Big D: Senior Year (Three Daves #3) (2 page)

“If D said he’d do something, he’ll do it,” Brett said. “He’s a good guy. One of the best.”

That kind of compliment from a “brother” impressed Jen. She wanted to know more about him, but stopped herself from asking. There was no point in getting her hopes up over some guy she’d just met, especially a guy like him. Such a kind, confident frat boy—who rocked the spandex with his toned glutes—surely had his pick of at least a hundred different girls around campus. By the time she climbed into bed, Jen had convinced herself she’d never hear from him again.

He called the very next day.

“Hey, this is Big D.” It sounded funny to hear him call himself by the nickname.

“Hi.”

“Did you have fun at the party?”

“It was fine. I didn’t really know anyone there, so…”

“Once you get to know them, you’ll have a lot more fun. And next time you go to the house, I promise you’ll have a more attentive date.”

Jen thought he was getting a bit ahead of himself, but she smiled, anyhow.

“Would you like to go out Saturday night?” he asked.

“This Saturday?”

“Yes. Sorry if I seem too eager, but I’ve been waiting since last spring for a chance to get to know you, and I don’t want to wait any longer.”

Who is this guy?
“No, it’s not too eager. It’s…nice.” As she said the word, she was flooded with the realization of exactly how nice it was.

“Is that a yes, then?”

“Yes, yes. It’s a yes.” She put her hand to her face to cool the burn of her blush and quiet her babbling.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. Brett told me where you live.”

“Okay.” She sounded calm, but her insides flipped. It would be a real date, one in which the guy would pick her up rather than expect her to run out somewhere and wait for him to show. “So…Big D, huh?”

“Yep.”

“What’s the D for—Dennis, Daniel, Dulcimer?”

“It’s for Dave.”

Jen’s mouth twisted into an ironic smirk
. Here we go again
.

“Dulcimer?” D asked.

Chapter 2

Big D picked Jen up in his black Pontiac G8. He told her he’d bought it used and it had a few years on it, but she could see he kept it in pristine condition. They went out to a pizza place and got to know each other better. Jen learned that he was an accounting major, had a nearly perfect 4.0 grade point average, and had two younger brothers—twins who were both freshman at Mizzou. His last name was Spencer, and his hometown was in a north shore neighborhood about an hour from Jen’s parents’ house in the western suburbs.

At CIU, Big D lived with four fraternity brothers in a big house near campus. They’d dubbed it Barton House, named after the street it was on. His parents had bought the home as a rental right before his freshman year at CIU. It had become an unofficial adjunct to the Sigma Chi house.

After dinner, Big D took Jen bowling. They went to the local alley in town rather than the one on campus so they could have a couple of ‘brewskis”—D’s word. As Jen had told David sophomore year, she’d always thought bowling was for dorks and losers, but with Big D’s firm hands at her hips to guide her position and his muscular arm alongside hers to improve her swing, she started to see the sport in a more favorable light. She didn’t shoot nearly as many gutters as she had with David and even managed to pick up a few spares.

By the time they finished their game, Jen was comfortable enough to address the potential crack in D’s perfection. As they changed from their bowling shoes, she asked, “Do you remember that time I saw you in the stairwell at Meryton Hall? You were talking to Dave and…well, it seemed like there was some sort of transaction going on. He handed you something.”

Big D’s thick eyebrows pulled together, as if he was trying to recall.

“It was in a baggie…” Jen prompted.

“Oh. Yeah, there was a transaction.” He exhaled and dropped his gaze to the floor before looking back up at Jen. “It wasn’t for me, I swear. It was for one of my fraternity brothers. He knew I knew Dave through a couple of guys, so he asked me to get it for him. It was a really stupid thing for me to do, and I told the guy I wouldn’t do it again.”

Jen studied Dave’s clear blue eyes and believed him. She wondered if it was it because she’d seen him dressed as Superman that she automatically trusted him.

“You used to go out with Dave?” D asked. The question felt weighted.

“Sort of.” She didn’t want his opinion of her to change because of her association with the drug dealing player.

“Huh,” was all D said before gathering up their bowling shoes and returning them to the counter. When he came back, he said, “Just so you know—I’m nothing like that guy.” He said it in a way that implied he thought she might be disappointed.

Jen smiled. “Good.” This kind, gentle, attentive guy was obviously nothing like Dave.

Big D returned the smile and leaned in to give her a soft peck on the lips. At the end of the date, he parked his car and walked Jen inside her building and down the hallway to her door. After saying good night, he gave her a longer kiss and whispered against her mouth, “I’ll call you next week.”

He called twice the next week.

* * *

Jen and Big D went out again the following Saturday. He’d invited her to watch his intramural Rugby game and to go a party afterward at Barton House. Brett had invited Kate, too, so the two girls walked together to the rugby fields on the sunny autumn afternoon. Once they arrived, they sat in the grass along the sidelines with about twenty other spectators. Jen had noticed the activity surrounding the rugby fields before, but she’d never actually watched a game.

Brett and Big D both ran over to say a quick hello before rejoining the team. They were adorable in their Sigma Chi blue and gold rugby shirts. The game was a frenzy of running, tackling, and tossing. Jen didn’t have any hope of figuring out the mechanics, especially when Kate’s answers to any questions she posed were invariably, “I dunno.”

Jen’s concentration on the game waned, and she studied the wide open area around her. Four other games were being played throughout the flat, grassy lawn. To the far right, where the ground wasn’t quite as flat, several students played Frisbee and tossed footballs. She squinted at a couple in the distance moving in her general direction. David and Ellie. When they drew closer, Jen waved. David looked over and nodded, moving ahead of Ellie toward Jen. She smiled up at him from her cross-legged position in the grass.

“Geez, first a fraternity party, now Greek Rugby?” David said. “Do we need to ask you to turn in your Romans card?”

Jen laughed.

“I take it things went better than expected with your date the other night,” he said.

“Nope. He was a jerk, but I did meet a much nicer guy at the party. Everyone calls him Big D.”

David’s eyes snapped in D’s direction, narrowing slightly as he watched the powerhouse move down the field.

“Do you know him?” Jen asked.

“Sure.” David shrugged. “He’s famous.”

Ellie stepped up from behind David and grasped onto his hand before tossing a willowy flower wreath onto Jen’s head. “For you, princess.”

Jen was in the midst of saying, “Thanks,” when she caught a dirty look pass from David to Ellie. She obviously hadn’t meant
princess
as a compliment.
If I’m a princess, then she’s the wicked
witch,
Jen thought, swiping the crown off her head. Just because Ellie was dating her friend didn’t mean Jen had to like her.

After a quick goodbye, David and Ellie left. Jen returned her focus to the game in time to see Big D make what she assumed was an amazing play on the field.

He ran over to where Jen sat, emitting a guttural, “Yeah!” Jen shrieked when it looked like he was going to run her straight over, but he stopped short and fell onto his knees in front of her. Wrapping an arm around her back, he lowered her gently to the grass and pressed his mouth to hers in a victorious kiss. Then he popped up onto his feet, grunted another, “Yeah!” and raced back onto the field.

Jen laughed, pushing herself up to sitting while a gaggle of Sig Chi groupies glowered at her. Kate laughed, too, and rubbed dried grass off her roommate’s back. The game ended with a Sigma Chi victory over the Delts, and the girls moved along with the jubilant mob of blue and gold across campus to the party.

Barton House had a large backyard that was bright with sunshine as the undergrads stood around in jeans and sweaters, drinking cold beer in plastic cups. Some of them tossed beanbags at wooden boards while others reenacted the most exciting moments of the game. With Big D by her side, Jen felt much more comfortable amid the Sig Chi crowd than she had at the Halloween party.

Jared walked by and barely grumbled a hello. D must’ve noticed Jen’s spiteful grimace. He leaned down to murmur in her ear, “Y’know, an underling like Jared has to obey any direct order from a senior brother, like myself.”

Jen turned to D with a wicked smile. “Very interesting,” she said. “Does that mean I’m going to have a full cup of beer all day?”

“If that’s what the lady wants.”

“That’s what the lady wants.” Jen’s grin widened.

D took her cup and brought it to Jared. To D’s face, the kid was gracious, but once the senior Sigma Chi’s back was turned, the junior Sigma leveled a hot glare across the lawn at Jen. She cackled but kept a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t spit in her beer.

Despite having her own servant, Jen drank at a slow pace throughout the party. She wanted to keep D’s good opinion of her. Besides, it was fun to watch Kate get tipsy for a change. Jen heard her roommate’s louder-than-usual laugh peel across the yard several times, and every time Jen talked to her, Kate’s speech was more slurred.

Jen couldn’t find either Kate or Brett when it came time to leave. The Sigma Chi boys were playing their monthly poker tournament that night, so she the girls had planned to walk back to the apartment together. When nobody seemed to know where Kate was, Jen figured Brett must’ve taken her home early.

D didn’t hesitate to offer to walk Jen home. They criss-crossed the cement pathways through campus to get to Netherfield, holding hands the whole way. Entering the apartment, they found Maria and Tom busy in the kitchen cooking dinner.

“Hey guys, where’s Kate?” Jen asked.

“I thought she was with you,” Maria said.

“She was. Maybe Brett took her out to get some food to sober her up.” Jen snickered, happy to not be the drunk one this time. “D, this is Maria, my roommate, and her boyfriend, Tom.”

“Hi,” said Maria, openly scanning him from head to toe. Jen could see by tilt of her friend’s mouth that she approved.

“Hi,” said Tom, wiping his hands on a towel and stepping over shake D’s hand.

“Great to meet you,” D said.

“Should we set a couple more places for dinner?” Maria asked. “We made plenty of spaghetti.”

“Just one more, please. D’s got to get back to the house. Big poker night.”

“I’ll take a rain check, though.” D wrapped his arms around Jen’s waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. He kissed her on the cheek and said quietly into her ear, “Thanks for coming today. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Good luck tonight.” Jen turned, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Thankfully, Maria and Tom were past their googly-eyed phase from the end of last year, so Jen had a fun night hanging out with them at the apartment. They joked about how ironic it was that they’d spend a lame Saturday night in while quiet Kate was out partying it up.

***

Jen woke early the next morning and decided to go to church. It had been a while since she’d been there. As she stepped into the hall outside her bedroom, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Kate’s door was closed. It was good to know her roommate had made it home safely. Jen showered, dressed, and packed a load of books and notebooks in her bag, planning to head straight to the library after the service.

As usual, there was plenty of open space in the auditorium where services were held, so she parked her bag on the seat next to hers in one of the back rows. During the sermon, her mind wandered and she gazed absently around the room. She was shocked to see a now familiar profile across the room. Big D. He was sitting by himself.

She blinked, half-surprised to see him still sitting there when she opened her eyes again. What college frat guy played poker with his buddies all night and then got up to go to church the next morning? She watched him walk up to receive communion, and when he turned, she caught his eye. His lips spread into a huge grin. After Mass, he made a beeline to her.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said.

“Hi, handsome.” She slipped her hand into his and they walked out together to the sparsely populated campus. “I’ve never noticed you here before. Not that I come that often.”

He gave her a sideways glance. “I’m feeling extra thankful lately, so I dragged myself out of bed.”

“Ah, so you won big at cards last night?”

“I broke even, but I mean that I’m thankful because of you
.
” He bumped her hip with his, his cheeks going slightly pink.

“Me? You’re thankful for
me
? Really?” Jen stopped, turning so she could look straight at D. Now she knew he wasn’t real. She reached out and pinched his arm—hard.

“Ow!” He rubbed his bicep.

“Sorry. I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.”

“You’re supposed to pinch yourself, not the one you’re dreaming about.”

“Oh, yeaahhh,” Jen drawled with a teasing glint in her eye.

“You brat.” He kept his gaze on her, and his smile faded. “Well, this sucks.”

“What?”

“Now that I see you, I don’t want to leave you. But I have a huge test to study for.”

She wrinkled her nose, gesturing to her bag. “I’ve got to do research for a project. Library date?”

“You’re on.”

Jen felt like she ought to pinch the both of them. How could they possibly be this perfect of a couple already?

Chapter 3

A big bouquet of yellow and bronze roses arrived for Kate from Brett. Maria placed them as the centerpiece of the dining table, where Kate studiously ignored them. Over the next several days, her roommates also noticed her letting her phone ring through more than once without answering. Maria and Jen exchanged questioning glances but didn’t press their roommate to explain, even when she failed to make plans with Brett for the next two weekends in a row.

While Kate and Brett’s relationship seemed to wobble, Jen and Big D’s moved forward, aided by movie nights, rugby games, and study dates. Everything was easy with D. Before Jen could get around to wondering if he’d call, he’d already called. Their kisses grew longer, and one day when none of his roommates were home, their study session turned into a make out session on the sofa in the back room.

Jen prepared to stop him if things went too far, but his strong hands groped up her thighs and around the curve of her backside from outside her jeans without making any moves to get inside. His heavy tongue only massaged as far down as her collar bone. She liked the feel of his strength surrounding her. He was a gentle bear, protecting and savoring her at the same time.

At the sound of someone coming in the front door, Big D raised his head from her throat and breathed a warm gust onto her. “All good things must come to an end.”

Jen let out a small whine, and ran her hands along his firm pecs. Through his sweater and the thick muscle underneath, she felt his heart tapping a rapid beat.

He gave her a swift kiss and stood. “I’ll get us something to eat.” When he went to the kitchen, Jen picked up the books that had fallen to the floor.

Brett walked into the back room. He opened the can of soda he carried and lowered onto the couch next to Jen. “Why won’t Kate talk to me?” he asked.

“I honestly don’t have any idea,” Jen said.

“So, I’m not just imagining the cold shoulder. It’s intentional.”

Jen shrugged. “She hasn’t said anything, but it definitely seems like she doesn’t want to talk to you. Did something happen at the party?”

He let out a rough exhale. “Something great, I thought. Apparently, she disagrees.” He pushed up from the couch, shoulders slumped, and trudged out of the room.

When Jen returned to the apartment and saw Kate at the kitchen table with her laptop, she decided that since the situation had filtered directly into her life, she had a right to say something about it. “At some point you’re going to have to talk to Brett about whatever happened between you two.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kate kept her focus on the screen, and Jen figured that was all she’d say, but a few seconds later, Kate sat back in her chair and shut the computer. “I drank too much at the party and things went way too far with Brett. After, he told me he loved me, but the whole thing made me realize how much I don’t love him. I know I’m stupid, but while everything was happening with Brett, I was wishing for Jake.” A long tear stretched from the corner of her eye down her cheek, followed by another.

Jen moved to the table to sit by her. “It’s not stupid. But you should really explain to Brett. The poor guy’s so confused. He looks like a sad little puppy dog.”

Kate nodded. Within a couple of days, her phone stopped ringing as often and the flowers were dumped into the trash. At the next Sigma Chi party, Brett wouldn’t even talk to Jen. Big D’s stance was that Kate had led Brett on and then broken his heart.

Jen wanted to make sure a misunderstanding regarding sex didn’t come between her and Big D like it had with Kate and Brett. When they returned from Thanksgiving break and D surprised her with the news that his parents had said he could invite her to vacation with the family on Sanibel Island over spring break, she decided it was time for “the talk.”

They’d just pulled into her parking lot and D turned off the car to walk her to the door.

“D, could we talk for a minute?” Jen asked.

He set the keys on his dashboard. “Uh-oh.”

“Not one of
those
talks.” She took his hand.

“Oh, I get it—
talking.
” He grinned, holding his free hand up in air quotes. Ticking the side of her face with his air quotes fingers, he brought his mouth to hers for a long kiss.

Jen pulled back. “Actually, I want to talk to you about
talking
.”

“Oh?” D sat back, studying her through cautious eyes.

“You know I really like you, right?”

“I hope so.”

“And I really, truly enjoy kissing you and stuff.” Jen’s mouth went dry. She was about to blow everything with D. But she had to do it. This was who she was, and she wouldn’t waste his time by pretending to be something else. “The thing is…the thing is…I’m not going to sleep with anyone until I’m in love with him. And he’s in love with me.” She averted her gaze to the windshield and stared at her terrified reflection, waiting for his reaction.

“Hey,” D said softly, turning her face toward his with a gentle hand. She looked straight into his blue eyes. “I think that’s great. I really do. I like to take it slow when I’m with someone special. Not everyone understands that.”

Jen continued staring into the steely blue. She found herself once again wondering if he was real.

“A lot of girls get, like, insulted if I don’t rip their clothes off within the first couple of weeks.” His mouth turned up at one corner. “I knew you were different. I could just tell. I’m so glad you told me.”

Jen giggled and laid her face against his broad shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed her to him. “Don’t ever let me do anything you’re not ready for, okay?”

“Okay.”

After a few moments of comfortable silence, D asked, “Have you ever been in love?”

“No, never.” She lifted her chin and rested it on his chest, looking at him.

D peered down at her with the most tender of expressions. “Do you think you could love me?”

“I’m on my way.”

He brushed his fingertips down the side of her throat as if it were made of fine, breakable china. He kissed her as if her tongue were made of delicate glass. She’d just told him she wouldn’t sleep with someone unless she was in love with him, and then she’d said she’d never been in love. By the way he held her like a fragile heirloom, Jen had a good suspicion he’d taken that to mean she was still a virgin.

No way would she ruin their perfect moment by explaining her lessons with David. She didn’t want to know about D’s past experience, either. None of that mattered. They were together now, and they were taking it slow.

***

Jen, Marcy, and Joe had been working on a group project for U.S. Government and History for the past few weeks. Their report was about Springfield, the capital of Illinois, during the years Abraham Lincoln had lived there. They decided to add color to their research by taking selfies at actual places where Lincoln had once stood. Their two-hour road trip to Springfield was set for the second Saturday in December.

Despite having a class with David, it seemed Jen saw him less often than ever before. He made a rare appearance in class during the week of the trip. By design, Jen exited through the doorway at the same time he did. “Hi,” she said.

“Hey.” He kept walking and Jen fell in step beside him.

“What’s your topic for your end-of-term project?” she asked, wanting more than just a hey.

“Illinois governmental structure and politics today versus 1850.”

“Sounds thrilling. Who’re you working on it with?”

“I work alone,” David answered, starting down the stairs at the end of the hall. Jen needed to go in a different direction, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a small detour. She didn’t want to give up without eking a decent conversation out of him.

“Maybe you could make your report more interesting with an onsite visit to the Illinois State Capitol Building.”

“I was thinking about that.”

At the bottom of the stairs, Jen swung in front of him, stopping his forward motion. “My group’s going to Springfield this Saturday. You should come with us.”

“If I go, I’ll drive myself.” He sidestepped to get past her.

She blocked him. “No offense, but your car’s never going to make it that far. You said yourself it’s a local car. It doesn’t even have a passenger door.”

“I got one put on.”

“How?”

“Junkyard dot com.”

“Fine. So you have a door, but that’s not going to help your car make it all the way to Springfield.”

“Then I won’t go.” This time he took a bigger side step and got around her.

When he was a few feet down the hall, Jen called after him, “Are you mad at me?” The quaver in her voice surprised her.

David stopped and turned around, looking at her with his dark eyebrows pulled together in question.

“Why don’t you want to go on the road trip with me? Why won’t you even stand here and talk to me?” It sucked to feel shut out by him. She blinked back the stinging at the corners of her eyes.

He let out a slow exhale. “I’m sorry. I’m just in a hurry for class. I’m not mad at you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“You’ll come to Springfield, then?”

David broke into a smile and shook his head. “You’re relentless.”

“So there’s no point in trying to resist.” The hurt she’d felt moments ago subsided now that he was smiling. “Text me your address and we’ll pick you up Saturday at eight AM.”

***

Marcy’s parents had bought her a new Honda Accord as an early graduation gift. They reasoned that it made more sense for her to get a reliable car now so she could drive herself to job interviews. Jen and Joe completely agreed with that rationale and wished their own parents had been so logical. Marcy picked Jen up first and then Joe, who hopped into the back.

As they drove to David’s house on the sunny, snowless day, Joe announced, “FYI, I’m not sitting back here with another dude while there are two perfectly doable females in the car.”

Marcy squinted at his reflection in the rearview mirror. “You’re not going to
do
either one of us, Joe.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he replied.

Jen and Marcy rolled their eyes at each other, and when they stopped in front of David’s little white house, Jen got out and switched places with Joe. As they drove, Marcy told Joe she hadn’t figured out how to use the car’s GPS yet and handed him printed directions, asking him to tell her when they got close to the turnoff for Springfield.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“Heading toward Decatur on one-twenty-one, north,” Marcy said.

“Huh,” Joe grunted, flipping to the second page and turning it around to look at the blank back page before flipping it again and running his fingers down the list of instructions.

“We should be right around… “Marcy glanced from the road to the papers. “Joe! What did you do? It’s all yellow.”

“I’ve been eating Cheetos since we left campus; what did you expect?”

“God, Joe!” Marcy grabbed the yellow-splotched papers and thrust them back to Jen and David. “Can you guys find it?”

Jen grabbed the papers and looked, but was repulsed by the gooey, yellow residue covering it. “Joe!”

“You’re so disgusting,” Marcy grumbled.

“Thanks, Marce. That makes me feel real good about myself.” Joe crunched on another Cheeto.

“Why do we even hang out with him?” Jen said to Marcy and then looked at David, who seemed to be holding back a laugh. “Glad you think this is funny, but I’m not touching that stuff.” She shoved the papers onto his lap.

“I could use a little breakfast, anyway,” David said.

“Ew,” the girls moaned in unison. Joe turned around to give David a crusty high five.

While Jen and David bent over the directions and called out instructions to Marcy, Jen noticed the skin on David’s fingers was dry to the point that his cuticles were cracked. “You could use a serious manicure,” she told him.

David ran his thumb along the base of his fingernails. “I guess it’s from working with all of those chemicals.”

“Don’t you wear gloves or anything?”

“I do, but they suck the moisture right out.”

“I’ve got lotion in my purse. After we get Marcy rolling on seventy-two, you’re getting a treatment.”

During the last leg of the trip, the four of them were quiet, zoning out with their own thoughts and listening to a random selection of Marcy’s music. As promised, Jen massaged lotion into David’s rough, dry hands. While she worked the cream into each finger and cuticle, she thought about the way these hands had once touched her. The way they’d known exactly where to go and what to do.

Tiny pinpricks rushed up her arms in tickling goose bumps. She flicked her gaze toward David and caught him staring at her. Something in his eyes told her his mind had traveled in the same direction. They exchanged small, shy smiles, and then Jen jerked her attention back to David’s calloused skin, shifting her thoughts to unsexy things like eczema.