Found by You (8 page)

She let out a breath, grinding the tip of her black boot into the ground. “I’m only going with him because he was in a scrape. He’s the last one in your group without a date and needed one quickly. I’m friends with Clare who’s dating Destiny. They’re both going and threw my name out to him. We’re going as friends.”

“I didn’t know that was an option. To go as friends.”

She turned away from me, and I moved upon her, trying so hard not to get too close, to scare her, but I wanted to be near her. I had to.

She pulled in breath, and I drew in closer. I couldn’t help it. I was selfish.

I touched her cheek, brushing her chest with mine I was so close. “Don’t go with him,” I said, studying her eyes, my gaze wandering down to her mouth. “Go with me. Go with me as friends.”

She moved her cheek out of my hand, then moved from underneath me entirely. She went further down the wall, crossing her arms. “You’re already going with someone. Tanya from what I heard. I didn’t know you guys were back together. That’s good.”

The frustrations inside me loomed, but I didn’t let them reflect. Yeah, I was going with Tanya, but only because she bugged the shit out of me until I said I’d go with her. I only agreed if she didn’t go near me during the event outside of the one dance that was expected out of the retiring captain, which is the first one. That was it.

I went over to Roxie, keeping my distance this time. “Like you and Ryan, we’re going as friends. I’m captain of the team. I’m unfortunately expected to go with someone. Had I known you were an option, I never would have said yes when she asked. I told you I’d wait for you, Roxie. And that’s what I’m doing. Waiting. I don’t want to date anyone else unless it’s you.”

She waved me off, looking away. “You don’t have to explain yourself. You don’t owe me anything, Griffin. I got to go. My next class starts soon.”

She made to move away from me, but I didn’t make it easy. Taking her elbow, I brought her back to me, to look at me. “Is there something else? Are you actually not dating or are you just not dating me?”

She didn’t say anything, and I pulled a breath in through my nose.

“You can tell me, Roxie. If it’s something else I can handle it. Am I not your type? Am I too,” I paused, searching for another reason. “Too white for you or something? Is that what this is?”

Her jaw dropped, and she moved her arm away from me. “Why would you say that? Why would you even think that? I’ve dated plenty of white guys, Griffin.”

I pushed my hand through my hair. “Well, you’re not giving me much to go off of, Roxie. And well, you are going with Ryan. I’m just trying to make sense of things. I’m not trying to make you upset. I’m… I’m just trying to figure this out.”

Her jaw clenched, and she put her hands on her hips. “Maybe there isn’t some specific reason. Maybe things are just what they are. Maybe the timing isn’t right. Maybe I’m just not ready for you and everything you are. Maybe,” she paused, shaking her head. “Maybe you’re not ready for me.”

She went in so many different directions, her words so random and unspecific. There was one thing I did catch though. There was something deeper going on. Something keeping her from me.

“Hey, man. You heading inside to eat?”

D came out of nowhere. He stopped beside Roxie and me, and the two of us moved away from each other, looking more casual and less tense.

D stared at her, cocking his head. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

I swear to fucking God. I shot him a look. “D, get the fuck out of here.”

He was lucky I didn’t kill him two weeks ago when I found out what he told Roxie. I only didn’t because I knew what happened was partially my fault for not telling him I broke things off with Tanya and Ursula in the first place.

D blanched, and Roxie took that as her cue to leave. She walked away without another word, her black boots quickly making tracks away from me.

Groaning, I went inside. D followed behind and eventually caught up.

“I’m serious. I think I’ve seen her before,” he said. “What’s with the attitude?”

I whipped around. “You have seen her around. At the party, remember?” Though I highly doubted he did now that I thought about it. He
was
wasted.

He stopped for a moment, thinking about that. “Right. But that’s not it. I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere else. Maybe a class or something.”

“Maybe you have. I wouldn’t rule it out. That’s kind of what people do when they go to college. Take classes.” The obvious sarcasm in my voice made him snarl at me, but frankly, I didn’t give a shit.

The pair of us went back to our table. Tanya and Ursula were still there with Destiny and the girl she was dating beside her. The girl, Clare, stood from the table, giving Destiny a hug before taking her tray. She grabbed Roxie’s as well, leaving the group with both.

I ignored the rest of the party at the table and went after her.

Tanya frowned again. “Griffin—”

“I’ll be right back.” I, again, didn’t face her. I caught up with Clare, touching her shoulder. She jumped and turned, laughing when she saw me.

“Hey. Sorry to bother you, but I have something to ask you,” I said to her.

She couldn’t have looked more confused that I was talking to her. I didn’t blame her. I didn’t recall ever having a conversation with her before. I only saw her in passing the last two weeks with Destiny.

She dumped both trays and then we moved away from the trashcans.

“What were you talking to Roxie about?” she asked me.

Roxie. That was exactly the topic I wanted to discuss. “I actually approached Roxie about going out a couple weeks ago. The night of the party at my apartment.”

Her face seemed to light up at the words. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, but she turned me down. She told me she wasn’t dating.”

Her eyebrows narrowed in. “Are we talking about the same Roxie? Because I’m pretty sure she really likes you.”

I might have agreed with her at one point, but now… I wasn’t so sure. “She doesn’t seem like she’s interested. She keeps shying away from me, and I don’t know why. I was wondering if you could help me. Maybe give me some insight since you’re her friend.”

She nodded, chewing her lip in thought. “I wonder if she’s worried about…”

“What?” I asked, hopeful.
Did she know something?

Her eyes flashed, and suddenly, she closed her mouth. She pushed her hands into her jean pockets, pursing her lips, and my impatience was getting the best of me. Why wasn’t she coming out with it? If she knew something, I wanted to know what it was.

Slipping her hands out of her pockets, she crossed her arms with a sigh. “I’ve learned quite of few things about Rox since I met her. And one of those things is that she’s kind of insecure.”

“Insecure?” I couldn’t believe what she said. Were we talking about the same girl? Roxie Elbowa? The one who stood up to two dudes in the middle of the night? Tossed girls around the gym with the simple shove of her shoulder? I had a feeling she was a little shy… but insecure? I’d only seen her as confident.

She nodded. “I know she really likes you, Griffin. So if you’re serious about her, you should wait. Wait until she comes to you. I know she will. And when she does, remember how you feel now about her. Just remember that.”

She flashed me a single smile, then moved away from me. I went to her friend for aid, but now I’d found my head spinning even more.

Chapter Nine

Roxie

It took a couple of websites and an overpriced, emergency shipping method, but I managed to find a suitable, reasonably priced gown for the masquerade. It literally arrived two days before I was supposed to leave, and I almost wished it hadn’t. If I didn’t have a dress I could have backed out. It unfortunately came. The only other requirement for the dance was a mask. I had a couple of those, though. I didn’t have to buy any. My internal battle with myself loomed as I packed those up with the rest of my stuff for the short weekend trip. The stupidest shit was keeping me from Griffin. The stupidest crap that I no longer had justifications for. I was struggling to deal with all the things he’d done, when in the back of my mind I knew it was more about me struggling with my own demons.

I hoped to avoid Griffin during my time at the country club, but I knew that probably would be quite hard to do. He would be in the same location as myself, and we’d most likely cross paths. There would be a ton of basketball players, their dates, and most likely alumni and powerful individuals there for the event. I’d be able to blend in if I tried.

I was thinking about my mental game plan for avoidance when I met Clare and Destiny at one of the University’s large parking lots. Most of the team was meeting there so they could follow each other up to the country club.

I found Clare immediately, giving her a hug, and I was relieved that I didn’t see Griffin yet. There was lots of hustle and bustle, but one thing I noticed was the cars. There wasn’t one clunker on that lot. Emblems representing brands like Mercedes and BMW flashed everywhere on various paint jobs. I really didn’t understand it. I didn’t have a car period, yet all these boys seemed to have the latest and greatest models.

I followed Clare and Destiny, the two hand in hand the whole way. It was crazy to even think Clare had been shy to approach her at first. Their relationship seemed so second nature now. The two led me over to one of the less flashy vehicles, a Volkswagen, but it still looked brand new. One of their ‘dates’, I didn’t know whether it was Chip or Harrison, opened the trunk for us to put our bags in. After Clare and Destiny handed theirs off to him, I lifted mine.

Clare frowned at me. “Aren’t you riding with Ryan?”

I actually hadn’t even talked to him about the riding situation. He just sent me a text of when and where to be. I figured I would meet Clare and ride with them.

“We didn’t make any concrete plans,” I told her.

She took my bag. “You should probably ride with Ryan, Rox. You are his date.”

The guy who was packing the bags leaned against the car. “You would probably be way more comfortable. Harrison has a small backseat.”

My stomach turned. It’s not like I had anything against Ryan, but I didn’t really know him.

Clare handed the bag to me. “It will be okay, Rox. We’ll meet you at the country club. We’re still sharing a room.”

I was a big girl, so I accepted the bag without question. She was right. I’d see her soon. The trip would only be around three hours. I could get over that. I looked around for a guy with dreads. “Where is Ryan?”

Chip, the guy I discerned was packing the bags, closed the trunk. “Over there by the red number.” He pointed. “An Audi.”

And yet another flashy car.

I waved my friend off and headed over to the car. Ryan was there with a pair of sunglasses on as he packed the trunk. “Hey, Ryan. You have some room for me?”

He pushed his glasses up into his dreads. “So you are riding with us then?” he asked, smiling as he put his hand out for the bag.

I gave it to him. “Looks like it. Who are we riding with?”

Griffin

My breath left me as I approached Ryan’s car.

Roxie was in the front seat.

She was staring straight at me, and the clear frown on her face let me know she wasn’t happy about seeing me. She was riding with Ryan? I just assumed she’d go with her friend, Clare.

Shit.

She looked away from my gaze. Leaning on her palm, she stared out the open window to her side. My vision finally broke from her and the person in the backseat finally caught my attention. No one but Tanya had hair that blonde. What did she think she was doing riding with Ryan and me? I told her to stay the hell away from me during this trip. I didn’t care how she was getting to the country club, but I made it clear it wasn’t with me when she asked. I shouldn’t have been surprised she was doing this. She probably figured if she was already in the car I wouldn’t dare kick her out of it, and now that Roxie was in the car, I wouldn’t dare cause a scene.

Is this really my life right now? Really?

Shaking my head, I threw my bag on my back, trying to mentally prepare myself for what was about to happen when I got into that car. The woman I wanted and the woman I didn’t want anything to do with sharing the same oxygen. Fuck if I couldn’t get a break. Tanya had already figured something was off when I left to go after Roxie, but I also went to talk to Clare so she didn’t give me a hard time about it. Not that I would have answered any questions she had. She wasn’t in my life anymore. I didn’t owe her anything. I still didn’t want her knowing about Roxie. Tanya could be a real kind of evil when she wanted to be, and I was a fool for putting up with her as long as I did. It was best I kept things with Roxie quiet. I didn’t want Tanya hassling her since she was still clearly not over me. Roxie was so sweet. She shouldn’t have to deal with my ex’s bullshit. Staying away also gave Roxie what she wanted. Her space from me. I told her I’d wait, and God, I’d do the best I could. Holding out was damn hard though.

I made it to the back of the car where Ryan was, arranging the luggage we all had. There was a single purple bag with a black Venomous Vixens patch stitched on it. I had to smile at that one. The poor little bag was surrounded by brown bags that had Louis Vuitton “L’s” and “V’s” stamped all over it, suffocating it with all its high maintenance. Ryan, with his brow wrinkled in, was doing all he could to make it fit properly in the trunk. My eyes lifted to the heavens at Tanya and her ridiculousness. We were only going to this place for two nights for fuck’s sake.

Ryan saw me, giving me a shake before taking my bag.

“What’s Tanya doing here?” I asked him. “I thought D and his date were riding with us?” Ryan knew I was avoiding Tanya.

He managed to find room in the back for my bag and closed the trunk. “Roxie needed a ride, then out of nowhere came Tanya saying she needed one, too. She was doing that tongue-clicking thing she does when I told her no. Before I knew it, she was in my car. By then there was no room left. D is riding with some of the other guys.”