to do? Hold your hand or some─”
Lips cut me off, and not with words. His long fingers tilt my chin up to meet his mouth in a surprising kiss. I hadn’t been kissed since Bishop. I almost forgot how to do it and what it felt like. This guy tastes like mint gum, and some type of whiskey. It’s a nice combination.
I shut my eyes, moving my lips against his, allowing his other hand to pull me closer by my hips. My hands rest on his chest, as he moves his mouth on mine in a slow kiss. I don’t feel fireworks, and nothing explodes in my body, but it’s nice. I feel light on my feet. I’ve missed the feeling of having interactions with the opposite sex.
I pull my mouth off him, pushing him back. “I think she got the hint,” I mumble breathlessly.
A smirk pulls on his features. “I’m going to be honest with you, shortcake.” He moves his finger towards my face, and I breathe in shakily terrified of what he is about to do. A blush creeps its way onto my face as he grabs a stray curl that fell in front of my face. Every single piece of me thinks he is going to tug the piece and unravel all the memories of B. My heart is pounding in my ears.
But slowly he tucks it behind my ear. I let out a relieved breath.
“I have quite a few ex-girlfriends here, but none of them are clingy. I really just needed an excuse to kiss you.”
My eyes widen and I push him back a little farther. “What the hell? Here I am trying to be a good person and you’re just trying to cop a feel?”
There is humor dancing in his eyes, and a smile on my face. I will admit, it was smooth.
“Preston Huntington, and besides the obvious answer of my future girlfriend, what’s your name?”
He sounds like he is running for president with that name. I bet he’s like Preston the Third or some shit. I’m about to answer when I hear Riggs. Like the guard dog she is, her eyes are glued to Preston, eyeing him carefully.
“You okay?” she asks, but her eyes never leave him. I don’t know what I did to ever deserve someone like her, but every day I’m thankful. I sling my arm over her shoulder.
“Yeah I’m good. Let's get out of here. I’m starved.” She nods in agreement, leading us toward the exit of the loud fraternity. My stomach is growling for greasy takeout.
“Hey, wait! You never told me your name!” I hear from behind me. I turn my head slightly, looking at Preston Huntington, and I smile. He’d managed to get a laugh, a kiss, and a smile out of me all in one night which was more than any other guy had gotten in the past few years.
“You look like a smart guy, figure it out.” I shoot him a wink, and see him smirk. He raises his red solo cup up to me, nodding his head in a salute of sorts. I turn back and make my way out of the house with my arms linked with Riggs’.
The cold air is refreshing. The night sky is lit up with stars and I can’t think of a better night to walk home. We begin our journey down the sidewalk, passing other drunk college students, one of which is passed out in a bush.
Riggs takes off skipping down the sidewalk, spinning in circles. “I feel like I’m top of the fucking world, Sully!” I follow, joining hands with her.
We laughed and spun in circles over and over again. She had these moments where she wasn’t always made of stone, she let the light in, and it was beautiful. The times when she didn’t let her parents faze her and she was just Aurelia.
Once we finish spinning, we continue our walk. She lies her head on my shoulder as we walk arm and arm.
“You don’t actually like him, right?” I turn my body to look at her as we continue our walk. I think about the question for a moment. I didn’t NOT like him. He isn’t what anyone would expect me to like, but there is something about him that had me interested.
“I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders. “There is something about him I find kind of charming.”
She tosses her head back with laughter. It’s one of those extremely loud laughs that cause people to look at us like we are crazy or extremely intoxicated. She wipes under her eyes, removing the fake tears.
“Valor, he was wearing the same shoes my grandfather wore when they buried him!”
I shove her shoulder, laughing with her. “Shut up!” I warn. “They are not that bad.” A smile warms my face, thinking of how bad they actually were. They did look like the kind of shoes grandfathers wear to go golfing in.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised you like him. What surprises me is YOU don’t know why you like him.”
I raise a questioning eyebrow, tilting my head to the left, and she just rolls her eyes at me.
“Don’t look at me like that. You and I both know the reason you like him is because he’s the exact opposite of Bishop.”
At the sound of B’s name, I stop walking. I hated hearing his name. Every time it came on the sports channel, or someone talked about how great he was, I hated it. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me think of his hands on me, his laugh, his eyes. Fuck, I hated it.
“What?” I say softly. The problem with having a bad bitch as a best friend? It also meant you got the God’s honest truth every time she opened her mouth.
Riggs stops walking, she sighs, “I’m not blind. I see you, Sully. If a guy has blond hair? Forget it. Blue eyes? No chance in hell. You avoid the guy’s hockey team like the fucking plague. You like him because he’s the first guy who doesn’t share one single quality with Bishop Maverick.”
Her words are like getting your mouth washed out with soap. Disgusting, but sometimes necessary. I bite my bottom lip, looking at my shoes. My eyes burn with tears.
If Bishop was the sun, Preston was the moon.
Mysterious, dark, unknown, and illuminating.
Riggs’ hands cup my cheeks, making me look at her. “Hey, look at me.” My eyes meet her brown ones. “I’m just saying you deserve someone better than just an opposite. You deserve someone who makes you happy, Val.”
I nod, taking a deep breath, forcing myself not to cry.
“Come on, let’s buy you some food. You’re less emotional after you eat.”
Preston had tracked me down on campus and wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to go on a date with him. He’d taken me on his family's yacht. I think he wanted to simultaneously show his family's wealth while also trying to be cute because he had set up a picnic on the upper deck for us. The first time we had sex, I didn’t orgasm, which sucked. He wasn’t terrible in bed. He knew what to do with his fingers, and his tongue wasn’t bad.
I honestly think it was just me. I wouldn’t let my mind completely blank out and enjoy the moment. I think I was scared I was going to accidently think about Bishop in the middle of sex with Preston. It was shitty, but it was true.
When I was with him I felt safe. My heart felt safe from harm. I couldn’t risk getting into a relationship with someone who would break me again. I was still under construction from the last heartbreak. One day I’d be able to trust him with my entire heart, but just not today.