Sawyer took his time coming downstairs, wearing nothing but sweats, his chest bare and sprinkled with perspiration. His blonde hair was shorn at the sides, his chosen hairstyle a fauxhawk. Between his legs, I could see the indentation of his semi-hard cock, so I knew he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. He went straight to the pizza boxes.
“Local, huh?” I asked. There was a public college not too far from here. It was where Sawyer got a lot of his girls from, but the one that just walked out? The way she looked, the way she dressed, it was obvious she’d grown up around here, more than clear she never planned on leaving.
I wasn’t a fan of girls like that. I liked them much better when they had some aspirations, when they had goals and dreams and all that shit. It made them more like people and less like fuck toys. Sawyer liked them to remain strictly as fuck toys, however.
“I like to try out the local flavor every once in a while,” Sawyer said, moving to sit beside me. He snatched the remote from me and turned on the television.
I watched him for a bit, both eager to tell him that I’d met the lone girl of HU already and wanting to keep her to myself for a bit longer. I knew he’d want me to tell him. Maybe that’s why I kept my mouth shut just then, why I was so conflicted.
We ate in silence for a while, watching the TV.
“I think I’m going to have a party Friday,” Sawyer said with a smile. “Invite some of the girls from Stanton. See if we can’t get ourselves a few orgies before classes get hard.” Stanton was the local college; it wouldn’t be long before Sawyer didn’t have to go looking for girls. Once HU became co-ed, girls would be all around, everywhere he looked.
I said, “I’m surprised you want to focus on those girls when there’s one walking around Hillcrest waiting for you.”
Sawyer’s mirth about the orgy joke—although I knew him well enough to know he didn’t mean it as a joke—faded, and he asked, “Did you see her?”
A pause before I said, “No.” Sawyer always happened to stumble upon the girls who liked assholes. I was a bit of a jerk myself, but I didn’t think I was near the level of asshole Sawyer was. Sawyer had redefined the word.
“Fuck,” Sawyer spoke, frowning. His eyes were green, a brilliant jade color. Much unlike Sabrina’s eyes, which had been a dusky grey hue. “You’re right.” It must’ve taken a lot out of him to admit it, but what he didn’t realize was that just because I was right didn’t mean he was wrong. If he wanted to fuck a bunch of girls and have threesomes and orgies, he could. I wouldn’t stop him.
I would simply put all of my focus where it belonged—on Ash and Declan.
“We need to find out who she is,” Sawyer went on, oblivious to the fact that I already knew. I knew her name, and with a little digging, I was sure I’d be able to find her online. Ash had no idea what shitstorm was headed her way. “I’ve already told the others to keep on Declan.” A muscle in his jaw tensed, and I was silent as I finished the slice of pizza I’d taken.
The others. The cronies. The ones who followed Sawyer Salvatore because he had money and could make their lives easier. Or harder. Sawyer could always make lives harder.
“You know, if we don’t get to her soon, she might think we’re the bullies,” I told him, rubbing my hands together to get off the crumbs. “I’d be careful not to stick them on Declan too hard, at least until we have her on our side.”
Sawyer looked at me. “Maybe we should put off our bet until we take care of Declan.”
“You mean after Declan’s gone, then see who can sleep with her first?” I should’ve known—the one thing Sawyer needed more than tight pussy was revenge for his sweet baby sister. Declan was the focal point on that.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one up.
What Sawyer didn’t know, though, was that his sweet baby sister hadn’t been so sweet after all. I was all for revenge, because it gave me something to do, but as for needing revenge because of what happened to Sabrina? No. I was remarkably level-headed about that situation, only following Sawyer’s lead.
As my lungs filled with smoke, I held it in. It should’ve burned. I should’ve wanted to exhale and fill my lungs with air, but I didn’t.
These days, I hardly felt anything anymore.
Chapter Four – Ash
I took my sweet old time returning to my room. The sky turned into dusk, and I decided to hold onto my skateboard and walk back. For some reason, I couldn’t get that guy, Travis, out of my head. Those tattoos, and the easy smile on his lips. He was exactly my type of guy, and also exactly the type of guy that I should steer clear from. Guys like him were never good news.
Never. Trust me, I’d dated a guy just like him, and it didn’t end well.
I passed a few groups of guys as I walked, and I could feel their eyes on me. They were curious, questioning. I’d be the shiny new thing on campus for a while. My mom always made comments about how I should have guys lining the street to date me—I knew it was something my mom said because she was a parent, but here? Here I might actually get a line.
A line of guys. Go figure.
My phone buzzed, and I spotted it was Kelsey before answering it. “Hey,” I said, grinning.
“Don’t hey me,” Kelsey spoke. I could imagine her pacing her tiny dorm room, biting on her fingernails. “You never texted back. The last thing I knew there was a hot tattooed guy hitting on you—”
I chuckled, turning my eyes up to the darkening sky. “He wasn’t hitting on me. He was…actually, I don’t know what he was doing.”
Travis was…drop dead sexy. All those tattoos. I knew he had to have more everywhere else on his body. A guy didn’t just have two sleeves of tats without having some on his back and chest. Maybe even some below the waist…
“Eyeing up the new girl on campus, that’s what,” Kelsey said. “How’s your roommate? I never got any shirtless pics, by the way. Still waiting on those.”
“Oh, so it’s pictures now, is it? I thought you just wanted the one.”
“Don’t be silly. I’d prefer multiple, but if I have to settle, I’ll settle for one. An ab shot, please.”
“You assume my roommate is fit. He could have pudge. You don’t know,” I said. No one looked good leaning over, but Declan hadn’t looked bad. He looked thin and fit. He might very well have abs underneath his dark clothes.
It took Kelsey a minute to ask, “Did he have pudge?”
“No.”
“Of course he didn’t! You’re at a school full of guys, Ash. I bet he’s cute, too. Murphy’s Law would dictate that your roommate be hot, fit, and adorable. The kind of guy that’s off-limits because you’re living together and he’s the dean’s son.”
Yeah, the whole dean’s son thing was the only reason my mom felt comfortable enough to leave me here, I think. It gave Declan some accountability, and whatever reassurance my mom needed to believe I’d be fine here.
When I said nothing, Kelsey asked, “He is cute, isn’t he?”
I felt my face heating up. “Yes,” I muttered, not wanting to think about how cute he was. This was college. This was a university. It wasn’t a time to go boy crazy over every guy that walked by. Kelsey was boy crazy enough for the two of us. I had to work hard here, keep my grades up. Getting distracted by dicks and abs? Might sound like fun, but my mom would never let me hear the end of it.