500 Days (31 page)

Chapter 14

Alexis

Between school and work I barely had time to
breathe. Jacob and Jaxson had decided to join Casper and Colton’s
fraternity. I was not happy about it, but Casper promised they
would be in good hands. After the last party I wasn’t so sure, but
I had to trust that the boys were smart enough to make good
choices.

After a few insane weeks, I set aside some
time to have a girls’ night out with Declan. I hadn’t seen Casper
since the day we reconciled. If I was being honest, I kind of
missed him. Their band hadn’t played at the club since the night I
was attacked and I hadn’t seen him on campus either. I took out my
phone to text him.

Hey

Whatzup?

You have any plans
tom?

I had a night off from work and wanted to do
something that didn’t require pummeling douche bags or staying up
all night to study.

What did u have in
mind?

Movie night?

Sounds gr8 pick u up
@7

Casper was practically gleaming when he came
to pick me up. We went to the movies and then hung out at a pool
hall where I embarrassingly kicked his butt. I forgot how much fun
I had when I was around him. “What are you doing this weekend?”
Casper asked.

“
Girls’ night with
Declan.” He looked a little disappointed. “Sorry things have just
been crazy with school and work.”

“
No, I get it. Maybe
another time then.”

Casper dropped me off at my place. “I missed
you Cas,” I confessed.

“
I missed you too,” he
smiled.

“
I’ll call you, okay?” He
nodded and I gave him a kiss on the cheek goodnight.

On Saturday while I got ready for girls’
night out, Declan raided my closet claiming she had nothing to
wear, which I found hard to believe because she owned more clothes
than I did. “How was last night?” she asked as she shoved clothes
aside in my closet.

“
Great, I like hanging out
with Casper.” She looked over her shoulder at me, brow raised. “Not
like that. Casper and I are friends. I enjoy spending time with
him.”

She pulled out the only pink shirt I owned.
“I think you should wear this.”

“
I thought you were
looking for something for you?”

She pouted and turned back to the closet.
After flipping through everything five times she gave up and went
back to her room. “I still think you should go with the pink.”

I did not wear the pink shirt. Instead I
went with a black halter and tan suede skirt with black knee high
boots. Declan and I took a cab to one of the clubs downtown. We sat
at the bar, ordered our drinks, and did a celebratory shot for
girls’ night out. After the long week I’d had I was ready to let
loose.

By the time we had finished our third drink
we made our way to the dance floor. We shook our behinds to the
latest mixes the DJ was playing. Several different guys came up to
dance with us. Declan got a text from Colton and excused herself to
go respond. I reminded her it was girls’ night and texts from
boyfriends weren’t allowed. She rolled her eyes and told me she
would be right back. Since my drink was empty, I headed to the bar
to get another. While I was waiting for my drink, I felt someone
slide into the spot next to me. They were pressed so close I could
feel the heat from their body. When the bartender returned with my
drink, the guy next to me told him it was on him. I turned to thank
him. “Thanks for the drink.” He was cute and oddly familiar. “I’m
Alex.”

“
I know,” he said, giving
me a slight smile. “We’ve already met.”

I pulled back to get better look at him and
then it hit me. “Creepy lurker guy.” It was the guy who found me
crying outside the club on my birthday.

“
I actually just go by
Reece now.”

“
Reece, right, sorry.” I
bit my lip.

“
You come here
often?”

“
Really, that’s the best
you can do?”

“
Not really good at this.
I wanted to tell you that
you looked
beautiful, but then I thought that would sound lame
too.”

I blushed. “That would have been the better
choice.”

“
I’ll have to keep that in
mind for the future.” He smiled sweetly, revealing a look of
innocence.

“
Would you like to
dance?”

“
Um…I’m not really a good
dancer,” he said nervously.

“
I’m sure you can’t be
that bad.” He raised a brow. “Come on, let’s give it a
try.”

“
Okay, but you were
warned.”

Reece followed me onto the dance floor. At
first he just kind of stood there awkwardly. I stood behind him and
put my hands on his hips, trying to guide him to the music. I could
tell he felt a little uncomfortable, but he was at least trying. I
walked around in front of him, placing my hands on his shoulders.
“Just follow me.” He smiled bashfully, but gave it a solid effort.
He was right, he was a horrible dancer, but I gave him credit for
trying. We danced for a few songs before we headed back to the bar
to refill our drinks. Declan was there waiting for me.

“
Hi,” she said, checking
out Reece.

“
Reece, this is my good
friend, Declan.”

“
Nice to meet you,” he
said, shaking her hand. She smiled and gave me a look saying he was
cute.

“
Do you go to CU?” Declan
asked, starting her inquisition.

“
Yeah, I just transferred
in from EU.”

“
I thought you looked
familiar. I think you’re in my political science class.”

“
Right, with Mrs.
Peatree.” He made a face.

“
Isn’t she just god
awful?”

“
I think the only thing I
learned so far is how to successfully nap through a lecture.”
Declan and Reece started to crack up, sharing some secret I wasn’t
privy too. They continued to talk about the class they shared,
boring me to death. I was happy to introduce these two so they
could hit it off – not. I turned to order a drink and shot. I lost
interest in their conversation about political – whatever – and
snuck out to steal a smoke.

When I returned we were no longer alone.
Colton was there with Casper. Surprised, I asked, “What are you
guys doing here?”

“
You’re not happy to see
me?” Casper said, throwing me his cocky smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m supposed to
be having girls’ night with Declan,” I said, hands on hips.

“
Hey, it was just a
coincidence, honestly. But now that we’re all here we can finely
have some fun. Come on, let’s dance.”

I pulled away. “Casper I can’t.” He looked
at me funny. “I was… kind of talking to someone.” He looked over my
shoulder at Reece who was currently talking to Colton.

“
That guy?”

“
Yes.” He frowned. “Do you
know him?”

“
He’s one of my fraternity
brothers.”

“
Is there something wrong
with him?”

“
No,” Casper groaned. I
found it hard that he and Casper were friends. They were the
complete opposite. Wanting to know more about him, I weaseled my
way in between Reece and Colton and struck up a conversation. Only
after a few minutes of talking to him I could totally see myself
with this guy. He told me he played football and was here on a
scholarship.

He was sweet and the total opposite of the
type of guy I usually go for, which is why I thought he would be
the perfect one to get to know. As much as I enjoyed the occasional
one night stand, I was tired of being single. The Boys and Declan
had found a table in the back and I asked Reece to join us. Colton
vouched for him so I knew I didn’t have to worry about him just
trying to get in my pants. I flirted with Reece and he flirted
right back, giving me butterflies in my stomach. I felt eyes on me
and I shifted slightly to see Casper watching us. He didn’t look
happy, which only prompted me to flirt more. I moved in closer to
Reece. When he said something funny I would playfully hit his leg.
I did everything I could to find an excuse to touch him.

“
I’d really like to take
you out sometime. Some place not so noisy,” he smiled
charmingly.

“
I’d really like that.” I
took his phone and punched in my number. Reece and I really seemed
to be hitting it off and I knew he had potential. His hand brushed
my knee and he pulled it back apologetically. I placed my hand over
his. “It’s okay, no need to apologize.”

“
Sorry, just didn’t want
you to think I was like these other guys.”

“
I can tell you’re
different from them.”

He brushed a piece of hair off my face and
tucked it behind my ear, his fingers lightly caressing my cheek. I
so badly wanted to kiss him right now. I leaned in a little closer.
“Alex, wanna play a round?” Casper interrupted, gesturing to the
pool table. I glared at him for the interruption.

“
Not right now, maybe
later,” I said, returning my attention back to Reece. After another
round of drinks I found Casper was no longer flying solo. He was
currently occupied with not one but three women by his side. I knew
this shouldn’t bother me, but it did, to the point where I could no
longer focus on my current company. “I’m gonna head out,” Reece
said.

“
What, no. I’m sorry…I
just…” I felt horrible. Reece was probably the sweetest guy I had
ever met and I couldn’t stop staring at Casper and his whores long
enough to give him the attention he deserved.

“
It’s okay. I have
training and have to get up early tomorrow. I didn’t plan on
staying out this late anyway.”

“
Then why did
you?”

“
Because this really
beautiful girl captured my attention and I couldn’t seem to tear
myself away.”

“
Oh,” I
blushed.

“
It was a pleasure meeting
you Alex.” He pressed a soft kiss to my cheek, making me melt.
“I’ll give you a call soon.”

“
Thank you,” I
smiled.

After Reece left I had no one to distract me
from Casper’s guests, not that Reece really distracted me, but at
least it was something. I shimmied my way to the pool tables,
hoping to find a way to get rid of the prostitutes currently
encircling the table. “Ready to get your ass kicked?”

Casper stood up and smiled. “It’s been a
while since I’ve been spanked properly. Are you offering?”

I leaned in closer, resting my arms behind
me on the table. “Save the pillow talk for the VD sisters over
there.”

“
Testy, do I sense a bit
of jealousy?”

“
No, just a fear of
catching something if I get too close.”

“
What happened to your
boy-toy?”

“
He has training in the
morning so he had to go.”

“
Training, right,” he said
skeptically.

I rolled my eyes and picked up the cue ball.
“Care to make a wager?” I tossed the ball in the air.

“
You sure about that? Last
time it didn’t work out so well for you.”

I threw him a sly smile and racked.

Thankfully the girls had gotten bored and
moved on after Casper spent more of his concentration on the game
then he did them. Declan and Colton had bailed on us earlier in the
evening, leaving me to fend for myself.

After our third game I had Casper take me
home. I looked around the parking lot for his car but couldn’t find
it. “Um, where’s your car?”

He tilted his head to me and raised a brow.
“Since someone decided to add some new detail to my car.” I bit my
lip, remembering taking Jaxson’s bat in a fit of rage. “It’s
currently at the garage getting fixed.”

I blushed, embarrassed about my outburst.
“Did you walk here?” I asked confused. He placed his hand on the
small of my back and pushed in the direction of his temporary
vehicle. “A motorcycle? You’re kidding, right?”

“
Nope,” he smiled,
enjoying my discomfort. “Have you ever been on a bike before?” I
shook my head no. “You’re gonna love it.” I looked down at the
short skirt I was wearing. He took off his jacket and handed it to
me then grabbed a spare helmet and gently placed it on my head
adjusting the strap for me.

Hopping on the bike first, he lifted it up
and popped up the kickstand. I carefully swung my leg over the back
of the bike and slid into the seat. Not sure where to put my hands,
he reached around and grabbed my wrist one at a time, placing my
hands on his waist. I squeezed tightly, a little nervous of falling
off. The engine roared to life and then we were off. I clenched his
waist tighter as we hit the highway. The cold wind against my
thighs felt great and the ride alone was liberating. Casper took
the long way home, but I didn’t mind.

I didn’t want the ride to end, but I was
home before I knew it. I hopped off and handed Casper back his
helmet and jacket. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see ya?”

“
Lunch,
Monday?”

“
Yeah, I’d like that.” I
gave him a kiss on the cheek and wished him a goodnight.

“
I take it, it went well?”
Declan said, scaring me as I walked into the apartment.

“
Yes, thanks for leaving
me stranded.” I fell down on the couch to take off my
shoes.