Being There (6 page)

Senior year, I started dating Rhen Jacobs, one of the basketball players for the varsity squad. He approached me at my locker one day when I was grabbing my English Lit book in a hurry. I knew he was a friend of Drew’s, so I didn’t have my bitch guard up when he started talking to me.

“Where ya headed?” he asked as I shut the locker door with a bang. I held up the book in my hand to answer him, “Mind if I walk with you, I have a question for ya.”

“Yeah, sure, but I don’t have a lot of time, so can you make it fast?” I hated being late to class, or anywhere for that matter. So he fell in sync with my cadence as we headed across the building.

“So you and Drew, are you guys dating or something?”

“What?” I stopped suddenly to face him. “Where would you get that idea?”

“Well, y’all are always together and everyone just assumes that y’all are
together
, together. Ya know?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s ridiculous. Drew is my best friend! Yes, we’re together a lot, but it’s not like that with us. As far as I know, he’s dating that sophomore Sage, whatever her name is. So no, we aren’t together,” I stated in a definitive tone before double-timing it to my class that I was running late to. To my surprise, Rhen trotted right along side me.

“Good, then you can go out with me tomorrow night,” he stated proudly.

“No, actually I can’t. Drew and I have plans.”

“But you’re not dating?” I shook my head. “And he’s dating Sage?” I nod. “So cancel and go out with me,” he said with a lopsided grin.

“I’m sorry, I really can’t. Maybe another time.”

“Okay, then Saturday. Are you free on Saturday?” I knew I had made plans for the whole weekend with Drew, but if I said no again, the rumor mill would be working overtime and I needed to make sure there was a visible line.

“I’m free.”

“Alright then, I’ll pick you up at six,” he said before turning on his heels and running in the opposite direction. When I called Drew that afternoon to cancel our Saturday night movie marathon, he was pretty pissed, but not about me canceling on him. No, he was pissed that I was going out with Rhen.

“Cass, I’ve known the guy for a long time. He’s a dick. You know his reputation and you’re still going out with him?”

“I know you’re reputation, too, but I love you anyway so just give me a little credit. I’m not some naïve girl head over heels with some douche. It’s a date, no big deal,” I said as plain as I could. “If he’s a jerk or tries anything, you’ll be the first person I call, okay?”

It was laughable that Drew was pointing the finger at anyone with his supposed whoring ways. No doubt everyone had thought I was always in his bed, which I wasn’t, except to watch a movie from time to time. I doubt he ever corrected anyone when they assumed things about us, because that would clash with his bad boy reputation. He and Nev were as close to family as I could get, so I never would let anyone say a disparaging thing about either one of them. Thing is, Drew was anything but a bad boy because Momma Alexander would never allow it, but he was very good at keeping up the façade.

I never planned on being
that
girl, you know, the one who pretty much dumps everyone for a guy, but that’s who I turned into. Once I started dating Rhen, Drew was no longer taking me to school, because it was something a boyfriend did and Rhen was my boyfriend. Then there was the lunch situation because Drew, Nev and I always ate together, but after about a month or so, I was so glued to Rhen that, even though we would sit at the same table, we barely spoke two words to each other. He had Sage who was fawning all over him, and I had Rhen. The guy was cocky and arrogant in front of people, but with me, he was just a laid back guy I liked to be with.

I knew that Drew was put off by the fact that we didn’t hang out much anymore, not because he told me, but the way he acted around Rhen. I knew the two had grown up together, and at one point were close, but he had his guard up where Rhen was concerned. When I tried to talk to him about it once, he just said, “It’s not my place to say anything. You’re a big girl.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, you know what people say about him and you choose to overlook it. It’s one of the things I love about you. Just don’t be stupid, okay?”

That was it, the extent of our conversation about why Rhen was bad for me. Yet, he overlooked the complete mess that Sage was. I knew that she was insecure around me, but I made my best effort to let her know that I didn’t want anything from Drew other than his friendship. Yet, when I walked into a room, she would move to face Drew and lavish him with hugs and kisses, always making sure some part of her was touching some part of him, and it was never subtle. It was like she was staking some kind of claim, telling other girls to back the fuck off. But I had no doubt that my friend loved the attention because he would inevitably keep up his end of the conversation while holding her close. I tried to befriend her for Drew’s sake, but she pretty much verbally bitch-slapped me and walked off.

“You and Drew make a cute couple, Sage,” I offered when Drew had walked away to get a drink, leaving the two of us alone.

“Yea, he’s really into me, but you know it’s a little pathetic the way you’re always around him, I mean, you realize he doesn’t want you, right? Maybe you should spend a little more time making your boyfriend happy, than calling mine all the time.” I opened my mouth to speak, but Drew walked over and pulled Sage into a hug before looking at me. He seemed happy, and I didn’t want to ruin it for him by telling him what a conniving bitch he was dating. I had to hand it to her, that girl had the dumb act down to a science. Who knew she had more to say than gossiping about who was dating and what people were wearing. Wanting my friend to be happy, I kept my distance when she was around, but still talked to him often.

When I did talk to him, I limited our conversations
about our significant others to light pleasantries, because I already knew how he felt about Rhen and I, even though he had no clue
what
he was dating. I couldn’t tell him that a couple of months into dating Rhen, things had deteriorated to a pretty bad state, because I knew that Drew would try to swoop in and save me, and I didn’t need saving. When I had the misfortune of being around Sage, she would often make nasty remarks about my relationship at my expense and I would try to blow them off. But after listening to her bullshit for weeks on end, I decided that I’d had enough. If she thought I was such a bitch, I’d show her what kind of nasty bitch I could be. From that point on, I messed with her every chance I could. I knew it wasn’t right, but I just couldn’t help myself.

I got my chance to mess with her one weekend when Rhen’s parents had gone out of town. His dad traveled for work, and if the location was nice enough, his mom would tagalong, leaving him with a fully stocked house and nothing to do. So when he decided to throw yet another party I was sure I would end up in my usual spot of hanging in the kitchen watching as my boyfriend entertained the masses. Drew would tease me and call me a wallflower, which I couldn’t deny. I was out of my element at those things, and luckily he or Nev would take pity on and hangout with me for a while.

The day of the party, I called Drew to see what his plans were, “You and Sage going to Rhen’s tonight?”

“I think so. I guess I can assume you’ll be there too,” he wasn’t asking, just stating the obvious. During the three months that we had been dating, Rhen had thrown at least five parties, all of which I attended for my boyfriend, against my better judgment.

“Yeah, but I was wondering, would you mind picking me up? I hate showing up alone because Rhen’s always drunk by the time I get there and I’m stuck waiting for you guys to show up.”

“Sure, no problem, I’ll come by and get you after I pick up Sage.”

“I love you! You’re awesome. Are you sure she won’t mind?” I knew I was being a bitch. Of course she would mind, at least based on our previous conversation. But if she wanted to bring out the claws, by all means, I could do it too.

Ever the gentleman, Drew went to my front door to let me know he was waiting. As we walked out I saw Sage was sitting in the front seat with her arms crossed over her chest while she faced the window.
Score!
She was seething. I knew it was mean to intentionally piss her off but come on she was a vicious hag.

“I’ll ask Sage to climb in the back, I know how you get sick in the back seat,” he said
as we strolled to his car.

“No, it’s fine. It’s a short drive, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I got car sick one time, and ever since, Drew makes sure I sit in the front so it doesn’t happen again.

“It’s a short drive, but if you get sick, it’ll ruin the rest of the night,” he countered.

I knew this was going to cause issues for him, and on one hand, I felt bad, but on the other, I just couldn’t stand the girl. “Hey, I forgot my purse,” I headed back to my front door, “I’ll be right back.”

When I came back out, I noticed that Sage was now in the backseat, even more pissed than before. He saw my look and just shrugged, letting me know that he was fine. I climbed in to the passenger seat of Drew’s Accord and plastered on my most sincere smile. The temperature seemed to have dropped the second I closed the door, which just made me smile more. “Thank you much for picking me up! I really do appreciate it. I owe you, D.”

“It’s no problem, you were on the way,” he said, looking pointedly at Sage through the rearview mirror.

“So what have y'all been up to today?” I asked them both, but she just sat in the back stewing, which was just fine with me, I was only asking to be polite.

“Not much, Logan and I had to work in the yard for a bit before mom and dad would let us out of the house. I’m still a little tired, but there’s no way I was going to miss this party. What about you?”

I knew that it was only a matter of time before Sage showed Drew her true colors. He hated irrational girls, and more than that, he hated jealous girls and Sage was that and so much more.

“Not much, finished another book,” I was going to continue, but his music was throwing me off. “What the hell is crap you’re listening to? My god Drew, this is awful! Since when do you listen to rap?”

“It’s not rap,” he protested with a laugh, “just because it’s not that indie crap you like doesn’t mean it’s not good.”

“Whatever, my taste is far superior to yours and I would show you a thing or two, but I need to get inside,” I told him as we pulled into Rhen’s driveway. I leaned over the seat and gave Drew a quick hug and thanked him for the ride before jumping out of the car as quick as I could. Poor guy, he was no doubt going to get an earful.

I should have known better than to mess around because karma was a bitch, and today her name was Kara. When I walked into the room, I see her fawning all over
my
boyfriend and he seemed to be eating it up. She knew that Rhen and I were together, but she was just sucked in by his charming personality and looks.
Who could blame her?

I walked over to stand next to him and took notice of his inebriated state before making my presence known, “Should I come back later?”

Clearly startled he moved away from Kara and recovered quickly with a line that, under other circumstances, I would have laughed at. “There’s my gurrrll,” he said as he tried to stand up. When he didn’t have the coordination to stand, he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in for a sloppy kiss.

“Rhen, stop. You reek of beer and cigarettes. Were you smoking?” I couldn’t keep the contempt out of my tone while waiting for his answer.

“Don’t be like that,” he cooed, attempting to pull me against him. “C’mon,” he slurred, “let’s go to my room so we can talk.” He took my wrist in his hand and dragged me toward his room. We were bumping into the wall and hoards of people making out before we reached his room. He was still holding my hand when he closed the door and walked to sit on his bed. He yanked me into his lap to kiss me again, but it was sloppy and gross and I just wanted him to stop.

“Wait. You need to answer something for me. What was that with you and Kara?” He didn’t answer my question right away, instead bringing his lips to my neck and kissing his way to my ear.

“There’s nothing with Kara. I just want you,” he tried to say seductively, but it wasn’t working. I was too annoyed.

“You want me?” I repeated. “You’re drunk and you think my first time is going to be right now, at a party, while you’re drunk?” I shoved myself off his lap, “think again.” He pulled me back to him, both of us falling onto the bed.

“Don’t be like that,” he said against my mouth before kissing me again. “You know how I feel about you,”

I pushed at his chest, allowing myself distance, “actually I don’t.” I stood up and attempted to fix my mussed shirt. “And if you want to tell me how you feel right now, chances are I won’t believe you anyway because you’re drunk.”

“Would you believe Drew?”

“What? Where is that coming from?” I was thoroughly perplexed. “What does Drew have to do with what’s going on in here?” I protested in confusion. He just laughed at me and started talking to me like I was idiot.

“Are you that dense, Cass? He’s got a thing for you, everyone sees it.”