Full Count (24 page)

And then she came home and climbed
into our bed. Our bed. Like nothing had happened. I didn’t know what to do, so
I just pretended I was sleeping. My head was being pulled in all sorts of
different directions, but none of them led me to an answer. I must have finally
drifted off a couple of hours before my alarm went off and I felt like complete
shit when it was time to wake up.

“Hey, sleepy head. You must have
been pretty tired last night, I think you passed out the minute your head hit
the pillow.” Her small hands wrapped around my waist and trailed up my bare
chest. Her body felt so right behind me, but I couldn’t push out the fact that
she had cheated on me.

“Yeah, guess I was.” I ran a hand
through my hair, trying to think of a way to avoid her and what exactly I was
going to do about this whole situation.

“I hope you don’t mind but I sort
of made plans with Jake today. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to skip a few
classes, do you want to join us? I think I’m just going to show him around
campus, maybe take him to Mr. Friendly’s for lunch.”

“Oh, yeah? Jake? When did he show
up? Did you know he was coming?” I was just waiting, just waiting, for her to
confess everything to me. Maybe if she did that, I could forgive her and we
could get past it.

“Well, he showed up last night to
surprise me, and I guess it worked, he surprised the hell out of me.” Yeah,
really surprised me too. Maybe Paige wasn’t as innocent as I thought she was,
her clear blue eyes showed no guilt, like nothing had happened.

“That’s cool, think I’ll pass on
the whole hanging out thing though, gotta keep my grades up.”

“Okay,” she pouted out her lip and
looked at me expectantly, probably waiting for me to nip it like I usually did
whenever that puffy lip stuck out and it was almost too damn tempting. “Oh by
the way, I told Jared that we would meet up with him at some bar downtown on
Friday. He planned out a birthday party for Maddie and everyone’s getting
together. Of course, he’s clueless about the whole situation, but he invited
Kylie. Can you believe that? I’m glad you know me so well babe.”

“Yeah,” I grunted out before
pushing myself out of bed and heading towards the bathroom to take a quick
shower so I could get the hell out of there. Thought I knew her so well was more
like it, now I just didn’t know what to think.

                                                        
**********************

“Hey dude, what’s up?” Chris slid
his tray down across from mine where I was sitting in the food court. We
normally met up for lunch, but today I really wasn’t in the mood so I was just
sitting with a cup of coffee, wondering how my life got messed up so fucking
quickly. I thought I had the picture perfect girl, now not so much.

“Not much,” I muttered back and
Chris’s eyebrows instantly shot up, this guy knew me way too well. “’Kay well,
you and I both know something’s up so you might as well spill. Come on girl
talk time,” his voice went high- pitched at that last part and sounded so
similar to Kitty, it was eerie.

“Chris, I don’t think…..”

“Just stop,” he held up a hand to
me and leaned closer. “I’m like your brother dude and brothers tell each other
everything. And I can tell you’re upset, so just come out with it.” After some
more prodding, I finally told Chris what was bothering me, it felt good to get
it all off my chest, I think if I didn’t I would have likely exploded from the
weight.

“Hmm…,” he leaned back on his chair
and ran a finger over the blonde scruff that was covering his chin. “Well I
don’t know bud, I really haven’t ever been in a situation like this. I think
you need to confront her though, it really doesn’t seem like something Paige
would do and maybe you need to hear her side of the story.

 “On the other hand, she might just
be a lying bitch and can really play the whole innocent act well. I don’t know,
I’m guessing the first one is right. She’s totally in love with you dude and I
know you feel the same way. Don’t just keep it bottled up. I know you, if that
happens you’re going to do something that you’ll regret, I can almost guarantee
it.”

“Is that the end of our girl talk
then?” I scooted my chair out and tossed my bag over my shoulder. Chris had
brought up some really good points, but I really just needed some time alone to
get my head on straight. Until then, I really wasn’t going to be able to make any
decisions.

“Yup, officially over.” He held out
his fist and I tapped it with mine. “Do what’s right Dylan and I’ll stick
behind whatever you decide.”

“Thanks Chris.” I left him sitting
in the cafeteria, replaying his words in my head. I knew how much Paige loved
me, anyone who wasn’t blind could see that and my feelings were the same in
return. Maybe she had made a mistake, but the thing that got me was that she
didn’t tell me. I didn’t know if I could live with that.

Paige

“Do you think this looks alright?”
I pulled on the hem of the strapless black dress that was practically molded to
my body. Kitty eyed me from her bed where she was sitting with one of her
housemates. “Of course, you look damn sexy girly.  Dylan won’t be able to
resist you.”

Yeah, hopefully he won’t be able
to. I looked in the mirror hung on the back of Kitty’s door and fluffed out the
loose curls that Kitty had helped me to tame. My makeup was light but still a
little smoky, making my blue eyes pop out even more than usual. I hadn’t
dressed up like this in awhile, maybe it would get Dylan excited.

The past few days he had been
strangely distant towards me and had barely touched me. I was starting to get
worried that my worst fear in our relationship was coming true, he was getting
bored with me. “Paigey, stop worrying. Dylan probably just has something going
on right now that he hasn’t told you about.”

 Kitty jumped off the bed and
gripped my shoulders, pulling me to stand right in front of her, green eyes
narrowed in determination. “You are sexy, you are smart, hell you love sports
almost as much as he does, and I know you have just about much stamina as him.
He.Is.Not.Bored. Trust me. Why don’t you just try talking to him? Maybe he’s
just uncomfortable with Jake being around, lord knows I would if I was in his
shoes. Did you tell him what happened between the two of you?”

“No,” I shook my head and went for
my crutch but Kitty pulled my hand down. “Nu uh, you are not ruining the
perfect French mani Shanna just gave you. I’m not gonna let it happen. And why
haven’t you told him about Jake?

“You have nothing to feel guilty
about, Jake put the moves on you and you stopped him. If anything he’ll just be
pissed at Jake, wait let me take that back. He’ll be majorly pissed at Jake, if
I were that boy I would have went home to Florida by now. Do you think it’s a
good idea for him to come out with us tonight?”

“Yes,” I grumbled. “It should be
fine.” Jake had really been on his best behavior over the last couple of days
that we had spent together, and kept true to his word. His hands hadn’t even so
much as skimmed my shoulder, he was being that careful, and I truly appreciated
it. Maybe I did just need to tell Dylan what happened with Jake. Just like
Kitty said, I had nothing to feel guilty about, but I still felt an enormous weight
on my chest by keeping it inside.

“Let’s just have fun tonight and if
you feel up to it, you can talk to Dylan about the whole situation tomorrow
after Jake leaves town. That’s probably the main reason why he’s acting so
weird. He might tell you it’s alright to have such a stud for a best friend,
but truly he sees Jake as competition.”

“Well he’s anything but. Your
right, I’ll talk to him tomorrow. Now let’s get out of here, we both look sexy
as hell and our men are waiting for us.” I tugged on a piece of her straight as
a pin blonde hair and she sashayed out of the room in front of me in her red
halter dress that showed off her tan perfectly, tossing a classic pageant wave
over her shoulder to Shanna.

We were the last two to show up to
the party, the birthday girl already halfway drunk and wrapped around Jared
giggling loudly. At least someone looked happy. I wrapped an arm around Dylan
who was sipping on a beer and glaring at Jake who was sitting on the other side
of the table with his friend, Charlie, that he had rode up with and his
girlfriend, Tara.

“Hey, how’s it going?” I kissed
Dylan on his stubbled cheek and he turned towards me for just a second, quickly
flicking over me with his eyes. “Okay,” he replied, taking another sip of his
beer to drain the glass. “You look nice.” Nice? Really?

 Kitty’s mouth dropped open next to
me where Grant was truly appreciating the dress she had picked out for the
night. His hands had been all over her the second she walked in. I mean I
wasn’t full of myself, I knew I wasn’t the sexiest girl here, but usually Dylan
thought I was.

Jake’s eyebrows shot straight up
and his forehead crinkled in confusion. “Well, I think you look damn sexy, baby
girl.” I felt my cheeks turn red at the compliment and Dylan’s hand turned
white, his fist clenched so hard around his glass, I was sure it would burst
into a million shards.

“You would,” he muttered. “I’m
gonna go get another drink, I can tell I’m gonna fuckin’ need it, if I have to
deal with this shit all night,” he announced to the table, never looking back
at me. I could feel my lower lip trembling at the harsh treatment, but there
was no way I was going to break down in front of anyone.

“C’mon Paige.” Kitty came up beside
me and hooked her arm through mine, and Maddie took the other side, both tugging
me along. “Let’s go powder our noses.” Even with how upset I felt, I still had
to roll my eyes. Kitty was probably the only person under sixty that used that
saying, she always knew how to lighten the mood, even just a little.

“Okay, what’s going on? Dylan is
acting like a complete ass and I’m seriously about to beat the shit out of him.”
Maddie stood in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest as I leaned a
hip against the bathroom counter thinking the exact same thing.

“I really don’t know guys, he’s
been so cold the past few days but tonight is probably the worst. He barely
looked at me when we got here. I just don’t know what to do.”

“You’re gonna do what we talked
about, remember?” Kitty ran a paper towel under the cool water and dabbed it
under my eyes where a few tears had escaped.

“It’s our Maddie’s birthday, we’re
going to go out there and have fun, just because Dylan has something shoved up
his ass doesn’t mean our night is ruined. Then tomorrow, when no alcohol is
involved, you two can sit down and have a conversation like the grown adults
that you are. So go out there, put a brave face on, and let’s have some fun.”

Maddie, always the softest of the
group, gave me a gentle pat on the back. “If you want to leave though, I would
totally understand.”

“No, Maddie I think I can stick it
out. Let’s go celebrate your birthday.”

We ended up drinking and dancing
for the next couple of hours and I was able to push Dylan Turner out of my
head, a little bit at least. Jake and I caught up on all that we had missed out
on each other’s lives over the past couple of months and I even dragged him
onto the dance floor, and he managed to keep his hands to himself.

 Every time I moved across the
room, I swear I could feel Dylan’s eyes boring into my back but as soon as I
turned his way, he had lost interest. The one thing he hadn’t lost interest in
was Kylie. She seemed to keep inching her way closer and closer to Dylan, I
wouldn’t be surprised if she ended up in his lap by the end of the night.

My heart hurt at the way he was
acting and how he was basically stomping all over the love that we shared
without a word of what I did wrong. I had to talk to him before the end of the
night and find out what was going on. I really didn’t want to go home if I wasn’t
wanted there.

“Hey, I’m gonna go use the
bathroom, I’ll be right back.” I whisper-yelled into Kitty’s ear over the music
and her glossy green eyes turned to me where she was wrapped around Grant’s
waist.

I was pretty sure he was holding
her up, if not she would have been flat on her ass the way she had been
slamming down shots. Me, on the other hand had only had a couple sips, here and
there. I wanted to have a clear head and not do something I would later regret.
“Want me to come with?” she slurred out.

“No, I’m okay. I’ll be back in a
minute.” Really I didn’t want her to come with me because I wanted to confront
Dylan alone. I turned back to the table and scanned it quickly with my eyes. No
Dylan there. He wasn’t on the dance floor, so I decided to head towards the
bathroom anyway.

I walked down the narrow, dark
hallway and my mouth turned slightly up into a small smile when I brushed past
a couple who were so intertwined, you couldn’t tell whose limbs were whose. And
I’m pretty sure the girls hand was shoved somewhere I really didn’t want to
see.

It reminded me of Dylan and me
sometimes when we got naughty in the library or the night out on the deck, so
in love, we just couldn’t get enough of each other. I pushed open the door to
the women’s bathroom and quickly checked my makeup.

Maybe Dylan had just fallen out of
love with me and didn’t want me around anymore. I didn’t know if I could handle
that. Sure, I was young and he was my first love but I really felt like we had
such a connection that was so rare. Whatever was wrong, I needed to talk to him
about it. He couldn’t keep avoiding me.

I pushed back out of the bathroom
with a new determination and quickly ran right into the couple in the hallway
again. “Oops, excuse me.” I backed up a step, but then froze into place when
the familiar blonde ringlets belonging to Kylie came into view and she
plastered a sickingly sweet smile on her face. “Oh, hey Paige.” I looked from
her back to the guy, quickly realizing that it was Dylan,
my Dylan,
who
had a lazy smile on his face, his brown eyes turned almost black, like they were
dead, staring back at me.