“Oh my God, it’s really you. I thought I was seeing things.” I smiled. “What are you doing here? I had no idea you were coming up this weekend.”
“Obviously. I came to visit my girlfriend and find her grinding on some guy. So I guess that makes two of us surprised.”
I waved toward my friend. “That’s just Nick. I’ve mentioned him.”
“Pretty sure you said you study together, not dry hump.”
“Nick’s gay. He’s not interested in me. We’re just having fun.”
“Having fun making me look like an idiot?”
“How am I making you look like an idiot?”
Someone turned the music up even higher. Braden frowned. He had to lean forward and yell just so I could hear him. “This isn’t my scene. I’m going to go. I’ll see you whenever the next time you come home is.”
“Go? What? No. Don’t be ridiculous. Let me just tell my friends I’m leaving. I’ll be right back.”
I squeezed through the crowd to make my way back to Nick and Felicia. I could barely hear myself as I yelled to them over the music. But I pointed to Braden and waved goodbye, and they seemed to get what I was trying to tell them.
I walked back to Braden, and we headed outside together. When I stepped outside onto the porch, my friend Jason didn’t see the guy behind me and engulfed me in a bear hug.
“There she is. Be my beer-pong partner, gorgeous?”
I could feel the tension radiating off the man behind me before I even turned around. Disentangling myself from Jason, I said, “Umm…I’m just heading out. This is my boyfriend, Braden.”
Jason held out his hand. “Braden, you lucky bastard.”
Braden looked down at his hand and back up at him without saying a word, then folded his arms across his chest.
Jason might’ve been drinking for a few hours, but there was no way he could miss the cold shoulder. He took the hint and pulled back his hand. “Alrighty then.” He caught my eye. “You good, Autumn?”
I smiled, appreciative of his concern, however misplaced it was. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks, Jason.”
Braden and I walked down the stairs and crossed over the lawn. He veered right at the sidewalk, so I followed his lead, even though my dorm was to the left. We passed a few more fraternity houses as we walked down the block in silence. When we came upon a BMW, Braden walked toward it.
“Is this what you’re driving? Whose car is it?”
He walked around the passenger side and opened the door for me. “It’s mine.”
“Yours? What happened to the Toyota?”
“I got rid of it. I figured I needed a nicer car to take clients out, now that I have a job.”
My eyes widened. “You got the job? Which one?”
“I got offers from three. But I took the job at Andrews and Wilde.”
“You took the job at our dads’ firm? I thought you didn’t want to do that?”
“I thought it over. It was the best offer. Plus, I’ll get to try cases a lot sooner than I would at other places.”
“Wow. Congratulations!” I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed. Braden didn’t hug me back, but he also didn’t stop me. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” He nodded toward the open car door. “Why don’t you get in?”
Once we were both inside and buckled, I decided to clear the air. While I was surprised to see Braden, I really was happy he was here. “Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you by my dancing with Nick. I guess I just see him as harmless since he doesn’t like girls, and we were just dancing.”
“Grinding isn’t dancing. It’s simulating sex. Even if the guy isn’t interested, you’re putting a show on for a damn frat house, Autumn.”
I’d never thought of it like that. In fact, I’d never actually given dancing any thought at all. We’d just have a few drinks and burn off some stress. “I’m sorry. I didn’t look at it that way. But I guess you’re right.”
Braden kept shaking his head and staring at the road, even though we were still parked. “Is this what you do every weekend? Go to fraternity houses and get drunk? Play beer pong and act like a whore?”
My head snapped back. “Whore? I don’t act like a whore. I might’ve been dancing with my friends, but don’t call me a whore.”
“Then maybe try not acting like one.”
“I apologized. I said I wasn’t thinking about how my dancing might appear to others. But don’t call me a whore. In fact, don’t call me any names.” I unbuckled and grabbed for the door handle. As I went to open it, Braden caught my other wrist. His grip was really tight.
“Owww. You’re hurting me. Let go.”
Braden’s jaw flexed. He stared right at me, but I felt like he wasn’t actually seeing me. “Braden, let go. That hurts.”