I nodded. “What about you? Ready for your summer internship?”
She groaned. “Ugh. Yes and no. I mean, the internship sounds great, but it’s in my hometown. I can’t imagine staying three months with my parents and my little sister.”
“At least you get along with your parents.”
“Maybe you will now too. Think of this as a second chance.”
“I don’t need a second chance,” I snapped. She took her arm from around me. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”
“I know. And I also know you technically didn’t do anything wrong, but this might be a second chance for you to forgive them.”
I sighed. Even if she was right, it wouldn’t be easy to forgive. Three months seemed too little time to right all the wrongs in our past.
“We’ll see,” I muttered.
“Here comes the man.” She hugged me. “Try to relax and enjoy your time home. And call me, okay?”
I hugged her back. “I will. And you too. Kick some ass at your internship.”
“I will.” She disentangled herself from me, waved to Gavin as he approached us, stood, and then walked away.
Gavin sat down in Kristin’s empty spot. “Hi, babe.” He kissed my cheek.
I tried not to flinch. “Hi.”
His smile was wide and bright. “What a surprise seeing you here. I could get used to this.”
“Gavin, we need to talk.”
The smile slipped from his face. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
I looked around. Students walked in and out of the building, not paying any attention. Still, I didn’t want anyone hearing us.
“I’m going home for the summer.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I’m from Lexington, South Carolina. My parents and my brother still live there.”
“But … your house here?”
“It’s my grandma’s. She lives here, always has. I moved in with her almost four years ago.”
“Why?”
“That’s not important.” I paused, searching for the right words. “I’ll be gone all summer and I don’t want to hold you back. It’s not fair.”
“Wait. Are … no. Are you breaking up with me?”
“Gavin, we hooked up on the weekends. Do you really think that was a real relationship?”
“Yes!” He raised his voice, drawing the attention of students walking by. He cleared his throat and continued in his normal voice. “You know I always wanted more. I wanted a real, serious relationship. You’re the one who didn’t.”
“I don’t know what to say besides I’m sorry.”
He held my hand in his. “Be my girlfriend. My real girlfriend. Come to my house tonight. Have dinner with me and my family.”
As gently as I could, I pulled my hand back. “I’m leaving Sunday morning for Lexington and I’ll be gone for three months. I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything, that we are a thing. So, just to make it clear, you can date other girls, okay?”
“No, it’s not okay.” He ran a hand through his hair. “We can make this work, babe. Give me a chance. I want to woo you. I know I can.”
“Even if you can, Gavin, I’ll be gone for three months. That’s not fair.”
“I can come visit you. Often. I promise.”
I shook my head. “Please, Gavin, don’t do this.”
“No, you don’t do this. I really like you, babe. Please, don’t break up with me.”
His eyes filled with moisture, and I honestly panicked. I didn’t know how to react to that. It made me a bitch, but I had to end this right now.
I stood. “Have fun this summer, Gavin. Goodbye.”
Each time he called my name, I hurried my steps, getting farther and farther away from him. My eyes stung with unshed tears. I really was a bitch and I didn’t know how to fix that.
***
Ryan
I stopped shoving my pants back on when the girl in the bed moved. I even stopped breathing, lest she wake up and see me there.
What would I say to her? “Hi, hmm, yeah, I don’t remember your name, or how I ended up in your dorm room.” No, that wouldn’t be nice. Not that I ever tried being nice. Actually, girls loved when I was bad. Nice did no good for Ryan Dawson’s reputation.
The girl went back to snoring, wrapped only in her flimsy pink sheet.
I put my T-shirt on and leaned closer. The girl was pretty, but the fact that my head throbbed and I didn’t remember anything about the night told me she was so boring, I had to drink my way to her bed. Not good.
I looked around. The dorm was simple but with too much pink stuff. Pink pillows, pink notebooks, pink lamp, pink rug, pink slippers. On her desk, beside her pink wallet, I found a bill from one of the bars on Gervais Street, three blocks from the girl’s dorm. Those bars were packed with college students during weekends, packed with girls, most of them easy, which made my life easier. Some days I loved the chase, the hunt, the expectation. Of course, after sleeping with a girl once, I barely ever spoke to her again. But there were days when I just wanted to get in and get out, as simple as that. I loved college girls because they didn’t stay for long. Four years tops. My reputation wouldn’t ever get blemished.
I left the dorm and headed toward Park Street, where I had left my car.
I glanced at my wristwatch. It was already eleven in the morning. I sighed, already playing in my head the pep talk my father would commence with if I were late to his company’s annual summer barbecue. It was always the same thing. More responsibility, more studying, less drinking, less playing, less fooling around.
Like I cared.
I found my black Mustang on Senate Street. Really, how long had I been drinking the previous night?
Before starting the car and driving toward Lexington, I fumbled through the glove compartment and the dashboard, but all the ibuprofen was gone, it seemed. The throbbing in my head would be my companion until I got home.
Halfway down Highway One, my cell phone rang.
I groaned, suspecting it was my father inquiring about my whereabouts.
“Yeah?” I answered without looking at the screen. Damn, my voice didn’t disguise my hangover.
“Ryan, it’s me,” Luke answered.
I let out a relieved breath. “Hey, man. Tell me, did you stay at the bar until after I was gone?”
“No. I left when you started to woo a blond girl. Why?”
“Nothing. Just wondering if I did anything stupid.”
Luke’s amused chuckle rang clear through the line. “Everything you do is stupid.”
“If you called just to kid, then call me later. My head hurts too much right now.”
The chuckle died on the other side. “I have something to tell you.”
“Shoot,” I said, not too interested. Luke and his cousin, Jason, had been my best friends since we were little kids, and Luke always had stuff to tell.
“I’m at my aunt’s house, you know, for Saturday family lunch.”
I stiffened, gripping the wheel with too much force. “Yes.”
What had he called for? To tell me old Paul had finally died? I would be happy if he did. I hated the man.
“Jessica is coming back.”
I buried my foot on the break. The tires screeched loudly and horns honked behind me. I had stopped the car in the middle of the road and almost caused an accident, but I didn’t care.
“What?”
“Aunt Corinne convinced her to come back. At least for a few days. Sorry, man, I thought you would like to know.” I maneuvered my car out of the road and into the driveway of a store, where I could catch my breath and process the info. “Ryan? Are you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Are you okay?”
I cleared my throat, pushing the painful lump down. “Yeah. I’m okay. When is she coming?”
“Tomorrow. She’ll be here tomorrow.”
“And Jason? Is he coming home too?”
“Yes. He arrives next weekend, I think.” Luke waited a few seconds. When I didn’t say anything else, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”