Pieces of Me (6 page)

“So.”
Grace is sitting cross legged on her bed, watching me carefully. “I’ve been
thinking.”

I
look up from my book at her words. “That doesn't sound good.”

“No,
this one is good, I promise.”

In
the last few weeks I’ve learned that nothing good ever starts with Grace saying
“I've been thinking.”

“Like
you promised that we wouldn't get in trouble for being in the computer lab
after hours?” I ask dryly.

“That’s
just a stupid rule. The computer labs should be open 24/7 for lazy college
students like me who wait until the eleventh hour to start their paper.”

“Or
maybe you should start your paper earlier.”

“Really,
Del, don't you know me better than that by now? Anyway, don't distract me.
Grant has this friend...”

“Nope.”
I turn back to my reading, some crazy short story for my American literature
class that is boring as hell, but I need to get through it so I can start my
paper. It's not due for a week, but unlike my roommate, waiting too long to get
started makes me itchy.

“You
don't even know what I'm going to say.” Grace pouts.

“Seriously,
Grace, we have this conversation once a week. Grant has a friend or Holden has
a friend, or the guy sitting next to you in your health and wellness class
seems nice.”

“You
need a date,” Grace says. “Don't you want to get your first kiss?”

“It's
not high on my priority list at the moment.”

“I
know! You're crazy! You don't know what you’re missing.”

Oh,
I do, I thought, but I would never tell her that. I slip a piece of paper in my
book to hold my place and turn on my side in my bed so I'm facing her. Maybe if
I humor her for a few minutes she'll leave me alone.

“Alright,
tell me about Grant’s friend.”

“Really?”
She squeals. “He’s gorgeous, not as gorgeous as Grant of course.”

“Of
course not. Who could be?” I say dryly.

“Exactly,”
she agrees, nonplussed. “But still he's gorgeous and sweet and he's just
perfect for you.”

“Because
he's gorgeous and sweet that makes him perfect for me?”

Grace
rolls her eyes. “Don't be a bitch, you know what I mean. He's...gentle, so he'd
make an excellent first date.”

“Gentle?”
I snort. “How would you know he’s gentle? What does that even mean?”

Seconds
later a pillow hits me in the face and Grace is glaring at me. “Why won't you
even consider any of the guys I mention? Wait.”

She
sits up on her bed, eying me closely. “Are you into girls? Because there's
nothing wrong with that, but I kinda wish you’d told me earlier. Like before I
changed clothes in front of you the other day.”

“Well,
damn, you've figured me out. I'm not interested in any of those guys because
I'm lusting after you.” I shoot her a grin. “I want to be able to tell people
you snore.”

“I
obviously have not been a good influence on you.” Grace catches the pillow that
I toss back to her. “You're mean and snarky now.” She sniffs dramatically, “and
you've hurt my feelings.” She flops back on her bed with a dramatic sigh. “And
I don't snore.”

“Oh,
but you do. Sometimes like a freight train.”

“Bitch,”
Grace says, but she's laughing and she isn't trying to set me up with anyone,
so that's a plus. I roll on to my back on my bed, throwing my arms out wide; I
stare up at the ceiling.

“It's
Friday night, why aren't you at a party or out with Grant?”

“Because
I decided to stay in with your miserable ass and keep you company. I thought
you didn't want to be a loner anymore. In order for that to happen, you need to
leave the confines of our dorm room. For more than just food and classes.”

“I
left last night, and it was for neither of those things.”

“The
gym doesn't count either.” Grace huffs. “You need to go to a party with me. An
actual party this time, and not that small shit at my brothers’ place. There's
an open door party on fraternity row tonight.”

I'd
heard of the open door parties before. Every house on fraternity row would host
a party at the same time, with the same theme, and you could bounce from one
house to the other and back again if you wanted. So it was basically a huge
block party with a bunch of drunk college guys hoping to get lucky.

Not
exactly my thing.

“It's
luau themed. We can wear bikinis and grass skirts. It'll be fun.”

I
run my hand across my stomach, and even through my t-shirt I think I can feel
the puckered edges of the scar that lays there.

There
are no bikinis in my future.

“You
were with me when I bought practically my entire wardrobe, Grace. You know I
don't have a bikini or a grass skirt to my name.”

“Only
because you refused to even contemplate bathing suits when we went shopping. I
still plan to get you to the beach one of these days.”

I
don't tell her there's no way in hell she's getting me near a beach. We’ll save
that battle for another day.

I
tilt my head to the right so I can see her lying in her bed. She’s studying me
as well, and I can tell by the gleam in her eye that the open door party idea
has taken root.

I
sigh. “Won’t Grant be jealous that you're at a frat party without him?”

“Seriously?
Have you met Grant? Do you really think any of those frat boys will measure
up?”

“Right,”
I roll my eyes, “what was I thinking.”

“Obviously
you weren't.” Grace shifts on her bed, pulling herself up into a sitting
position once again. “Are you going to go?”

I
chew on my bottom lip.

It
would be good to get out of the room for a while. Grace was right; I haven't
left for much more than class, food, or the gym in the last several weeks. It
was easier to slip back into a routine where I avoided people.

And
maybe this party would help me get my mind off of Cole Marsh. He and Robby
still sit on either side of me in our U.S, History class, but he’s never once
mentioned that he’d asked me out. Or hadn't asked me out I guess, since I had
turned him down before he had really asked.

But
now, for fifty-five minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I sit next to
him in that auditorium and smell peppermint and soap, and think about what
could have happened if I had said yes.

For
the first time in my life, history isn’t able to distract me, and I find myself
day dreaming the entire class away. Several times Robby's had to nudge me to
get me to pay attention again.

I'm
pretty sure Cole has told him what happened, just as I'm pretty sure that Robby
knows that I wish I had said yes.

But
it doesn't matter now. Grace told me that Cole had been spending some time with
Beth and her red nail polish lately. And why wouldn't he? I practically gifted
him to her.

“Are
you in, Del?”

I
sigh heavily. “If I'm not wearing a bikini and grass skirt you can't either. I
don't want to look like a moron standing next to you.”

“Deal.
But I get to pick your outfit.”

I
shrug my shoulders. “Sure, why not.”

Grace
is off her bed and in my closet in seconds. She flips though the hangers for a
few seconds before pulling out a loose green top with sleeves that come down to
just above my elbows. It's sheer so while she's still digging I go to my
dresser and pull out a white tank top to go underneath.

When
I turn she has the green top along with a pair of faded blue jean shorts in her
hands. She holds both up in front of me and eyes them critically.

“I
feel like a life sized Barbie doll,” I mutter.

“You
are. Dressing you is so much fun.” Grace hands me the clothes. “Go put these on
but leave your hair down, I'll fix it up for you.”

“Off
my neck?” Even as we close in on October the heat and humidity is so thick it's
ridiculous.

“Yup.”
She waves her hands in the direction of the bathroom, “Go, get changed, Miss
Modesty.”

While
Grace has no problem stripping down in front of me, I don't share the same
ease. I step into the bathroom and switch out my clothes. Even under her
tutorage I still haven't developed any sense of style. Thankfully she's there
every morning to make faces at my choice of clothes and then direct me in what
I should be wearing.

I
run a brush through the waves of my hair, but leave it down over my shoulders
as instructed.
I stare at myself in the mirror for a few more seconds, giving myself a pep
talk. It's going to be crazy crowded, I'm sure, which I'm not a fan of, but at
least I have the knowledge this time that if I get overwhelmed I can just walk
back to the dorms. I don't have to tear Grace away to get out.

“Hurry
up! You better not be in there changing your mind!”

I
gather up my old clothes and head back into the room. Grace has pulled my desk
chair to the middle of the room and has a brush in her hands. “Sit.”

“Yes
ma'am. Does Grant like it when you get demanding?”

She
wiggles her eyebrows. “Like you wouldn't believe.”

My
head tilts back and forth and she runs the brush through it. She grabs all my
hair in one hand and I feel her twist it around a couple of times before she
secures it in place on my head.

“Gorgeous,
as always. The guys'll be falling all over themselves to get to you.”

Sexy
brunette and sad blue eyes, I think.

“If
you leave this party tonight without a kiss, I'm going to kiss you.”

I
laugh. “You wouldn't play with my heart like that.” I move to stand in front of
the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. She's pulled my hair
up into some sort of knot on the top of my head. The shirt and shorts are cute
together.

“My
brown sandals?” I ask with a frown.

“Oh
my, God, there's hope for you yet. Give me about ten minutes to change and
we’ll head out.”

Eight
minutes later she's standing in front of me with jeans shorts, much like mine,
and a navy blue tank top that has flutter sleeves. Her butterfly tattoo peaks
out from under one strap. It's only one of the five butterflies she has
stretched across her back, all in various stages of flight.

I
wish I had the guts to get a tattoo. But I don't think I could let anyone touch
me for that long.

“Okay,
let's go.”

“What's
the rush?”

She's
practically shoving me out the door.

“I'm
afraid you'll change your mind.”

Her
cell phone chimes in her pocket and when she pulls it out I see the picture of
her and Grant that she has set up as Grant’s contact picture on her phone. She
slips it back into her pocket without answering.

“Grace,”
I say softly.

“Don't
worry about it, I told him I was going to hang with you tonight.”

I
jerk to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. “No.”

“What?
Come on, Del, it’s fine. He's totally cool with me hanging with you. I see him
all the time.”

I
cross my arms over my chest. “Exactly. Why should tonight be any different?”

“Ummm...because
absence makes the heart grow fonder?” She gives me an exasperated look.

“Will
you just come on?”

“Only
if you call Grant and tell him to meet us there.”

Honestly,
I would feel better with him there. Maybe Robby would come with him. Robby was
such a big guy that no one was going to mess with him, or anyone with him. The
more I think about it, the more I warm up to the idea.

“Delaney,
it's really fine.”

I
shake my head. “Call him. Tell him to come or I'm going back upstairs to finish
my homework.”

“I
think I liked you more when you weren't as mouthy,” she mutters, but she pulls
her cell phone out of her pocket and shoots a quick text to Grant. It doesn't
take long for his reply to come back.

She
reads it as we step out of the building.

Fraternity
row is located on the opposite side of campus so we head in that direction.
It’s a line of craftsman style houses that spans the length of about three city
blocks. I honestly couldn't name a single fraternity or sorority house we have
on campus. They seemed to be made up entirely of the types of guys and girls I
had gone out of my way to avoid in high school.

“Is
he coming?”

“Yeah.”
She finishes a text to him and then shoves her phone back into her pocket. “I
would have survived a night without him.”

“I
know.”

“He
was over at Cole and Holden's place so he'll just meet us there.”