Torrid Affair (4 page)

T
he few days
following the football game, I found any reason not to hang around our dorm room. If Delaney was coming in, I was heading out. I sat around in the common room until late at night before heading back to crawl in bed. I didn't want to give her a chance to tell me about her new beau. I shouldn't have cared about her seeing Nate; it was one stupid date.

One stupid half kiss.  

As I dodged my roommate, I had plenty of time to think about what Nate did to me. He was the spark to my heart. And if I was honest, there was nothing more enticing than holding a sparkler. It was captivating. But I convinced myself that like everything else, that flame would burn out and in a few days I would be back to my normal self.  I would see him in class and it would be done. Everything would go back to normal.

It had to.

Tuesday morning, I had spent most of the day aimlessly wandering campus to kill time before I needed to head out for work. With my headphones plugged in my ears, I leaned my head back on the couch and rested my eyes. I was exhausted. I was getting up at the crack of dawn to avoid Delaney and sneaking back into my room before midnight.

“There you are.” I heard her chipper voice. I peeled my eyes open and was greeted with Delaney sauntering toward me wearing a wide smile. Her hair was still damp from a shower and she wore yoga pants and a cute little camisole top. Of course, her breasts didn't need the support of a bra. They were perky and perfect, just like her.

“Hey,” I murmured and pulled my headphones from my ears. I exhaled and realized that for the first time in three years I was jealous of my best friend.
How could this be?
We never fought. We were always in sync, for God’s sake. Even our periods arrived on the same day.

“Are you ignoring me?” She came right out with it. Delaney and I were both straight shooters. Never once did we beat around the bush.

I bit my tongue and lied. “No.”

“Brie.” She sat on the couch across from me and curled her feet under her. “It’s too early in the semester for you to be pulling all-nighters studying, so what gives? Are you mad that I stayed with Moose at the game?”

I hated his stupid nickname.

“No.” I shook my head and tried to smile. “I have a lot of pressure on me this semester.” I picked at my fingernails and shrugged. “And on top of it all, I got an email from my mom, which I don’t want to open.”

Del had two older brothers, RJ and Christopher. Her father was a sports doctor and her mother was a stay at home wife who volunteered for different organizations. There were no secrets, no affairs, no lies. They all got along and loved one another. They vacationed together twice a year—Switzerland over Christmas break and a Caribbean island the last week of June. I, on the other hand, avoided emails from my mother and refused to speak to my father at all.

“Oh, Brie.” She exhaled and her shoulders relaxed. “What do you think it is this time?” Delaney was the only one who knew my history with my parents.

“I’m pretty sure about how my father’s really sorry this time and that he’s changed. And how my mother feels terrible but she vowed for better or for worse.” I swallowed, trying to keep my voice in a singular monotone. “You know, the usual.”

Delaney shifted in her seat and a smile grew on her face. “What about the guy you went out with?”

I rolled my eyes. “That won’t work out.” I wanted to tell her it was
Moose
, but what good would it do? It would probably affect our friendship and I didn’t want her to feel she couldn’t bring him around me.

“Why not?”

“Eh . . . I really don’t need any distractions.”

“I highly doubt he was a
bad
distraction.” She grinned.

“Whatever. It’s done, so no biggie.”

“Are you hungry?” Delaney asked a few seconds later.

“I can go for some fries. Do you want to head over to the cafeteria?” I looked down at my phone to check the time. “I have an hour to kill before work.”

“Sure.” She jumped off her seat. “But no fries for me. I’m going to Moose’s house later and I don’t want to eat anything that will make me bloated, you know?”

I shoved my crap back in my tote and stood. I wanted the goddamn sparkler to burn out already.

* * *

W
ednesday morning
, I woke up to an empty bedroom.
Delaney never came back from her night with Nate.
When my alarm buzzed for the second time, I contemplated skipping class. I sure as shit didn’t want to see his freshly fucked face.

But I couldn’t miss class. I had never missed a single class, not even in high school. It was something I was good at—my escape from home—and I would be damned if a stupid guy named Moose ruined it for me. Plus, we were outside staring at buildings. It wasn’t as though we were confined to a classroom.

Once I showered and carefully selected my outfit for the day—picking out clothes specifically for class was something I rarely did—I hopped in my car and headed toward the Belk Tower. There was no turning back now. I’d have to face him one way or another.

I kept my head low as I walked, my heart racing with every step I took. When I was close enough to spot Professor Comeau, I noticed that Nate wasn’t there yet.
I guess Delaney kept him up late.
I quickly shook my head and brushed those images out of my thoughts because I didn’t want to imagine them together.

Professor Comeau stood with his back to the tower as he gave us the history of the structure. “For the past forty-five years, this tower has been the meeting space for students and visitors. It serves as the centerpiece of the university, but unfortunately, it will be coming down during the winter break.” Professor Comeau paused. “Thank you for joining us, Mr. Wright.”

Some of the class looked back, but my gaze stayed locked on the one hundred and forty-two foot, iconic ribbed tower.

“For your assignment,” Professor Comeau stated as he continued with his lecture.

“Hi.” His husky voice made the goosebumps rise on the back of my neck. I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I refused to let him affect me.

“Hello.” I added a chill to my voice, and forced my gaze to stay on the tower.

“Listen, Brie.” He paused as if he didn’t know what to say next. “I want to apologize.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I let the words roll off my tongue.

“I didn’t know Delaney was your roommate.”

His words caught my attention. I spun to face him. “So, you’re saying you’re sorry you got caught?”

“No.” His hand scratched the back of his head. “I’m sorry I lied to you.” He let his tongue drag across his lips. It was something I enjoyed watching, but at that moment I wanted nothing more than to rip his damn tongue out.

“Did you have a girlfriend when you took me out last week?” I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for his response.

“No.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“But now you do?”
I needed to know.
He sighed and dropped his head. “If you’re going to apologize, at least come out with the truth.”

“Can we start over?” he asked when he looked back at me. “I’d like to explain everything.”

“Sure.” I shrugged. The damage was already done. What was worse than hearing him out?

“Before we started the semester, I went out with Del a few times. It was in group settings, casual, not as a date or anything. It was nothing serious, just a few friends hanging out. The day I asked you out, she invited me to the game.”

“And you figured you would date us both and weigh your options?” I snapped. “See which was better, or maybe fuck around with us both in hopes we’d never find out about each other?’

A few students glanced over at us before returning their gaze back to the tower.

“Shit, Brielle.”

I lowered my voice. “Do you believe in coincidences?”

“What do you mean?” His eyebrows furrowed.

“You being in my class, taking me out, and also being with Delaney? Do you think that was all a big giant coincidence?” His face softened. “Or is it fate? Regardless, you being with Delaney was the way the universe was telling me not to get involved. I have no time for someone like you. I’m not mad. You’re seeing my best friend, so I want you to know I won’t hold a grudge. I hope you two are very happy with each other.”

Nate sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Can we be friends?”

“Yeah.” I nodded my head. Friends was something I could do. Overall I enjoyed his company and the spark I felt for him would die.
It had to.
“But I’m not calling you Moose,” I joked.

“About that.” His voice was vibrant.

“Yeah, about that. Moose? Seriously?” I shook my head. “Moose are massive. Nothing about you looks like a moose.”

Nate chuckled, making my heart flutter, and I resisted the urge to bite my lip. That was the spark that needed to burn out.

“My brother nicknamed me when I was a freshman in high school. He was a year younger and a few kids were picking on him. I’m not proud of it, but one day I left school early, walked over to his school, and beat the crap outta some kids who were teasing him. When all was said and done and the parents were called, Julian explained to our mother that I was like a big, giant moose charging at those kids.”

His gaze searched mine. “Like I said, I’m not proud of what I did to those kids. They were smaller than I was, but I made a promise to my little brother that no one would ever pick on him again.”

“Moose?” I muttered and cocked my head to the side. “Though it’s brave that you stood up for your little brother, it’s still a stupid name.”

“You don’t have to call me Moose. Only people I went to high school with call me that.”

“Good!” I rested my hand on my hips. “Because I wasn’t going to.”

A half-grin grew on his face. “I’m glad we’re friends, Brielle.”

“Me too, Nathaniel.” I turned back toward the building to stop myself from gazing into his eyes. “Do you know the history of the tower?”

“Yeah. I still can’t believe they are taking down the best make-out spot on campus.” He pointed up the pillars. At the very top was an observation deck with a view of the entire campus. “Up there, no one will ever catch you.”

“You’re such an ass.” I shook my head and Nate chuckled.

We spent the rest of the class period walking aimlessly around the tower. I had a notepad and scribbled down everything I noticed about its architectural design and its surroundings. Nate kept his hand shoved in his pocket and on occasion I caught him staring at me. I focused on my school work.

This was how fate worked for me.

N
ate
and I were actually able to keep a normal friendship.

We met before class and spent the entire three hours looking at buildings. He explained to me how they were built and about the architect who designed them, and I stared up at the buildings and appreciated the art, the history and the period in which they were built. Surprisingly, neither Nate nor I ever mentioned to Delaney that we shared a class together or that we were friends.  It wasn't that I purposely wanted to hide it from her, we were only friends after all, but if he had his reasons for not telling her, then I had to respect that.

Delaney spent most of her weekends with him for the first few weeks of their new relationship. She came back from class Friday night, showered, and packed an overnight bag.  I didn’t see her again until Sunday afternoon when she strolled in, hungover, to sleep for five additional hours. It meant I had the dorm room to myself, which was nice. I was cruising through my classes ahead of schedule. If I were honest, I’d admit that I dove into my school work so I didn’t think about the two of them together, but I reminded myself that he and I were strictly friends and that was for the best.

They had been dating a little over a month when I met Julian, Nate’s younger brother. Delaney and I were eating on a Thursday morning when they appeared and joined us for lunch. I knew Nate had a full school schedule but he lived off-campus and it was rare that I saw him in our cafeteria or on campus.

“Hi, babe.” She threw her head back when Nate stood behind her. He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. When she looked back at me, her smile was wide and it almost looked as if she was high from his touch.

“Brielle,” Nate greeted me.

“Nathaniel.”  I still refused to call him Moose.

Delaney sat across from me and Nate took the seat to her right. The brother sat at the head of the table. He was tall like Nate. They both had the same body type, lean with broad shoulders, except Nate had dark hair and he had ash blond hair and cattish hazel eyes.

“Hi, I’m Julian.” A wide smile grew on his face. Then it clicked:
his brother
.

“Hi, I'm Brie.”

My gaze scanned Julian’s face as I looked for similarities to Nate. Aside from their height and build they looked like complete strangers. Nate’s jawline was more profound, whereas Julian had a rounder face. Julian was fair with a few freckles scattered around his cheeks. He was cute.

Delaney continued our conversation and explained how she was about to flunk calculus. I promised to study with her. Nate offered to share his notes from last year but I couldn't really focus on the conversation as I felt Julian's eyes on me.

Glancing in his direction, a felt a grin grow on my face. He was very handsome, but he didn’t scream bad boy. Not in that drop dead looking way that would rip your heart out.
Not like Nate
.

* * *

T
he following week
, I got up and ready early for my Wednesday class, and headed toward yet another building Professor Comeau required us to admire: City Hall. It was the first building that wasn’t on campus, but instead was in downtown Charlotte.

I arrived a few minutes early and noticed Nate standing by his car in the semi-empty city parking lot. I slid my car into the space next to his.

“You’re here early.” Most classes, I beat him to the designated building and waited for him in my car before we walked to class together.

“You want to grab a cup of coffee?” He pointed to the coffee shop across the street. “We still have thirty minutes before class starts.”

“Sure.”

We walked in silence to Java Joe’s. His hands were tucked into his jacket and his head was lowered. Something about him seemed off. Pulling the door open to the quaint shop, I was smacked by the rich scent of roasted coffee beans. It had been a surprisingly chilly morning, but inside the cafe it was warm and comforting. A glass counter filled with donuts, Danishes and other sweet treats separated me and the barista.

Nate stood behind me in line as we waited for the other customers to order. He didn’t utter a single word until we had our coffees in hand and were walking back toward City Hall.

“Julian said you agreed to go out with him,” he said nonchalantly before taking a slow sip of his hot coffee.

After meeting Julian that day at lunch, I noticed that he and I bumped into each other regularly in the cafeteria or the common hall. After four casual bump-ins, he asked to take me out. I didn’t see the harm in it, especially since Nate and I were only friends.

“Yeah, so?” I brought my coffee to my lips, and blew into the small hole of the lid.

“You can't go out with him.”

Surprised by his statement, I tipped the cup back and burned the tip of my tongue. Appalled, I looked up at him. “What do you mean I
can't
go out with him?”

“I thought you were focusing on school?” Resting his cup on the hood of his car, he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t have time.” He threw my words back at me.

I blinked a few times, trying to gauge where his attitude came from and why. “One, when we had that conversation it was the beginning of the semester. I thought I would have a harder time with my school and work schedules, but I was wrong. I managed to read through most of my work according to the syllabus outline. And two, why do you care?” I paused and waited for him to explain his outrage. When he didn’t respond, I asked, “Are you saying I
shouldn't
go out with your brother?”

Nate opened and then closed his mouth. He blinked and pulled his gaze away from mine. “I don't want you going out with my brother.”

“Why not?”

His tongue snuck out to lick his lips. “Because.”

“Can I ask you something?” He nodded. “Why are you with Delaney?”

“Do you want the truth?”

“Yes.”

“First you have to answer a question.”

My eyebrows scrunched together. “Okay.”

“If I were to break it off with Delaney, would you give me another chance?”

His words stopped me in my tracks. Slowly, I shook my head. “No. You’ve been with my best friend. It’s against the rules to date your friend’s ex.”

“Exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“If I leave her, I can’t have you.” He paused for a second before he continued. “I like Delaney, she’s a good girl, but she’s not what I want. And call me selfish, but I stay with her to be close to you.” He scratched the back of his head. “I like our friendship.”

A few students had parked their cars and were walking toward the front of the City Hall building. He had some nerve telling me I couldn’t go out with his brother and then announcing he was with Delaney because he couldn’t be with me. Who the hell did he think was?

I shook my head slowly and let a grin grow on my face. “That sounds like a personal problem.” I turned away and began to walk in the direction of the other students.

“Brie!” I heard his footfalls behind me.

“Nate.” I looked up when he appeared beside me.

“Don't go out with Julian.”

“You don't have the right to tell me that.” I stopped walking and he turned to face me. “He asked; I said yes. We’re going out this weekend. You’re with Delaney because you want to be with her. Don’t bring me into it. And furthermore, I don't think it's any of your business who I date. End of discussion.”

Nate turned on his heel and continued to walk. He didn't speak to me for the remainder of the class.

Nor did he speak to me on Friday when Delaney and I met up with him for pizza. We occupied a booth at Mario’s Pizzeria, and Nate kept his head down and avoided eye contact with me.

“What's the matter, babe?” Delaney asked.

“I'm tired. I didn't get any sleep last night.”

She reached out and grabbed his hand. “We can sleep in late tomorrow if you want.”

“Actually, maybe it’ll be better if I go back to my place and crash.” He scooted out of the booth. Pulling his wallet out of his pocket, he threw a few bills on the table to cover the food. “I think I’m coming down with something.” He didn’t give Delaney a chance to fight him on it. He leaned over kissed the top of her head and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He turned and walked out of Mario’s without looking back.

I didn't know if he was jealous, but I hoped he was. I hadn’t been with anyone since my last date with him, and though it was wrong to hope your best friend's boyfriend was jealous, it also felt kind of nice.

So, instead of feeling guilty, I savored his misery.