Ceaseless (11 page)

              
“Dank just got here. Why don’t y’all do your warm up thing while I keep his friend 
company.
 You are sharing aren’t you Dank?” 
Loose
 asked.

              
I silently cursed Gee before turning around to face the band. “She’s all yours.”  I replied.

              
Loose
 was off his stool and jumping 
down from
 the stage in seconds.  “I’ll be back,” he called out as he slipped a hand over Gee’s ass. When he lowered his head to her ear to start whispering I blocked them out. I did not want to hear that. The boy had just met his match. He’d never be the same after this.

              
“You okay letting him take your girl like that? 
‘
Cause I don’t want 
any
 fighting before a gig as big as the one Friday night,” 
Les
 said as he walked o
ver to get a bottle of water
.

              
“She isn’t my girl
, j
ust an old friend. If it was my girl he wouldn’t have walked out of here alive.”

              
Les
 nodded and took a swig. “Noted. You want to go ahead and run through cords while 
Loose
 entertains himself and we wait on the other two to get here?”

              
“Yeah, let’s get it done.”

CHAPTER 10 

Pagan

              
Only my Literature and 
Calculus
 professors felt the need to start classes a week ahead of time. The rest of my classes didn’t begin until next week. We were welcome to go meet the professor and pick up our syllabus
, so after I’d done that, my
 
first week of college classes was over.

              
I 
could 
reread Ethan 
Frome
 
since
 it had been two years since
 I 
had 
read it. I could also go get coffee and go over my Calculus syllabus
.
 
Calculus 
scared the hell out of me
; 
I was not a math person
 and never had been.

              
Miranda walked out of the bathroom dress
ed
 like she was going out clubbing
, but 
it was only one in the afternoon. “How do I look?” she asked twirling around.

              
“Like you 
want to dance
 the night away and have free drinks brought to you all night long,” I replied.

              
Miranda grinned, “Good. Because I do.”

              
“Wait. What? You do realize it’s just one
 o’clock
? Clubs don’t open until eight and without Gee you’re never getting in.”

              
Miranda shrugged and began posing in the 
mirror
. “Not going to a club. I’m going to my very first frat party.”

              
“At one in the afternoon?”

              
Miranda 
gave 
me an exasperated look then 
looked 
back in
to
 the mirror and puckered her lips. “No
,
 silly. Nathan will be here to pick me up at six. We are going to get something to eat then head to the ATO house.”

              
She still wasn’t making sense.  “Then why are you ready five hours early?”

           
   
Miranda stopped doing sexy poses in the mirror and turned around and looked at me. “This is a trial run. I have a couple more to do before he gets here. I’m seeing how I look like this. Then I’m going to change and pull my hair up and maybe use a little blue eye
 
shadow
---
or do you think that is too much? Maybe I should go with the silver.” She continued to ramble and I covered my face with a pillow. I was exhausted just thinking about getting ready once
, m
uch less a few times.

              
“I think you are officially insane,” I replied.

              
Miranda laughed, “I know you do. But I have to be perfect. This night has to be perfect. I really like him, Pagan.”

              
I was glad she did
,
 but honestly
,
 did she have to play real life Barbie doll in order to impress him?

              
A knock on the door interrupted us and I moved the pillow from my face and sat up. Miranda walked to the door and opened it up without asking who it was first.  When I saw who was standing there I really wish she had. 
  
It was Victoria.

              
“Can I help you?” Miranda asked when she re
cognized her
. She stepped in front of Victoria and put her hand on her hip. She was doing her protective stance. 
Like Miranda was big enough to take down anyone.

              
“I’m here to see your friend,” Victoria replied.

              
“This is not your day then
,
 ‘cause that 
ain’t
 
gonna
 happen.”

              
I could hear the snarl 
in her voice
. Miranda had just made an enemy. “You do know that Nathan is screwing my Kappa sister 
Siera
? They’ve been fuck
-
buddies
 now for over three months. He was with her last night after he left you.”

              
I was off the bed and moving Miranda out of the way before the bitch could say anymore. I didn’t believe her but I knew Miranda did. I was good with reading people and I had seen the way Nathan looked at Miranda. I didn’t doubt he had once been messing around with this 
Siera
 but I didn’t think for a minute that he still was.

         
     
“You came here for me. What do you want?” I demanded
,
 wishing I had kept my distance from Jay. This was the kind of drama I hated
 and avoided at all costs
. I was
 not 
into 
catfights
---e
specially over a guy I didn’t want.

              
“Whatever you think you and Jay are going to rekindle
;
 you need to think again. Back the hell off bitch. I’m not sharing. He is in my bed most nights. You’re just a new flavor. He gets bored with them fast.” The venom dripping from her tone was really uncalled for. She was upset over nothing.

              
“I hope you and Jay have a long happy 
life in
 bed together. I don’t care. I’m not interested in him. He’s 
an old friend
 and nothing more. So take you
r
 
threats
 and go share them with the redhead down the hall because she is the only one in the building 
who wants
 Jay.” I didn’t give her time to respond. I slammed the door in her face.

              
The room was eerily quiet and I looked back to see where Miranda was. The bathroom door was open and the shower was running. 
This was not a good sign. She had several other outfits and hairstyles to try before six. If she was showering 
that meant 
she believed the spiteful words 
that spewed 
from Victoria’s mouth.

              
I walked into the bathroom and pulled myself up and sat down on the counter. I could hear the soft sobs and hiccups coming from the shower.

              
“For what it’s worth I don’t believe her,” I said loud
ly
 enough she could hear me over the water.

              
Miranda sniffed and let out a hard laugh. “I do. He wouldn’t take me to his apartment last night. Even after I asked. He said we’d do that another night. He got a 
phone call
 right after we finished dinner and he acted funny and nervous the rest of the evening. He even cut our date short. I thought I was imagining things. He had been so sweet when he’d kissed me,” another sob broke free.

I was ready to go strangle this Nathan guy.
  
“Then he is the biggest idiot known to man. You are gorgeous and funny and any guy who is lucky enough to have you interested in 
him 
should realize 
his
supreme luck and not screw it up.”

            
  
Miranda let out a sad laugh, “I 
love you
, Pagan.”

              
“I love you too,” I replied.

              
“Could we watch season two of The Vampire Diaries tonight and eat ice cream
?
 I need it. The first time I 
think I like someone after
 Wyatt and this happens. It sucks,” she hiccupped.

              
“I’ll go get the ice cream. You dig out the DVDs.” I told her 
as I got down from 
the counter.

              
“I miss him, Pagan,” she sounded so sad and defeated. I didn’t have to ask who
m
 she 
missed
. I knew she meant Wyatt. I missed him too. But I knew her loss was completely different.

              
“I know. Finish your shower and I’ll be back soon with plenty 
of 
ice cream and two spoons.”

              
“’Kay.”

              
              
              
              
***

              
Miranda’s phone had finally stopped ringing. Once I’d ba
rr
ed the door and informed 
Nathan 
that if he came in, 
I would call campus 
security
 and have him arrested, he’d finally given up and left. That was two days ago. I’d been holed up in our room with Miranda 
ever 
since. We’d watched season
s
 
one,
 
two,
 and three of The Vampire Diaries. We had eaten more galloons of ice cream than should be legal. I doubted I 
would 
fit into my jeans on Monday.

              
I glanced back at the clock. It was after four and I knew Gee would be barging in here at any minute to get us moving. Miranda was better today. She and I had laughed most of the morning. The only thing that had caused her to frown was the ringing of her phone. It had finally stopped sometime around lunch. Either Nathan had given up or he was moving to plan B 
since 
plan 
A
 sucked. Miranda was not going to answer that phone. Sometime around lunch yesterday she’d gone from being sad to being angry. She had even barged out of the room saying she was going to get 
fresh air
, go running and maybe flirt with some boys. I felt much better about her 
recovery
.

              
The door opened and Gee stuck her head in, “You ready to be a sexy
-
ass groupie tonight? You’re VIP
,
 baby,” she finished her comment with a wink.

              
I hadn’t seen Dank since the incident with Miranda. He’d called and texted me a few times having gotten my number and permission to call through Gee. Last night he’d even been a little naughty in his texts. I’d secretly gotten a thrill out of it but he hadn’t let it get too far. Before I got hot and bothered
,
 he’d said goodnight and told me to go to bed so I’d be rested for tonight.

          
    
“Yeah, I’m ready
,
 but I am not a groupie,” I replied.

              
“Y
ou are 
so
 a groupie. The only 
kind 
of groupie that 
Dank Walker will let get
 near him.”