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Chapter Fifteen
January
*****
Katie
“Ilove you, Katie.”
Brandon’s fingers trailed behind my ear, tucking a piece of hair behind it as he leaned in. His lips passionately caressing mine as the crowd of people around us yelled Happy New Year. Every day felt like I was living in a dream. Blinking hard, I wasn’t sure I had heard him say what I thought he did. Crashing his lips harder onto mine, his hand cradling my neck, his fingers tangling themselves in my hair. Fisting it between his fingers, keeping me in place. The passion he had was undeniable.
“You’re mine Katie. Always mine.”
Looking back into his eyes, I couldn’t help but smile at his devotion to me.
“Always Brandon.”
Classes were going to be starting soon. I had put more on my plate this semester, filling my schedule to capacity. Ryder and I sat up the first two nights we got back talking about our holiday break and how happy we were to be back in our little oasis.
“Anthony, of course, was on me about keeping my grades up and not worrying about finding a boyfriend. Meanwhile, I overheard him talking about all the different girls he’s been talking to since he started school. He is such a hypocrite.”
Shoving my last bite of my pop tart into my mouth, crumbs falling onto my lap, I chewed quickly before trying to talk.
“He’s only a year older, right?”
She nodded, “so he really has no room to tell me what to do with my life. But I don’t need to tell you how annoying it is to have an older brother.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Asher probably forgot he even had a sister when he moved. Our relationship was nothing like what Ryder had with her brother. At least it sounded like Anthony always had her best interest in mind. He was just trying his best to make sure she didn’t get hurt by any guy and was focusing on getting her degree. I couldn’t fault him for that.
There may have even been a slight amount of jealousy the more I thought about it. There was a part of me that wished Nate and Asher had been like that with me instead of making fun of me or treating me like I didn’t matter to them.
“Honestly, Ryder, I have no clue how I’m going to manage the semester and dating. Brandon is probably going to get bored with always sitting around here while I study or get papers done. Especially since he doesn’t have practice and games all the time. I can’t imagine he will not want to be spending all his free time at the parties at the fraternity.”
She looked back at me, her hands on her hips.
“Seriously Katie? He worships the ground you walk on. No matter what you’re doing, I’m sure he will be happy so long as he’s with you. You got lucky. He is one of the good ones. I wouldn’t worry about it. You guys will make it work.”
She was right. He was one of the good ones and I would let nothing change that. We would figure out how to balance our relationship and our schoolwork.
*****
Nate
Throwing the pen down on top of my notebook, I was so over writing things down. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I could feel a headache coming on. I was ready for the semester to end and, unfortunately; it had only just begun. It was only two years; I just needed to keep reminding myself of that. Two years and I would be done.
Skylar: you free tonight?
Looking down at my phone, I shouldn’t have surprised to see her name pop up. Three winking emojis quickly followed her first text. It was like clockwork. Every Thursday night she would text asking to come over. Asher would kick my ass right now, knowing I was rolling my eyes at the proposition for a weekly booty call. Luckily, my roommate didn’t seem to mind so long as we weren’t loud and didn’t touch any of his work things.
He had taken over most of the apartment with his computer repairs, that he was doing in his off time for extra cash. I couldn’t complain. He was never late on the rent and helped keep everything tidy around the place, which I couldn’t say that I did. He never once made a comment about my tendency to leave my dirty dishes around or tracking dirt into the place and not cleaning it up right away. I always got around to it. Immediately cleaning up after myself never felt like a priority if I had other things to do.
Nate: yeah want to meet at Country Pub at ten?
Skylar: see you at ten stud!
Skylar was just one girl that passed through our doors on a weekly basis in my attempt to move on. All I wanted was for Katie to be happy, even if that meant my own misery. Katie had me blocked on all her social media. Asher would text me that he wasn’t so sure about Brandon. He had mentioned it more than once how Katie seemed different, more stressed out since she started dating him and I never knew how to respond. Usually, I just reminded him freshman year was stressful. That was probably why she seems different. A quick change of subjects was always my main objection when he brought it up.
When I arrived at the bar there was only one bar stool open. My eyes connected with Sam, one of the usual bartenders who knew me rather well. Sliding a beer in front of me, I smiled back at her. Being that Skylar wasn’t here yet, I knew it would be the first of many tonight. As the amber liquid slid down my throat, my eyes scanned the room seeing a group of girls line dancing in the center of the dance floor. They must have been a few beers in since none of them were hitting any of the steps properly. It was still entertaining to watch.
