RUMORS
I woke up Saturday morning
feeling pretty good. Last night seeing Hunter fight and going with him to the
abandoned amusement park seemed like a faraway dream. Daniela gave me her notes
for psych, and after lunch, I copied them into my own notebook. Some of the
material was actually kind of interesting. Maybe Daniela was right: this class
wouldn’t be too bad.
I was
almost done when my phone buzzed. I thought it would be Hunter and my heart
skipped a beat. Glancing at the caller ID showed it was Aunt Caroline. A pang
of guilt shot through me. We hadn’t spoken since she’d dropped me off at the
beginning of the semester over a week ago. I had visited my aunt and uncle
regularly ever since Mom passed away but I’d been living with them just before
Dad passed. After he passed, they practically adopted me. Although I sometimes
took issue with Aunt Caroline’s overprotectiveness, I was truly grateful for
their care considering they already had their hands full raising two adolescent
boys. I felt bad that I’d probably made Aunt Caroline feel neglected because
I’d forgotten to call her.
I put my
pen down and answered my phone. “Hi Aunt Caroline,” I said sweetly.
“Hey!
How’s my college girl?” my aunt asked. “I’m guessing you’ve been pretty busy
since we haven’t heard from you.”
I cringed.
“Sorry about that. I’ve been busy, yes. I was actually just doing some homework
when you called.”
“Oh! I
hope I’m not interrupting. Are you in the library?”
“No, it’s
fine. I’m in my room.”
“That’s
good. So how are your classes? Do you like them so far?”
“Yeah,
it’s a little hard getting back into the swing of things but I’m managing so
far.”
“That’s
good, dear. You know you can come back and visit anytime, or even take more
time off if you need to. Just let us know and Uncle Stewart will pick you up.”
“Thank you
Aunt Caroline. But I think I’ll be fine here. It hasn’t been too bad so far.
Actually, I think it’s helped me take my mind off things.”
I
convinced myself I had to stay at Arrowhart because I needed a return to
normality. The longer I put that off, the worse it was going to be for me. Dr.
Schwartz had suggested that being around other people my age in a college
environment could help and I agreed with her. These were supposed to be some of
the best years of a person’s life. So far, mine had been a nightmare. It was
going to be tough getting back to feeling normal, but I had to get there.
“Good, I’m
so glad to hear that. You know you can call me whenever, if you want to talk.
Even if it’s very late. It’s been hard on all of us. The boys and Stewart are
doing better but I’m still trying to get over it, myself. Your dad—my
brother—was a good man. I know he loved you very much.”
“Yeah, I
know,” I said sadly.
“But hey,”
she said brightly, quickly changing the depressing topic. “You’re back at
college now! I must ask, you do anything fun this weekend?”
My
thoughts flew back to the craziness of last night. “Umm . . . I went out
yesterday night on a double date with my roommate and two guys, but they were
creeps. I did meet another guy though and gave him my number.”
“Oh wow,
look you at Lorrie,” she said teasingly. “Already attracting boys in your first
week. That sounds so exciting! What’s he like?”
Let’s
see, he has tats, big muscles, he took me to an abandoned amusement park . . .
Oh and he fights and girls are attracted to him like squirrels to acorns—you
know, your typical college male.
Telling
her what Hunter was like would give her the wrong impression. Knowing her,
she’d probably freak out and insist on staying with me for a while to make sure
I was all right. “I don’t know, he’s tall, he has short, dark hair. He’s nice.”
I considered telling her about falling in the lake and how he saved me, but
that would be too hard to explain and it would make her worry. It was better if
I kept it vague.
“Are you
going out on a date?” My aunt had a way of cutting straight to the point.
“Nah, I
don’t think I’m ready for that right now. I just told him we’d be friends. He
hasn’t called me yet though, I just gave him my number last night.”
“Well
you’ll have to let me know how things go with Mr. Short-Dark-Hair.” She
chuckled.
“I’ll be
sure to let you know.”
“Well, it
sounds like you’re doing okay.” She released an audible breath. “I’m so
relieved. I was worried you might have had a rough start.”
“Nope, so
far so good.” No falling-into-frozen-lakes-and-almost-dying here. I gave a
thumbs up sign though I knew she couldn’t see it.
“Okay,” my
aunt said. “Well I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. I’ll let you get back to
studying. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and let us know if you need anything.”
“Will do.
Bye Aunt Caroline.”
“Goodbye
dear.” She paused for a moment. “We all love you, Lorrie.”
“I love
you too.”
I ended
the call and went back to Daniela’s notes. My aunt—Caroline Perkins—was so good
to me. When I thought about what life would be like without her, it made me
shudder. The Perkins family and Daniela were just about all I had in the world
at this point. Thinking about how close to alone I was scared the hell out of
me.
Just as I
finished with Daniela’s notes, I heard my other two suitemates who shared the
double—Kate and Petra—come in the suite. My door was open, so I called out a
cheerful greeting into the common area.
Kate
stopped in her tracks and peered into my room with Petra hiding behind her. “Hi
Lorrie,” Kate said. She shifted on her feet, apparently debating whether to
continue walking by or to linger for a few more words. “Everything okay?” she
asked delicately.
Petra
leaned her head out from behind Kate to catch a peek at me but then jumped back
behind Kate like a frightened child.
I narrowed
my eyes. “Yeah, I was just copying Daniela’s notes from lecture. Why wouldn’t
things be okay?”
“Sorry, no
reason. You just surprised me. Anyway, me and Petra are going to the gym. Catch
you later!”
As far as
I could tell, Kate and Petra were pretty close to being literally attached at
the hip. It was kind of annoying the way they always did everything together
like they couldn’t exist apart. Also annoying: the way Petra acted like I was a
rabid beast liable to snap at any instant. Why did people like Petra have to be
so awkward around me? All she had to do was say hi back. Instead, she acted
like my eyes were red from crying all morning.
I took my
stuff and went into the common area, plopping down on the futon. A few minutes
later, Kate and Petra left for the gym. At least Kate waved goodbye. Ten
minutes later, I was still stewing on why people couldn’t treat me normally.
Couldn’t they understand it just made things worse for me?
Daniela
came into the suite, smiling with a gym bag over her shoulder and her hair wet.
I hadn’t seen her since the previous night, which meant we hadn’t caught up.
“Hi,” I
said brightly, as soon as the door had closed.
“Hey
there,” she said, a mischievous smile still playing on her lips. “Haven’t seen
you since last night.”
“Yeah, I
got home and crashed. Did you and Cody, you know . . .”
She shook
her head. “We all left the bar and came home not too long after you went off
with your fighter man. Cody got a little wasted so I came home alone, of
course.”
“Gotcha. I
hope you didn’t have too much trouble with my date. Justin or whatever. That
guy was a douchebag.”
“Yeah,
sorry about that. I didn’t know he’d be such a jerk. Speaking of guys though,
it finally popped into my head who the guy with the hammer tattoo is.”
I nodded.
“The fighter guy I left with turned out to be him. Hunter Jensen.” Just saying
his name sent an unwelcome quivering to my belly.
She eyed
me, amusement in her green irises. “Where did you go with him?”
I didn’t
like the look on her face, so I answered her question with one of my own.
“Why?”
“You know
that guy’s reputation, right? Surely, you’ve heard of the rumors.”
“No, I
haven’t. Remember? I’ve been gone a year and I try
not
to listen to
rumors.”
She
shrugged. “That guy’s a serious player. He has girls all over him. Like
all
the
time.”
The
quivering in my belly turned slightly nauseous. My mind unwittingly recalled
the condoms I’d seen in his bathroom trash. I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, I
figured as much when I met him. He has that kind of bad-boy-loner thing going
on that makes some girls go crazy. I may be screwed up but I’m sane enough to
know not to fall for a guy like that. We just went on a walk, that’s all.
There’s nothing romantic between us.”
She
studied me carefully, not saying anything. The silence was killing me.
“I’m not
stupid,” I snapped. “Besides, he’s not my type. We’re just friends. I don’t
feel like explaining why.”
She put
her hands up in defense. “Okay, if you say so. Just saying, people saw you two
together, and with his history . . .”
“What?”
“People
are making assumptions. If you say you’re not romantic with him, I believe you,
but you should know that people already think you guys are a thing. Or at least
were a thing last night. All night.”
Blood
rushed to my face and I ground my teeth. The last thing I needed was people
gossiping about me more than they already were. Jeez, I couldn’t catch a break.
All I wanted to do was blend in at school and I somehow got involved with a
super notorious cage fighter who apparently had a reputation for sleeping with
any girl he wanted. Fuck my life.
“Well,
we’re not. I’m sure it’ll pass.” I waved my hand dismissively. “God knows I
have experience with people talking shit about me.”
Daniela
grimaced. “Lorrie, I know it sucks when people are gossiping about you, but
you’re at Arrowhart—gossip headquarters—and that was a super-crazy story. It’s
hard to blame them.”
“I just
want to be a normal student. Why is that so hard?”
She smiled
slightly. “This
is
getting closer to normal, right? Boy-girl drama is
what college is all about. Well, also studying but that’s less important.”
I looked
at her for a second, but then I started giggling. It was all I could do,
really. As crazy as my situation was, she was right about the drama. “I guess
that’s true.”
“Just be
careful, okay? I don’t want to have to kick that guy’s ass.”
I nodded,
smiling. “After watching him fight last night, I’m sure you could take him.”
She flexed
and we laughed. Maybe this
was
a little closer to normal.
That night I laid in bed,
staring at my poster of a Japanese drawing of a wave and thinking things
through. My first week back at school had been more eventful than I’d wanted,
but all in all it had been good. Rumors aside, I was glad to have some
connection with Hunter as a friend. It was like what I’d told Daniela: this
semester was about getting myself right. I couldn’t get too involved with
anyone else’s feelings. My best friend reminding me that the guy I had just
become friends with was a huge player would only help with that.
I rolled
over and closed my eyes. A friendship with Hunter could lead to trouble, but
all I had to do was avoid getting into a romantic relationship with him.
Although his romantic interests in me were clear, he wasn’t overly aggressive
in pursuing me. So I wasn’t too concerned about him pushing things further than
I was comfortable with. I just had to avoid developing feelings for him, myself.
Although I
was used to feeling numb, being around Hunter made me feel alive. I could see
how that would make it difficult to resist developing feelings for him. But I
was strong. Dad had even said so in his letter. I was dealing with the
tragedies in my past and moving on with life. Compared to that, how hard could
it be to stop myself from developing feelings for Hunter?
ICE CREAM
I spent the next week
settling into a groove with my classes. I stayed awake during psychology class
and even took good enough notes that I didn’t need to borrow Daniela’s
afterward. My drawing class was already a lot of fun; I was starting to think
that maybe it could be my major. Daniela had been right, there were some rumors
about me and Hunter, but the looks I was getting from people weren’t too much
different from what I had already been experiencing.
In fact,
they might have been better. It wasn’t pure pity anymore; these looks were more
curious.
What’s going on between that girl and Hunter?
I could hear them
saying. That was a lot better than wondering about what it would be like to
have both parents die from unnatural causes.
If people
would have actually had the guts to talk to me and ask me what was going on
between me and Hunter, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them anyway. He didn’t
call me all week. I tried not to be disappointed, since I had made it clear
that we were just friends. Obviously he wasn’t going to pursue me as hard as if
he were trying to date me—the rules of dating didn’t even apply. We were just
friends. Friends hung out whenever.
Friday
rolled around, and this time I had no plans. Daniela had a cold and was going
to stay in, and Kate and Petra were out at some date party. I had no one else
to go out with. It was surprising how much this bummed me out. I could always
entertain myself watching more
Grey’s Anatomy
but I knew there would be
loud, drunk people coming back to the dorm at two in the morning, and they
would make me feel bad for missing out on a lively night.
I was sitting
on the common area futon after an early cafeteria dinner thinking about what I
wanted to do with the rest of my evening when my phone buzzed. My heart raced
as I checked to see who it was, and then it began pounding in my ears when I
recognized the name: Hunter.
“Hey,” I
said, a little too breathlessly.
“Hey
Lorrie, what’s up?”
His voice
was smooth, like we’d just casually run into each other around campus. The
fluttering in my nerves made me realize how much I’d missed hearing his voice
all week. I tried to steady myself so I didn’t sound too needy. “Not much, just
ate dinner.”
“Have any
plans for tonight?”
My heart
rose. “I was actually just figuring that out,” I said. “Daniela and I were
going to go out, but she’s not feeling good, so now I’m free.”
“Great!
One of my buddies bailed on me, so I have an extra ticket for the hockey game
tonight. Do you wanna come?”
I didn’t
know much about hockey, but hanging out with Hunter sounded more fun than
hanging out with Meredith and McDreamy. “That sounds like fun! When’s the
game?”
“Game’s at
seven, but I like to get there a half hour early to get concessions, watch the
guys warm up, and all that good stuff. Want to meet me at the arena at
six-thirty?”
It was
already a little after five, and I had no idea how far away the hockey rink
was. How long did that give me to get ready? What did someone wear to a hockey
game, anyway? I’d have to figure this out fast. “I can do that,” I said, my
mind racing.
“Do you
know where the arena is?” he asked.
I stood up
and started walking to my room to look it up. “I think so. Otherwise, I can
figure it out. I’ll see you then.”
“Alright.
Let’s meet me out front. I’ll see ya in a few.”
I walked
into my room and threw my phone on the bed before racing to my closet to figure
out what to wear. I settled on a school sweatshirt, and threw that on my bed
before racing to my laptop to look up the location of Barton Rink. It was at
least a twenty minute walk across campus. I’d have to rush.
It took serious
power-walking skills, but I made it to the area at six-thirty sharp. The people
filtering into the arena were all dressed in red and white school gear:
sweatshirts, hats, and even baggy hockey jerseys. I gave myself kudos for a
good fashion choice. So far, so good.
I scanned
the crowd looking for Hunter’s short, brown hair and dark gray eyes for several
seconds before we saw each other at the same time. He was standing by the doors
and wearing a red and white hockey jersey that covered up his tattoos, but
still hinted at his wide shoulders and huge chest. Even dressed in a baggy
hockey jersey, he looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with—in a
fighting cage. A bed would be different.
He held up
the two tickets and smiled as we walked toward one another. “Thanks for
coming,” he said, the low vibration in his voice flowing over me.
I smiled,
both because I was glad to see him and to hide my antsiness. I hadn’t seen
Hunter in person all week and I had to admit I missed the charge I got from
being around him. “Thanks for inviting me.”
He handed
me my ticket and I took it from him, careful to avoid brushing against his
hand, knowing the effect a gentle brushing could have on the both of us. Then I
thanked him graciously. “So have you been to a hockey game before?” he asked.
“Nope,” I responded
casually.
“Ever seen
a game on TV?”
I shook my
head. “But I know the basics: sticks, pucks, and touchdowns right?”
He lost
his composure and laughed heartily. “I think you’re mixing hockey with
football, Lorrie. Hockey has goals and football has touchdowns.”
“Oh, my
bad,” I replied, laughing along with him. I kind of felt silly for mixing up
the two sports, but after the time we spent in Neverland teasing one another
and joking around, I knew Hunter wasn’t making fun of me mean-spiritedly.
He wiped a
tear of laughter from his eye. “You’re so adorable, Lorrie. But ya know, I’m
surprised to hear you’re a hockey virgin. You’ve just made tonight’s game all
the better. I’m looking forward to breaking you in.”
I
chuckled, amused by the flirtatious suggestion. Knowing Hunter’s reputation, my
guard was already up, allowing me to let the suggestion easily roll off my
shoulders. “Yeah, yeah, alright Hunter,” I said sarcastically. “Unfortunately,
I’m not much of a sports girl, so I’m not sure how much ‘breaking in’ is going
to happen.”
“We’ll see
about that.” He grinned wickedly making my belly flutter in the way that it
often did when I was around him. “But you’re really not a sports girl? Given
your throwing arm, I thought you would’ve been.”
“Well, my
dad and I would toss a baseball around when I was kid. I wasn’t really good or
anything, especially with accuracy—as you might have noticed. But I could throw
it hard.” I blew hot air on my knuckle and polished it on my sweatshirt. “Broke
a few windows in my time.”
I smiled
and he chuckled. “And an amusement park booth. I’m impressed—you’re quite
destructive. Yet you’ve never seen hockey on TV?”
“I guess
I’m more of a doer than a watcher. I think it’s more fun that way, but I have
watched a few basketball games, so it’s not like I’m against watching sports. I
mean, I’m certainly excited about seeing this hockey game.”
He
grinned. “I get it, you’re more hands-on. I dig that. So you’re not afraid of
chipping a nail?”
I looked
at my nails with amusement. “I guess I’ve always just kept them short . . .
Never really thought about growing them out, figured it’d be annoying.”
He
chuckled. “Well I haven’t grown mine out either. Glad to see we’re on the same
page. Anyway, you’re in for a treat. I’ll teach you the rules and you’ll be a
fan by the end of the game. C’mon let’s get our seats.”
Hunter insisted on getting
nachos first, and by the time we got our food there were only fifteen minutes
to go before game time according to the giant scoreboard on the wall. He
explained the basic rules of the game as we made our way down the steps to our
seats: there were three periods of twenty minutes apiece, and the players were
trying to score goals by shooting the puck past the goalie into the net. The
second part I already knew, which made me feel good. How complicated could
hockey really be?
We were
almost to our seats when we were approached by two short brunettes with red
ribbons in their ponytails and the letters “AH” painted on each cheek. They
were wearing matching white and red school t-shirts advertising the hockey
season. “Hi Hunter! We’re so happy to run into you!” one of them squeaked. The
other one beamed at him.
“Hi
Catelyn,” Hunter said coolly.
Her skin
was tanned golden despite the winter season, and her teeth were unnaturally
white. “What are you doing after the game?” she asked, tossing her head to one
side.
He
shrugged. “Not sure, this and that. By the way, this is my friend Lorrie.”
“Hi,” I
said semi-awkwardly, putting my hand up to give a small wave.
Catelyn
glanced at me briefly before turning back to Hunter. Catelyn’s friend didn’t
even acknowledge me, instead she preferred keeping her attention on Hunter
while flitting her hair. “Well, let us know when you’re done . . . you know—”
Catelyn looked at her friend who silently nodded back to her then Catelyn
turned back to Hunter. “We can both come with you, wherever you’re going. Maybe
your place or our place. We’ll
come
with you, anywhere you like.” The
way she looked and smiled at him was more than suggestive.
I blushed
as I rolled my eyes and looked at Hunter to gauge his reaction. He gave me a
quick glance but his expression was impassive. “Cool,” he said evenly to them.
Both girls
giggled. “Call whenever. We’ll be up if you are.” She winked and her friend
nodded before they both bounced up the stairs.
Was that
what I thought it was? Daniela had told me Hunter was a player but it hadn’t
occurred to me that I’d be seeing what that meant up close. I suddenly started
feeling nauseous.
Hunter and
I were silent the rest of the way down to our seats. When we finally got there,
I was surprised to see the seats were in the front row, right behind the glass.
The school’s marching band was in the next section over with their trombones,
trumpets, and drums. As we took our seats, I thought: this is going to be loud.
“So does
that happen to you a lot?” I asked, more than a little curious.
“Does
what?”
“Those
girls were offering to have a threesome with you, weren’t they?” I asked, never
thinking that I’d ever be asking that question to anybody in my life.
He
chuckled and looked at the ice for a second. “Probably, yeah.”
“Does that
happen a lot?”
He
considered. “No, not
a lot
.”
I raised a
brow. “. . . So you’ve had a threesome before?”
“I know
you’re curious Lorrie, but unfortunately I don’t kiss and tell,” he said,
zipping his lips with his fingers.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. If
you hear anything about me like that, it didn’t come from me. I can’t control
what other people say but I keep things like that to myself.”
I recalled
him protecting me by lying to Gary about how we met. He did seem to keep things
to himself. Still, I had my doubts about whether he was telling the truth.
Weren’t guys always bragging about their sex lives? Plus, the idea of him even
considering a threesome with Catelyn and her friend grossed me out. But the
nausea I felt wasn’t jealousy, I told myself; Hunter and I were just friends.
And being friends gave me a unique opportunity to pick his male brain.
“So are
you going to call those girls?”
He shook
his head casually. “Nah, probably not. Not really in the mood.”
His
response somehow made me feel relieved. “Ah I see.” I looked at the all the
people trickling into the rink and taking their seats. Some were in large
groups, some were by themselves, and a lot seemed like couples. I dimly
wondered if people saw Hunter and me together and thought that we were a
couple.
“Have you
had a threesome before, Lorrie?”
Breaking
from my thoughts, I erupted in a burst of laughter. “What do you think?”
“Yes.” He
smiled.
I smirked.
“Well, you’d be wrong. I’m not interested in having one either. One guy is
enough. Adding another guy would be too much. Way too much.”
He smirked
back. “What about adding another girl?”
I scoffed.
“In your dreams, buddy.”
He waved
his hand dismissively. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’d be a good
participant in a threesome anyway.”
I was
surprised at how much offense I took by that comment. “What? Why not?”
“You
probably wouldn’t get along with the other girl. You’re kind of a lone wolf.
You’d be either too selfless and let the girl have the guy all to herself or
too selfish and take the guy all for yourself. There’d be no in between.” He
wagged his finger at me playfully.
I
scrunched my brows, uncomfortable with how much his reasoning resonated with me.
“That’s quite a bold statement. And how did you come to that conclusion?”