JAX (The Beckett Boys #2) - Olivia Chase Page 0,70
already know her name.
One of those freshman had said someone had been asking about me. Could it possibly have been Jacob Everett? Had he spotted me that early in the night, and sent someone to learn more about me?
It didn’t seem believable, not with the parade of women that were circulating by him constantly.
I took a few deep breaths, then backed up and sat in one of the lawn chairs that lined the deck. It was hard to see the stars here— too much ambient light in the big city. So very, very different than Tifton, where the stars stretched on for ages and the only noise you heard after eleven o’clock was the trill of cicadas. Here, I could still hear the rumble of car engines and sirens, even though tucked away on the backside of the house I could see neither.
I enjoyed the cool night air for a few moments that quickly became nearly a half hour. I finally felt like myself again, and was about to turn around when someone caught my eye in the tiny yard down below the deck. Two people— the tall, leggy black girl from earlier, tugging along another form, this one tall and strong looking, even in partial shadow.
It was Jacob Everett, I realized, and I hated the fact that a wave of hurt rocketed through me. The girl was pulling him into one of the yard’s benches, and though I wanted to look away immediately, I kept my eyes on them just long enough to see the girl dramatically bend over the bench, her sundress flipping up as she did so. Jacob put a hand on her ass, then spanked it just hard enough that the popping sound reached the deck. The girl giggled in response; Jacob slid one hand down her ass, to the darkened space between her legs, and used his other hand to fumble with his belt—
I spun around, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment. I had to get out of here, now— after all, Jacob Everett was about to have another one of his apparently famous hookups, and why would anyone want to see that? I repeated this to myself more than once, trying to quell the unwelcome disappointment that was welling up in me. When I couldn’t, I took off at a jog, around the side of the deck, back to the party, which was louder, hotter, and drunker than I left it. I looked around for Piper or Kiersten— I wanted to go back to the suite, now. I didn’t see them anywhere, but the bartender was still a friendly face in the crowd. I hurried up to him.
“Hey— are Piper and Kiersten around? I need to tell them I’m leaving,” I said hurriedly.
The bartender looked surprised. “Oh. Um. Kiersten is probably in someone’s pants, or in the very least in someone’s apartment, by now, and Piper left a few minutes ago.”
“They both left?”
He nodded, giving me a pitying look. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just…I just need some sleep,” I said, shaking my head. I smiled at the bartender and backed away. They’d left me.
Some first day of college.
Chapter 4
I found my way back to the dorms quickly enough, though on the way I managed to rack up a not insignificant amount of frustration that my roommates had left me to walk alone, in the dark, tipsy. My feet were sore from Kiersten’s shoes and, by the time I climbed the steps to our suite, I was fairly certain I had sizable blisters on my toes. I refused to limp from them, though, when I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
“Hello? Kiersten? Piper?” I called out, forcing my voice to sound bored, rather than upset.
“You’re back early,” someone— Piper, I realized, who was on the couch— said flatly.
“I wish I’d known you left,” I said.
Piper gave a tired shrug but ignored my comment.
“Would you like me to wash this dress?” I asked, trying to hide my disappointment at being abandoned at the party. After all, this was day one and I couldn’t very well be feuding with my roommate within the first twenty-four hours of meeting her.
“That dress has to be dry cleaned.” She looked me over. “Let me take it so it doesn’t get ruined. Also, you should probably go get some of your own stuff to wear out. This fit you okay, but I think it made you look a little hip-y,” Piper said, rising.