Judah walks me outside after our hour is up. He pauses on the steps in front of the library.
“Thanks for helping me today.” The subdued expression on his face still bothers me. He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to get upset over something small.
“No problem.” I nudge him in the arm, and he smiles a little.
“I’ll see you next week then.” He walks down the steps, and before I can stop myself, I call after him.
“Good luck.”
He turns around and walks backward a few steps. “With what?”
I laugh. “Your game, Judah.”
Judah bites his bottom lip, a smirk peeking around the edges. “I thought you didn’t like football.”
My eyes narrow. “I never said that.”
“I’m kidding, babe. See you around.”
He winks at me and before I have time to chastise him for his choice of words, he turns around and walks through the quad. My instinct to be annoyed is replaced with amusement and I smile. By the time I make it to the parking lot I’m still smiling, and I don’t know why.
“Could you at least pretend like you give a shit?” Zander motions his hand up and down my outfit with disapproval and I laugh.
I glance down at my torn sweatshirt and yoga pants. “What? This is comfortable.”
“Exactly. You look like you’re about to binge an entire season of Gossip Girl, not attend an epic party.”
I roll my eyes as I step around him into the kitchen. “I don’t know how epic it will be.” After grabbing a water from the fridge, I turn to face him. “It’s a Thursday.”
His perfectly sculpted eyebrows rise. “Mack, Thursday is the best night of the week. Besides, you don’t have class until eleven tomorrow.”
“Doesn’t mean I feel like being hung over for it. Whose party is it anyway?”
He shrugs before focusing his attention to the phone in his hands. He smiles at the display before answering me. “Um, Preston Myers.”
“Should I know who that is?”
Zander gives me an incredulous look. “Seriously? You really need to get out more.” He holds a finger up before pulling up a video on his phone. He holds the screen to me.
“Oh my God,” I say as Preston’s loud voice fills our kitchen. He’s in the locker room holding his phone out and shouting obnoxiously to all the guys on the team. His videos always go viral around campus and probably further to be honest. It’s even rumored that he got in trouble for posting them during practice and after games. Not that it stopped him, I think it made it worse, actually. I’ve never paid too much attention, though. I didn’t even know his name.
“That guy? Really?”
Zander nods with a grin and I shoulder past him. “He’s an idiot.”
I hear him laugh from behind me as I make my way back to my bedroom. He leans in my doorway. “Are you sure your irritation has nothing to do with the fact that a certain someone will also be there?”
“I don’t know who you’re referring to.” I pull my sweatshirt off and grab a lacy T-shirt from my closet.
“Okay, sure. I’ll just pretend that you’re not having intimate study dates with the hottest guy on campus.”
I shoot him an irritated look while reaching for a denim skirt on the top shelf. His smile widens.
“What do you call it, Mack? You said yourself he doesn’t really need help.”
Jumping slightly, I finish pulling the skirt over my hips and glance in the mirror. “He said he needs someone to hold him accountable. I’m like his babysitter.”
“That’s kinda hot.”
Zander bites his fist and I throw my discarded sweatshirt at him. “You’re not funny.”
After fluffing my hair, I reach for my lip gloss. I catch Zander’s smug smile in the mirror.
“What?”
He shrugs. “Oh, nothing. I won’t point out the fact that you’ve just tarted yourself up since I mentioned Judah would be at the party.”
I pucker my lips and a throw my lip gloss in my bag. “You don’t know that.” I grab my phone from my dresser and give him a shove. “Besides, you said I looked like shit. You should be happy.”
“I am.” He throws his arm over my shoulder and gives me an appreciative once over. “In another life, I would totally be into you.”
“I’m actually kind of flattered.” I bat my eyes at him mockingly, and he laughs, pulling his arm away.
“Joke all you want, Mack. It would blow your mind to know all the guys I’ve hooked up with.”
Smiling, I grab my keys from the table in the living room. “Oh, yeah. Like who?”
He pulls his jacket on with a demur smile and motions me toward the front door. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
Honestly, it doesn’t surprise me. Zander is undeniably gorgeous, much to the dismay of most of the girls on campus when they realize they’re wasting their time.
After slipping on some heels, I step out into the hallway. Zander pulls the door closed and turns to me, suddenly serious. He places his hands on my shoulders so I have to look up into his eyes.
“Same rules as always. You only take drinks from me and if you feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable, we’ll leave. No questions asked.”
I nod slowly, but don’t reply. He plants a quick kiss on my forehead before leading me to the stairwell. If this were a year ago, I couldn’t even leave my room, let alone attend a party. I never thought I could get back into this setting again, but Zander has changed that for me. He’s been my rock in so many ways. Always pushing me to do things I’m afraid of, all the while making me believe it’s what I truly want.
He’s wrong about Judah, though. That’s one fear I’m not ready to take on again.
Chapter 5
After The Rain
Judah
I’ve only been at Preston’s for about twenty minutes and I’m already bored. Parties like this don’t hold the appeal for me like they used to. It’s either that, or they suck a lot more since I’ve been trying to stay sober. Alcohol wasn’t my actual problem last year, and I know that, but my emotions were a hell of a lot easier to deal with when I was shit-faced.
Elliot’s older brother, Ollie, has been texting me more than usual. As fucked up as it seems, he’s one of my closest friends. He was like a brother to me for so many years it’s kind of hard to imagine not having him in my life. He helped me through a lot of shit even when I didn’t deserve it. I can tell he’s going through something major and I owe it to him to help. That’s what he’s always done for me.
All the whiskey swirling around inside me is threatening to spill out as I wait for Oliver to get back to the truck. I’m very aware that I look like a crazy person right now. Never in all my life have I lost my shit like this before, but I couldn’t help it. Elliot has been avoiding my calls since Fall Festival and I have no idea why. I thought everything was going good again, or at least, heading in the right direction. The look on her face tells me I was wrong.