I had no clue where Camille was, a dead cell phone, and no ride home.
Walking out past the RV parking lot, I didn’t see her 4Runner anywhere. But I did see several people walking in small groups down by the water’s edge. There were always parties along the river all weekend long as most of the houses were either vacation homes or rented by college kids.
Rain began to fall, slow at first, but in heavy plopping drops, that were steadily increasing in speed. Walking briskly enough to look like a jogger, I made my way down to the residential area hoping someone at one of the parties would at least have a phone charger I could borrow.
Never again, I thought to myself. I’d gone out like everyone had convinced me to in an attempt to have fun.
Some fun this was.
Drew had bailed last minute. Ethan had disappeared, scaring me to death. And I’d blown off a beautiful stranger for Camille, who’d obviously ditched me without a second thought.
Me and my dead phone were about to get drenched in a downpour.
I didn’t know what I was going to do but knew one thing for sure. I wouldn’t make this mistake again.
4
Aiden
I could take a hint.
I’d bet my left nut the random girl she pointed out wasn’t her friend. But Emersyn Tyler wasn’t interested.
It happened.
The fuck it did.
Okay, so it had never happened before. Not to me. But here I was, coming through my front door alone.
Music blared from the living room where Axel sat with a few dudes and the chick who’s name I couldn’t remember from the night before.
“Here,” I said flatly, dropping his greasy burger bag in his lap.
“It’s cold,” he whined. “And you’re alone.”
“Way to go, Captain Obvious,” I muttered, ignoring the look of interest from the girl beside him.
“What the hell took you so long?”
I stopped before disappearing into my room. “You’re welcome for the food, Bro.”
With that, I shut my door and tried to figure out where I’d gone wrong with Emersyn.
She was attracted to me. Her eyes sparked with interest every time they’d met mine. So why had she blown me off?
Maybe it was a stranger danger thing.
Made sense. It was smart for her to be careful. She was insanely gorgeous and there’d been a string of rapes reported on campus a few years ago. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been at Southeastern, but maybe she’d heard about them.
I didn’t want to leave my room and deal with the party rivaling the one from last night, but I needed a drink before I went insane. Raking my hands through my hair, I decided I wouldn’t spend all night dissecting our encounter.
Monday after class, I’d talk to her. I’d get her number. I’d text and ask if she wanted to study for the art history final exam, maybe get some food from a restaurant not on wheels.
I exited my room and entered the growing crowd in my kitchen.
A guy they called Meat and some of my brother’s other work buddies were already talking the chick whose name I didn’t know into doing body shots. A few other girls had shown up and were dancing on the coffee table. Thankfully it was sturdy.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and took off in search of my brother. I wasn’t partying tonight. He needed to know now that I wasn’t cleaning up tomorrow.