Bender (20 page)

“Hey Luke!” a male voice shouted over the crowd. Several heads turned and looked in our direction. Luke smiled, and we went over to where they were sitting.

Luke palmed several of their outstretched hands, and they all greeted each other.

“Keegan, I want you to meet some of my brothers from the house. This is Holden, Brent, and RJ.” I gave a shy wave to the three of them. “And the rest of these clowns are pledges.” There was a resounding grunting coming from the males standing in front of me. All I could picture was every one of them sitting in front of a television with a beer and their hands down their pants. The thought made me want to laugh.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me, Luke?” a sweet female voice said from behind a few of the guys who had stood up, blocking her from my view.

I noticed Luke’s jaw working back and forth, and something about his posture said he didn’t have any interest in telling me who this chick was.

“Keegan, this is Veronica. Roni, Keegan.”

“Ugh, I wish you’d stop calling me that. That nickname is so high school, Luke,” she said with slight annoyance. “Please, call me Veronica. Nobody calls me Roni anymore except for him.”

“Some things never change,” he said under his breath.

Veronica was sitting down on a chair, but I could tell she was tall. Maybe even taller than Macie. Her features were a mix of Asian and Caucasian. She had long black hair that touched the top of her breasts, and a pair of lips that were pouty and full. What was most striking about her were her long full eyelashes that surrounded cat-like eyes. The color was almost a caramel, which I’ve never seen before. For as beautiful as she was, she also didn’t give me the warm and fuzzies. She was eyeing me like I was somehow the enemy stepping into her territory. I had no doubt that a girl like her held every single one of these boys under thumb. That was fine. I wasn’t interested in any of them. It would, however, be an issue if she were interested in Luke. We’d only been on a few dates together, but it was enough for me to feel possessive of him. The way she was looking at me made me uneasy.

“So Keegan, what do you do?” the one introduced as Holden asked.

Breaking eye contact with Veronica, I turned to him and said, “I’m a nursing student here at UG, and I work in Medical Records at Dr. Hill’s office.”

Holden looked like an average guy, brown hair and brown eyes. Nothing really stood out about him. “Sounds cool. What year are you?”

“I’m in the middle of my junior year,” I stated proudly.

“You’re a junior, and you aren’t in the nursing program yet?” Veronica asked, interrupting the conversation. Her voice was suddenly becoming annoying.

“Stop it, Roni,” Luke scolded. I hated that he had a nickname for her. I wondered how long they’d known each other.

“What? I’m just asking. Most juniors are already doing clinicals in their third year.”

Clearing my throat I felt the need to defend myself. “I would be, but I chose to hold myself back. I don’t want to apply without knowing for sure that I am giving myself the best foot forward. The program is highly competitive, and I want to ensure that my grades are up to par. I chose to retake a few science classes. I should be good to go after this semester. I’ll submit my application and hopefully I’ll know if I got in by the spring.”

Luke was smiling down at me, and I noticed Veronica curling her lip. “Oh, well that’s good, I guess.”

I nodded, unable to say anything else without it coming across as rude. While I was talking I realized that the group of guys who were pledges were glancing at me every now and then, then turning back to their conversation. I ran my tongue across my front teeth, self-conscious that I had something on them. Why did I get the distinct impression that I was being talked about? Luke’s hand rubbed across my back, bringing me back to the other four still talking to me. RJ and Brent both had brown hair and green eyes. In fact the longer I looked at them, I realized that they could pass for twins. With their tall stance and wide shoulders, I wondered if they were on the football team. Nothing about those two screamed average. In fact, both were very handsome.

“You okay?” Luke asked, laying his forehead on my temple.

“Mmmhmm.”

“Y’all look like you’ve gotten cozy.” I think it was RJ who said that.

Luke once again became rigid. “I suppose we have. Keegan’s a sweet girl.” I leaned further into him at his compliment.

The smiles that spread across those four faces made something in my stomach turn. “Good to hear, Luke, good to hear,” Brent said in an almost sarcastic fashion.

“So how far have you two taken things?” RJ asked.

“Excuse me?” I said.

“Fuck off Brent.” Okay, I’d gotten the two guys mixed up.

Holding his hands up, palms out, Brent said, “Hey man, just asking. I didn’t know how serious y’all were. Maybe I wanted to ask Keegan out later for myself.”

My brows drew together. “That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?”

If looks could kill, Luke looked like he wanted to throttle Brent. “Maybe,” he said with a shrug. “But in case you haven’t got the memo, we share around here.”

The giggle that came out of Veronica’s mouth made me ill. “Well I don’t.”

“Hey Princess, just stating that you’re a
fine
piece. And when Luke’s done with you, I’d gladly take a ride.” This time it was RJ piping in.

“Enough!” Luke growled.

I was so flabbergasted at the turn this conversation took, I had no response. Needing to take a step back and gather myself, I looked up to Luke and said, “I need to use the restroom.”

Gritting his teeth, he nodded. “Down the hall, it’s the third door on the right.”

Without a backwards glance I rushed into the house and tried to find the bathroom. I needed a little bit of solitude. When I found the correct door, I had to wait for two other girls to go in and do their business. When it was my turn I went inside and locked the door. Sagging against the wood I tried to push away the feeling of panic. In that moment Camden came to mind. If those guys had said all of that in front of him, he would have leveled them to the ground. Luke seemed just as upset over their harshness, but there was something else there that caused him to bite his tongue. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it wasn’t right. Having never been to a frat party before, I had to wonder if this was just the way that these guys behaved. Luke had never once treated me like an inconsequential object, but maybe at one point he had acted like them. He was in grad school now, so that must have caused him to do a little growing up and see that women weren’t play things. I deserved to be treated with respect. Even though my outfit said trashy, on any other given day, I was very reserved. Steeling myself I decided I wouldn’t expect Luke or anybody else to stand up for me. I would demand a certain level of respect from these guys, and they would need to know that I wouldn’t tolerate anything less. Washing my hands and checking my ridiculous makeup, I wondered where Macie and Dodger had gone off to, and if they had worked out their issues. No way would they have sat back and listened to the load of crap I’d just heard. Drying my hands I unlocked the door and stepped into the hall. I was greeted by the same cat-like eyes that had been glowering at me outside.

“Are you having fun?” Veronica asked, her tone sounding weird.

“I guess so. All this,” I said looking around. “It’s not really my thing, but I’m having an okay time.”

“It’s all been one big joke, you know that right?” she said to me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

“Luke dating you, bringing you here to this party.”

“I’m not following you.”

She sighed in annoyance. “It’s what they do. They find a Plain Jane girl to see if she will fall for the guy, and then they bring them to this party for the friends to judge how in deep she is. They do it every year.” She casually looked at her finger nails.

I shook my head. “Luke would never do something like that.”

“Oh really? So you honestly thought that someone like him would go for someone like
you
? Sorry to burst your bubble sweetheart, but Luke and I are an item. We have been since high school. I let him take on the challenge, because the winner gets a vacation to Cozumel, and I wanted it. He gives me whatever I want.” Her full lips contorted into a sadistic looking smile.

My head was spinning, and I felt dizzy. Putting my hand on the wall behind me for support I said, “You’re lying.”

Her shoulders came up and dropped in a nonchalance attitude. “If you don’t believe me, go back out there. The boys are discussing it as we speak.”

I darted past her and made my way to the back door. When I reached the handle, I twisted it and hesitantly stepped out onto the deck, trying to keep myself inconspicuous so I didn’t tip them off that I’d come back. This was all a big mistake. She was just jealous. Veronica must have had a relationship with Luke at some point, and she wanted him back. It was the only explanation that I could come up with. For one, he’s never even mentioned her to me, not that we’d really been together long enough to delve into our past relationships. And two, I couldn’t fathom him taking me out, dining me, all of the laughs we’ve shared, and we’d even slept together, for it all to be just a ploy. Stuff like this didn’t happen in real life. This was the shit that you read about in novels. As I neared them, I stayed hidden behind people who were talking, I overheard Luke and the other three with a few of the pledges.

“I’d say it’s a done deal. The chick RJ brought could give two shits that she’s with him. In fact I just saw her sucking face with some dude from down the street.”

“Yeah, well Holden’s girl was looking at him with puppy dog eyes, and she looked like she would have gotten on her knees in front of everyone if he’d say he loved her.”

There was a round of laughter. “Luke has it in the bag. Maybe after you break the news to her, I’ll be the one to pick up the pieces, and she’ll let me fuck her sadness away.”

“Fuck you dude. Leave her alone, okay?”

I was getting aggravated that I couldn’t hear who was saying what, but it didn’t matter. My stomach was sitting in my throat. Everything Veronica said was true. This all was for some big game, and I was a pawn for Luke to win.

“Dude, don’t tell me you’re falling for her. Roni would be pissed.”

“I’m not falling for her. But she’s a good girl, okay? I’ve gotten to know her is all,” Luke argued.

“Either way assholes, we’ve got another two hours before we call this thing. Keep your dates happy and their cups full,” someone else said.

I was going to throw up. Instead of breaking up their little charade and letting them know I heard everything they said, I rushed back into the house. Looking around frantically, my eyes darted everywhere in search of Macie or Dodger. I weaved in and out of people, bumping into some so hard I thought I’d fall over. I was trying to hold back the bile that was rising up in my throat, but I knew it was only a matter of time before I tossed my cookies. Just then strong arms wrapped around me, and I pushed back against the hold. I thought it was Luke who might have come inside to find me, but I heard Dodger near my ear.

“What’s the matter?” His deep voice was like a gentle stroke to my breaking heart. Turning into his arms, I pressed myself into his chest and let him hold me. Tears began to flow freely down my cheeks, and I could tell I was worrying him. Pulling back slightly he tipped my chin up. “Tell me what happened?”

I bit my quivering lip to keep from bursting out bawling. “I can’t talk about it right now. Can you just take me home?”

His blue eyes searched mine. “Did Luke do this? I’m going to kick his ass if he hurt you. Did he touch you?”

I shook my head. “No, no it was nothing like that. Please Dodger, I want to go home.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and nodded. “Let me see if I can find Macie. Give me just a second.”

I slowly made my way to the front door, when I heard Luke calling for me from the back of the house. Turning around I saw him waving and smiling at me, but it faded when he saw my face. He dropped his hand and started coming my way. I didn’t want to do this right now. I was too upset, and I wanted nothing more than to get out of these clothes and lay in my bed. If he got to me now, I’d be too tempted to slap him across the face for how he treated me. Dodger came striding up with Macie in tow, concern etched all over both of their faces.

“Hurry, we’ve got to go,” I said, desperate to get out of here and away from the noise of the speakers.

Dodger turned when he heard Luke call my name again. Glancing over my shoulder, regret was plastered all over him. I think he knew that I knew. Shouldn’t he be happy? He got what he wanted. He won his stupid contest. Now he could go back to Veronica and leave me alone.

“Keegan wait!” he shouted. Some people stopped what they were doing to watch the scene that was unfolding.

“Take her out to the car. I’ll be there in a minute,” he instructed Macie.

I grabbed his forearm and was shaking my head back and forth. “No Dodger. Leave it alone, okay? It was no big deal, I just want to go home. Please!” I begged.

Indecision warred on his face. He looked from me to my best friend, finally deciding that he wanted us to go ahead to the car without him. Not knowing what Dodger was going to do made me even sicker. I didn’t want him getting into any fights because of me. And sadly I didn’t want Luke to get hurt either. Macie took my hand and dragged me outside to the car. When I got to the curb, I bent in half and lost my dinner. Acid was burning my throat, and the taste of regurgitated alcohol made me retch again. Why was this happening to me? This was not how I saw tonight playing out. When my stomach was emptied of everything I’d ingested today, I climbed into the backseat of the car. Macie got in on the other side of me, and she pulled me down into her lap. With my head resting on her legs, I finally felt safe enough to let it go. The sob that tore from my chest was painful. I’d never felt so used before in my life. I held onto Macie like she were my lifeline. She was my safety net. She’d always been here for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful that my soft place to fall was here with me tonight.