Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,12

Issy called from the kitchen. “Happy hour starts at four, and Jake here has agreed to back off tonight.” I saw her slam her elbow into his ribs, and he retaliated by tickling her.

I shut my door and headed straight to the shower. It dawned on me that I had seen Jake three times now. Once, dancing like a fool in my PJs, next, coming out of mid-sleep with wild hair, and now, sweating head to toe with a face the color of a tomato. I must be out of my mind to even worry about whether or not I liked Jake, because it was glaringly obvious he was way out of my league. Yet, all the same, as if on auto pilot, I got dressed to go out with everyone. For some reason, I couldn’t physically say no to him even though my head was screaming at me, Danger!

I found my favorite pair of skinny jeans, the ones I could swear took off ten pounds, and a strapless blue shirt that fell right at my hips. I added a chunky necklace and hoop earnings and looked in the mirror. I felt good. I felt pretty, which didn’t happen very often. My hair was actually behaving today. It was parted in the middle and the long waves fell gracefully below my shoulder blades. The blue in my shirt brought out my eyes, which were even more enhanced by a touch of brown mascara. I wasn’t one to wear much on my face and opted to stop with the addition of a soft peach lip-gloss. With all the confidence I could muster, I came out of my room and said, “Ok, I’m in.”

I’m not sure what I expected Jake’s reaction to be, but the look on his face far exceeded anything I had hoped for. Jake was one of those guys that had subtle charisma, where his expressions and body language said far more than his mouth ever did, a vast difference from Aaron’s obnoxious banter. I had his full attention and when we locked eyes, I smiled shyly at him, knowing full well I was failing at the hard-to-get game.

“Wow girl. You clean up well,” Issy stated after whistling, “Now come over here so we can get the night started.”

I walked over to the bar not knowing what to expect and found a spot open next to Jake. I was immediately slammed with his scent and almost closed my eyes. It was woody and inherently masculine with a slight hint of cinnamon.

All six of us were huddled around the bar staring at five shot glasses full of a clear liquid. Personally, drinking was not really my thing. I tried it a couple of times my freshmen year and always hated how out of control I felt. In addition, anything so expensive that included a ridiculous amount of empty calories seemed like a waste. But this was my first impression with these guys, and I didn’t want to seem boring. Issy passed each one of us a shot, except for the guy with the buzzed haircut, who I assume was the designated driver for the evening.

I felt Jake move his head closer to mine and whisper, “You look beautiful tonight,” which immediately put me at the top of cloud nine.

Issy lifted her glass and said, “To being young and stupid.”

Jake’s words had put me in a dream world and I eagerly drank the shot with the rest of the group. Unfortunately, I was the only person in the group coughing and gagging on it. My throat felt like it was on fire and my eyes immediately started to water.

“Oh my, Avery, I have a lot to teach you this year.” Issy said as she got me a glass of water. I was totally embarrassed at this point and “sorry” was all I could say.

Jake wrapped his arm around me. “No worries, I’m the ultimate caretaker, remember?” He was flirting…and I was thrilled.

I smiled back at him, looking him directly in the eyes, “You promise?”

The Varsity Club was in Asheville, which meant a thirty-minute drive with all of us crammed in a very small SUV. I soon learned that the buzzed haircut guy’s name was Terry, but everyone called him T.J. He had met Jake though their intramural basketball league. The intertwined couple consisted of Cindy and Blake. They had been dating for six months and were over the moon for each other. I guess Cindy lived in apartment 200 and had