Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Jace

I’m tired of being at this party. I drove, so I can’t drink, and I can’t find even one girl I want to ask out. I just need to do it so I can move on from Nikki and stop thinking about Kenzie, but I can’t find a girl that interests me.

Maybe it’s too soon after the break-up, or maybe I’m just tired and not in the mood. Whatever the reason, I’d like to forget the whole thing and go home. Between my classes and job and friends setting me up, I’ll have plenty more opportunities to find a girl. It doesn’t have to be tonight.

“Jace?” a girl says, touching my arm.

I look down and see a pretty brunette smiling up at me.

“Hey,” I say, noticing her big brown eyes.

“You work at the campus gym, right?”

“Yeah, at the front desk. You go to the gym?”

“Not very often, but I want to start going more this year.” She rubs her hand up and down my bicep. “It’s obvious you work out a lot. Would you be willing to teach me sometime?” She gives me a flirty smile.

“Teach you what?” I ask, flirting back.

“That’s up to you.” She bats her eyelashes.

She’s really hot, but something about this feels wrong. Is it because I’m still hung up on Nikki? But then why do I have an image of Kenzie in my head? I shake it away, reminding myself Kenzie is off limits.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“Briana.” She steps closer, our bodies almost touching. “How about tomorrow? I could stop by the gym. You could show me around, then maybe we could go back to your place?”

My place. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem. Guy roommates don’t care if you bring a girl home. In fact, they encourage it. But girl roommates? I’m thinking Kenzie might have a problem with it, like maybe it’d make her uncomfortable.

We should’ve talked about this. I don’t want to bring someone home until I’ve discussed it with Kenzie. I don’t want to just surprise her one night with some girl walking around the house.

“Why don’t I show you around the gym,” I say, “and then we could go grab something to eat.”

“That works.” She holds her phone out. “Here’s my number.”

I put her number in my phone, then say, “I think I’m gonna head out.”

“Already? But the party’s just starting.”

“I had a long day. And I have to work tomorrow. I get off at seven so maybe you could show up around then?”

“That’d be great! Bye, Jace!” She gives me a sexy smile as she walks away.

Mission accomplished. I came here to get a date and I got one, which means I can leave.

I go to find Brent. He’s out back on the patio, drinking beer and playing cards with some guys, a girl on his lap.

“JT, where you been?” he yells when he sees me. My last name is Tillerson so I get called JT sometimes.

“I just wanted to tell you I’m leaving.”

He tosses two cards on the table. “Why are you leaving?”

“I’m tired and want to go to bed.”

“It’s only ten,” he says, checking the time on his phone. “Since when do you go to bed this early on a Saturday?”

“I don’t feel like being up late tonight.”

“She didn’t call you, did she?” He tosses another card on the table. “Because I’ll kick your ass if you go back to her. The whole team will.”

“It’s not about Nikki. I’m just tired and want to go home.”

“I know a girl who’d be perfect for you,” the girl on Brent’s lap says.

“Who’s that, babe?” Brent says to her.

“Delia. We ran into her at the gas station the other night, remember?”

He stops to think. “No.”

“Blond hair. Tall. You said she had good arms.”

He nods. “Yeah, I remember. The one with the muscles.”

“She’s into working out, just like you,” the girl says to me. “You two should totally meet. I could set you up if you want.”

Brent is shaking his head, signaling me not to do it.

“Hey!” the girl pushes away from him. “Why are you telling him no? What’s wrong with Delia?”

“She looks like a dude,” Brent says to me. “You should see this girl’s arms. They’re almost bigger than mine.”

“Because she likes to work out,” the girl says. “And so does Jace. They’d be perfect together.”

“Don’t do it, man,” Brent says.

“You’re mean.” The girl pouts and slaps Brent’s arm.

He pulls her toward him and kisses her. “It’s all good. Jace can get his own girl. He doesn’t need us. Now help me pick a card.”

She leans forward and takes one from the deck.

“See you guys later,” I say.

“Yeah, see ya.”

When I get home, I find Kenzie asleep on the couch. I pause a moment to look at her. Her makeup is off and her hair is down around her face. She really is beautiful. More beautiful than any of the girls at the party tonight.

I’m not sure if I should wake her. If I do, and she goes in her room, she may not be able to sleep. It’s like we said last night, there’s something about being alone in your room that makes all the memories come back.

Grabbing a blanket from the closet, I bring it over to the couch and lay it over her. Then I return to my room, strip down to my boxers, and get into bed. But I can’t sleep. My mind is going and I can’t shut it off.

I’m not thinking about Nikki. I’m thinking about Kenzie. I force her out of my head and focus my thoughts on Briana. She seemed nice, and I liked that she didn’t push me to stay at the party when I told her I was leaving. Nikki wouldn’t take no for an answer. She’d push and push until I couldn’t take it anymore and would give in. The relationship was all about her and what she wanted. I got so used to it that I didn’t think about my own needs anymore. My friends could see that, but I couldn’t. Not until now.

Getting out my phone, I find Briana’s number and send her a text.

How’s the party going?

I wait for her to text back, but she doesn’t. Maybe she found someone else. I set my phone down, then hear a text come in. I pick up my phone.

I went home , she texts. What are you up to?

Trying to sleep. Not having much luck. How about you?

Eating tacos.

For some reason that makes me laugh. Tacos? Is that why you left the party? Sudden taco craving?

They were here when I got home. My roommate bought them.

Tacos sound good.

I’d offer you some but she just ate the last one. Do you live in the dorms?

No. Off campus.

I’m in the dorms. We get tacos from the place across the street.

Taco Sam’s?

That’s the one.

I like that place. I should try to sleep. I just wanted to see what’s up.

Ok. See ya tomorrow.

I like her more now that I know she eats at Taco Sam’s. It shows she’s not one of those girls who only eats at fancy restaurants. Now I’m looking forward to going out with her. I wasn’t at first. The way she came up to me at the party, touching me and acting aggressive, I was a little worried she’d be too much like Nikki.

When I met Nikki she came on strong, telling me we were going out that week whether I wanted to or not. At the time, I found her aggressive tactic a turn-on. We started dating and I liked the way she was constantly flirting with me. I thought it was sexy. But then she started flirting with my friends, and when I told her to stop, she’d tell me it was just for fun and kept doing it. It always bothered me, and because of that, I’ve decided I won’t date a girl who flirts with other guys. I’m hoping Briana doesn’t do that. She doesn’t seem like she would, but I guess I’ll find out.

I fall asleep and wake up to the sound of the shower running. I check the time. It’s after eight. I have to work at ten. I get out of bed and put on some shorts, then head to the kitchen. I can’t be in my room, listening to Kenzie shower. It makes me have all kinds of dirty thoughts. Last night, I had a dream about her. A very dirty dream that I wish I hadn’t had because it’s going to make living with her even harder.

I should’ve stuck with my rule about guy roommates only. And I would have if I hadn’t seen Kenzie crying outside my door. I felt so bad for her, and then when I found out what had happened, I couldn’t turn her away.

“Morning!” I hear her cheery voice behind me.

I turn and see her coming into the kitchen, wearing shorts and a tank, her hair wet from the shower.

“Good morning. How’d you sleep?”

“Great!” She opens a cupboard and grabs a glass. “Thanks for the blanket.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t want you getting cold.”

She fills her glass with water from the sink. “I need to get groceries today.”

“You can help yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. I’m not one of those roommates who keeps track of my food or labels it with my name.”

She laughs. “My friend, Tori, had a roommate like that. She wrote her name on all her food and made Tori do the same. Once she even weighed her peanut butter because she swore Tori ate some of it.”

“Did she?”

“No. But she found another place to live after that.”

I take out the jar of peanut butter and hand it to her. “Have all you want.”

She smiles. “That actually does sound good. You have any bread?”

I take it from the cupboard and offer it to her. “All I have is whole wheat.”

“That works.” She takes it from me and starts making a peanut butter sandwich on a paper towel. “Tori called me last night.”

“The friend you were talking about?”

“Yeah. She’s been traveling for work so I haven’t talked to her for a couple weeks. I told her about Liam. She didn’t seem that surprised. Well, she pretended to be surprised, but I don’t think she was. She never liked him.”

“Friends usually see what we don’t.”

“Did your friends like Nikki?”

“They hated her. They thought she was hot, but they didn’t like hanging out with her. They always said she was using me.”

“For what?”

“Money. Gifts. I gave her whatever she wanted. She was totally using me, but I didn’t see it when I was with her.” I dump some protein powder in my shaker bottle and go to the sink to add water. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“I want to walk around campus and make sure I know where my classes are so I’m not lost tomorrow. Oh, and I need to go to the bookstore. You want to come with?”

“I can’t. I have to work.”

“That’s right. I forgot. What are your hours?”

“Ten to seven.” I shake up my bottle, then pop the lid off and guzzle it down.

“You want to do something when you’re done? Or I could make us dinner. I’m not a great cook, but I feel I owe you since you made me dinner Friday night.”

“You don’t owe me, but if you want to make dinner sometime, I’m all for it. I never turn down a homemade meal.”

“Did Nikki make dinner much?”

I laugh. “Nikki doesn’t cook. Or clean up. She won’t even put dishes in the dishwasher. Says it makes her hands dirty.”

“So what do you think? Dinner tonight?”

“I’d love to, but I already made plans.”

“Oh.” She sounds disappointed, which makes me feel bad.

“Let’s do it some other time. We live together so we have a lot more opportunities to have dinner together.”

“True. And I should probably spend tonight getting ready for class.” She’s finished making her sandwich and puts the peanut butter away. “So are you going out with the guys tonight?”

“Um, no. I have a date.”

She was about to bite into her sandwich, but stops and sets it down. “You have a date?” She smiles but it seems forced. “That’s great! I’m happy for you!”

She’s not. I can tell by her lack of enthusiasm. She doesn’t want me dating, just like I don’t want her to date. But it’s what we need to do. Even though we didn’t talk about it, we both know dating each other would end in disaster if it didn’t work out.

“I met her last night.”

“Oh, yeah?” Kenzie’s brows rise as she keeps the forced smile going. “What’s she like?”

“Dark hair. Dark eyes. Petite. We didn’t talk long so I don’t know much about her, but I’ll find out more tonight.”

“Did one of your friends introduce you to her?”

“No, she came up to me. She recognized me from the gym. She wants to work out more this year and asked if I’d show her around.”

“So you already have something in common. That’s great! You both like working out.”

“I’m not sure if she likes it. She could’ve just been saying that to get me to go out with her. But who knows? Maybe she was being sincere.”

“Now I need to find a date. Maybe Andrea could help. She seems to know a lot of people.”

“Andrea, as in Troy’s ex?”

“Yeah. I liked her. I’m hoping we can be friends.”

If Kenzie becomes friends with Andrea, I’ll see her not just at home but all the time. Andrea’s like one of the guys. She’s always hanging out with us, which means Kenzie would be too. It’s not that I wouldn’t like that. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us to spend that much time together.

She wraps up her sandwich in a paper towel. “I’m going to finish this in my room. Have a good day at work!”

“You should stop by. Hit the bag some more.”

She smiles. “Maybe I will. I’m still sore, but it’d feel good to hit the bag.”

The day goes by and I wait for Kenzie to show up, but she doesn’t. I give her a call late afternoon and she says she’s at the bookstore and won’t have time for the gym. I’m surprised how disappointed that makes me. Living with her, I see her all the time, and yet it’s not enough.

I shouldn’t even be thinking about Kenzie. I should be thinking about Briana, my date for tonight.

At five to seven she shows up at the gym wearing a short dress and heels. I guess she won’t be trying out any of the equipment tonight.

“Decide not to work out?” I ask.

“I didn’t plan to. I just wanted you to show me around. Sorry if I wasn’t clear about that.”

“It’s fine. You still want me to show you around?”

She glances at the sweaty people walking behind me to the locker room. “Actually, could we do it some other time?”

It’s just like I thought. She wasn’t serious about working out. That was just a trick to get me to go out with her. But I’m not going to count it against her. We all do stuff like that to get a date. It’s part of the game, which sucks because I don’t like playing games.

“I just need to clock out and then we can go,” I say.

She crinkles her nose. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

“Yeah. You don’t like it?” I glance down at my gym shorts and t-shirt. I’m totally joking with her, but I wanted to see how she’d react.

“Maybe you could go home and change? We don’t really match.”

I laugh. “I was kidding. I brought other clothes. Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

In the locker room, I change into jeans and a button-up shirt. I haven’t figured out where we’re going yet. I probably should’ve put more thought into this date. Maybe I should take her to that Mexican place. Kenzie loved it. Maybe Briana will too.

“How about the Mexican place downtown?” I ask Briana as we leave the gym. “I know you like tacos.”

“I don’t like that restaurant. The music’s too loud and all those bright colors give me a headache. How about the wine bar down the street from the Mexican place? It’s quiet and dark. Really romantic.”

I’ve only been there once. Nikki insisted we go. I couldn’t afford to go back. The place is ridiculously expensive, especially for a college student with only a part-time job. Their cheapest glass of wine is twenty bucks and I’m guessing Briana isn’t going to order the cheapest. Nikki insisted on having two glasses of wine and wanted a third, but I had to cut her off. She was pissed at me, but I’d already dropped a hundred bucks on two glasses for her and one for me, plus the tip. I wasn’t willing to spend any more.

“Could we go somewhere else? That place is really expensive.”

Briana starts to roll her eyes but then stops herself. She puts her hand on her hip, clearly annoyed with me. “Where do you want to go? Some shitty sports bar like every other guy?”

We just met and she’s already angry at me? Just because I didn’t want to go to the wine bar? There’s no need to continue this date. She’s just another version of Nikki. I thought she was different, but she’s not. She just wants a guy to take her out and spend money on her. I know I’m not looking for anything serious, but I still want to go out with a girl I actually like, and I don’t like Briana.

“Why don’t we just call it a night?” I tell her.

“What are you saying?” She huffs. “You don’t want to go out?”

“I don’t think we’re a good match.”

“You’re seriously giving this up?” She points to herself. “You could’ve had a chance with me, asshole! But if you’re stupid enough to let me go, then fine. I don’t want you either.”

She storms off to her car. I wait for her to drive away, then get my phone out and call Kenzie.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I say when she answers.

“I just got home. Now I’m trying to figure out what to eat. Wait, aren’t you on your date right now?”

“It didn’t work out. But I’m dressed to go out and I’m starving, so what do you say? You want to join me for dinner?”

“Um, sure. Where should I meet you?”

“I’ll pick you up. You might want to wear something nice. We’re going to a steakhouse. It’s kinda upscale. Not like suit and tie upscale but a lot nicer than the Mexican place.”

“Okay. What time will you be here?”

“About fifteen minutes. Is that enough time?”

“Plenty. I’ll be ready. See you soon!”

As I walk to my truck, I realize I’m smiling. The girl makes me smile even when we’re just talking on the phone. I’m relieved I’m going out with her instead of Briana. It won’t be a date, but I’ll have a better time. It’s easy being with Kenzie because there’s no pressure like there would be if we were on a date. We can be ourselves. Talk about anything. Not worry about ordering food that’s too messy or might get stuck in our teeth.

Why can’t I find a girl like her? A girl I can actually date?