“I know it is, plus I did something crazy the other night. I have to tell you about it.”
“Oh?” Her voice lilted. I had her attention.
“It involves a hot guy, and I don’t even know his last name.”
“Cara!” She shrieked.
“What? What did she do?” I heard Mallory in the background. I hadn’t realized she was there, but I didn’t mind. The three of us generally told each other everything. I hoped they weren’t too annoyed at me for avoiding their calls for the past few weeks.
“I’ll tell you guys later. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay. See ya, Cara.”
“We love you!” Mallory yelled.
I smiled as I turned toward campus.
Juliet and Mallory were waiting on the front porch of our sorority house when I arrived. A spot right out front was open—making me immediately suspicious. Suspicious or not, I wasn’t going to pass by the space. Juliet ran down the steps and yanked open my door before I’d even cut the engine. “You’re here!”
I unbuckled. “Who did you boot from this spot to save it for me?”
“No one. I left my truck there until you called.” Mallory smiled. “That’s why it was so easy to park. Your car’s half the size of mine.”
Without waiting, my roommates pulled out my bags from the back and started walking toward the house.
I grabbed my remaining bags and followed. I’d definitely over packed for the month long break. Juliet keyed in the code and held open the door.
We walked straight through the living room where I was given quite a few sympathetic looks from my sisters. Clearly, the news had spread. I smiled as brightly as possible and headed upstairs.
I followed the girls into our room. “Uh, what’s that?” I pointed to a giant brown teddy bear with a blue bow lying on my bed.
“We figured you might need someone to cuddle with. He’s cute, big, but he won’t snore or come with any annoying baggage.”
I laughed. “You guys are crazy.”
“Yeah. Yeah. Now spill.” Juliet sat down on my bed, snuggling my new bear against her.
“Hey. You have someone to snuggle with.” I pulled it back and sat on my bed, leaning back on the pillows covered in pale pink pillow cases.
Juliet crossed her arms. “Fine, but tell us about this guy.”
“This guy with no last name.” Mallory sat down by my feet. She had her long brown hair pulled back in a braid. It was a different look for her.
“Love the hair, and he does have a last name, I just don’t know it.”
“And? What happened with this guy?”
I took a deep breath. “I had sex with him… on the beach.”
“What?” They both shrieked.
Mallory’s eyes gaped open. “Please tell me you used protection.”
“Of course, and remember that you hooked up with Colt on a whim.” I clearly remembered Mallory sharing the details of her one night stand. Of course, her hookup became a relationship and mine wouldn’t. I hadn’t even given Chase my number.
“I’ve known Colt forever.”
“Don’t bother starting in on Dylan.” Juliet cringed when she said her ex’s name. She’d hooked up with her long time crush while skinny dipping. My story may have even beaten hers.
“Well, I did it. The sex was incredible, and he was the complete opposite of my type, and I just walked away.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Juliet turned to look at me.
“Yes. He asked for my number, and I said no.”
“Wow. That’s really not like you.” Juliet messed with her chipped nail polish.
“Guys, it was good. It was exactly what I needed. I made such a big deal about losing my virginity to Aaron, but now he’s not the only guy I’ve been with. It’s better this way. Sex doesn’t have to be the big deal I made it.”
Mallory and Juliet exchanged a look.
“So who wants dinner?” I wasn’t about to let my friends rain on my parade. I’d done something absolutely crazy, and I felt good about it. Who cared that I’d thought about Chase every day since, or that he was now in my dreams?
“Do you want to go out or would you rather we ordered in?” Mallory gave Juliet another look.
I knew what her question was really asking. “I’m not going to hide out in my room for the next four months. He’s the jerk who’s been sleeping around on me.”
Mallory paled. “Of course. That’s not what I meant. I just didn’t know if you’d feel like going out.”
I sat up. “Let’s go to Al’s.”
Juliet gave me a ‘you’ve lost your mind’ look. “To eat? You want to eat at Al’s when you’re sober?”
“You guys do serve pizza there.” The pizza place that Juliet worked at and Reed managed was notorious for its awful pizza but great beer. It was also a go-to hangout, and there was a good chance a bunch of Kappas (i.e. guys from Aaron’s frat) would be there.
“Okay, I get what you’re doing.” Juliet stood up. “I know you want to show the Kappas you’re not afraid. That’s great. Absolutely great, but couldn’t we at least eat somewhere else first and then go out for beer?”
“Yeah. That’s a great idea.” Mallory nodded enthusiastically. “We could even just grab something at the student center.”
“Nope. We’re doing this.”
“Let it be known that I’m only doing this because I love you.” Juliet zipped up a hoodie sweatshirt. January evenings in Charleston often dipped down into the forties.
“If it’s good enough to serve to paying customers, surely you can handle eating a slice tonight.” I decided to forego a sweatshirt. My cable knit sweater would do the trick. If there was a chance I’d run into Aaron, I wasn’t going to do it looking frumpy. He needed a reminder of what he’d lost.
The walk over to Al’s was short, but it felt longer than usual that night. A mix of nerves and the cold made every step seem difficult.
“He might not even be there.” Juliet looped her arm through mine.
I leaned into her side. I may have had a jerk ass for an ex-boyfriend, to use Juliet’s term, but I had awesome friends. “He finally stopped calling, so I’m guessing he got the hint.”
“It was either that or the nut shot from Juliet.” Mallory looped her arm on my other side. “Reed had better be careful not to piss her off.”