I thought back to the night at the comedy club where we’d both had too much to drink. I acted on a lingering attraction to her and kissed her that night, surprised when she responded eagerly. Rosie was gorgeous with big, dark eyes and silky, wavy hair. She had curves for days and pale skin that made everything about her features pop out. I knew what guys said about her and appreciated the fact that she didn’t date. She was focused on school right now.
Who was I kidding? Rosie was clearly into me since she slept with me the night we were alone in her dorm. We’d already kissed several times, and each time got more heated between us. That night, we just kept going and before I knew it, we were naked. I slept with a lot of girls casually, but I always took the time to worship Rosie’s body. She was hot when she came for me and I wanted it a lot more than I let on. I just played that down and kept our friendship as the focus. I hated the idea of not having her in my life.
I stepped into my building and headed up the steps to my single dorm. I needed a nap badly before I considered any parties tonight. I changed into some shorts and dropped into my bed, closing my eyes. I couldn’t wait to graduate and decide what to do then. I was planning on law school which would be more time in school. It would pay off and my parents covered the cost for all of it. They had as much money as Rosie’s family did. We were both trust fund kids thanks to our grandparents and didn’t need to work. We just wanted to make something of our lives.
I woke up hours later to my phone vibrating across the room. I rolled to my back and stretched, groggy from my nap. Shit. I could just stay here and be happy.
I made my way to the small fridge for a soda. I grabbed my phone and checked it, seeing texts from a few friends and some voice mails. I wasn’t surprised that they were all about the party at the frat house or something else that was happening this weekend. It was great having the friends I did, but they were too much sometimes.
I noticed there was nothing from Rosie. She’d left me alone when we came here, seeing how quickly I fit into the social scene. The girls seemed to flock to me and the guys liked my easygoing personality. I saved my stubborn streak for close friends and family since there was enough going on in my day-to-day life. I sat back on my bed, yawning as I considered sending her a message. I liked the idea of watching a movie in here, just us. The idea of loud music and voices in the big frat house sounded a little overwhelming to me tonight.
What the hell was I doing? I wanted to spend more time with Rosie than ever before. We were tight growing up… very close. We all played together; her siblings and mine. Even now when we were home for holidays, the now grown kids got together and went for dinner and drinks. I looked forward to it every year though our parents weren’t at all close. I assumed it was a business thing since they both owned a lot of places in Seattle. They could be contenders, but I didn’t care. I liked Rosie and her brothers and sisters.
All I needed to do was talk to some friends before I found out that Violet would be at the party. She often dragged Rosie out of the dorm with her, so we could hang out. It wasn’t what I necessarily wanted to do with her, but I’d get to see her. Her smile made everything better.
I agreed to meet some of the guys there, heading into the shower. I got out and dried off, opening the door to let the steam out so I could finish. I chose a pair of my favorite jeans and a flannel that brought out my eyes, knowing it might be a bit chilly. I layered a gray t-shirt underneath it and styled my hair into the perfectly imperfect style that girls seemed to love these days. I slipped my feet into some Cons and glanced at my phone to see that I could grab some dinner before I left. Parties here never had good food, and I didn’t want chips to get me through the night. I slipped my keys into my pocket and went into the cafeteria, getting a burger and some sweet potato fries, swiping my card that Mom insisted I have. It allowed me to eat up to three meals a day though I rarely did.
I sat down, assuming that someone I knew would be walking through the doors. It was still early and dinnertime for most, and I scanned social media as I sipped my coke. It was the usual happy ass bullshit that everyone shared, and I swore I’d get rid of it someday. The only good thing was that I kept in touch with my large family this way. There were several cousins that I enjoyed talking to. I took a bite of my burger and noticed that my father was calling me. I sighed and picked up my phone, leaning my head against my shoulder so I could grab a fry.
“Hey, Dad. What’s up?” I asked as I waited for him to speak. You never knew what you’d get with him.
“Good evening, Sterling. How are you?” He sounded friendly enough tonight.
“I’m good. Just having some dinner in the cafeteria. What’s up?” I asked in a light tone, leaning back to drink some soda.
“We were wondering if you wanted to come for Sunday dinner this weekend.” I groaned inwardly, cursing the fact that I went to college so close to home. We did this dinner a couple times a month, and I always tried to go. It was nice seeing the whole family and everything, but it was draining.
“Yeah. I’ll be there.” I wanted to ask to bring Rosie but being that they were always fighting in business, Dad wasn’t that open to our friendship. He’s prefer for me to hook up with a daugh
ter of one of his partners, so we could just build on the family investment company. He’d arrange it if that were a tradition with us. “Everyone else?”
“Yes, your siblings will be there as well as their families.” I had a couple of siblings that were married with young kids that I had a blast with. They were active enough to play with and their enthusiasm made me happy.
“Awesome. I haven’t seen Caleb and Brinna for a while.”
“We’ll see you at four. Dinner is at five,” he reminded me as I nodded.
“I’ll be there.” I killed the call and hung up, setting the phone down. I felt like he had something to say but there was no point in worrying about it right now. I finished my dinner and chose to walk over to the house since it was just a few blocks away. I did that to walk girls home that lived in the cluster of dorm buildings, mostly just to be polite. It worked out to more a lot of the time, but It wasn’t my reasoning behind the act.
3
Rosalind
I let Violet convince me to go to the frat party against my better wishes. I was much more of an introvert that she was, but we had a long week. We deserved to relax a bit. I chose jeans and a button up flannel shirt in red and white layered over a black cami. Small boots finished the outfit, and I tugged my hair into a ponytail before applying some clear gloss.
I walked into the living room to see Violet dressed in black leather leggings and a button up white shirt. She looked great, and I walked forward to grab the ends of her purple hair. She giggled and looked at me impishly, making her eyes crinkle.
“You look great,” I told her as she smiled her thanks. Her lips were a deep purple, and she had her eyes done with some shimmer. “I look like I’m going hiking.”
“I can take you to my girl for highlights any time you want. A nice red underneath the dark would be gorgeous.” Violet gushed as I stared at her. “Too much?”
“I’ll let you do the vibrant thing, okay? I am good with my casual style, Vi. My mother would have a heart attack if I came home with bright hair like that.” I laughed at the image of her expression seeing me like that. I looked a lot like my mom apart from having my dad’s larger frame and nose. They were both conservative and loved the fact that I was as well. They had never said anything bad about Vi, but I knew they thought that she was over the top.
“She would. I remember the deer in the headlights look that she gave me when we met over dinner that first year.” I laughed at the memory and glanced around.
“Are we ready for a fun party?” I asked her as she raised an eyebrow at me. “Yay… fun?”
“It will be. I got us an Uber to get there so we’re not walking in the dark. I’ll get one to bring us home as well. You can enjoy some drinks and let the stress of this week fade away.” Violet placed her hand over her heart dramatically as I burst out laughing.