5Chapter 2: Hot Guys, Shots, and Misleading Conversations
Half an hour later, the girls were ready to go and looking their best. Naura's confidence had been boosted a couple notches because of the dress Lucine had given her to wear. It wasn't something she had ever thought would be appropriate for a party since she usually dressed casual, but apparently people were going to be looking their sexiest. This was the first party of the year so this was the first chance the students would have to show off their drinking skills and prove themselves among the upper classmen. Luckily Naura was a sophomore so she had it easier than the freshmen.
The dress she wore was red with inch wide straps and a round neck. It fit perfectly with her slim frame and flared out at the bottom, reaching just above her knees. The back of it had triangular cut outs and with it she wore a black skinny belt and black gladiator sandals. Her hair was down in it's natural dark brown wavy ringlets and she had a thick gold studded bracelet to compliment the whole look. Her makeup was light but she'd made sure to use the proper products to give herself that "glowing" look.
"Tyler is going to be drooling when he sees you," Lucine said, as they walked toward the taxi the girls had called. They planned on getting obliterated tonight and the smartest thing to do would be to avoid driving.
Naura smiled. "I hope so. But what if he isn't even there?"
"Oh, he will be and if not, there's plenty more parties."
She really hated torturing herself like this. Was it sad that her life surrounded her feelings for Tyler? This move might prove to be an unhealthy change because now she had no way of escaping him if things went wrong and her heart broke all over again. The last thing she wanted to become was one of those delusional girls who was incapable of accepting that a relationship just wasn't meant to be.
The three girls piled into the back of the taxi and headed off on the short drive to the frat house located a few miles away. Naura's nerves were making her extremely on edge. She needed a drink immediately. Should have asked Lucine to call one of her older friends to run by a liquor store. But it was too late now. They were pulling up in front of the house and hopefully there would be plenty of alcohol at her disposal.
She stepped out of the taxi behind Lucine and immediately a few guys walking on the sidewalk whistled and made cat calls. Naura rolled her eyes, as did Sonya and Lucine.
"Boys," Lucine said, that one word holding so much meaning.
Naura and Lucine just nodded their heads.
A couple houses down the street was the frat house and it was obviously already in full blown party mode. The electro music could be heard outside and red plastic cups were strewn about the front yard where a couple groups of people stood chatting.
Naura took a deep breath and followed Lucine and Sonya toward the house. Sonya was definitely a party girl, from the way she started dancing on the walk up to the short pink dress she was wearing.
Lucine, however, seemed a little more composed and classy. She'd decided to wear the same high low black skirt from earlier and added a black thin-strapped boustier on top with black studded flats. She was ready to party but seemed like the kind of girl that didn't like to get blackout drunk. Hopefully that meant she didn't like to run off and mingle and instead would stick with Naura since she didn't know anyone.
The front door was already open and as the girls stepped in, they were overcome by the smell of liquor and weed. The air was a little foggy from what appeared to be a fog machine in the living room to the left. There were streamers and confetti everywhere and it was obvious that all the alcohol was in the kitchen down the hall in front of them because the most noise was coming from there. Sonya smiled and grabbed Naura's arm. "C'mon girl, let's get you drunk!"
Naura smiled and let Sonya lead her. She had been waiting for this.
As soon as they stepped into the kitchen, three of the guys and one of the girls surrounding the keg, smiled and shouted Sonya's name. Sonya screamed and went to hug them, Lucine following after her.
"Hey, you guys, this is Lucine's roommate Naura! Naura this is Chad, David, Lucas, and Gabby."
Chad was cute. Tall, lean, wavy brown hair covered by a black snapback hat, and a friendly smile. "Hey! Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.
Naura smiled and said, "You too." She noticed that all three guys were checking her out and that definitely gave her an extra boost of confidence. When in doubt, always wear red.
The next guy, David, was definitely the cutest of them all. He too was tall and lean with short dark brown hair and dimples. The simple black t-shirt and black jeans combo complimented him perfectly. His smile was perfect and as he shook Naura's hand, she felt a warmth in her chest. "Hey."
She smiled. "Hey."
"Would you like a drink?"
"Sure. Can we take a shot?"
David looked taken back. "A girl who wants to start off with a shot right away? I like it. Hey, guys lets take a shot."
Sonya, Gabby, and Chad cheered and Lucine nudged Naura while David went to pour the shots.
"He's cute, huh?" Lucine whispered in her ear.
Naura nodded. "Yeah, he is. Is he single?"
"Yeah, but his ex-girlfriend is a kind of a bitch so watch out for her. Looks like he likes you though so go for it. The guy I like isn't here yet but he should be soon. Wait till you see him. He is so gorgeous."
Naura giggled. "Can't wait to see him."
David interrupted their conversation with two shot glasses, handing them each one and winking at Naura. "Here you are ladies."
They thanked him and Naura looked down at the liquid. "Ew tequila."
Lucine laughed. "The best when you're trying to get drunk quick!"
They all held their glasses up and clinked them together, cheering and then downing their shots.
Naura hated the burn down her throat but also welcomed it. She handed the shot glass to David who winked at her then accepted the cup of beer Sonya handed her. She immediately gulped down a third of it and smiled inside. She definitely felt a buzz coming on.
"Yo, let's do another round of shots!" Lucas, the third guy, shouted.
David laughed and started refilling the shot glasses.
"So Naura, where are you from?" Chad asked.
"California," she answered.
"Oh cool. Well, Florida's better."
Sonya piped in then, holding a cup of beer in each hand. "Waaay better! Fuck every other state!"
Naura laughed as Chad high fived Sonya in agreement.
David turned with two shots in hand. "Ok, here's - Yo! Tyler! What's up!" David had looked up behind them and smiled at what he saw.
Holy shit. Holy freaking crap. He was here.
Everyone was looking and she didn't want to be obvious in ignoring him so Naura slowly turned to look over her shoulder and felt her heart stop.
It was him.
Tyler.
Oh God.
And he was coming this way. He'd just entered the kitchen with two friends and was now walking toward them.
And man did he look good.
He was even more handsome than the last time she'd seen him. The same attractive chiseled face but a bit more mature. It looked like he'd taken out his snake bites and now just donned an eyebrow ring. His hair was still it's messy black texture but looked healthier and it wasn't gelled into spikes like it used to be. He was tan, probably from all the Florida sun, and a little more muscular than before. For this occasion he wore a dark gray fleece shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, nice dark blue jeans that fit nicely but didn't cling to him like the skinny jeans he used to wear, and all black converse. On his wrist was a black watch and in his ears were small black plugs. All in all he had this casual sexy look. And he was rocking the fuck out of it.
Jesus he looked good.
As soon as Tyler's green eyes landed on Naura, she felt extremely shy. All the confidence she'd built up disappeared and was replaced with nerves twice as bad as earlier. At first she wasn't sure if he recognized her but his eyes stayed on her for quite a while, his expression never changing. She kept her eyes on him as long as she could stand it before looking away.
'Keep it together,' she chanted over and over again in her head.
Tyler walked up to Chad right beside her, Lucine taking a step to the right, and shook his hand, clapping him on the back. " 'Sup man."
The other two guys went around saying hi to the girls and other two guys, leaving Naura to stand awkwardly and sip her beer.
Tyler turned to Lucine and gave her a quick hug before greeting David with the same guy handshake and back clap.
"Hey Naura! This is Louis!"
Naura almost jumped out of her skin, so focused on not acting nervous even though she was feeling it inside.
Sonya had spoken and beside her was a cute brunette. His hair was covered by a green and black striped snapback hat and he had a bunch of tattoos all up and down his arms, the rest hidden by the black v-neck he wore. He smiled and held out his hand, his dimple piercings shining in the light. "Hey, nice to meet you."
Naura smiled and shook his hand, temporarily turning her back to Tyler who was conversing with David. "You too."
"I love your eyes," he said.
Naura felt her cheeks warm up at his compliment. "Thank you. Yours aren't too bad either." And she meant that. His were a light blue.
He laughed. "Thanks, I try."
Of course he was checking her out which kind of lifted her spirits but soon his attention was stolen by Sonya who handed him a shot glass.
"Here you go beautiful."
Naura turned and smiled at David who was handing her a shot glass. She was all too aware of Tyler beside her and wondered if David's flirting bothered him. "Thank you."
David smiled and went back to pouring shots, leaving Naura to stand awkwardly beside her ex.
Tyler wasn't talking to anyone. He was holding his own shot glass, his other hand in his pocket. Before Naura had a chance to wonder why he was ignoring her, he turned a little and spoke. "Hey."
Naura slowly turned to look at him, wondering if she looked as attractive to him as he looked to her. "Hey."
"You look good." He discreetly gave her the once over, a sign that the red dress was working.
"Thanks."
He shifted his feet. "It's good to see you. Funny how you're Lucine's roommate."
She nodded. "Yeah, she's really nice. Sonya too."
He nodded. "Yeah, she is. Hey, can I talk to you outside in a second?"
She had no idea of what he wanted to talk about and she was kind of scared. Would he tell her he didn't want to start over? That he had a girlfriend? She didn't know if she could handle finding out he'd moved on. There was a ninety percent chance she would just fall apart if that was the case. And she prayed to God it wasn't.
"Okay. Sure."
Chad interrupted them then, holding his glass in the air. "Cheers to a fucking amazing night!"
They all cheered and held up their glasses before downing the liquor.
This time the burn wasn't as intense and Naura sipped her beer as a chaser.
Tyler turned to her once his liquor was gone. "Wanna go outside?"
She nodded. "Let's go."
Without saying anything to anyone, Tyler turned and headed out of the kitchen.
Naura hesitantly followed him, chugging as much of her beer as possible. She was definitely a little tipsy and thankful for that. Maybe whatever Tyler had to say wouldn't sting as bad.
She followed him out the front door, unaware of any of the people around, and down the driveway to the curb.
Tyler stopped one house down and turned to face her, the noise from the party dimmed a little. For the first time she saw a little nervousness in his confident demeanor, which was even more obvious now by how he could only look her in the eyes for a couple seconds.
Naura wrapped her free arm around her waist, preparing herself for what he was about to say.
Tyler spoke after a moment of silence, looking directly at her. "It is really good to see you. You look amazing. Especially in that dress."
She smiled lightly. "Thanks. It's Lucine's."
"Well, it looks good on you." He paused. "So um...I just wanted to apologize. For what I did."
Naura pushed some of her hair behind her ear, deciding not to speak yet.
"I was a dick. I shouldn't have just stopped talking to you but I didn't know what to do. And I understand if you hate me but I really hope you don't."
"I don't," she said quietly.
"I'm glad." He smiled lightly at her before looking away, his eyebrow piercing glinting in the streetlamp light.
"I could never hate you. I was just sad." Depressed actually, if she was being completely honest with herself.
"I'm sorry. I just. I don't know. I was dealing with a lot here and couldn't handle the distance. I just wanted you to be here but you weren't."
'I am now,' she wanted to say but instead she held back. Her pride wouldn't allow her to grovel at his feet. He needed to make it up to her. "Are you saying it's my fault?"
He immediately looked frustrated and apologetic. "No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I couldn't handle being without you. I wasn't myself. And it was really immature of me and I'm sorry. But obviously you did okay without me."
He was probably referring to how her looks had improved since then. This wasn't what bothered her though. It was his tone. Like the conversation wasn't going to head in the direction she wanted it to. "I did alright. How have you been?"
"I've been okay. Y'know school. Work. Trying not to strangle my mom every time I see her."
Naura smiled.
"You?"
"Nothing much. I was pretty much doing the same thing minus the mom strangling. And now I'm here, ready to start fresh." She immediately regretted the last words as soon as they were out of her mouth, hoping he didn't think she meant start fresh in her love life too.
Tyler nodded. "Cool. You'll like it here. Florida's great. And I promised my dad I'd show you around sometime so we'll have to do that."
"Yeah, sounds good."
"Okay. I-"
"Hey, Tyler!"
Naura looked over her shoulder and spotted two girls and a guy. One of the girls and the guy had shouted his name and the other girl was just standing there watching them. She was really pretty. Skinny and somewhat pale with full lips and long thin wavy black hair. She was dressed in black leggings with black boots and a leather jacket, a couple extra piercings in her ears and one in her nose. And she was staring down Naura like she knew her and didn't like her.
Naura turned back around as Tyler nodded at them. She wasn't sure but she had a sneaking suspicion that this girl was the ex Tyler had told her about. She really hoped not though because that girl seemed so much more like his type.
Tyler turned his attention back to her as his friends headed into the house. "So, um, I'll hit you up about that tour."
Naura nodded, feeling a little numb.
"Cool. I'll walk you back inside."
She just nodded, smiling lightly and walked beside him back up to the house. They went their separate ways, Tyler to go find his friends, and Naura back to the kitchen.
She hated to admit it but she was extremely disappointed. More than she'd been in a long while. And she wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so bad it hurt. But she couldn't. She didn't want to give these people a bad impression and she didn't want to risk Tyler seeing her. But God was she hurting inside. Every bit of her wanted to find a corner and cry.
He was probably back with his ex. The worst imaginable had happened. He'd moved on. And she knew this because he hadn't even mentioned his feelings for her or the possibility of getting back together.
He didn't want her.
"Hey girl! Where you been?"
Naura smiled at Lucine as she joined the group, fighting back tears. "Outside."
Lucine apparently noticed her change in attitude because the smile disappeared from her face. "You okay?" she asked quietly.
Naura nodded, taking a deep breath. "Yeah. I just don't want to think about it right now."
"Okay, sorry I asked. Let's focus on having fun." She turned to David who was watching them. "Hey! Can we take another shot?"
David nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Coming right up!"
Good. Alcohol. Something to numb her and make these feelings go away. That was all she wanted.
Fuck Tyler and fuck his ex. She was ready to move on too.
A/N: Chapter 2! Forcing myself to post this so I'll be forced to write chapter 3 faster. :D REVIEW PLEASE!
steph135: I think I make it like that because I'm too impatient to waste time before writing the exciting stuff haha. Thank you for the comment on my style of writing. :) I hope you liked this chapter!