It's a Match! (11 page)

Sutton:
Yeah, maybe. Let me get some homework done and I’ll let you know.

Brandon:
You won’t regret it, Sutton.
 

Sutton tried on the two bathing suits she’d brought to school and decided neither of them would work. Maybe she just wouldn’t go. Ava saw her struggling and handed her a neon pink suit with fringe on it. Sutton looked at it apprehensively. “I could never pull this off.”

“Hell, yes, you could! And it can’t hurt to just try it on.”

Ava turned away and went back to organizing the numerous heels in her closet.
 

Sutton took a look at herself in the suit. She turned from side to side and was surprised at how flattering it was. “What do you think?”

Ava turned back around and beamed. “Jesus, I’m a genius.”

Sutton laughed. “Thanks Ava. It’s not very me, but
me
isn’t really working out for me lately.”

“It’s freshman year of college. It’s the perfect time to wear a suit like that. So, where’s this party? Do you think I could go?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s supposed to be a big party.” Sutton decided it would be nice to have her friend there to provide a potentially necessary exit.
 

“Oh, yay!”

“Do you need your suit back?”

“Oh no, I brought like twenty.” Ava changed into a sparkly light purple swimsuit and looked at herself approvingly. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

Sutton was nervous. She didn’t usually like to show her body off like this. She put on a little white summer dress and a pair of brown Hollister sandals.

“What time are you supposed to go there?”

“Fifteen minutes or so.”

“Wow, I better start working on my makeup!” Ava exclaimed.
 

“You’re wearing makeup to a pool party?”

“Of course. And so are you. It’s not like we’re actually going to swim.”

“We’re not?” Sutton asked, confused.
 

“No. Absolutely not. We don’t want wet dog hair. Not sexy.”

Sutton wasn’t particularly concerned about looking sexy, but Ava made a valid point. “Okay, I’ll put a little on.”

“Good girl.”

After the girls were finished getting ready, they headed off to Brandon’s dorm, which was the one right next to theirs. They walked up to the third floor and knocked on his door.
 

Brandon opened the door, looking quite godly without a shirt on. The chiseled abs, the low-rise swim trunks, the award-winning smile … and he had long, long eyelashes, like Cole. Sutton always made fun of Cole for his long lashes, so she noticed these things. “Well, hello, ladies. Two for the price of one? Lucky me.”

“I hope it’s okay,” Sutton said, suddenly feeling embarrassed about not mentioning it to him before they arrived.
 

“Are you kidding me? I can’t wait to walk into my friend’s house with you two lovely ladies at my side. Let me just put a shirt on and we’ll go. Come on in.”

“Or just keep that shirt off forever….” Ava whispered to Sutton.

“Seriously,” Sutton replied, blushing a bit.
 

A few minutes later, Sutton, Ava. and an unfortunately shirt-wearing Brandon left for the party. Apparently it was only a few blocks away, so they decided to walk there. Those few blocks were freezing, but they would be inside soon enough.
 

Brandon walked into the unlocked mansion and led them into the kitchen, where a few guys were making margaritas.
 

“B-dawg! Who are these two beauties?”

“This is Ava,” he said, pointing to Sutton. “And this, here, is Sutton.”

The girls made no effort to correct his mistake. They looked at each other mischievously.

“Let’s just roll with it,” Ava whispered in Sutton’s ear.

Sutton wondered if Brandon had even looked at her profile. She and Ava had some facial similarities, but if he had been paying even the slightest bit of attention he would have been able to differentiate between them.
 

Sutton thought about how it could be fun to play Ava for a day. Ava was everything Sutton would love to be: fun, carefree, outgoing. Her ability to be indifferent was something Sutton was never able to pull off. Ava didn’t care what anyone else thought about her, and she was infectious to be around. Sutton admired that.
 

“What does a girl have to do to get a margarita around here?” Sutton asked playfully. It was something she would never have asked if she wasn’t playing Ava for the day.
 

A tall, attractive guy rushed right over to hand them drinks. “Hey, I’m Caleb. Welcome to my house.”

Ava looked around excitedly. “This sure is a lovely home, Caleb.”

‘This sure is a lovely home?’
Sutton thought. Is that how Ava thought she talked?

“Thank you, and it’s a pleasure to meet you ladies. I’m glad you could drop by. Everyone should be arriving shortly. Did you want to head to the pool?”

“You bet your ass, we do!” Sutton exclaimed, in true Ava fashion.
 

Ava giggled quietly.
 

Brandon, Ava, and Sutton followed Caleb to the giant pool, and Sutton looked around in wonder. This was one of the nicest houses she’d ever seen, aside from her parent’s place, of course. The ceiling was made of clear glass, so it was sort of like being outside, but without the cold. She wondered what Caleb did for work, but she figured it might be rude to ask.
 

“So, Caleb, do you go to Hardman?” Sutton asked, undressing quickly, in the way that she imagined Ava would have.
 

Caleb laughed. “No, but you flatter me. I graduated last year.”

“What are you doing these days?” Ava asked, still wearing her short shorts and black halter top.
 

Sutton bounced off to the pool and dipped her feet in, careful to remember she wasn’t supposed to get her hair wet or ruin her makeup.
 

“I own my own software company.”
 

Well, that explained the house.
 

“Impressive,” Ava replied, taking a chair next to the pool.
 

Brandon walked over to the pool, grabbed Sutton, and immediately dunked her in the water, hair and all. She hoped that her mascara wouldn’t run. She didn’t want raccoon face. Not attractive.
 

When they resurfaced, Brandon was smiling at her. “It’s nice, right?”

“Totally,” Sutton replied. It truly was a beautiful place. The pool was heated to just the right temperature. Sutton’s first instinct was to be upset about being dragged into the water, but she wanted to play it cool, like she knew Ava would. She looked around and saw Ava sitting on Caleb’s lap.

Well, that was certainly not something Sutton would do, but she approved of the match. From what she knew of Ava, this was her dream guy. Good for her.
 

“So, Ava, I see Sutton has gotten comfortable with my friend. Guess I wasn’t her type. Looks like it’s just you and me, kid.”

Sutton smiled awkwardly, still hoping she didn’t have mascara all over her face. “Yeah … looks like it.”

“How is Hardman treating you?”

“It’s good. Lots of parties and stuff.”

“Totally. It’s been a blast so far. Where did you grow up?”

Where
did
Ava grow up…? Oh yeah. “Portland. How about you?”

“Austin, Texas. Pretty much opposites, huh? You would probably hate the heat there.”

“Probably.” Sutton was over this date. Yet another swing and a miss for Cole. Once again, she began plotting her revenge.
 

“Have you met any cool guys at school yet?”

“Not really. The guys here are really different from the ones back home.”

“I think the girls here are awesome. So many different walks of life and all that.”

“Yeah….”

“What do you like to do for fun?”
 

“Parties and stuff.” Sutton replied, as she realized she didn’t really know what else Ava liked to do for fun.
 

“Hey, me too. We’re going to get along just fine.”

Sutton turned toward Ava just in time to see her slipping off with Caleb. Fantastic. Now she was stuck playing her roommate in a pool with the douchebag who was supposed to be her date.
 

“I’m going to go grab another drink. Want one?”

Sutton still had basically her entire margarita, so she shook her head. “No thanks.”

Brandon headed off to the kitchen and Sutton got out of the pool to text Cole.

This is a disaster.

Again?

Yes, again. He couldn’t even tell me and Ava apart.

Wow, that’s pretty bad.

Then Ava snuck off with Brandon’s friend. I’m probably stranded here.

Just go back. Ava can take care of herself.

I can’t leave her. I’ll just suck it up and wait for her to finish … whatever she’s doing.

Come on, Sutt – you know exactly what she’s doing.

Unfortunately, yes. Oh, Brandon’s coming back. I’ll scold you later.

Ha ha, K. Talk to you in a bit. Hope it turns around for ya!

Sutton put the phone back in her purse as Brandon walked back toward the pool. “So, Ava, what’s Sutton’s deal? She seemed cool in our conversation.”

“She
is
cool,” Sutton replied, defending her pretend self.

“Caleb apparently thinks so. Only a slut would sneak off with the guy who’s supposed to be her date’s friend.”

Sutton was extremely offended. How dare he insult Ava/fake Sutton? “She’s not a slut. She’s normally quite the prude.”
 

“Is that so?”

“It is so. Look … we should really get going,” Sutton said, anxious to escape yet another awful date.
 

“You guys just got here. Also, Sutton seems a bit preoccupied at the moment,” Brandon added.
 

“I still have a lot of homework to do,” Sutton lied.
 

“Suit yourself. Make sure to tell Sutton I have no interest in talking to her again.”

“Gladly.”

Sutton grabbed a towel and dried off, then searched around the house and finally found Ava and Caleb embracing on the couch. “Ava—I mean, Sutton—it’s time to go.”

“But….”
 

Sutton looked at her with a serious expression.
 

Ava quickly got the hint. “Okay, let’s go. Sorry, Caleb. But you have my number. Call me.”

Caleb seemed extremely disappointed. “All right, you ladies have fun. Thanks for stopping by.”

“Thank you for the hospitality,” Ava gave him a hug and the girls left the house. Ava turned to Sutton. “What was that? Did something happen?”

“Brandon called you—well,
me
—a slut.”

“Ew. Good, I’m glad we got out of there. Caleb tasted like Doritos anyway.”

“Gross.”

“Agreed.”

B-A-N-A-N-A-S ARE MY favorite fruit. If you don’t like bananas, I’m definitely not the girl for you. I love a good jog in the morning, a jog to the donut shop lol. I know what you’re thinking – ‘This girl likes both bananas
and
donuts?’ It’s true. I represent dichotomy, at its finest. I like older guys who drive Ferrari’s and have facial hair and huge mansions. Buy me things. I like expensive things. If you aren’t over 6” don’t even bother responding. And you better think of a good opening line. I get bored easily.

Cole:
I don’t have a Ferrari, but I can grow a mean beard when I’m feeling lazy for a few days.

Brittany:
I can work with that lol.

Cole:
Good. So, do you like any fruit other than bananas?

Brittany:
I am an equal opportunity fruit eater.

Cole:
Is that so?

Brittany:
It is so.
 

Cole:
What’s your favorite kind of donut?

Brittany:
Maple old fashioned, obviously. You?

Cole:
I hate donuts.
 

Brittany:
Tell me how you really feel.
 

Cole:
I feel like donuts are the definition of all that’s wrong with our society today.
 

Brittany:
How’s that?

Cole:
Kids need to be eating carrots and shit, not pure sugar.
 

Brittany:
I think sugar does a body good. I mean … it certainly does this girl’s body good.

Cole:
Like milk?

Brittany:
Precisely.
 

Cole:
I like milk.
 

Brittany:
I bet you do.

Cole:
Want to meet up and jog to the donut shop together sometime?

Brittany:
Sure. But I jog in the nude.
 

Cole:
Don’t you get cold?

Brittany:
You bet I do. But that’s what you’d be there for – to keep me warm.

Cole:
I do run rather hot.
 

Brittany:
This is a perfect match then.

Cole and Brittany decided to forgo the donut run and grab a coffee instead. Cole sat at the coffee shop staring at the door, looking for a short girl with auburn hair and blue eyes.