The Hazards of a One Night Stand (3 page)

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you have to get me home.” Rob would kill me if he found out where I’d been. He’d probably make me transfer to a school closer to home.

Colton slipped into his boxers excruciatingly slowly. “Do you want to do something tonight? Maybe dinner and a movie?”

“Are you serious? Stop stalling and get dressed!”

He sighed. “Calm down, it’s only seven.”

“Please, Colt. I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“I know.” He pulled on his jeans and t-shirt, and we climbed down. His truck was the only one left in the empty field. Annie’s uncle was away another few days. I’d have to make sure to come back and help her clean up. If she covered for me, I owed her.

I got in the passenger side of his Toyota Tacoma and waited for him to back out.

“If you get in any trouble, just call me. I’ll take all the blame.” He put a hand behind my seat.

“That’s not going to change anything. I just don’t want Rob freaking out. He already doesn’t want me going back to Harrison. He saw some pictures someone tagged me in where I was drunk at a frat party. I promised him that wasn’t typical behavior for me. Clearly it is.”

“I’m not some random guy. You don’t need to feel embarrassed.”

“I’m not embarrassed.” I looked out the window.

“Good.”

“Stop here.” We were half a block from my house. I didn’t want him pulling up out front. My parents would freak if they saw a guy dropping me off.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Call me, later, okay?”

“Okay.” I told him what he wanted to hear, but I knew I wouldn’t call. Instead, I’d go upstairs and pack. I needed to get out of my stupid town before I messed things up more. I wanted to leave Gasden behind, and no one, especially not Colton Waters, was going to hold me back.

“You promised me a car.” I hated sounding like such a brat, but it was true. My parents had promised me a car for sophomore year since I kept my full scholarship.

Rob tapped his foot impatiently. “And we’re giving you one.”

“No. You’re giving me a beat-up, old Ford pickup. That is not a car.”

“It still runs great, and it’s big enough to keep you safe.” Now I knew why Rob had held onto the old thing after he got his new truck.

“I’m a good driver. I don’t need extra protection.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about. City drivers aren’t very cautious.”

“As compared to the gems around here?” I put a hand on my hip. Rob took the stepdad thing far too seriously.

“I don’t know what to tell you, honey. It’s the truck or nothing.”

I sighed. Nothing would probably be better, but I also wanted the freedom to drive. Maybe I could play it off as a cool thing. Like I wanted to go retro classic with an old truck. Yeah, not going to fly, but I’d figure something out. “Fine.”

“Fine? Your mother and I are giving you a car and you say fine?” He scowled. “Maybe we shouldn’t even be sending you back to that school if you’re going to turn out this way.”

“Stop threatening me. I’m going.” I clenched my jaw and stopped short of saying anything that would get me in trouble.

“Just because you have a scholarship doesn’t mean we’re not your parents. Who’s going to write the check for that fancy sorority you’re in?”

“Come on. Don’t hold that over my head.”

“Then don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

I nodded. Fighting with Rob was pointless.

He flipped through a pile of mail. “Are you sure you want to leave today? I thought you had another week.”

“I want to help the girls get set-up for rush. My room’s ready, and I already planned to take this week off.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Mom joined the conversation for the first time. She’d let Rob navigate the truck argument.

“I want to see my friends.” I also wanted to get as far away from Colton as possible. Three months in a small town was bad enough. Now I had to dodge a one night stand. Who did that with their ex’s younger brother? I’d lost my mind.

“You have friends here. Annie’s going to be sad you’re leaving so soon.” Mom rested her hands in front of her on the wooden kitchen table.

I felt a tinge of guilt. It looked like I wasn’t going to be helping Annie clean. She’d stayed in town after graduation and attended the local community college. She didn’t hold my decision to leave against me, but I know she was surprised by my decision to move hours away. “She won’t care. She’s busy with Greg anyway.”

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Who are you busy with?” Mom took off her glasses and set them down beside the morning paper.

“If you’re talking about guys, none.” That wasn’t exactly true, but Colt was a one-time thing. There was no one at school.

“Really? So you aren’t running back to school to see someone?”

I shook my head. “I wish.”

“You’ll meet someone, honey. You just have to leave yourself open to falling in love.”

I sighed. “Not everyone wants to fall in love. I’d be fine with a couple of decent dates.” I’d done the love thing once, and all it left me with was a broken heart.

“If you say so.” She shrugged. “By the way, have you called your dad yet?”

I crossed my arms. “No.”

“Mallory, you need to thank him. If you’re that opposed to calling, send him a thank you note. That was a nice birthday check he sent you.”

“My birthday was over six months ago, Mom. Am I supposed to thank him for the incredibly late gift or for one that was early?”

She shook her head. “You won’t care when you spend the money.”

“Should I send the thank you note to him or his assistant? That wasn’t a very good forgery.” Maybe I should suggest he find a better secretary, one who remembered dates and could halfway sign his signature.

“Just send a note or pick up the phone. No one has ever won in life by being inconsiderate.” There was a warning in her tone. She didn’t want to go any further with the conversation. My relationship with my dad was beyond complicated, and I doubted he’d care whether I thanked him for the money.

“I will, but I should probably get going.”

“Do you want to wait and have lunch first? You haven’t given us any time to say goodbye.”

“I’ll be back for Fall Fest. Wasn’t that one of the requirements of taking a car?”

Rob smiled. “It’s important to Davie that you come home for it.”

“Like he cares.” My relationship with my younger brother was pretty typical. We had fun spending time together occasionally, but we definitely lived different lives.

“Of course he does. It’s his senior year, and he’s the quarterback. It would do you good to watch at least one of his games.”

“I could always come back a different weekend.”

“Mallory.” Rob gave me his signature ‘you’re treading thin ice’ look.

“I’ll be back for it.” Fall Fest was bigger than Homecoming. The whole town got into it.

“Have fun, sweetie.” Mom hugged me. “Know we love you, and we’re always here.”

“I know. Tell Davie I said bye.”

Mom shook her head. “No, you can do that yourself.”

“But he’s at football practice,” I protested.

“So? The field’s on your way out of town.”

“Okay. I’ll stop. Love you guys.” I hugged Rob and grabbed my backpack, tote, and purse. We’d already packed everything else in the bed of the truck. I guess that was one benefit of driving the thing. I only hoped it didn’t rain.

I pulled out of the driveway, not happy about making a pit stop at the high school. It’s not that I didn’t want to say goodbye to my brother, but I didn’t feel like seeing his friends. I found a spot in the nearly empty lot and walked through the sticky August heat to the field.

Luckily, Davie was on the sidelines, so I didn’t wait long.

“Hey, Mal. Late night?” He tried to play it cool, but I could tell he was curious as hell.

“Yeah, I was with Annie.”

He put a sweaty hand on my shoulder and led me away from the rest of his teammates. He leaned in to whisper. “That’s not what I heard.”

“What did you hear?” I tried to stay calm. There was no way he knew.

“You and Colt? Wasn’t dating one of the Waters enough for you?” He was actually close with Colt, but he hated his older brother—Jack.

“Hey. I don’t know where you got the info, but it’s wrong.”

“Oh, really? Then why were people talking about him bagging my sister? Supposedly, you two were hot and heavy last night and went off somewhere. ”

“What?” I gaped at him. “That’s just gossip.”

“Is it? If it’s more than that, it’s going to get back to Rob.”

I groaned. I hated living in a town the size of a matchbox. Nothing stayed secret. “Yeah, well I guess it’s good I’m leaving today then.”

“You’re leaving?” He didn’t hide the disappointment in his voice. It made me feel a tad guilty about leaving on such short notice. I was going to miss him.

“I need to get back for rush.”

He grinned. “Can I come?”

I pushed his arm. “Hell no.”

“I’ve seen your pictures. You’ve got hot friends.” He wriggled an eyebrow.

“Hot friends that are completely off limits for your perverted daydreams.”

“It won’t be just daydreams.”

“Davie.”

“Sorry, but what’s the point of having an older sister if she can’t hook me up with girls? You never helped me when you lived at home.”

“Because you’re two years younger.”

“So? Didn’t you know that cougars were the thing now?” He gave me his signature wry grin, letting me know he was kidding.

Despite his smile, my stomach churned. I’d just slept with a younger guy. “Listen, I need to go.”

“You’ll be home for Fall Fest?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be here.”

“Cool. Have a good trip.” He hugged me, and I tried to ignore the sweat he left behind. I’d have to change before I got to campus.

“Be good, Davie.” I waved and headed to the truck. I watched him run on to the field. How had my little brother grown up so fast? He was a senior already. My senior year felt like forever ago. It wasn’t a time in my life I ever wanted to relive.

The trip to Charleston was three hours, and I only stopped once for gas. I changed into one of my Delta Mu t-shirts and got back in the truck. My phone rang just as I turned the engine on. I hoped it was Juliet, one of my roommates, calling me back. Instead, it was Colton. I pulled out of the gas station lot, waiting to see if he left a message.

He did. I held the receiver to my ear and took a breath before the message played:

Hey, Mallory. I hadn’t heard from you, so I thought I’d call. I had a great time last night. Are we still on for tonight? I’d love to take you out. Well, just let me know either way, okay?

My chest clenched. Was he asking me out to ease his conscious? Did he think he owed it to me? If so, he didn’t need to worry. There was no way I could handle calling him back, but I didn’t want to leave him waiting around too long. I pulled to the side of the road just before the ramp back onto the interstate.

Texting was always an easy way out.

Sorry. I already left town. Enjoy the rest of summer
.

I hit send and tried to push him from my mind. He was probably just being chivalrous, or his version of it at least. He’d get the hint that I didn’t care.

I ignored the return message as I pulled onto the interstate. His text wasn’t worth an accident. I also ignored the next few text notifications. I hoped they were from my friends.

I finally took a look at my phone as I sat at a light a few blocks from campus
.

You left town? When were you going to tell me you were leaving?

If you’re embarrassed about last night, don’t be. It was right. I’m glad it happened.

I’ve been waiting years for that, and it was so much better than I thought possible. But I don’t want it to just be about hooking up. I want to take you out too. And if this is about Jack, don’t worry. He’s cool with it. I promise.

I closed my eyes for a second. Damn it. What kind of mess did I create? And Jack was cool with it. What did that mean? He didn’t care that his brother was hitting up his leftovers? Colt had already told him what happened! My stomach churned. I couldn’t afford to go down the negative spiral of self-doubt that thinking about Jack always brought me.

I flipped over my phone so I didn’t have to look at the screen and drove the remaining blocks to campus. I turned once more and parked a block down from the house. I took a deep breath. It was time for sophomore year.

“Mallory? What are you doing back so early?” Juliet nearly knocked me over when I walked into the house. The display of excitement was as un-Juliet as it comes. She usually smiled and gave you a small hug. I guess she was still on a Reed high. She’d been on cloud nine since she got back together with her upperclassman boyfriend. He was a senior, and president of Kappa, the frat we spent most of our time with. He was also sexy as hell and completely in love with her.

“Don’t you ever check your phone?” I set down the bag that she hadn’t knocked out of my hand.

“Oh. It’s upstairs. I’ve been cleaning.”

“Cleaning?”

She pointed out one of those Swiffer duster things. “I didn’t realize cleaning was part of what I signed up for when I agreed to help with rush prep, but it was worth it.”

“I wonder why,” I teased. I knew she’d been dying to get back to campus to see Reed. He lived in Charleston year round, but her parents made her go home for the summer.

“How have you been the past few weeks? We’ve been playing phone tag.” She tied up her long dirty-blonde hair into a bun.

“Pretty good. I’m glad to be back though.”

“I’m glad you’re back early.” She got a gleam in her eye.

“For a reason other than the fact that you’ve missed me terribly?”

“I’ve got someone you have to meet. He was abroad all last year, but he’s completely your type.” She picked up one of my bags and walked toward the stairs.

“My type?” I grabbed a bag and followed her.

“Yeah. Tall, dark, and sophisticated. He spent all of last year in London for Junior Year Abroad.”

“What’s his name?” I stopped to readjust the strap of my duffel. The worn out fabric was cutting into my shoulder through the thin cotton of my t-shirt.