Authors: Carly White
Chapter 4
“Oh my God Charlie. This is why I don’t drink.”
Charlie was like she always was, unfazed by anything. Lou didn’t know how they could drink the same amount, but Charlie never had a hangover. “You will be fine. Just drink some of this and you will be good as new in no time.”
“What’s in it?”
“Never ask questions that you don’t want the answer to.”
Lou knew about her friend dabbled in medicinal herbs and though she complained about the fifty potted plants in the house, there was something to Charlie’s concoctions. The one she handed her didn’t smell or look very good, but knowing that it would actually help, made it go down a little smoother. She choked on the last bit and then handed the glass back to her friend.
“There, you will be feeling better soon enough.”
“I hope so. I feel horrible. What were we supposed to do today?”
“Shopping.”
Another loud sigh from Lou. It was the last thing she wanted to do. All Lou really wanted to do was go back to sleep and sleep off the hangover from the night before.
“Okay. Let me just get dressed.”
“So how was last night?”
“You would have known if you hadn’t taken off with your boyfriend.”
Charlie looked a little guilty. She was trying to stay away from James, but he was looking good and was saying all the right things to her the night before. He wasn’t even supposed to be there, but when he showed up, Charlie had lost all interest in anything else. She was horny and when he grabbed her hard for a kiss, she was lost.
“Sorry about that Lou. But it had been too long and he was looking good.”
“Yeah well I was upstairs and I saw Phil. He was in his room sleeping or something, but at first I didn’t know who he was.” It was probably a good thing because once she had known who he was, all she could think about was the painting that her roommate had done of him and the bits that were covered up with clothes.
“How was he?”
“I don’t know. You know I stay away from guys like that.”
Charlie nodded, but didn’t quite understand her friend. She was beautiful and could have anyone she wanted, but her confidence hadn’t been the same since the incident with Dante. Charlie wished that it had never happened, hating to see her friend so down and out, but she was sure that Lou would get on with it eventually. If not, there was only a few more months of college for them both.
“Maybe you shouldn’t. Phil is actually a really good guy. He has helped me out a few times with my biology homework. He is not like the rest of them.”
Lou didn’t see how that was possible. Everyone knew about Phil and his big lusts. He had been with half the girls on campus and the ones he hadn’t, she was sure it was because they weren’t up to his standards.
“You don’t believe me?”
“I do, it’s just I don’t know, I have met many guys like him and they are all just the same.”
Charlie wasn’t going to argue with her. They had known each other for a long time and she knew that Lou had her own reasons. There was nothing she could do but agree and go on. Charlie knew Phil pretty well since they had a couple of classes together and he had never acted out of the way with her.
***
The two went to do their weekly shopping and though they had lived together for several years, they still were so different. Charlie filled the cart up with all of her fancy foods, as Lou called it. She had to buy everything organic and though she could afford it, Lou never did have five dollars to drop on a couple of apples. She was content to eat the pesticides if they were cheaper.
When they got to the checkout, Charlie tried to pay for it all, but Lou refused and paid her half for the groceries. They then stopped at a small art shop in town and Charlie loaded up on more art supplies. It was her passion and sometimes Lou wished that she had something that she felt so strongly about. All she wanted to do was be a lawyer to help people, but sometimes she wished she had a hobby as well. She needed some kind of creative outlet.
“So I talked to the Art teacher and she said you could sit in if you wanted to. All you have to do is bring in your own supplies.”
“Really?” That was the best news she had heard all day. While she needed the law class for her Masters, she didn’t for her Bachelors and she could always just take the class later. “I think I might actually take you up on it.”
“Good, you should. We have another class Monday.”
“What would I need to bring?”
Charlie didn’t answer her, but started to put more supplies in the basket that Lou was carrying. By the time they were through, they had spent more money on paints than food and were loaded down on their way to the apartment. It was one of the only times that Lou wished that she had a car on campus.
“Hey Charlie. Where are your overalls?”
Charlie looked back and smiled at her friend Phil. “Hey hun. What are you doing up before noon?”
“Got a game today, so I didn’t drink much last night.”
“I was over at our house last night. It was pretty crazy. I didn’t see you there though.”
“I was keeping a low profile. You know how it is.”
He was looking over at her friend and it took a minute for him to realize who she was. She was the girl from last night, Lou. When he looked at her then, knowing she was the girl from the video, it was hard not to stare. He knew what she had under those modest clothes she was wearing now.
“Good to see you again Lou.”
Lou looked over and nodded. “Nice to see you Phil. I am going to get these home Charlie. I will catch up with you later.”
“Let me help you.”
Phil grabbed all of the bags out of her hands before she could say anything and started walking towards their apartment without having to be told where it was. Lou gave Charlie a look, but she just shrugged and handed him the rest of the bags. “Since you are trying to be such a gentleman.”
It made Charlie wondered why he was being so helpful all of a sudden, but she saw the way that he looked at her and the way that Lou was trying not to look. There was something there and she smiled to herself. The two would be perfect together. Charlie knew that Phil was set to pose for the Art class next week and she wanted to get her uptight friend in there. But she knew that if she mentioned anything about it, Lou would never agree.
“What is all of this stuff for anyways?”
“Just a couple of projects that I have in mind. What are you doing around here?”
He shrugged. “I was supposed to meet Scott for lunch, but I bet he is still sleeping from the party last night.”
The two talked while Lou made her way beside them. She didn’t have much to say to him, not really knowing him. She had a meeting later that day with the college paper. When she realized that it was time for her to go, Lou excused herself and made her way back towards the building across the campus where they met.
She didn’t hear what the man asked about her as she walked away. Lou had her own things to take care of and men like Phil had a way of sidetracking her. Lou touched her cheeks and felt the heat rising into them as she thought about the painting of the man she was just with. Charlie shouldn’t have showed her the picture, it was all her fault, Lou was sure of it.
When she got to the meeting for the paper, there were already most of the people there. Like everyone else on the paper, college was more to them than parties and Lou felt at ease finally.
Chapter 5
“What is with your friend Charlie? She is very pretty.”
Charlie smiled and nodded at the man in her apartment. “She is out of your league Phil. Even for you.”
He looked incredulous. Phil could have any woman he wanted and he couldn’t see why she would be any different, though he remembered her at the party, refusing to be around him more than she needed to be. “No one is out of my league Charlie, except maybe you.”
“Trust me Phil. She wants nothing to do with any jocks.”
“Because of what happened before?”
She nodded. “Among other things.”
“Is that why she dyes her hair black now?”
Charlie agreed. “Yes and most of the time, it works. Men see her short, black hair and don’t even realize who she is. Lou almost left college over it, but I begged her not to. We have been friends for a long time.”
“I like her.”
“Why?”
“Because she told me off, no one ever does that. I don’t know what it is, but there is something about her that draws me in.”
“I think that is just the challenge talking. But I warn you Phil, you hurt her and you will never get any more herb from me.”
Phil smiled back at her. “You drive a hard bargain Charlie. You know that I have to have your herbs to sleep. I sometimes think that it is the whole reason I am going off to the NFL now. Remember when we first met, how stressed out I was?”
“You were worried about too many things. Lou is my best friend though, so if you are just trying to chase her because of the challenge, don’t. She will see right through you and she doesn’t deserve it. Dante did enough to her and I won’t see her be so unhappy again.”
He was surprised at how strongly she talked about Lou. There had never been anything that he had said to her before that had upset her so. Charlie was the type to never get upset about anything, but after the woman had left the party, he had played that tape over and over again. It made him want Lou more, the look of devilish need in her eyes was what did it for him. He knew that.
Charlie lit a joint and handed it to him. Lou didn’t realize that half of the herbs in the apartment were smokeable. She had never partaken, but it was where Charlie got most of her money, guys like Phil that just needed something to relax.
“Why have I never met her before?”
“Because you usually don’t come here and she is always out studying or in class. I had to drag her to that party last night.”
“Yes, I saw her there. She was quite a picture.”
“I bet.”
“So you won’t put a good word in for me?”
She shook her head that she wouldn’t as she took a hit. “Nope. If you want a chance, you have to convince her yourself. I am not getting into it.”
Phil wanted to say more, ask more questions, but Charlie was making it clear that she wasn’t going to answer them. “Charlie, you are one strange woman.”
“Why? Because you can never talk me into bed?” Her smile was big and her eyes glanced down to the package on her mind.
“No, you have just always been different.”
***
Lou sat twitching a little, playing with her hair as they waited for the last person in the meeting. The editor, Gregory, was always late, but no one ever said anything. “So what are the assignments for this week?”
Miriana went through the different proposed stories and wondered to herself which one she would get stuck with. There weren’t many that sounded too good, but they were still waiting for Greg to get there and give out assignments. When he finally showed up twenty minutes later, he told everyone what their duties were and left before anything else could be said. She was to cover the football game that evening because their normal sports writer was out. Lou had tried to get out of it, change with someone else, but no one else wanted it, so she was forced to take it.
The last thing she wanted was to deal with the jocks. Her mind went to Phil for a moment and her cheeks were a little red when she got home.
“So, how did it go Lou?”
She sighed and sat down on the couch. The smell was in the air and she closed her eyes for a minute. “Not too good. I have to cover the game tonight. There are supposed to be a bunch of recruiters there and of course, everyone is talking about the golden boy Phil. The school wants to promote him because they are sure that he is going to be famous and make them so as well.”
“Well it could be worse. There was that mathlete thing going on this weekend.”
“I would rather cover the nerds than the jocks, you know that.”
Charlie didn’t know why Lou was still so worried about them. No one else was and she was hardly a memory. “They aren’t so bad once you get to know them.”
“They all know me well enough.”
“Phil was asking about you.”
Lou tried not to look like she cared, but she did. “What did you tell him?”
“Not much. He is a pretty good guy though. I know that you don’t like the footballers, but they are not all so bad.”
“I will just take your word for it. I am supposed to interview him tonight. Is there anything that I should know about him?”
Charlie wanted to say something more, but she stopped herself. “No, not really. Just what everyone already knows about him. Phil is going to be drafted soon and he has more offers than he can deal with. It’s a lot of pressure and he is worried about the game tonight.”
Lou couldn’t imagine such a sure man worried about anything at all. All that knew him, treated him like he was the King of the school and surely some of that had gotten into his head. “I will take your word for it. He seems like all of the rest of them.”
“Well I do know that he has his eye on you Lou.”
“I bet.”
“No really, he was asking about you. I don’t know what you said to him at the party last night, but you certainly got his attention.”
“Yes, I am sure. He probably recognized me. You know there has been a bet since that video went around campus. I became like a prize to them. There is no way that I will ever fall for a jock again. Not in this school.”
Charlie just sighed. Her friend was too hard-headed for her own good. Charlie tried to think of how she would feel if it had happened to her and she knew that she would have been just as upset, but what is done, is done and there was nothing that Lou could do to stop it, so the best thing for her to do, would be to forget about it. Though she knew she couldn’t tell her friend that.
“I know how you feel Lou. All I am saying is Phil is different. At least give him a chance.”
Lou agreed, but she knew in the back of her mind that he was like all the rest of them. “I will, though it makes me wonder why you are on his side.”
“I have known him since I moved here. Phil has always been straight forward with me and I appreciate that.”