Best Friends Forever (11 page)

Twelve

The whole situation reminds me of Candace, my freshman girlfriend. I rub my chest at the pain that envelopes me when I think of her.

As a freshman, I thought I owned the school; I was a good-looking football player with so much going for me. And Candace was…perfection. Her dark hair and jade-green eyes fit her so well. At five-foot-ten, she was only a few inches shorter than me, and I loved that about her. Within the first two weeks of that year, we were in four out of five of the same classes and became a couple almost instantly.

She had been my very first love, but sex wasn’t something either of us were ready for right away. So we waited. After three months, and just before Thanksgiving, we did the deed, both of losing our virginity to each other, and then went our separate ways for the vacation.

To my horror, Candie told her younger sister about us, and exactly how far we went in our relationship. Her sister ratted us out to their parents, which was a mistake. When Candie returned to school, she explained what happened and told me her parents wanted to talk to us together that next weekend.

I was terrified, but we made the drive to Charleston together, meeting her parents for lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

“Nolan, it’s so nice to meet you,” her mom greets me as we all sit at the table. Mrs. Erikson is an attractive woman, and if she’s the mold I get to look forward to with Candie, I know my desire for her will never fade.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Erikson. Mr. Erikson, sir.” I reach out to shake his hand but he ignores me and picks up his menu.

Once we’ve placed our orders, Mr. Erikson looks at me. “I believe you owe our daughter an apology, Nolan.”

I stare at him, confused. “I don’t understand, sir.”

“You led her to believe that giving herself to you would be a good decision. Which it clearly, was not. You took advantage our little girl and from now on, I expect you to stay away from her.”

“But, Daddy –” Candie tried to interrupt.

“No, Candace. You knew better. And yet you let this punk kid in your pants when you have values, values which honor the sanctity of marriage, and your plan was always to save yourself for marriage. And now you’re ruined.” He looks back at me. “So here’s what’s going to happen. You two are going to forget what has happened when you return to school. You will each go your separate ways, living your lives as though you never dated, and especially as if you never had sex. If I find out you continue to see each other, I’ll bring charges against you, Nolan. Don’t doubt for a second that I won’t.”

And just like that, we were over. Once we got back to the dorms, Candie kept her distance, although I knew she was hurting as much as I was.

Two days before the official end of the semester, she snuck into my dorm, knowing my roommate was at work, and we had one final night together. When I woke the next morning, she was gone.

I ran into her as everyone prepared to leave campus on the very last day of classes and she passed me a note, one I’ll never forget.

Nolan,

Please don’t hate me for this, but my parents and I have decided that I should switch schools, that being around you is too hard for me. You took from me something I planned on giving to my husband on my wedding night, and I’ll never get that back. I won’t be back after the break. I’ve already switched everything to another school, one closer to home, and I cannot stand the sight of you anymore.

What happened the other night was a mistake, the same as it was the very first time. I don’t want to be with you and I never thought we would be more than just college sweethearts. My heart was never really in our relationship and I definitely didn’t love you. But I let myself get caught up in the emotions and let you take advantage of me.

This is over. Forever.

Candie

“Nolan, you okay?” Destiny asks, drawing me back to the present.

As much as I want to answer her honestly, I lie. “I’m great. Who wants dessert?”

I notice Hazel staring at me, her eyes piercing mine like she can read me like a book. And in some ways, I believe she can. I feel like her chocolate eyes see past my player façade to the guy underneath, the me who can’t let himself get too deeply involved with a girl because he’s scared to death she’ll up and leave him, just like Candie did.

I avoid her eyes and give Des a wide smile. “Want to share something?”

“Sure,” she happily agrees. Hazel, I notice, looks irritated, but I try to ignore her.

No matter how much she draws me in, I can’t let myself get too caught up in her. I refuse to let her be important to me. Letting her in could be the end of me.

Thirteen

“I think you’ve got to choose, Nolan,” Hazel says to me later that night.

We’re both hot and sweaty from one hell of a romp, though I could tell she was holding back. It wasn’t my plan to say anything, but now it seems the pillowtalk has started.

“Choose what?” I ask, playing dumb. I know exactly what she means, but it’s not something I’m ready to do.

“Choose between me and Des. It’s not fair either of us,” she says as she cuddles closer to me on my bed.

I sigh. “I know. But I just can’t. If she doesn’t ever know, Hazel, it’s not a problem.”

“It is a problem. Des is one of my closest friends and she means a lot to me. This is the ultimate betrayal, and I hate myself for it, but I can’t stay away from you. So I guess I only want you to choose if you pick me,” she says.

Her words convince me that she’s not going anywhere. “I can’t choose. You are both amazing. But you, my sweet Hazel, you are the one who sets my blood on fire.” I turn to kiss her and she wraps her arms around me, lost to my touch.

The following morning, we hitch a plan with the cell phone. She explained how she hid it from Cheyanne, storing it in a secret compartment in her purse and putting it on silent. No one will know to look for it there, which makes our plan infallible. We decide to gather as much dirt on everyone through the week, which means listening at closed doors and eavesdropping at every opportunity.

We part ways early in the morning, before the crowd hits the halls. I go to classes throughout the day and don’t hear anything interesting. Around four, Hazel texts me from her personal phone.

Got something good. But it’s about Miranda. Meet me at the lounge in ten?

I type back a confirmation. My classes are done for the day and I can’t wait to hear what she’s heard. I make my way to the lounge and grab a seat in the back corner, far away from everyone.

Hazel approaches with two coffees and I smile as she sits down. “Hey, beautiful. What’s the word?”

“Apparently, Miranda isn’t quite as innocent as we thought. In high school, she slept with anyone, and I do mean anyone. I talked to a senior who remembers her. They went to the same high school and he distinctly remembers her getting gang-banged by several guys on the basketball team. Not to mention that every time she went to a party, she would sleep with anyone, guy or girl, at any time and it never mattered if anyone was present or not. Our girl was quite a little hussy,” Hazel explains, her voice barely above a whisper.

I can’t speak, I’m so stunned. I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

“So, this guy, his name is Jake and he hit on me in my biology class, but I told him I was taken, but that we could be friends. So I asked him where he was from and if he knew anyone, and he mentioned Miranda. I couldn’t believe how much dirt he had on her. I’m thinking I’ll have to keep him close,” she went on.

“This is amazing, Hazel. But how are you going to release the info without him knowing it was you?” I ask, curious.

“That’s the genius thing. I did a little digging and found newspaper articles from their school paper! There are several redacted statements from several articles, but I was able to get ahold of the current newspaper editor, who just happens to hate our friend Miranda, and this girl emailed me copies of the articles. So I was thinking, instead of sending out a text for our next bit, we can go out late at night and put copies on everyone’s doorstep. You’re an RA, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if you were out late. What do you think? I have all these copies,” she says, shoving a pile of papers in my lap.

“You are truly evil,” I say.

She beams at me. “Damn right.”

“When should we distribute them?”

“Tonight, I think. If we can convince Des to leave you alone for a second night in a row,” she says, clearly jealous.

“Don’t get pissy, okay? I’ll probably have to be with her tonight. But I can sneak out late and meet you. Then we can distribute them. It’ll be late, though, probably after one. I need to make sure she’s sound asleep.”

Hazel takes a deep breath. “Fine. Text me.” She’s obviously upset, but she doesn’t say anything negative; instead, she grabs the papers, gets up, and walks away.

I sigh as I walk her sweet ass sway, like it’s meant to torment me. I need to figure out what the hell I’m going to do about Des, but I can’t let myself get too attached to Hazel.

It’s too risky.

Fourteen

I’m not sure which is worse: Hazel’s disappointment at me not being able to choose or Destiny’s eagerness to please me.

Des has turned into a nympho, wanting sex every day, and usually more than once a day. It’s exhausting pleasing two women, but I refuse to give one of them up. I’m afraid of what it would mean. And that means I have to get it up twice as often.

Tomorrow, I plan to call a guy I met last year who sells drugs. I’ve never been one for any of the hard stuff, just a little pot now and then, but I have to see if he can get me some Viagra. It’s worth a try.

I smile to myself, knowing that my pride might be the literal death of me. The idea of pleasing both women in my life, though? It’s worth it.

The halls are empty when I escape my room, leaving Destiny alone in my bed. She murmurs something in her sleep as I disentangled myself from her arms, but I sooth her with a kiss, promising to be right back. A late-night trip to the bathroom is normal enough and if I’m gone too long, I’ll just say I really had to go. I know she’ll buy it.

I dressed all in black, something Hazel recommended. And out in the middle of the night, I’m glad I listened to her. There are streetlights everywhere, which means we run a higher risk of being seen, so being in black is to our advantage. I jog to the spot Hazel said to meet her but don’t see anyone. She steps out of the shadows and I pull her against me.

I kiss her thoroughly as I take in her appearance. She’s wearing a black hoodie and a pair of leggings that hug her long legs all the way to her ankles. Her look is complete with black sneakers and even a black baseball cap.

“You went all out, huh?” I ask when I finally gather enough will to pull away from her. We’re both breathless already.

“I’m not getting caught,” she declares. “I think it would be easier to put them on everyone’s cars.”

“That could work, but what about kids that don’t have them?”

“We’ll put stacks in the lounge and bathroom areas. We’ll be able to cover more ground that way, too,” she explains.

Her plan is solid and I let her lead me to the nearest parking lot, where we put copies of the Miranda article underneath a windshield wiper of every car. We move to each lot with efficiency and hardly any words between us. We’re both comfortable in the silence, and I like the quiet. Des never stops talking, so I definitely like this side of Hazel. She balances out the things I dislike about Des so well.

An hour later, I’m sweaty and out of breath, but we’re finally finished. We stop near our building to catch our breaths and Hazel collapses on the dewy grass, her giggle rising up like a mist.

“She’s going to be ruined,” she whispers between bursts of laughter.

“You’re really good at this,” I whisper as I sit in the grass next to her. I lean over her body and press a kiss at her lips, loving the way she moans into it as she gives in.

I pull her hoodie up, just because I can’t help myself, but she quickly pushes me aside. “No way,” she says as she sits up. “You go back to bed with your girlfriend.”

I sigh, not just because she’s right, but also because I want to have sex now and Des is probably fast asleep. Oh well, I think and then heft myself up to stand. I hold out my hand to Hazel. She takes it and I tug her into me.

“I get what you’re saying. But you can’t deny what’s between us,” I say as I run my finger across the bridge of her nose. I watch her shiver involuntarily and then I shuck my hand under her chin to get her to look at me. “It’s like fate.” Where did that come from? Talking about fate with a girl doesn’t exactly fit my bad boy profile, which worries me. If I let myself fall for her, I’m giving her the power. And I definitely don’t want that.

I move away from her before I give in to my desire to kiss her. “You’ll come around,” I say, knowing how much it will irritate her. I walk away, back to the dorm.

I hear her feet pounding the pavement and I turn just as she jumps into my arms, wrapping her incredible legs around my waist and forcing her mouth on mine. Her tongue takes possession and she’s a wild woman, letting me know with this kiss exactly how much she wants me.

As much as I want to take her, we don’t have any place to go. Des is in my room and Cheyanne is in hers. This secret of ours is turning into a hassle.

“Where should we go?” I ask, desperate to take her anywhere.

“Over there,” she says, pointing to the side of the brick building where we reside.

“Are you sure?”

“Take me now,” she growls in my ear, pulling my hair.

I walk her over to the wall and press her up against it. I devour her lips as I push her into the cool brick. She unlocks her legs and wiggles to get down, so I let her, thinking she wants to stop. When she pulls her leggings and panties off one leg, though, I know she’s just as anxious as I am.